Safe neighborhoods to rent near UC (Cincinnati, Lorain: for sale, apartments, rentals)

[Timj17]

My wife and I are looking for a safe, affordable neighborhood to rent. Our price range is $600 to $800, and we're looking for 2-bedroom apartments. I'll be attending law school in the fall, so we're looking for something close to UC.
Any recommendations?

[Humlermw]

Clifton Gaslight area is exactly where you need to look.

[Timj17]

I'm assuming Clifton is the same as Clifton Gaslight. Is that right?

[jlrosen]

Gaslight Clifton is the area north of good sam hospital around ludlow ave

[Mike Dunn]

Try using craigslist. You can search by area and price range. Most of the time, they have pictures of the rentals. Here is the link.

craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums

[Timj17]

Craigslist is great. I've been using it for years (back when it was only available for a couple of cities in California).
We're considering the following neighborhoods: Clifton, Northside, Pleasant Ridge, Oakley, and Hyde Park.
We're most concerned about finding somewhere safe and quiet.
Any suggestions on other neighborhoods?
Thoughts on the neighborhoods I listed (especially information about how quiet they are)?
Thanks.

[Box2565]

Hi,

If you rent near campus I would recommend that you try to stay to the north or west of UC. Although the law school is at Clifton & Calhoun (southwest corner of campus) and there is a great deal of student housing that is nearby in the areas south of McMillan Avenue I would look elsewere (a little more rowdy than you may be searching for). Northside has some wonderful streets and homes/apartmets but there are also some less than desireable locations in that neighborhood.

For the most part I would say Pleasant Ridge and Oakley are all right. Hyde Park is very nice and in your price range you may be able to rent a couch in a garage - Hyde Park is pricey! If you have the option of spending a day to just drive through the neighborhoods that are of interest to you then fill up the car and cruise....

Good luck,

Steve

[goyguy]

Also consider Winton Place (now being "rebranded" as Spring Grove Village), 15 minutes' drive at most from the place named for Salmon Chase. It's right at the strip mall called Queen City Centre, which houses a big Kroger's. Both it and Northside are fairly unique in terms of having bus service downtown - via Clifton - which is actually comparable in quickness and convenience to driving. Visit go-metro.com for route and schedule info.
The "gaslight district" of Clifton actually lies north of Ludlow Ave on either side of Clifton Ave. Large brick apartment buildings mingle with multifamily houses on quiet streets. Prime territory for relatively inexpensive rentals thereabouts would be along Senator Place, Telford St, Brookline, Loraine, and Hosea Ave's, and Bishop St. South of Ludlow, the "nicer" blocks are along Howell and Terrace Ave's. Lowell Ave is overrun with cheesy, dated apartment houses from circa 1955 to 1965; Dixmyth Ave - merging into westbound MLK Dr - is clogged with traffic most of the time; from there south it's student slum, with some exceptions the farther west of Clifton Ave you go.
"East" Walnut Hills is a workable alternative, with the law school right along the same street which originates there (Wm Howard Taft Rd, renamed Calhoun St after crossing Vine.) It's a gentrifying area containing a mix of high-rises with river views, divided and intact Victorian houses, and older apartment buildings and multifamily dwellings. A "jewel" of the Cincinnati parks, Eden Park - with its renowned Krohn Conservatory - flanks this neighborhood to the south. Like "Mediterranean" food, with a relaxing legal hookah smoke after dessert? Check out Andy's, on Nassau St.
I have my rep in this forum for sometimes seeming to see only the best in people and in sections of the city, lol, but in spite of that I have to advise to steer clear of Corryville. A shooting and stabbing there on the same night last month, not-infrequent armed robberies, and its location with a dangerous "ghetto" part of town on three sides spell trouble waiting to happen. Some of the entertainment spots along "Short Vine," and the venerable Mecklenburg Gardens restaurant on University Ave, persist in staying in business and deserve patronage. But roll up and away with eyes wide open and car doors locked.

[Timj17]

Thanks for all the help. My wife and I were able to visit Cincinnati and found a nice place on Floral Ave. in Norwood. I think it will be a good match.
Again, thanks for all the helpful comments.