Gang activity in Denver? (Aurora, Arvada: middle-class, rental, crime)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ok I'm thinking of moving to Denver in the next couple of months, and I currently reside in East Tacoma, originally from Long Beach, CA, and I moved out here becauce I didnt want my 2 sons 2 grow up in the "gangsta lifestyle" that I did, and even though Tacoma has nuthn on anywhere LA, the gang activety has gotin alot worse since we moved here, and I see my youngest geetin suspended from school for fightin all the time, and my oldes just got out of juvi for stealin cars, so I want to move to get them away from the bad crowed they been hangin wit. My friend from back in cali lives out there, but he lives in lakewood, and he says its that its not that diverse, and its mainly whites, and hispanics, Im African American, and not that I have anything against any other race, but i would like to live were there is at least a good afrian american presance. My friend told me that out east is were most of the black people are, like in montbello, Parkhill, and Aurora, but he also said that where most of the gang activity is, and i have heard a few things about the violant crime in Denver like the Derrant Williams murder, and the big gang bust that happen earlier this year, so i guess what my question is, What would a native say about the gangs and crime in those areas i stated, compared to Tacoma and Seattle area, less or Worse?
Ok I'm thinking of moving to Denver in the next couple of months, and I currently reside in East Tacoma, originally from Long Beach, CA, and I moved out here becauce I didnt want my 2 sons 2 grow up in the "gangsta lifestyle" that I did, and even though Tacoma has nuthn on anywhere LA, the gang activety has gotin alot worse since we moved here, and I see my youngest geetin suspended from school for fightin all the time, and my oldes just got out of juvi for stealin cars, so I want to move to get them away from the bad crowed they been hangin wit. My friend from back in cali lives out there, but he lives in lakewood, and he says its that its not that diverse, and its mainly whites, and hispanics, Im African American, and not that I have anything against any other race, but i would like to live were there is at least a good afrian american presance. My friend told me that out east is were most of the black people are, like in montbello, Parkhill, and Aurora, but he also said that where most of the gang activity is, and i have heard a few things about the violant crime in Denver like the Derrant Williams murder, and the big gang bust that happen earlier this year, so i guess what my question is, What would a native say about the gangs and crime in those areas i stated, compared to Tacoma and Seattle area, less or Worse?
Every big area is going to have the thug lifestyle along with every other lifestyle there is for the most part. I live in Indiana and there are thug types here too... I can't stand them either but I guess the best you can do is just try to avoid them the best you can. You may want to look into a place like Atlanta which has a large african american population meaning much more middle-class normal african american people rather than mostly just thugs from the hood that are up to no good. There just aren't really that many cities in the west that have a large african american population like in the east.
Ok I'm thinking of moving to Denver in the next couple of months, and I currently reside in East Tacoma, originally from Long Beach, CA, and I moved out here becauce I didnt want my 2 sons 2 grow up in the "gangsta lifestyle" that I did, and even though Tacoma has nuthn on anywhere LA, the gang activety has gotin alot worse since we moved here, and I see my youngest geetin suspended from school for fightin all the time, and my oldes just got out of juvi for stealin cars, so I want to move to get them away from the bad crowed they been hangin wit. My friend from back in cali lives out there, but he lives in lakewood, and he says its that its not that diverse, and its mainly whites, and hispanics, Im African American, and not that I have anything against any other race, but i would like to live were there is at least a good afrian american presance. My friend told me that out east is were most of the black people are, like in montbello, Parkhill, and Aurora, but he also said that where most of the gang activity is, and i have heard a few things about the violant crime in Denver like the Derrant Williams murder, and the big gang bust that happen earlier this year, so i guess what my question is, What would a native say about the gangs and crime in those areas i stated, compared to Tacoma and Seattle area, less or Worse?
Have you checked out Ladera Heights in Los Angeles? I read a lot of the LA forum threads and that place was supposedly an upscale neighborhood with a lot of black people in it. I don't know myself. I recommend you use the Advanced Search Tool, on the Los Angeles Forum and keyword search "Ladera" and see what you get.
Also, What about other cities in maybe the south? Atlanta? Houston? New Orleans? Alabama? I don't know. You have more work ahead of you. It's a big move but I understand what you want and I agree you need to do something.
I'm not AA, so I can't give you a lot of good advice on those issues, but I think that South Park Hill is probably the best living situation of the areas you mentioned. I would really hesitate before living in Montbello, personally.
You might also consider the now-gentrified neighborhoods of Curtis Park and Five Points -- from what I understand, there's some great AA heritage there, but there areas today are quite diverse from those from all walks of life.
[quote=Newintha719;1390810]My friend told me that out east is were most of the black people are, like in montbello, Parkhill, and Aurora, quote]
I wouldn't move here, you would be moving into what your sons would feel "comfortable" in other words you'd be asking for more trouble.
When I lived in Aurora it was towards Buckingham Square, there were 12 vandalized cars, windows smashed in, our car was stolen, things were stolen.
And this was within 1 week, don't get me started on how many in the entire year I lived there.
When our car was returned it was running but missing half of it's body, the cop said he knew the 3 teens who stole our car and when asked why he didn't purusit, he said "because I know them, they were 3 illegal teens and they won't do anything about it anyways because they're illegals".
We moved instantly, that is no excuse.
The last day before we left we went to Hollywood Video, couldn't even get in the store to return the videos because they had 6 AA juvenile's sitting in hand cuffs blocking the whole store entrance.
Don't even try going to the Country Buffet in the same complex, forget about it, I don't want to get shot over a parking space for food.
Constant low riders and thug mobiles everywhere.
Aurora is mixed but it is VERY divided, the hispanic gang members infest this and most sides of aurora I lived on, then it rolls downwards towards Colfax & 6th. (nothing is in english on colfax and 6th).
Then you go East of Mississippi and you get the AA areas, but that is also mixed becuase you have a lot of refugees out here.
Also going back out towards Colorado Blvd again.
You will find great Ethiopian restaraunts etc, Greek, Jewish.
But they don't take kindly to trouble.
Montbello - bad
Federal Heights - even worse
Five Points - used to be the biggest ghetto and I even heard some gang members saying they were afraid to go there.
It's all in one's perspective really, stay where you are.
Denver cops do not play and once they locate someone they concieve as trouble, they will find you.
And I know this from the day at Hollywood Video how they spoke to the juveniles and spoke on the walkies.
They knew these ppl.
They aren't as fast forward as Orlando, FL was (they all think they are on an espisode of cops back there).
Unless your running to try and hide his record to start over.
Problem is, it will start over, it will start all over and unless you have the bucks to live in the LoDo district or Highlands, your in the unfortunate spot I am in, where I get stuck worried about what I moved in to.
You go further towards Central Denver ex: Colfax /Colorado.
It's very heavy AA to a point, but what I see running around the streets from the highschool is a lot of trouble, they had to post police durring lunch hours to keep the trouble down in the local district, too many teens at once, leads to trouble, they all used to congregate at this gas station all the time and it was very divided.
Punks on the side by Tattered Cover, AA cluttered the gas station, etc etc.
Medicaid (don't know if your curious or not), is decent, it is hard to get because you will sit in the office for 3-4 hours waiting, then its another few months after that before you get it.
Any appointments you need will cost you 80.00 up front for "pending medicaid".
TANF is very difficult as well, you have to go to appts constantly, they are very stringent and you only get 380 if your lucky for a family of 3.
That's IF they deem you able to have it, good luck.
Foodstamps will be on your case and out the other every 3 months and you better have your info in, or forget about it.
There is NO emergency funding unlike CA, which is really bad.
I know that Texas might be somewhere to look into, I'd stay away from Houston.
Because Texas has more lienient outlooks for assistance and they offer emergency assistance.
I hate bringing race into any equasions but you brought it up, I hope this helps answer your question and maybe even some thoughts or questions that could come up later.
Good luck to you, and I commend you for helping your children, it's tough when they fall into that persona, but things can change, look up and stay strong!
Park Hill is one of the best integrated neighborhoods in Denver. You have all colors and ethnicities living there, with a wide variety of incomes, from the lower end of middle class up to upper class. The southern part of Park Hill is really the best part, if you can afford it.
Despite what the previous poster said, 5 points TODAY is also fairly integrated even though from what I understand it's looked upon by AAs as the traditional center of AA culture in Denver. There was a time in decades past where it was also a very dangerous neighborhood, but times do change. While today it's not exactly "safe" in the suburban sense of the word, gentrification has really changed the neighborhood, in some good ways, some bad. One big change is that it's no longer majority AA -- Caucasians probably form the largest group there nowadays, BUT there's still a lot of AA culture there from its history: traditionally AA churches, old AA jazz clubs, that sort of thing. The other big change is cost: like everything near downtown, values and rents have shot skyward.
However, I agree with the previous poster with his/her assessments of Montbello. I'd steer clear of Montbello or anything nearby. That neighborhood has many issues. Same thing with the older parts of Aurora. Lots of issues.
Humm...back in the day Montebello was bad--but I didn't know it still was. I lived in Park Hill, but mainly Aurora while I was in Colorado. SE Aurora is diverse and safe..
The gentlemen living around buckingham square makes me wonder....all that in one week...are you serious?
Five Points is safe now? Sure wasn't so 15 years ago...
I grew up in Park Hill, two blocks east of Colorado Boulevard. My family lived in that neighborhood for 21 years, and in that time there were a few problems but not enough to get most people moving away -- most of the neighbors on our block had lived there 20+ years and I know for a fact that since we left in 1994, a few families are STILL living on that same block. Park Hill is very diverse and had (has?) a high concentration of AA population, especially in the northeastern parts of the neighborhood. However, it was also rapidly becoming very yuppiefied back then, and there were several parts (the mansions on 17th Avenue, for instance) which were becoming downright unaffordable for a middle-class family...
Gang activity is relatively common in Denver; when I was growing up it was the Bloods and the Crips, and they were a presence in many DPS high schools -- Montbello, East, North, George Washington, Manual, Thomas Jefferson -- I don't know much about Aurora. With these parts of Denver, you often find a combo of urban living (and urban problems), mixed right in with some quite valuable rental property and increasingly gentrified neighborhoods...it's a big city and from the other big cities I've visited and heard about, this is pretty normal.
If a strong AA population is important to you, Park Hill and Aurora are all sections of Denver which historically fit the bill. You won't be happy in the Southeastern suburbs of Englewood and Littleton, nor the homogenous areas like Cherry Creek North, Arvada and Westminster. But Montbello is an extreme any way you slice it -- unless it's changed A LOT over the last decade or so, I would avoid it at all costs.
If you're truly open to anywhere and if I were you, I would go to Atlanta, hands-down. One of the largest AA populations in the country, and the city is HUGE -- a million things to do, a million opportunities for your kids, and the best thing of all: the Hope scholarship. If you kids earn a 3.0 average upon high school graduation, they get 4 years of in-state college education at a Georgia public school ABSOLUTELY FREE. Pretty amazing.
Ok I'm thinking of moving to Denver in the next couple of months, and I currently reside in East Tacoma, originally from Long Beach, CA, and I moved out here becauce I didnt want my 2 sons 2 grow up in the "gangsta lifestyle" that I did, and even though Tacoma has nuthn on anywhere LA, the gang activety has gotin alot worse since we moved here, and I see my youngest geetin suspended from school for fightin all the time, and my oldes just got out of juvi for stealin cars, so I want to move to get them away from the bad crowed they been hangin wit. My friend from back in cali lives out there, but he lives in lakewood, and he says its that its not that diverse, and its mainly whites, and hispanics, Im African American, and not that I have anything against any other race, but i would like to live were there is at least a good afrian american presance. My friend told me that out east is were most of the black people are, like in montbello, Parkhill, and Aurora, but he also said that where most of the gang activity is, and i have heard a few things about the violant crime in Denver like the Derrant Williams murder, and the big gang bust that happen earlier this year, so i guess what my question is, What would a native say about the gangs and crime in those areas i stated, compared to Tacoma and Seattle area, less or Worse?
If you want to get your kids away from gangs and you want to live in a black nieborhood Denver wouldnt be the first place i'd look, actually I wouldnt look anywere on the west side of the USA for that matter, if you want to live in a safe African American community youd have to make your way to the south, or spend a million dollers for a house somewhere in Cali, but if your set on Denver i'd say the best place for you would be Aurora, it has a bad rep but there are parts that are nice and kinda diverse, just stay away from the north, also Parkhill might be good, and thats not Noth or NE, just park hill, its majority white but they have some AA, but just like others posted, stay away from Montbello NE Park Hill, and N. Aurora, also stay away from Mexican
nieborhoods, because if your sons have that gangter mantality and thier AA your gonna have a bad experience, people always talk about the crips and bloods and the bellos, but really the mexican gangs run Denver, just like LA, and any other city in the West.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I would really consider things first..
