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My husband and I have lived in buffalo for almost 6 years, the first 4 we spent on linwood, which was a mixed experiences. we had our cars broken into 3 times during that time. Then moved to saint james and had our son who is 18 months now. Saint James place is lovely, but still had car broken into once and unfortunately experienced a home invasion So I am more than aware that even in nice areas in buffalo it's a reality of city living being at risk for these things more so the suburbs. We are not turned off enough that we want to move to the suburbs and want to purchase a home preferably in the city. I'm not 100% on what streets our nice in the rest of the elmwood village. Price range is variable I note on zillow. We're proabaly looking for 180-220k. Single or double. Ashland seems questionable. What about richmond? Seems slightly iffy but is it getting worse or better? How about streets between elmwood and richmond? Seems like between elmwood and delware and above west utica and forest is the best bet but pricier. Also quite interested in nice areas in north buffalo but have no ideas where these are! Also school district will be important I imagine.
Any help/input/argument for a neighborhood over another would be really appreciated!!
Maybe look in the North Park, North Delaware and Starin Central areas of North Buffalo. If you can find something in Parkside, that might be the best place to look.
I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've had with crime. As far as safety, I don't think I would say certain parts of Elmwood Village are nicer than others. Certainly some streets have grander homes, more well kept properties, but I believe crime is pretty consistent. Car break-ins are going to happen everywhere in the city. Best thing you can do is not leave anything in sight (even an empty bag, or a wire of some kind). That'll cut down on car break-ins some (4 times in 6 years seems unusually unlucky) but of course won't guarantee it won't happen. A couple years back, my sister had a car that was "easy" to break into, so several times a week she would come down to find her doors unlocked and her things rummaged through. And I've had my share of smashed in windows (less of a share than you, though!).
I'd have no qualms about buying on Ashland, Norwood or Richmond. But since you have a child that'll be starting school in a few years, I would consider school districts or the price of private schools before I thought about where to buy.
Depends how much you want to pay, and what type of house. I like the area North of Amherst and South of Taunton between Colvin and Main Street. Nearly all have driveways and garages, which will keep your cars safer. Closer to Hertel you will get more drunken visitors passing thru, like on Elmwood, but there is a tremendous variety of housing types and sizes in this area. My favorite houses are in the area around Voorhees, Huntington and Woodbridge. The closer you get to Taunton and Colvin, the cheaper the houses get.
North of Taunton is not bad, but to me it is too suburban. West of Colvin (actually starting around Sterling) there are more doubles, and many good streets, but the lots are smaller and the majority of homes are not as interesting, but there are some really good looking blocks in that area also. A couple of my favorite houses are on Crestwood near Hertel.
I have friends who recently purchased a double on Richmond. That street can go either way. They are across from the high school (name escapes me) and its telling that every day when school lets out, there are no less than two police patrol cars just outside the school. I've seen several arrests of students, most likely drugs, since the police are already aware something is up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by leahpa07
My husband and I have lived in buffalo for almost 6 years, the first 4 we spent on linwood, which was a mixed experiences. we had our cars broken into 3 times during that time. Then moved to saint james and had our son who is 18 months now. Saint James place is lovely, but still had car broken into once and unfortunately experienced a home invasion So I am more than aware that even in nice areas in buffalo it's a reality of city living being at risk for these things more so the suburbs. We are not turned off enough that we want to move to the suburbs and want to purchase a home preferably in the city. I'm not 100% on what streets our nice in the rest of the elmwood village. Price range is variable I note on zillow. We're proabaly looking for 180-220k. Single or double. Ashland seems questionable. What about richmond? Seems slightly iffy but is it getting worse or better? How about streets between elmwood and richmond? Seems like between elmwood and delware and above west utica and forest is the best bet but pricier. Also quite interested in nice areas in north buffalo but have no ideas where these are! Also school district will be important I imagine.
Any help/input/argument for a neighborhood over another would be really appreciated!!
I have friends who recently purchased a double on Richmond. That street can go either way. They are across from the high school (name escapes me) and its telling that every day when school lets out, there are no less than two police patrol cars just outside the school. I've seen several arrests of students, most likely drugs, since the police are already aware something is up.
Do you mean Lafayette High School? Or maybe Grover Cleveland? I've also seen kids causing trouble before and after school at Lafayette and Grover but neither of them is actually on Richmond, they're west of it. I would say Richmond is solid for its entire length. The west side (which is now defined as areas west of Richmond) is tougher to recommend for a young family concerned about safety issues.
I'd always think twice before living near a high school in the city. It's not exactly pleasant to see kids beating each other up after school every day, and that's what goes on at a lot of these schools. Richmond Ave stays quiet from my experience, though.
Don't quote me, but I believe it's Lafayette, but one side of the school is definitely on Richmond, right across from their front door. The rest of Richmond is ok, but yes, the West Side seems to be declining rapidly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mycrows
Do you mean Lafayette High School? Or maybe Grover Cleveland? I've also seen kids causing trouble before and after school at Lafayette and Grover but neither of them is actually on Richmond, they're west of it. I would say Richmond is solid for its entire length. The west side (which is now defined as areas west of Richmond) is tougher to recommend for a young family concerned about safety issues.
I'd always think twice before living near a high school in the city. It's not exactly pleasant to see kids beating each other up after school every day, and that's what goes on at a lot of these schools. Richmond Ave stays quiet from my experience, though.
Don't quote me, but I believe it's Lafayette, but one side of the school is definitely on Richmond, right across from their front door. The rest of Richmond is ok, but yes, the West Side seems to be declining rapidly.
Oh, on the contrary, I think the west side is actually on its way up. It's not as nice as it was when I was a kid, but it's definitely nicer than 5-10 years ago. If your friends actually did buy a two flat near Lafayette HS, I'd say they probably made a good investment (depending what they paid, of course) since I suspect there'll be even more speculation in real estate west of Richmond in the future. The recent commercial development on Grant St seems premature, but I think the residential investments west of Richmond we've seen in the last five years are the real thing. Richmond itself used to be considerably more grimy.
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So I am more than aware that even in nice areas in buffalo it's a reality of city living being at risk for these things more so the suburbs. We are not turned off enough that we want to move to the suburbs and want to purchase a home preferably in the city. I'm not 100% on what streets our nice in the rest of the elmwood village. Price range is variable I note on zillow. We're proabaly looking for 180-220k. Single or double. Ashland seems questionable. What about richmond? Seems slightly iffy but is it getting worse or better? How about streets between elmwood and richmond? Seems like between elmwood and delware and above west utica and forest is the best bet but pricier. Also quite interested in nice areas in north buffalo but have no ideas where these are! Also school district will be important I imagine.
