Are there any streets to avoid? (Columbus, Cincinnati: section 8, apartment complexes, rentals)

[Vision-Quest]

I could be going to University of Cincinnati with-in the next couple years and i would like to know the cautions of the area. What areas should i avoid? What areas would be desireable to get an apartment? What kind of jobs are available for college students?

Any info would be highly appreciated.

[adhzedan]

If you're going to be on the main campus (i.e. West Campus), I'd say look north. Try finding a place on Ludlow Ave or in the surrounding area (which is within walking distance of campus but also on the busline; tuition covers bus passes so you can get one for "free"). This is my favorite near-campus neighborhood.

Renting along Clifton (west border of campus) and streets that branch off it (like Riddle or Probasco) is fine too as long as you don't go too far west (the streets are rather dark at night, and the farther you walk the spookier it can be, but if you have a car it shouldn't be so bad).

Stay away from areas south and east of campus. These areas are not so bad if you're immediately next to the university (Calhoun, McMillan, and Jefferson are relatively lively streets) but are not the safest once you walk a block away from UC.

You can probably find a job in a restaurant, since there are a lot of them around UC. There's also work on campus but it's mostly reserved for work-study students.

[Humlermw]

I guess adhzedan must not have been more than a block from U.C. I live south of U.C. and just north of OTR and I am fine. My street is about half families and half students so it stays pretty quiet. I have had my car radio stolen but that could happen on Campus. I'd say if you don't plan on walking home late at night by yourself drunk you should be fine most anywhere.

[jlrosen]

if you don't leave anything out in your car [ipod, laptop, cd case] you will be fine, but that is advice for anywhere

[Vision-Quest]

Yeah I have stories to tell with stuff getting stolen. Columbus Indiana, I was in the gym and i had a locker there, I put a lock on it and everything, I remember it clearly, I come back after im done, everything is out of my locker and there was a sticker that said "Jesus Loves You." That includes my wallet which had a credit card, my SS number, etc. You get the point.

Ive been looking at Mt. Airy, is that decent place? Does it have the bus route go by the Mt. Airy apartments?

[jlrosen]

I would recomend northside over mt, airy

[goyguy]

Mt Airy was once popular with students, but no longer. The largest apartment complexes there (Little Flower, Bahama Terrace, and Hawaiian Terrace) were sought-after back in the day - not any more recently than the '80s. Now that the properties have aged and are no longer fashionable, they've been converted into Section 8 housing with all the problems that entails. Said problems are contributing to increased crime and neighborhood destabilization. So strike that area off your list. Ditto for Westwood, once a "singles paradise" but now saddled with apartment houses and complexes in a similar state of decline.

Also once popular but better avoided today is Corryville, the community immediately east of the main UC campus. The "Short Vine" entertainment district is a shadow of its former self. Shootings and other bad things occur pretty regularly, even in broad daylight. The same level of sketchiness is more the rule than the exception along the side streets running south from McMillan. I concur with all who favor the "gaslight district" along and north of Ludlow Ave; as for west of Clifton Ave and south of Ludlow, the neighborhood steadily improves the farther away from Calhoun St you get. Howell and Terrace Ave's in particular have some nice, large, older apartment buildings where you could probably find an affordable place. Steer clear of Dixmyth Ave and West MLK Drive because they're both heavily traveled and have high potential for accidents (car veering off street and into house) with the way they're narrow and twist and turn.

Northside would be my second choice also, behind the areas of Clifton mentioned, due to its relative proximity. You might also want to investigate rental possibilities in the neighborhoods of St Bernard and Hartwell. They're safe and relatively stable areas, each along Vine St, farther north of UC than would be walkable but with Metro bus service. (As has been mentioned, free Metro rides are yours with your student ID card.) On Craigslist last weekend there was an ad for a Hartwell apartment on Parkway Ave, a very pleasant and quiet side street right off Vine and an easy walk from the local Kroger's. A potential down side to Hartwell (as well as St Bernard) for you is that there's zero night life for college types, just some local taverns. That would not be an issue in either Clifton or Northside.

You might also like to consider eastern Walnut Hills - the area east of Victory Parkway and along Madison Rd. It's a gentrifying neighborhood with some cool local hangouts, anchored by beautiful Eden Park, and the bus could get you to campus in 10-15 minutes. The principal "negative" about that area is that Evanston and central Walnut Hills are high-crime communities and bump right against it.

Even with all the cautionary qualifiers, there are lots of nice possibilities out there. Best o' luck to you!

[Vision-Quest]

Alright thanks a lot for the info guys because i was starting to love Mt. Airy. Not any more! ha

[jlawrence01]

I guess the two questions that I would like to ask the OP is 1) whether a car is available and 2) how comfortable the OP is with public transportation.

With a car, I think that I would look for a place 5-8 miles off campus which opens a whole lot of neighborhoods of reasonably priced rentals. I would head further out to lower Mt. Washington, Oakley, or Norwood.

If I had to live in the Clifton area, I agree with others who recommend the Terrace Ave. area or the Ludlow area. I would expect that the rentals in those areas are pretty reasonable.

The area around Ada St. and Ravine St. around St. Monica's parish is pretty stable and a decent walk to campus.

I would avoid the area off of McMillan as a lot of the housing stock in the area has been largely rentals for years and generally are in pretty poor condition.

[Vision-Quest]

I am comfortable with public transportation but i would rather use a car. But It might be a while before i get one if I do go there.