Evansville Districts (Indianapolis, Franklin, Wabash: crime rate, cheap home, neighborhoods)

[kysweety]

Good evening!
I have been researching some homes in Evansville. Let me be clear- some very CHEAP homes in Evansville. Normally they have a street name that involves a state. (There is also Uhlhorn, Jackson, N 1st, S 8th, etc)
From what I see on different sites, Evansville is not a high crime city. It appears robbery and theft may be high, but everything else is relatively lower than the nationwide average.
Can anyone give me any advice on particular neighborhoods? On Realtor.com there are numerous homes for under 20K. Most of these are all concentrated in the "Pigeon" district according the PVA site. Is this a neighborhood/district you avoid? Is it fairly safe as long as you take normal precautions? If your car stopped and you had to walk at night, would you expect something bad to happen?
I grew up in poor, high crime area for my hometown. I am not scared easily, however I do have children and that is a different story. I am really looking for good solid advice on the crime rate and not an opinion based on appearances of the homes. I really love the idea of rehabbing and saving older homes and feel ready to get started!
Thanks so much for any advice you have.

[Toxic Toast]

The only part of Evansville I have ever been in that I would prefer not walking alone at night is in a box roughly bounded by Kentucky Ave, Culver Dr, Washington, and Riverside. I know people who would push that box up north to Lincoln or the Lloyd, and others would send it east along Covert out to Vann Ave. North of the Lloyd, even along First and Fulton Ave, does not bother me; though I know people who refer to that as ghetto, it really isn't that bad.

[IndyMac]

I realize this is like a year late, but I would look into the area around St. Joe Ave. and Franklin St. on the West Side.

[DixieChick1972]

3rd and Delaware (Roseanne fans will get that joke)

actually looks pretty ghetto to me. Maybe I am picky.

I do not know all the street names, but it seems stuff north of Diamond Ave looks pretty good.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by IndyMac

I realize this is like a year late, but I would look into the area around St. Joe Ave. and Franklin St. on the West Side.

I have always thought that stretch of Franklin Ave east of St. Joe and west of Wabash Ave could be Evansville's Broad Ripple. I think that area, along with several other areas in Evansville, is very under developed.

[paptofour]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

I have always thought that stretch of Franklin Ave east of St. Joe and west of Wabash Ave could be Evansville's Broad Ripple. I think that area, along with several other areas in Evansville, is very under developed.

Toxic Toast, I agree, that area of West Franklin street has lots of potential. Having never been to Broad Ripple, Could you elaborate a bit about Broad Ripple?

Don't forget to visit this exact stretch of West Franklin Street during the 1st full week of October for the Fall Festival.http://www.nutclub.org/

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by paptofour

Toxic Toast, I agree, that area of West Franklin street has lots of potential. Having never been to Broad Ripple, Could you elaborate a bit about Broad Ripple?

Don't forget to visit this exact stretch of West Franklin Street during the 1st full week of October for the Fall Festival.http://www.nutclub.org/

Broad Ripple Ave in Indianapolis is home to a number of bars, restaurants, and shops. It has a reluation as being a "party" area; but that is really only part of Broad Ripple's equation. Off BR ave, there are some coffee shops, more restaurants, a few offices, and a lot of very nice houses.

Franklin Street already has the base for the commercial side of it, Gerst Haus, Sportsman's Bar, and Smitty's Tavern for the bar; Gerst Haus also for the great food. You could throw Riverbend into the mix as well, though that is really more of a private club. St. Joe has some fast food, and there are some shops along Franklin. If you gave Franklin Street some more restaurants, maybe a coffee shop, and some more shops, you would really have a nice Broad Ripple Ave clone. With the improvements along St. Joe, access should not be a problem, especially once the Lloyd/Fulton Ave interchange is complete.

The third aspect of Broad Ripple is the residential side. Broad Ripple is rather affluent area, moreso than the area around Franklin Street. I don't really advocate gentrification that boots out long time residents; but I also don't think you would need to do that. The housing stock is solid, and it is not a particularly dangerous area by any means. If I was going to live in Evansville again, I would have no problem living anywhere in that area west of Wabash Ave.

This is rather long winded, so I will give it a rest. I was always pretty passionate about things I thought could be improved in Evansville. I could drone on all day, really.