From Nashville to UC (Cincinnati, Findlay: affordable apartments, renter, crime)

[skydivinryan]

Hey people-

I'm heading back to the great Midwest to get some more education.. I'm going to be moving to Cincy to go to UC for grad school. I know very little about Cincinnati, except that the school is great for what I'm trying to do. I spent about 18 hours total in the city when I went up for my interview, and none of that was leisure time, unfortunately.

What I really need is to find a place to live. I have been told that Hyde Park, Mt Lookout, or Oakley would be good neighborhoods to live in, but I do not know why. The person who told me that didn't substantiate that opinion with any reasons. So what do you all think? I've done some reading on here that recommended "Gaslight" Clifton... I'm not sure what that even means. I'd like to find a neighborhood close to University medical center, as that's where I'll be nearly every day. I have heard that over the rhine has gotten nicer over the years, and turned into a neat place to be.. However, I was also told it's a bit on the rough side. So, where can I live that would offer 1) "Relative" safety 2) A manageable (even walkable?) commute to the hospital/school 3) A decent mix of walkable attractions (bars, restuarants, parks, etc).

I'm interested to hear opinions.. I need to get started researching, because I'll be moving before I know it.

Ryan

[progmac]

I think it makes the most sense to stick the neighborhoods around campus. Gaslight clifton just means anything along the relatively short Ludlow avenue. It is a nice area. Also spend time exploring south of the medical campus. There are some newer apartment complex (stetson square) full of young professionals and students. Personally, I would live in Corryville south of Martin Luther King Drive, but you have to be comfortable with urban neighborhoods to live there.

Oakley, hyde park, etc, are nice but I just don't see it worth the trade-off in terms of commuting time, especially if you are a student keeping regularly irregular hours. If you like the "feel" of hyde park, then Gaslight Clifton area will be just as good but closer.

[skydivinryan]

Cool man, thanks for the info. Yes, I am comfortable living in an "urban" neighborhood. I live in downtown Nashville right now. Crime is everywhere in the US, you just have to take steps to make yourself as "safe" as you can. Maybe info about me would be appropriate to help people give me advice-- I am a 24 year old single man. I've grown up in Nashville, but lived in Indiana for four years during college. I enjoy live music, bars, general nightlife, and having the ability to walk around to obtain everyday life items, rather than driving.

[progmac]

the three walkable business districts in the area are in gaslight clifton along ludlow, corryville along vine south of university (with other businesses scattered around), and my favorite of the three business disctricts is along w mcmillan (east of clifton, west of jefferson).

kroger in corryville is the major grocery store in the area, with smaller markets harder to come by than they should be, although carryouts abound.

i'm not sure how nashville is, but cincinnati is somewhat unique i have found in its locals' referring to every location in town by neighborhood and locals always assume the listener knows where that neighborhood is (but happily answer "where is that?" if asked). the whole city is quite neighborhood centric and there are a lot (too many?) of neighborhoods, each with its own identity, not to mention community council and political pull.

curiously, the area south of the main campus (around mcmillan) bucks the trend above and is casually and wrongly referred to as Clifton but is actually the three micro-neighborhoods of Clifton Heights, University Heights, and Fairview, combined as the one 'recognized' neighborhood of "CUF."

just because it is worth reviewing: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._neighborhoods

the one area around the medical campus that most students avoid, for better or worse, it north and east towards the Avondale neighborhood.

[Love-Cinci]

Progmac covered it pretty well. I live in Clifton Heights, which is part of CUF, and love it. Personally, I give my plug for CUF given that you are gonna go to UC. CUF puts you in walking distance to the campus and the McMillan business district and also Over the Rhine. I walk to Findlay market and other places in the neighborhood all the time, although you will need to learn the area a little first. But either way for entertainment I spend all my time downtown, in OTR, McMillian business district, Gaslight Clifton.

Here is a link for apts.

UNIQUE CAMPUS RENTALS

By the way, the downside for some with CUF is college parties. Some areas around here are serious party areas so if that is a concern you may want to make a point to get around a little on Friday or Saturday nights to make sure that seeming quiet little street is really quiet.

Best of luck.

[jon1987]

Welcome to UC! I'm a junior IN UG there.

[cincykc]

The Ludlow/Gaslight area of Clifton is definitely recommended if you like to walk to campus and basically everything else you need. I would stick to that area though because some parts of Clifton are rough.

During my first three years of school at UC, I used to live downtown in the CBD on 4th St. and I had a good experience down there. You can find very affordable apartments that have unique architecture and proximity to bars, restaurants, and Findlay market (about a 15 minute walk). I would take a 5 minute walk to the bus stop and a 10 minute bus ride to get to school, which isn't bad. I would shy away from OTR though. It is getting better, but many of my friends live there and I wouldn't recommend it. Let's just say that in addition to punk drug dealing teens and pesky vagrants, you will also have to deal with a plethora of corrupt police officers. My experience downtown featured more problems with corrupt law enforcement than anything else.

I now live in Mt. Lookout and I would agree with other posters, that it isn't worth the commute time compared to Ludlow or Downtown if you are going to be a full-time student. I'm currently finishing up part-time so it isn't much of a hassle for me.

Make sure to find a reputable renter in the Clifton area because there are numerous scumbags. I'm not trying to scare you off, just trying to make sure you are aware.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by cincykc

...I would shy away from OTR though. It is getting better, but many of my friends live there and I wouldn't recommend it. Let's just say that in addition to punk drug dealing teens and pesky vagrants, you will also have to deal with a plethora of corrupt police officers. My experience downtown featured more problems with corrupt law enforcement than anything else...

Interesting! Even though it's veering off the topic of the thread, would you care to elaborate?

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

Interesting! Even though it's veering off the topic of the thread, would you care to elaborate?

I agree, what do you have to offer to back up these accusations? Making such inflamatory statements either needs some specifics or go crawl back into your hole.

[Love-Cinci]

I'd love to hear dude tell us some proof about all the corrupt police officers he has personally dealt with, you know, let's hear the proof.