ALbany "bad" neighborhoods (New York, Rochester: low income, fit in, crime rate)

[gdowler]

Please explain to me why these "bad" neighborhoods in albany are so "bad".
I'm just unsure of the reasons for it described as such. Or why people are saying "stay out of Arbor Hill". I am thinking of relocating to Albany from Ridgewood, Queens (on the border of Bushwick, Brooklyn). My husband and I are looking for a somewhat cultured city with nightlife, parks, and the ability to walk everywhere (work, grocery, gym). We are not lookig for any cookie cutter "perfect"neighborhood. Keep in mind...we live in a "bad" neighborhood, the thing is I feel safe walking around at night. My husband and I are both caucasion, but we feel very embraced in the neighborhood we live in, even though it is mostly mixed cultures. Yeah, there are the guys who sit on the stoop all the day, and you know they have to be selling drugs; but we feel safe with them there. We have been here for 2 years and have not had one bad experience. Does anyone know how the neighborhoods in Albany compare? We are looking for a 2 family home in the $150,000 range. Thanks a bunch!

[dougie_fresh]

Originally Posted by Hustla718

Wrong forum but do your research. More of Albany is considered high crime/high poverty neighborhoods compared to NYC. You don't want to end up back on the Bushwick border, Ridgewood Queens. Only in a different city.

For 150k you could probably live in a decent neighborhood up in Albany.

Considering the vast areas of poverty in NYC I don't see how you can make this statement. I went to school in Albany and lived in lower Arbor Hill (the so-called bad neighborhood) and it was fine. Yes, there are pockets of bad areas in Albany but overall it is not a crime-ridden city. In fact, there has only been one homicide in all of 2007 so far.

[NYREIA]

I think the area you're going to want to be in is what's called Center Square. Arbor hill, although being revitalized in sections is a very low income neighborhood as is the south end.

Center Square is more of what you're describing.

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[Hustla718]

Originally Posted by dougie_fresh

Considering the vast areas of poverty in NYC I don't see how you can make this statement. I went to school in Albany and lived in lower Arbor Hill (the so-called bad neighborhood) and it was fine. Yes, there are pockets of bad areas in Albany but overall it is not a crime-ridden city. In fact, there has only been one homicide in all of 2007 so far.

You are correct, my mistake. For some reason I was thinking Rochester, NY.

However dougie fresh is right.

But yes, you do want to research becuase you do not want to end up in the highest crime section of Albany. Which is no better or worse then the highest crime area anywhere else.

If possible a mod can delete my first post on this thread.

[StPete2Charlotte]

Originally Posted by dougie_fresh

Considering the vast areas of poverty in NYC I don't see how you can make this statement. I went to school in Albany and lived in lower Arbor Hill (the so-called bad neighborhood) and it was fine. Yes, there are pockets of bad areas in Albany but overall it is not a crime-ridden city. In fact, there has only been one homicide in all of 2007 so far.

One Homocide!
Are you serious?
Theres already been 2 in my NEIGHBORHOOD alone this year and where I live isn't considered bad at all for Charlotte.

Sounds like there ghettos are pretty dang nice.

[garmin239]

Originally Posted by Hustla718

You are correct, my mistake. For some reason I was thinking Rochester, NY.

However dougie fresh is right.

But yes, you do want to research becuase you do not want to end up in the highest crime section of Albany. Which is no better or worse then the highest crime area anywhere else.

If possible a mod can delete my first post on this thread.

Rochester is fine too. It has its pockets of bad neighborhoods just like any other city but its not a crime ridden city overall. Just stay away from a handful of neighborhoods and you are fine. Any city any person moves to will have its bad and good areas.

[Hustla718]

Originally Posted by StPete2Charlotte

One Homocide!
Are you serious?
Theres already been 2 in my NEIGHBORHOOD alone this year and where I live isn't considered bad at all for Charlotte.

Sounds like there ghettos are pretty dang nice.

The ghetto part of Albany Rochester is pretty small compared to other cities. however homicides are not what someone should not be most concerned about. Avoid disputes and most people won't have a reason to kill you. The biggest violent threat is robbery and random assualts. Both of those can lead to homicide or injury and are very common in the worst areas of Albany.

Originally Posted by garmin239

Rochester is fine too. It has its pockets of bad neighborhoods just like any other city but its not a crime ridden city overall. Just stay away from a handful of neighborhoods and you are fine. Any city any person moves to will have its bad and good areas.

Rochester has more high crime pockets then cities with lower crime rates. A higher percentage of the city population has crime.

It terms of percentages, more of Rochester's population lives in High Crime areas then NYC for example.

There are good places to live, but you have less options then NYC or Albany.

[Logan11]

If you take a look at people who are victims of crime in Albany's bad areas they tend to fit into certain obvious categories such as people involved in the drug trade/users, people involved in domestic disputes/abusive relationships, general societal /poverty issues that seem to draw neighborhood people into the criminal element. If you are someone from outside that community and traverse it during the daytime etc...you are probably going to be fine.

People around Albany have no conception of what a real hard core ghetto (high crime area) is like. They think Arbor Hill and the South End are so bad. Well they aren't my idea of a nice area by any means, but it just pales compared to some bigger cities...try the north end of Philly sometime or East New York Brooklyn, etc. Albany has small enclaves that qualify as high crime areas...

The person from Queens should check out Albany in person. I go to the courthouse in Jamaica, Queens semi regularly for business reasons and I see areas off Jamaica Blvd etc. that dwarf all of the bad areas in Albany put together.

[garmin239]

Originally Posted by Hustla718

The ghetto part of Albany Rochester is pretty small compared to other cities. however homicides are not what someone should not be most concerned about. Avoid disputes and most people won't have a reason to kill you. The biggest violent threat is robbery and random assualts. Both of those can lead to homicide or injury and are very common in the worst areas of Albany.



Rochester has more high crime pockets then cities with lower crime rates. A higher percentage of the city population has crime.

It terms of percentages, more of Rochester's population lives in High Crime areas then NYC for example.

There are good places to live, but you have less options then NYC or Albany.

You are comparing apples to oranges. Albany is a much much smaller city than Roch and NYC is a much much larger city than Roch. There are plenty of options for safe neighborhoods in Roch. The bad neighborhoods are limited to a couple pockets in the Northeast part, couple in the Northwest part and a couple in the Southwest area. Most of the city is fine. It has higher crime rates than NYC but that doesn't make it a warzone. Most of the city is fine.

[shibainu]

Rochester has a high crime rate in the north side of the city but the south side is not as bad. The area called arbor hill is about 2 to 3 miles away from Loudonville(12211) which is one of the wealthier neighborhood/ towns in Albany. Arbor hill probably has majority of the crime in Albany but the murder rate is not as bad a mid size city. I think second ave area (Delaware ave) and central ave near lark st were a little rough but it is not scary.
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