Are downtown neighborhoods safe? (Columbus, Grove City: apartments, condos, crime rate)

[buckeyed]

I am contemplating a move to Columbus and if I do move would like to live in Victorian, German or Italian village areas to keep my commute (hopefully working downtown) but was hoping to get information about the crime rate. I have lived in Nashville for the past two years and am astounded at the crime rate in all areas here.

[paintballer1708]

^ I have heard a lot of good things about German Village.

[where_to_move]

NO!
the problem is they are all surrounded by areas which are SHADY!!!!!!
The only place I would slightly consider (if you are liberal) is Short north.
That is it, otherwise, suburbia it is...
Bethel road has lots of condos, young people so does Grandview.
In fact, if I was looking for a place to move I would pick Grandview.

[buckeyed]

but i thought short north was victorian/italian village - was I mistaken. I am coming up 12/14 to interview and the rest of the weekend to check out the area.

[where_to_move]

Yes, they are all really close. Italian Village is essentially in Short North, but Victorian Village is a little further away. I would NOT live in Vic Village

[sftong]

No, generally area to the east of downtown are not good. Though Bexley and German/Itallian village are considered expensive and high class, but the neighborhoods surrounding them are not. For example, if you are downtown and take east on East Broad St, you will pass by "scary" neighboorhoods before you reach Bexley.

FYI, I heard German is the ground of homosexuals. By the way, heard Columbus is probably the 2nd largest population of homosexual in USA, next to San Fran.

[wesley45133]

I have heard that Short North is not a very nice place to live, crimewise. Some of my relatives live between Bexley and Whitehall and they havnt had any trouble with crime. I have also heard that Grove City is a decent place to live.

[streetcreed]

I have lived in and around downtown Columbus for 3 years now. I grew up in suburban columbus.

Let me tell you I travel much and columbus has one of the nicest and cleanest innercities in the US.

It is an innercity still and some people who live in suburban areas of Columbus are unable to understand this conncept.

There are many neighborhoods around downtown. If your young or like walkable communities then you will find the center city area right for you. There are great commerical strips, and Columbus' most stable housing market is the urban housing market at the momment. Because of this, for a nice house or apartment or loft, you will be getting less space for your money, but you will be buying into a very stable area and future investment.

The above cannot be said for many new middle class subdivisions, in the Columbus metro, which some are loosing value yearly.

The downtown area communities which are the most gentrified would be

The short north, victorian village, and italian village
These 3 lie just north of downtown and are the most active and have the fastest increasing property values

German Village and Merion Village are just south of downtown

Most of Columbus' housing in the immediate downtown area is in the Arena District, this area is very nice but on the most expensive side.

If your looking for an apartment then the Brewery District just south of downtown is a nice option. There are many luxury apartments there.

ALSO there's many apartments in an area of Columbus near grandview. This is just a minute from downtown (NW of downtown) and has many young professionals and grad students.

FYI the central city area is Columbus' hub for art, culture, nightlife, fine dinning, young professionals, diversity, and events.

If your the type that likes the urban chic lifestyle Columbus' downtown area is the right choice for you. The italian and victorian and short north areas are the most happening areas in the downtown area.
There's no where else in the area that matches that type of lifestyle.

Also, There is an area just east of downtown called olde town east, but this area is not fully gentrified and has a large mix of incomes. This would be best if your comfortable with an area that is still in the gentrification process only.

[paintballer1708]

Columbus does have a very clean downtown. I really would suggest people take a trip to Atlanta, Detroit, Oklahoma City, or Kansas City. Some of these downtowns are dirty, or dead, and have horrible crime rates. Compare that to Columbus, which has a growing downtown population, is very clean and alive, people would take Columbus over a lot of other cities.

[torment]

For German Village, try to live as close to downtown as you can. The South side of German Village has a pretty high crime rate.
Like someone has mentioned here, East side of downtown is also a shady area.
Out of the three you mentioned, German Village is probably the best one. However, I would recommend to take a look at Grandview area. It is about 5-10 min drive from downtown and its a fairly safe area compares to those three.