Topeka places to avoid? (Wichita, Lawrence: housing, rent, income)

[willv92]

I will be moving to Topeka soon. I was surprised to hear from an acquaintance that Topeka has a dangerous crime problem. Are there general areas of the city that are perceived as having crime issues?

Thanks.

[sunflower2]

The southern side has a lot of poor whites.

The inner north has more poverty too, Mexicans.

The inner east side is predominantly black and has more poverty.

The central city area is mixed, but is poorer with more drugs and crime.

The west and southwest are more affluent. But stay out of lower income housing appt complexes, no matter the location or racial mix. Little girl got killed sitting in her living room by fool shooting a bullet that pierced the apt wall just down a couple blocks from me on the southwest side a couple years back. Heavy white meth usage.

Crime tends to follow poverty (unless it's white collar and they aren't breaking into your car and tearing out your stereo or shooting up folk outside your door in drivebys--but ripping you off in utility bills. Those Topeka Enron-inspired criminals live on the west side).

I'm biased because I really don't like Topeka.

Topeka, KS: All the ghetto of the big city, and none of the fun.

[kewl]

Topeka has some nice areas and is rich in history but i defiantly like Lawrence and KC much more.

[jckc150]

I live in the county on the west side of Topeka and would suggest you stay away from the east side and central Topeka. Crime seems to be increasing daily and I believe it is due to gangs moving out of the larger Metro areas like KC and Wichita. Good luck and just for info there are a lot of homes on the market in Topeka so it is a buyers market.

[barstowgirl]

we live on the west side as well, i am realativly new here only lived n kansas 2 years. It reminds me of back home in the sense of gange activity and drivebys. Fortunatly i live on the west where there is not so much. Unfortunatly its the west side that gets held up or robbed. We leave the bar that we frequent by no later than 11m thats when th thugs from the eastside come out

[mandygirl501]

Well sunflower pretty much hit the nail on the head with the areas of town & what to expect. I have lived in Topeka for 21 yrs now. The crime is unbelieveable. The meth usage, gang activity, shootings at our only mall, etc is increasing faster than law enforcement & city officials can remedy the problems. I actively attend city Safe Streets meetings, am a student at the University, and worked at an apartment complex in town for 6 years. I also spend time in the public schools. I would like to say I have a lot of knowledge of the town. And I would like to advise you that no matter where you live in this town, you cannot escape the crime here. I lived on the west side of town & went to school at one of the best high schools in the city. I was held up at gunpoint in my car in Target parking lot at 9:00 at night at 17 years of age (9 years ago). Topeka key players are working as hard as they can to try and make Topeka a safer place to live. I just think the undertaking is too huge and this town is too crime-ridden to make significant changes. But if you are looking to avoid certain areas, stay as far west as you can. Far north (toward Holton) is nice too. My ultimate recommendation would be to not live here. (As soon as I graduate, my house will be up for sale and I will never look back).

[luvnidaho]

Just moved away from Topeka about 7 months ago. We lived north of the river - north of 46th St. It was OK up there, but you HAD to go to town for food, etc. The whole place to me was stuck in about 1977 - architecture and everything. If you HAVE to move there - go north and pray that they build a grocery store north of the Dillons/Wal-Mart complex.

[Luke9686]

I agree luvnidaho, all of it... I lived there for a year and a half, in the so called nice Southwest area, and didn't feel safe. Several people I worked with who lived near me got there homes broke into. About 50 people I know had there cars broken into. Over by Washburn U at night you can here the gunshots. The whole town is just ghetto. Avoid moving there at all costs.

[Nerdone]

Originally Posted by willv92

I will be moving to Topeka soon. I was surprised to hear from an acquaintance that Topeka has a dangerous crime problem. Are there general areas of the city that are perceived as having crime issues?

Thanks.

Your acquaintance is right. Topeka does have a high crime problem, the whole city is a ghetto. Turn on the news, or read the newspaper, it's the same old thing everyday: robberies, murders, house break-ins, car jackings, stabbings, or shootings. Law enforcement is trying their best to do something, that's what I have to give them credit for, but they can't be everywhere at once. If you are buying a house, buy one out in the country like near Urish Rd so you won't have far to drive for the supplies you need. You will not be happy buying a house in the city, because you don't know who you will be living next door to. For example, your next door neighbor might be a crack or meth-head who saw you carry expensive things in the house, e.g. your PCs, plasma TV or jewelry, you go to work the very next day, and things that's not tied down sprout two legs and start walking by themselves.

The areas broke down according to NerdOne:

Highland Park, Hicrest, and East Topeka = poor blacks, whites, and Mexicans.

Oakland = poor Mexicans and whites

North Topeka = poor white trash and Mexicans.

Southwest and West Topeka = mixed with blacks and whites and Mexicans that made a life for themselves usually live in these areas.

Central Topeka = full of poverty, drugs, and protitutes.

There's still racism in the town, but not all white residents are backwoods imbeciles. Because I met some nice, intelligent, and classy white people that aren't racist at all. If you don't believe this, I put up with racism in this town but I'm not going to let it get to me, and I'm moving on. The schools are terrible and have a high dropout rate. As soon as I graduate from college in nine months, I'm getting out of Topeka as fast I can and moving to a smaller town that accept all people of color, religion, etc.

[born1980]

I was born and raised in Topeka and currently live in the SE part of the county. I was set on never coming back after I went off to college. The older you get the more your priorities change. When you start thinking about things like cost of living it really makes your look at your choices. We chose to live in SE Shawnee County and are about 15 minutes from Lawrence and 10-15 minutes from most Topeka shopping and entertainment. I think it is a great location and we paid at least 25% less than we would have in KC or Lawrence. Don't listen to these people that say the whole town is one big ghetto. There are a lot of beautiful historical neighborhoods and nice family areas.

I used to hate on Topeka as well. However I appreciate it a lot more now and laugh at my friends who live in Lawrence and buy one side of a duplex for the same price or more than a decent sized single family house in Topeka.