South Akron - Wilbur Ave at Stanton (Ravenna: renting, house)

[blondwahine]

New to the area...moved here in May. Currently renting in Rootstown (by Ravenna). My husband is going to school at Akron U...we need to be closer to school as we are a family of 4 and only have 1 car...and while Rootstown is a nice LITTLE area it's just so far from everything (when you only have one car...and no immediate access to public transportation).

We found a house on Wilbur Ave (1094 Wilbur) in South Akron. It seems most places in Akron are considered "ghetto" and I've heard South Akron was one of them.

But, what I want to know is what makes it ghetto? We will be checking out the house this week...and the neighborhood, but I did a google map on the neighborhood and it seems like people take care of the exterior of their homes/yards...which says something to me.

My main concern is safety. I'm not concerned about it being a "depressed, blue-collar" neighborhood...I want to know if I should worry about break-ins, vandalism, thugs, drugs, etc. more than in other neighborhoods.

I would also like to know more about the schools (elementry) in the area...if anyone knows???

And I also would REALLY like to hear from people that actually have lived in South Akron...or have experience in the South Akron neighborhood (visiting friends/family...so they have a feel for the neighborhood).

Don't get me wrong...all comments are wanted, but it helps to hear from people who live in or around the neighborhood as well.

THANKS!

[SquareBetterThanAll]

Originally Posted by blondwahine

New to the area...moved here in May. Currently renting in Rootstown (by Ravenna). My husband is going to school at Akron U...we need to be closer to school as we are a family of 4 and only have 1 car...and while Rootstown is a nice LITTLE area it's just so far from everything (when you only have one car...and no immediate access to public transportation).

We found a house on Wilbur Ave (1094 Wilbur) in South Akron. It seems most places in Akron are considered "ghetto" and I've heard South Akron was one of them.

But, what I want to know is what makes it ghetto? We will be checking out the house this week...and the neighborhood, but I did a google map on the neighborhood and it seems like people take care of the exterior of their homes/yards...which says something to me.

My main concern is safety. I'm not concerned about it being a "depressed, blue-collar" neighborhood...I want to know if I should worry about break-ins, vandalism, thugs, drugs, etc. more than in other neighborhoods.

I would also like to know more about the schools (elementry) in the area...if anyone knows???

And I also would REALLY like to hear from people that actually have lived in South Akron...or have experience in the South Akron neighborhood (visiting friends/family...so they have a feel for the neighborhood).

Don't get me wrong...all comments are wanted, but it helps to hear from people who live in or around the neighborhood as well.

THANKS!

Most of the morons that post online will call anything that isn't a cookie cutter McMansion development "ghetto" so I wouldn't put much stock in that.

That being said, I live in the city and I know the area you're talking about. Being totally honest, you're getting pretty close to the bottom as far as desirability of neighborhoods. It has drug issues and I wouldn't say gunfire would be unexpected.

Not saying you can't live there and be ok, but if I had to choose between than and spending an extra $30 and being elsewhere, I would choose elsewhere if I could.

If your husband is going to Akron U, I would try to get a house closer to the University (North of I-77/I-76, don't let landlords BS you). It's really not a family oriented neighborhood but at least you will have proximity to his school and good bus routes, and its a little safer (but FYI gunfire is still a possibility). And there are people just like you trying to do the same thing.

Long story short South Akron is not a place I would park my family of 4 unless I didn't have any better options.