berwick, westgate, lincoln village, eastmoor thoughts (Columbus, Whitehall: low income, apartment complexes, renting)

[slideways]

i am currently renting just south of clintonville on east avenue between duncan and arcadia. i am starting to look at homes in columbus and the surrounding suburbs. in a perfect world i would be able to move into the clintonville/beechwold area, but the prices are a little bit out of my range. after reading some threads on this message board it seems like berwick, westgate, eastmoor, and lincoln village would be the areas to look for homes under 100k. i was just looking for any thoughts good bad or indifferent on these neighborhoods. i also have a few more specific questions....

1. how do these neighborhoods compare to the north campus/south of clintonville area where i live now in terms of crime rates/safety etc. i feel relatively safe here during the day, and with a group of friends in the evening. however i wouldnt walk around by myself at night.

2. i noticed that all of these neighborhoods are surrounded by pretty rough areas. which one has the safest access? are there ways to get to any of these neighborhoods without having to drive through bad parts of town?

3. i heard on the radio that there were lots of arrests recently in the hilltop area for gang activity. hilltop soldiers is the name of the gang i believe... i think there were something like 30 arrests. does anyone know anything about this. is there any kind of gang activity around the westgate neighborhood?

4. any other neighborhood sugggestions would be great. i do spend some time on the northwest side but it seems like all i can afford up there would be condos. i would rather put the money i would pay in association fees toward getting a better place, not having someone mow my lawn for me.

any information would be much appreciated.

thanks!

[general_tso]

I just recently purchased a house. the areas that i focused on initially were clintonville, bexley, merion village, berwick etc. although there will be some that disagree with me ... but IMO, all of those areas that i mentioned are over priced. clintonville is a great area, if you can afford it or are willing to pay the price. bexley is surrounded by shady areas and merion village is about the same. i didn't like the feeling of merion village -- streets too narrow, surrounding area (east and south) are shady, houses overpriced etc.

i then decided to look at the westgate area. it's also next to shady areas. so ... i ultimately decided to move to the westgate. i got an awesome house for a great price. i feel safe and in fact, i ride a bike around the neighborhood. it's a great place for the money ( i figured why spend a lot of money to be surrounded by shady areas elsewhere). the housing stock is great and affordable. GL

[Lilly Von Schtupp]

Avoid condominiums.

[streetcreed]

berwick, westgate, eastmoor, and lincoln village would be the areas to look for homes under 100k.

I have spent a lot of time exploring these areas on my own time as well.

I find that all 4 are not the same.

To explain:

Lincoln Village is not really part of Columbus is a part of Franklin County. It is more post 1970s suburban and is more "far west side." There may be some affordable or decent homes. However, the area may look less rough than the hilltop but lacks the "urban charm" of a pre 1950s area like Clintonville

Westgate is a nice area with affordable homes. They are more "Beechwold" /n. Clintonville in design but lack a active retail corridor (hence the cheaper prices.) However, as many have noted things change the moment you leave the "westgate" boundaries and enter the Hilltop.

Not everything surrounding Westgate is terrible though. And the area has nice parks, well taken care of homes, a sense of community, and a true spirit of renovations and trying to bring more life back to W. Broad and the retail strip. You could walk around this area much more than the post WWII suburbia of Lincoln Village. I am unsure of price stability of homes here or in Lincoln Village. I would guess that the east side neighborhoods of your interest are holding value stronger due to a stronger demand and less flight from those areas.

On to the east side...

Berwick is an area unlike any other in Columbus really. The neighborhood is not in the affordable range per say but there are many different home prices available. The neighborhood has steady home prices and values and has custom built homes all varying in design and architecture.

Berwick is just south of Bexley (which is a safe city) and is north of the highway, I70. I would say that I have never felt unsafe in Berwick and would argue it has the highest overall incomes and lower crime rates of all areas you are looking into. It also has many high end homes and may be outside your price range.

Eastmoor is really a interesting area. The homes are varying in style from tutor, to cottages, to cap cods, and more. The area of Eastmoor closest to the Bexley border has some of the nicest homes. Generally staying west of James Rd is a good idea but east of James Rd. can have some better deals but is near more apartment complexes (some of which are now closed or bulldozed.) Eastmoor has a nice sense of community, sidewalks, trees, street lights, and a diverse community. Eastmoor has more mixed incomes in its community boundaries than say Beechwold or Berwick (due to some apartments and a mix of housing sizes.) However, some find this interesting and diverse.

Overall, I would say that Eastmoor and Berwick get a semi bad rap from those that judge them on their retail strips that are lacking in curb appeal (such as Main St. and Livingston Ave.) But once you get to know the areas you will realize that the actual neighborhood streets are full of character and are buffered from very low income areas of the city by Bexley.

Many generalize the east side but fail to actually know it. I have adopted a fondness for the east side (being a north sider my whole life.) I would strongly suggest looking into the two areas.

To compare the east to west side: The retail options are better in these east side (vs west side) because of some near local options, Asian/Italian etc, the Eastland mall is still open, Bexley has lots of great retail/restaurants, and there's shopping malls in Whitehall. I feel that Berwick/Eastmoor/Bexley is an easier ride into downtown/short north/etc.. When I leave these areas I often just take Main or Broad and never have to take the highway.

Not to say Westgate is a poor choice, but it is a little further from the action downtown and the central city areas like German Village/short North. Also, it does not benefit from the buffer of a nearby suburb to keep property values up or lower crime (like Bexley on the east side.) However, if you are not expecting to travel downtown much or do not prioritize restaurants and cafes then Westgate offers a great little community and many nice homes.

I hope that this helps.