Bexley? (Columbus, Hamilton, Upper Arlington: movers, crime, co-op)

[where_to_move]

although I love Bexley, I would never buy a house there.
Due to the very close & very dangerous crime surrounding Bexley 360 degrees.
It is unfortunate that Whitehall & the surrounding portions of COlumbus have become so high in crime...making it tooo scary to live in Bexley. In my opinion. Others feel fine there. I personally like areas further out...so I don't have to deal with the crime.
i think New Albany is getting too expensive for its britches...come on,..why would you buy an $800k home in COLUMBUS!>????beats me, you can buy $800k home in FL or CA, where you have great weather. I feel if you are going to live in the midwest, you need to take advantage of the cheaper home prices & if you don't you may as well live somewhere with wonderful weather if you are going to pay that kind of money...
so with my own opinion, for what it is worth.
In columbus area---i prefer Hililard, Reynoldsburg, Gahanna.

[teadkin]

Well, I started earlier today feeling nervous about having just bought a home in Bexley and quite honestly I was being a big sour-puss trying to find good in the community. Amazingly, once I started reading how everyone would never choose to live there because of the crime got me thinking about how much I really did fall in love with the neighborhood and (though it is small) the beautiful 80 yr. old home we just purchased. There was something so very noticeable by the people who didn't like Bexley. Not a single one claimed to live there. How can they judge a community if they have never lived there. It is easy to bad-mouth a place that you have never experienced all of the wonderful things it has to offer and possibly felt the security that the community offers to those who actually live there. Maybe there isn't a feeling at all of being unsafe, but unless you have lived there, you wouldn't know. I have heard from plenty of people outside of Bexley that it is a very desirable place to live. Green seems to be a very unbecoming skintone for most people, including those who wrote the poor reviews in this thread. We may have the bad neighborhoods surrounding us, but I highly doubt the crime would be as bad as the reviews say and actually still keep people living there in quite expensive homes. Wouldn't people have left and moved elsewhere? Why is it that homes can sell in a matter of a couple of weeks in Bexley? It wouldn't be filled with crime and be so desirable at the same time...would it? Food for thought. But thank-you very much to those of you that were honest about Bexley (and other areas) without just trashing the idea of living there. I would take Bexley over Gahanna, New Albany, Westerville, Worthington, Dublin and even Upper Arlington any day of the week. And no, I haven't lived in any of the communities...I just believe that Bexley is going to be well-worth calling "home".

[streetcreed]

Yes i second my favorite family neighborhood in Columbus Clintonville and Beechwold, is close to downtown highways and has many families
Bexley is a nice suburb. Do take the talk of Bexley being surrounded by crime with a grain of salt. The only extreme high crime area is east of Bexley. Not in Bexley, and that area has some of the highest increasing property values and levels of gentrification, Olde Town East neighborhood.
Also, if i do live in the Midwest, me personally, I like planned older nice neighborhoods. I live in the central downtown area, it is expensive around here in parts, but love it. The Short North, German Village, Italian Village, and Victorian Village all offer a great clean urban lifestyle with quaint renovated houses and parks, walking distance restaurants, great architecture, coffe shops, entertainments, theaters, and nice neighbors.

I could personally never imagine why I would live in a sprawling suburb, Gahanna etc., where you must drive to do everything and culture is limited to chains or maybe a movie. I know why this type of area does fit some, I was born in Worthington, a more traditional nice yet older suburb and if i had to live in a Columbus suburb; Worthington, Bexley or Grandview Heights would be more my style. All of these are more expensive and should only be considered if you have the money to fork up for a larger property if you have a large family or moderate sized family.

I do know that if you want a larger home for your money and well thought of public schools, are your two main priorities only, then maybe a place like Pickerington or Gahanna would fit. They are more affordable areas than a place like Bexley. Bexley can offer the schools but comes with many other cultural and aspects which you pay.
Different strokes for different folks.

[maestro]

Bexley is a nice area, but the aforementioned proximity to the shady areas of East Columbus are a huge deterrent.

If you are looking for a close-to-downtown suburb, I would suggest Grandview or Arlington. They both have the same old-school feel as Bexley and have a nice little downtown area, and the housing costs may even be a little cheaper than Bexley.

[woodlandparker]

Bexley is a great community. Contrary to what many people have posted Bexley is not surrounded 360 by ghetto. I live in the near east side and can tell you that the areas around Bexley are experiencing a great amount of revitalizations. Olde Towne, Franklin Park, King-Lincoln Bronzeville, Woodland Park and Eastgate on the near east side are areas that are rapidly improving. Berwick and Eastmoor on the south and western sides of Bexley are great neighborhoods that continue to be highly rated (Berwick was just names one of Columbus monthly's best neighborhoods). Franklin Park Conservatory is investing millions of dollars into renovations/expansions of their facilities and the park itself. Bexley has completed some great projects on Main street that have added greatly to the vitality of the area with new restaurants and shops. The proximity to downtown Columbus, Easton, and the airport makes Bexley a highly desirable area.

Crime in Columbus is not what it is made out to be by so many people. Check out the police crime website, there are not many areas that are actually much higher in crime that others. (you can check it out under the city of Columbus supersite and check police reports for Columbus precincts) Most crime is that of opportunity. People who leave their laptop in the car parked on the street and then wonder why it was broken into. Or those who walk down a dark alley at night after leaving a club and are robbed. I have lived in the near east side for 8 years and know many people who have lived througout the near east and the central city in general. I have heard of no difference in the amount of crime my friends have experienced anywhere they have lived in Columbus.

[streetcreed]

THANK YOU ^^^^^
Finally someone else who knows what they are talking about on here!
Bexley is NOT surrounded by complete ghetto, just as the above poster stated, someone who lives in the area, not someone in a different county or a suburb.

There are some great sections of columbus around Bexley, some of Columbus' oldest and nicest mansions are in these areas. Very historic areas.

[where_to_move]

I did not read any of the above other posts, b/c I am feeling a little lazy, but here is my 2 cents on Bexley.
Lovely lovely little community, surrounding by TERRIBLE CRIME!

I would NEVER live in Bexley! I did live there 3 yrs ago for 1 yr. I loved my little nitch of a community. But I even disliked the grocery store. I felt unsafe at my own grocery store b/c it is a mix of the surrounding community incl. Bexley!

b/c of that, I moved out towards safer communities still w/i Columbus.
Upper Arlington, Grandview can still give you the warm fuzzies of beautiful historical homes w/o surrounding crime!

Yes a lot of the nicer affluent suburbs have a lot of pre-planned portions, but they all do have quaint little downtowns with unique restaurants. But a better trade to have less crime. You can still live in neighborhoods that aren't mass produced.

HTH

[LancasterNative]

I concur with what many others have stated here, that Bexley is a nice little enclave of wealth and elegance...surrounded on all sides by crime and filth. That's where it gets the nickname "Fort Bexley"!

No, I haven't lived there. But I have several friends who've lived there, and they've all moved out. One couple I know even lived in one of the classic mansions along Broad St. in the heart of Bexley. They had their home broken into by some slimy burglar, and several valuables were stolen! They later moved out to Powell. No matter how much they pay in taxes to keep the ghetto crud out of Bexley, stuff still happens there.

If you're looking for a community with some good "heritage" homes in an organic, un-planned setting, I'd really encourage you to give Worthington a good look. Its schools are very reputable and are among the region's best. The old section of Worthington comes complete with a quaint downtown commercial district, historic churches, one-of-a-kind stores and eateries, and an authentic New England village green. It is surrounded for several blocks by eclectic, unique homes built from the 1830s–1920s, and your kids could literally walk to school. And they'd be safe!

Upper Arlington is also very nice, if you can afford it. Average 1950s/60s homes there are now going for $200–300K. UA does have an historic area south of Lane, with mansions that rival anything in Bexley, and even the smaller homes in that area start around $400K. (Location!) The schools are outstanding; there's not much that Arlington can't offer...except affordability. Taxes there are horrendous, and the City of UA even charges you for trash pickup! UA also has a bit of a snobby reputation; some folks I know who grew up there hated the schools because of the "cliquey-ness" and the emphasis placed on wealth, style and popularity.

Grandview might be a good alternative from Bexley. Very similar feel, but Grandview is surrounded by nice areas (such as UA) instead of the Mogadishu-like war zones around Bexley. Grandview is now considered very trendy, and is popular with young professionals.

Hope this helps some!

[woodlandparker]

As a person who has lived on the edge of Bexley for 12 years (and knows many people who live in Bexley and the surrounding area) I again have to disagree with the statements as to the nature of the surrounding area being "filled with crime and filth". I take great offense to this as it includes myself, my friends, and my neighbors. Obviously this person has not looked beyond their nose to discover some of the truly beautiful areas surrounding Bexley. See the adjacent neighborhood of Eastmoor, Berwick (where our Mayor lives), Eastgate, Franklin Park, Woodland Park

I have shopped at the groceries in the Bexley area for years and never been the victim of crime there, or ever felt unsafe. The area is much more diverse that Upper Arlington, Worthington, or Grandview- but that makes it more interesting for me. I prefer a diverse neighborhood to live in. It enriches my experiences to meet and get to know others who are different. It is sad to me, in this day and age, that there are still people who are comfortable stigmatizing an entire quadrant of Columbus based on that diversity (and that they are still uncomfortable being around diversity). The facts just don't prove the statements. Show me some facts, not biased opinions. I study the crime reports every week of different areas of Columbus. I know people all over this city and discuss their communities. There is crime everywhere there is oportunity. It is just differnt types of crime in different areas. Actually in the perceived "safe" areas the crime is much more likely to be annoying to the general residents (kids vandalizing property, purse snatchings, identity theft from mail boxes, etc)

If one is safe and smart you can lead a comfortable life in most areas of Columbus. Don't leave things visible in your car, even in your driveway. Don't walk down the alley way at night. Don't leave your garage door open when you are in the house. If you have a house alarm use it and set it. Don't leave your windows unlocked on the first floor. Don't leave ladders near your home where someone could use them to enter upper windows. If you have gates close and lock them When people don't do these they can and do become victims. And no, this does not make people a prisoner in their own home any more than wearing your seat belt makes you a prisoner in your car.

[LancasterNative]

Ok, I've got some thoughts/questions for all the "urban pioneers" here's who've protested that the neighborhoods around Bexley really aren't so bad...

The poster who started this thread has a family, and requested info on Bexley noting "a few grumlings about the quality of the surrounding neighborhoods." Those "grumblings" continued right into this discussion, including my own posts above.

Could that not be because there's an element of truth to them?

I realize for some folks, an urban lifestyle is the most desirable thing possible. And that's fine! But do you ever acknowledge that there are other folks who prefer not to be in a blighted, crowded urban environment, where they're totally engulfed by "diversity"? Not everyone's an urbanite. Not everyone wants to raise their kids in an area where dwellings are jammed together like circuits on a computer chip.

I don't think anyone here is necessarily "stigmatizing" neighborhoods based on "diversity". The issue here is safety. And BTW, since when is "being around diversity" the sine qua non of a positive social experience? Are we somehow bigoted/unenlightened/ignorant/mean people if we prefer to congregate with other people who are similar to us?

Yeah, I know these thoughts/?s are not politically correct, and not likely to win me any Albert Schweitzer awards. But please...if a newcomer to town is seeking info about a particular area, and you tell them everything's great there when problems are clearly present, aren't you doing them a grave disservice?

Why would you steer people into neighborhoods that may not be a suitable fit for them?