safe neighborhoods near UC. (Fairview Park, Fairview: homes, live, dangerous)

[TomJones123]

Wolden, sorry for the losses you suffered in Gaslight. I am also happy that you have not been victimized in your new location. I've never had any problems where I live either, and there is significantly more crime in my neighborhood than in Hyde Park. But to keep things objective and beyond our own personal experiences, Hyde Park has it's share of burglaries and theft, so there are plenty of people who are experiencing the pain you did in Gaslight.

Hyde Park, Cincinnati, OH Neighborhood Crime Map, Statistics, Alerts and Reports

I dunno that too many college kids are able to afford Hyde Park. Just a thought for the OP. It's an expensive area compared to areas that are cheaper with plenty of options aimed at the college market. It would take a minute or two on the bus getting to campus as well.

To be fair. You guys seem to be having a number of burglaries of late in Hyde Park.

Also, CUF crime map from spotcrime:

http://www.spotcrime.com/oh/cincinnati/cuf

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by wrightflyer

FYI, I can vouch for the Warner St. shuttle and area around Ravine, Ada, and Warner. It is exactly like Tom said. Just don't go to the bottom of Ravine (McMicken Ave. intersection) because one, the walk up the hill would be a nightmare, two, the shuttle does not run down there, and three, the grittier crime element. I have a colleague who lives on Fairview Place and has the hands-down best view of the city. As you head north, more rentals pop up catering to the college students.

Personally, I would never live past Auburn down McMillan, but my brother (who now lives at Ada and Ravine) walked constantly between campus and Highland/McMillan and never had a problem day or night. Of course, you being a single young female, you probably would not feel as comfortable doing that walk east of campus..

That small neighborhood around Ravine, Ada, and Fairview is a pretty good neighborhood for a UC graduate student. The reason that it is a pretty safe area is that a good portion of the neighborhood consists of elderly residents who will call the police if they see ANYTHING suspicious and will call the city if there are any problems.

If I had a sister attending UC, I am not sure that I would be excited about her walking to campus at night even in that neighborhood.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

If I had a sister attending UC, I am not sure that I would be excited about her walking to campus at night even in that neighborhood.

That's why there are programs such as Nightwalk.

UC Nightwalk | To schedule a pickup, call 513-558-WALK. (513-558-9255)

[jmecklenborg]

Meanwhile, I requently see small female Chinese exchange students walking by themselves at night, apparently without incident. It's the difference between a culture that raises their kids in a climate of stranger danger and one that doesn't.

I mean, if UC is so damn dangerous, how are there a half dozen pizza places with a half dozen delivery drivers patroling the area every night without incident? I know for a fact, because I used to work there, that Addriatico's has only had two drivers robbed in the past 10 years. 360 nights x 4.5 drivers (either 4 or 5 drivers per shift) x 10 years = 2 robberies out of 16,200 shifts. So you have a 1 in 8,100 chance of getting robbed on any given night you choose to walk around UC for several hours. Since hardly anyone is walking more than a half hour, the chances are something like at least 1 in 25,000.

[TomJones123]

^^ I tried to rep you but it told me I had to spread it around first. Great point. This is not a dangerous neighborhood but for those who never come here their imaginations sure run wild.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

...I mean, if UC is so damn dangerous, how are there a half dozen pizza places with a half dozen delivery drivers patroling the area every night without incident? I know for a fact, because I used to work there, that Addriatico's has only had two drivers robbed in the past 10 years. 360 nights x 4.5 drivers (either 4 or 5 drivers per shift) x 10 years = 2 robberies out of 16,200 shifts. So you have a 1 in 8,100 chance of getting robbed on any given night you choose to walk around UC for several hours. Since hardly anyone is walking more than a half hour, the chances are something like at least 1 in 25,000.

^^ I tried to rep you too, but couldn't so...!

[wrightflyer]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

I mean, if UC is so damn dangerous, how are there a half dozen pizza places with a half dozen delivery drivers patroling the area every night without incident? I know for a fact, because I used to work there, that Addriatico's has only had two drivers robbed in the past 10 years. 360 nights x 4.5 drivers (either 4 or 5 drivers per shift) x 10 years = 2 robberies out of 16,200 shifts. So you have a 1 in 8,100 chance of getting robbed on any given night you choose to walk around UC for several hours. Since hardly anyone is walking more than a half hour, the chances are something like at least 1 in 25,000.

Add in the number of students living on campus, and those odds decrease at an even greater rate.

Granted, there are probably more robberies of other pizza places' drivers, but even then, the odds are low. To the OP: Just be smart about what you do, how you do it, and who you do it with.

[beanna1219]

What is the small neighborhood around Ravine, Ada, and Fairview called? Thanks a lot everyone for their posts!

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by beanna1219

What is the small neighborhood around Ravine, Ada, and Fairview called? Thanks a lot everyone for their posts!

That's in Fairview.

[goyguy]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

This is not a dangerous neighborhood but for those who never come here their imaginations sure run wild.

...which is true for 'most any part of the city.
Kinda surprised no one's brought up Norwood yet, since it lies between UC and Hyde Park. Although that city went downhill from the '60s into this century (housing stock deteriorated as the average income level of residents sank) it's been rebounding pretty nicely. XU is redeveloping a sizable chunk of territory along Norwood's southern boundary line (west of Montgomery Rd, north of Dana Ave and crossing Cleneay.) Ongoing issues of real/perceived high crime in North Avondale and Evanston, along with escalating rental/purchase costs in Oakley and Hyde Park, are causing no small number of pairs of eyes to look Norwood-ward. There are a great many two-family houses and small (8 units or fewer) apartment buildings which have been made over or are still in good repair. You could probably find numerous possibilities on craigslist or by simply doing a drive-through along side streets off Montgomery. Here's where Metro comes in: The 51 bus ("Center of Cincinnati" big-box store collection in Oakley to the Fairview Loop) crosses Norwood by way of Dana > Montgomery > Smith Rd > Edwards Rd. If the amount of shade is any indication, the streets east of Montgomery and running off Smith in either direction are "nicer" because more and older trees line them than is so west of Montgomery. For groceries you'd have a big Kroger store in the Surrey Square plaza at Montgomery & Smith. There's also a new Marshall's in that strip mall. For "higher end" shopping - including food - you'd be close by the Rookwood shopping center (Edwards & Madison Rd's) as well as Hyde Park Square (Edwards and Erie Ave.)
Although all of Clifton Gaslight is visually appealing, the farther east of Clifton Ave you go the less relatively safe it gets. Streets like Ruther Ave and Bishop appear nice but are perilously close to Vine St. The large apartment buildings of varying vintage and quality along Jefferson, Brookline, Hosea, and Loraine would be as much worth a look, though, as their counterparts west of Clifton Ave. Within Clifton about the only section best steered clear of entirely is along West MLK and then north to Lowell Ave and the lower end of Morrison. The buildings have gotten shabby with age and the high transiency rate draws perpetrators of property crime like moths to a porch light.
Then of course there's always Northside.
I've never heard "Vine Hill" given as a community name for the stretch of Vine St between the top of the hill at Calhoun/Taft and the base in OTR where Clifton Ave crosses. Commonly the east side is considered part of Mt Auburn while the west falls under CUF. No matter - it's definitely a mess from the bottom of the hill all the way to where Hollister St crosses: lots of empty, boarded up, vandalized buildings + vacant lots + short glass-strewn alleys. Being the "frontier" that it is, decades will probably pass before all the revitalization sweeping the neighborhoods to the south and west (and even Corryville) takes hold along there.
Another "hidden gem" neighborhood (and then I'm done this time ) is St Bernard. It's another city unto itself surrounded by Cincinnati, with decent Metro service - the 78 bus along Vine St & Ross Ave - and a kind of stuck-in-time charm. (Dairy Queen flocked by bike-riding kids, independent bakery, Chili Time, etc.) Much like a lot of other localities, there's a good quantity of multi-family houses and small apartment buildings as well as a few complexes which were trendy in the '60s and '70s but now look cheesy. Grocery shopping's close at hand at the "urban removal" strip malls flanking Vine at Ross. And if you're serious about going car-less, one of the larger cab companies in the area has its offices and taxi storage on Ross - call to be taken someplace or picked up and your ride might be rolling up before your phone's back in your purse.