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Old 08-18-2010, 10:20 AM
 
29 posts, read 76,743 times
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I'm looking to buy a house in Evanston Ohio, just north of Cincinnati. I'm a single male and I was wondering if this area is too dangerous/crime ridden to buy a house in. The street is Huron Avenue, right behind the cemetery. The house looks wonderful, but I am just skeptical of the area. ANY responses would help, and thank you all in advance!!
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Old 08-18-2010, 10:47 AM
 
Location: Cincinnati
3,336 posts, read 6,910,275 times
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That area is not the best but also not the worst (though closer to the worst than the best). Would I live there? Yes, but I have a pretty thick skin and have lived in worse places. If you are committed to urban pioneering and house restoration, it could be a good opportunity. Please think about what you are looking for in a neighborhood and post back. Evanston is a neighborhood of Cincinnati, it is part of the city, not north of it.
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Old 08-18-2010, 11:08 AM
 
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Those little streets behind the cemetery look ok on Google, I've never been back there, but Hewitt Ave. which runs parallel to Huron is notoriously bad.

I think the deal breaker for me is the fact that the first crime watch camera installed in Cincinnati was put in at the three way intersection of Hewitt and Woodburn and Montgomery, not 1000 Ft (2 city blocks) from Huron Ave. What that tells me without bringing up crime stats and all is that the top priority for an expensive crime prevention item was a couple of blocks from this spot.
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Old 08-18-2010, 11:22 AM
 
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Thanks for your reply! The neighborhood does not have to be pristine or even 100% safe, but I would like to be able to walk a dog on the sidewalk without having to feel threatened in any way. Also, the neighborhood should have a low-medium history of crime and house break ins. In other words, I'm not looking for Pleasantville, USA. Since I am a bachelor, I can deal with neighborhoods that families would otherwise look over, but I wouldn't want to live in an area that is similar to the rough parts of Over the Rhine. Any more responses would be great help.
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Old 08-18-2010, 12:13 PM
 
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Anyone else have input? Any information will help tremendously in my house purchase decision!
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Old 08-18-2010, 12:58 PM
 
Location: Cincinnati
350 posts, read 875,285 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jl938206 View Post
Thanks for your reply! The neighborhood does not have to be pristine or even 100% safe, but I would like to be able to walk a dog on the sidewalk without having to feel threatened in any way. Also, the neighborhood should have a low-medium history of crime and house break ins.
You may feel threatened by deservedly threatening people.
What has been said is that it's crime history isn't low-medium, but medium-high. Some parts of OTR might be safer than some areas of Evanston.
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Old 08-18-2010, 01:20 PM
 
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Are the parts near the cemetery known to be really bad? Which areas are considered acceptable to good?
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Old 08-18-2010, 01:23 PM
 
Location: Cincinnati
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evanston might work for what you need. consider up closer to dana avenue as well, there are decent pockets. also, consider west norwood, restoration's knox hill neighborhood, and price hill among others. i think there are a lot of options in the sub 30k range in a transitional but reasonably safe urban neighborhood.
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Old 08-18-2010, 03:33 PM
 
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I hope so. I will definitely get a security system..but I just hope that the crime isn't so bad that I can't even enjoy my yard or a nice walk around by myself. I just don't understand criminals
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Old 08-19-2010, 01:20 AM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA
4,881 posts, read 13,744,360 times
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A post I responded to about Evanston a year or so ago could probably be dredged up, as could other threads which have appeared once in a while, to offer more insights.
In a nutshell, that part of town is on my radar since it's right next to gentrified areas (O'Bryonville and East Walnut Hills) as well as rapidly-rejuvenating Norwood. Xavier University is sinking huge money into doing a complete makeover of Dana Ave all the way to the corner of Montgomery Rd, and some of the urban-pioneer money finding its way into the area will inevitably drift south of Dana as well as north. But the key word here is "urban-pioneer." The first wave of this tribe has yet to hit Evanston to any noticeable degree, although a block of townhouse condos recently went up opposite Walnut Hills High School (which ironically is across the street from Walnut Hills itself.) At least during the daytime, the side streets off Duck Creek Rd look OK. The houses tend to be of the 2 1/2 story brick type, often with inviting front porches, and appear well-kept for the most part. (Wabash and Trimble Ave's are two of the nicer streets.) While the "criminal element" is definitely not absent in terms of who the residents are, much of it hails from elsewhere since word gets out quickly about where the action is. The worst trouble spot thereabouts is definitely around the "elbow" where Gilbert Ave transitions into Montgomery Rd: Dixwell Ave and St Leger Place - as well as Hewitt - are in the news for the wrong reasons not infrequently.
IMHO what could make or break any deal in Evanston, frankly, would be what skin you're in. Even if that skin is "thick," the neighborhood is 100% AA aside from the occasional half of an interracial couple. Many households there go back a long time, but others were displaced by "urban removal" and gentrification so would be suspicious of anyone with much money let alone lack of melanin. This generally gives rise to nothing worse than tension and dirty looks, but who needs that every day? Aside from that, having to confine Fido-walking routes in order to dodge dangerous corners or blocks gets old fast.
Low-priced yet amazing-looking houses are always cheap for a reason. Right now in the real-estate listings, there's a stupendous 5-bedroom pile of bricks in the middle of a big yard for sale. The asking price is unbelievable, particularly since the place is in move-in condition. The only problem with the property is that it's on Gholson Ave, which is actually one of the "good" streets in Avondale but is perilously near many that are "bad." Here again the decision to buy boils down to how much racial antipathy (if applicable) and race-neutral crime one is willing to endure.
Whether the dog in question is a foot-long yapper or an imposing breed makes a difference too. Everybody's reaction to canines varies depending on what type it is. Sketchy characters assume "cop" upon seeing a German Shepherd, and figure someone walking a Chihuahua or toy/teacup whatever to be easy prey, for instance.
What's not been brought up by the OP is the condition a home that he buys should be in. A lot of the "steals" which would be a solid investment are fixer-uppers. The money and sweat equity sunk into restoring one of these dwellings usually still leaves one ahead of the game financially. (We may hear soon from a longtime C-D'er who purchased a dilapidated building which had been converted to a rooming house, restored it to its original state as an 11-room single-family abode, and has seen its assessed value soar "beyond our wildest dreams.")
Personally, I'd forego Evanston for the time being and see what the next 5-10 years bring. Then again, I'm a "paleface" who's owned by a cat. In addition to the other Cincinnati neighborhoods already mentioned, I (perhaps I alone?) get house lust for many properties in the northern communities of Roselawn and Hartwell. Those areas are near where I grew up, and have undergone demographic transition which hasn't always been for the best but is far from fatal. The same scenario holds true for the adjoining Pleasant Ridge and Kennedy Heights neighborhoods which flank Montgomery Rd north of Norwood, as well as for the independent town of Silverton just beyond them. College Hill, Madisonville, and Northside, ditto. The proverbial horse is out of the barn where Oakley is concerned (no more sweet deals to be found there.) The surest bets yet, within the city limits, would be the east-side sector comprised of Mt Washington, Hyde Park, Mt Lookout, Columbia-Tusculum, O'Bryonville, and East Walnut Hills. All of these enclaves are largely lacking in "diversity," but can boast of long-standing safety and stability.
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