NEED HELP finding affordable, SAFE areas around Columbus (Upper Arlington, Dublin: wood floors, apartment complexes)

[tonsoffunsy]

I have tried Best Places dot net and I dont think their stats are very accurate a lot of times. We are looking for a nice place around Columbus that is SAFE and not rowdy. We dont want to live by the college. We are looking for more of a small town feel but close to shopping and such. I have been reading about some apartments in DUBLIN (which seemed like such a cute area) but people were talking about how their cars were getting broken into and such.
I realize there is crime everywhere, but if I can not put ourselves into an area like that if I dont have to, that would be great.
Any advice. I have looked at some of the areas around Columbus, but not finding much need some locals advice.
Also looking for some nice areas to rent in and wondering what the cost of a nice two bedroom would be and wonder if water/garbage is something that is paid for usually by the landlord or by the renter. Where I am (florida) it is paid by the renter and I am just not used to that. Makes for extremely high rent (an extra 90/month!!)
Thanks all in advance!

[GoingMobile]

So you consider $90 per month for water/sewer/trash to be excessive? That's pretty reasonable for a household in many midwestern cities.

You can pay or the landlord can pay, but somehow the bill has to be paid. Consider it part of the overall rent package.

As far as theft, you're always going to have higher crime rates in rental vs owned property areas. That said, if you're renting in an area away from all the human traffic (eg malls, downtowns, college campuses) and are surrounded by private homes (eg boring 'burbs) you're going to see less crime.

Dublin is a pretty nice, safe area overall. Its one of Columbus' better neighborhoods. If Dublin scares you perhaps New Albany or some other socially- "gated" community?

[Torn2pieces]

I reside in Grove City - Nice area, plenty of shopping. Afforable living.

I pay my water bill every 3 months and so far it's averaging around 41.00 a month. Family of 4 here.

Good Luck -

[Fired Up]

Dublin is a nice area. So is Hilliard. They both have great schools too.

[streetcreed]

Clintonville and Beechwold and NW columbus are very safe areas, of columbus.

[mitmax]

I'm new to this forum, so I've spent time reading all of the queries and replies. If you do the same, I think your question will be well answered. There have been many similar requests, with many thoughtful answers, full of info. One question you'll need to decide is which side of Columbus will be the most convenient for living and getting to work. Columbus is very congested at rush hour and there has been - and probably will be for a long while - much road construction, making the tie-ups even worse. But no matter which side will be best for you, all directions offer either small towns or Columbus neighborhoods that feel like small towns. Read those replies - it's all there! Good wishes in finding what you want. BTW, most landlords in this area charge for water, gas, and electric. Trash pickup in the apartment complexes "comes with the home" - i.e. is already figured in the rent.

[ivykikoe]

As a few people have already stated, crime is everywhere. One thing that is for sure in this city - and I'm sure many others - the higher your housing bill (mortgage or rent), the better the police force is and the lower the crime. Therefore, areas like Dublin where property taxes are high, have less crime than areas like East Columbus with fairly low property taxes and fairly high crime. So, if you don't wan to deal with crime, you are going to have to pay higher rent or mortgage bills.

As far as utilities go, I was a landlord for a while and the only thing I paid was water and sewage. In the city, that ran about $55 a month. I think most individual landlords will have the same arrangement with utilities for their tenants, but there are a lot of rental communities where all of your utilities are included in your rent. Again, you'll see that in your monthly rent price.

Hope this helps.

[YoMikey617]

Clintonville north of Broadway is always a safe bet. Feels like a small town, but you're in the dead center of Northern Columbus. Crime is everywhere, but Clintonville is well protected on both sides by I-71 and 315.

Going northward from Clintonville, Beechwold just north of Clintonville, and then Worthington south of I-270 is a great area. If you stay between I-71 and 315 you're generally in good hands. Worthington has it's own school district btw and it's way better than Columbus. There are a few sketchy streets here and there between Clintonville and Worthington, but you'll pick up on it when you see it.

You might have to drive up and down some of the side streets to spot the "for rent" signs since many of the historic apartments in Clintonville are under small time landlord ownership. CraigsList is always a good website to check out.

[YoMikey617]

Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington are next door to each other, both are very safe (with Arlington being safer of the two), and both have a GREAT stock of older apartments. Older as in wood floors, moldings, big rooms, etc. Older as in character. Many of the older brick townhouses in Grandview, Arlington and Clintonville have single car garages behind them and w/d hookups. Here's a typical Grandview apt.

1695 Northwest (broken link)

The retail and restaurant mix in Grandview and Upper Arlington is probably the best in town. Not overblown with crowded malls and strip centers, but good, small and generally trendy and affluent.

[YoMikey617]

Dublin is a mixed bag. Downtown Dublin (the old town of Dublin) is really nice, and some of the most upscale housing developments in town are in Dublin Schools.

I think the key is to avoid the large apartment complexes anywhere in Columbus. Many of those complexes might appear newish or 10-20 years old, but many are also run down "suburbaghetto" and if you don't have sketchy neighbors you'll find yourself in a complex full of college kids. If the large complexes are in Columbus Public Schools then definitely be skeptical of your surroundings. Many of the endless strip mall miles in suburban Columbus were annexed by the City of Columbus and many of those large suburbaghetto complexes are part of the inner city Columbus district.