Westwood - honest opinions needed! (Cincinnati, Cheviot: low income, section 8, apartments)

[angel2animals]

I am relocating in about 2 weeks and after much searching I finally found a beautiful house in Westwood just off Montana Ave and Glenmore Ave. I have heard so many mixed reviews of the area, but the home is just perfect for me, and I just love the architecture of the houses in the westwood area. After calling to set up utilities today, I received some negative comments from customer service reps asking why I would move to Westwood when it is so bad or crazy over there. The last person that commented really scared me and now I am wondering if I have made a bad choice. Searching for a place was stressful enough and now I am losing sleep wondering if I am going to be safe as a single woman in this neighborhood. Is it even safe to walk my dog here? As you can see, she really rattled me.

[angel2animals]

By the way, I was also told that Westwood has a coyote problem??? Coyotes running lose that attack dogs in their yards? Any truth to this?

[BFrasier]

Have you had any problems since you lived there? I am a realtor and I have relatives that live in Westwood and I have sold several homes there and they all love it.Very friendly and family oriented. All neighborhoods and areas have problem spots. If you have lived there and have had no problems don't worry about what others think.

[The Don]

I know exactly the area you are talking about; I think it is an OK area - there are better areas and certainly less safe areas.

The problem with Westwood in general is the trend lines - the area is slowly slipping into crime chaos. A few blocks away, at the corner of Harrison and Montana has been to locus of a number of serious crimes in recent times. Whether the situation migrates to your section of Westwood is uncertain.

I know what you mean about the architecture of the area - it is great, and there are even more spectactular examples of style in other places in Westwood.

The problem lies within city leadership. For some reason, years ago it was agreed that Western Hills should be sacrificed and turned into a low income ghetto. Crime followed.

Getting back to your situation, if you are renting the house, don't dispare. Observe the usual common sense rules of safety. If you want to take an espcially long stroll with your pooch, walk toward Cheviot (St. Martins church on Glenmore). Then when you lease is up, you can re-evaluate the situation.

Best of Luck, and welcome to your new digs.

[jlrosen]

No one decided to sacrifice anywhere, what happened was the laurel homes housing projects were demolished and the residents were given section 8 vouchers. If anyone is to blame it is the landlords who don't have proper upkeep on their properties.

[The Don]

Originally Posted by jlrosen

No one decided to sacrifice anywhere, what happened was the laurel homes housing projects were demolished and the residents were given section 8 vouchers. If anyone is to blame it is the landlords who don't have proper upkeep on their properties.

I guess I was talking more about English woods, the Fay Apartments, and those obnoxious complexes on Montana Ave. Queen City Ave and Harrison Rd/Pike. Why were these foisted on Western Hills? Folk lore says that they were built at the behest of investors located on the east side (Amberly Village types) - See my rant on at-large representation.

[Ohiogirl81]

That is a really nice area. I have several friends who live in the immediate neighborhood, and they love it.

Westwood is a huge neighborhood with a number of facets, or pockets if you will. Just like anywhere else in Cincinnati, walk five blocks in any direction and the face of the neighborhood changes -- you're in a different pocket.

Use common sense and you'll be fine. Get out and walk, get to know your neighbors, spend time on your front porch. That's the best deterrent to crime there is.

Enjoy your new neighborhood.

[YoMikey617]

Originally Posted by angel2animals

I am relocating in about 2 weeks and after much searching I finally found a beautiful house in Westwood just off Montana Ave and Glenmore Ave. I have heard so many mixed reviews of the area, but the home is just perfect for me, and I just love the architecture of the houses in the westwood area. After calling to set up utilities today, I received some negative comments from customer service reps asking why I would move to Westwood when it is so bad or crazy over there. The last person that commented really scared me and now I am wondering if I have made a bad choice. Searching for a place was stressful enough and now I am losing sleep wondering if I am going to be safe as a single woman in this neighborhood. Is it even safe to walk my dog here? As you can see, she really rattled me.

I lived in Westwood for a month when I first moved to Cincinnati...

Here's the scoop on Westwood as I know it.

Glenmore and Montana should be OK as far as safety goes. I do recall seeing LL Beanish looking people walking their dogs north of Werk Rd.
I'm not 100% sure about your street, but generally the area around the Westwood Town Hall is the nicest area of Westwood. The really bad area of Westwood is the Harrison Ave corridor south of Werk Rd, but then it's fairly decent as you go north of Werk Rd.

Just know that Westwood in general is in serious decline (1960's style white flight) and there are many desperate homesellers in the area praying to sell their houses and naive outta towners are prime targets. The foreclosure crises is hitting Westwood hard, and the many older apartment buildings are going Section 8. The housing boom displaced Cincinnati's inner city poor, and many parts of the West Side are becoming the new OTR.

Are you buying or renting???

[YoMikey617]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

That is a really nice area. I have several friends who live in the immediate neighborhood, and they love it.

Westwood is a huge neighborhood with a number of facets, or pockets if you will. Just like anywhere else in Cincinnati, walk five blocks in any direction and the face of the neighborhood changes -- you're in a different pocket.

Use common sense and you'll be fine. Get out and walk, get to know your neighbors, spend time on your front porch. That's the best deterrent to crime there is.

Enjoy your new neighborhood.

I totally agree as far as pockets of good / bad go in Cincinnati. The whole city is a checkerboard of wealth and poverty living next door to each other. A few blocks in Cincinnati can make a world of difference.

If you're really concerned about security, get a Brinks system. ...or just buy a Brinks yard sign on Ebay and stick it in the ground out front.

[YoMikey617]

The coyotes are probably west of Harrison Ave. It gets really woodsy over there. I can't imagine coyotes running around by Western Hills Mall.