East Oak Street Anybody? (Louisville, Paris: roughest, houses, safe area)

[Girl From The Country]

What's up people!

The wife and I are house shopping in Louisville. We are late 20's, white, college graduates, liberal/artsy types I guess. Not planning on having kids for at least a few years. We live in an apt. in The Highlands (Deer Park) right now and we'd like to stay as close as possible to this area. However, our budget for a home is like $135,000 max so we're are not going to find s*h*i*t around here that fits what we want. What we are looking for in a house is:

- a lot of space
- minimum work required
- openish floor plan
- at least three bedrooms
- NON SHOT GUN!

We have looked at about 2 dozen homes in Germantown, Original Highlands, Parkway Village and a few other less-desirable areas. We have found something we like on East Oak Street, just east of Clay street.

We have looked at the home is and it is amazing all the way around. Huge, updated, spacious, no work needed and alarm system (is that a red flag?) The house is like 30 seconds (literally) from Lisa's and 1:20 from Nachbar so it feels sooooooo close to all the places/areas we like. But we are not sure of the area. We are fine with diversity, and I don't just mean we don't mind living around black people either. But does anyone else live around there that can talk a little about the Shelby Park area?

Thanks louisville!

[censusdata]

Clay Street is one of the roughest areas in Smoketown/ Shelby Park. If it was east of Logan Street it might be worth looking into, but Oak and Clay is not an area that seems to be improving at all

[Girl From The Country]

Originally Posted by censusdata

Clay Street is one of the roughest areas in Smoketown/ Shelby Park. If it was east of Logan Street it might be worth looking into, but Oak and Clay is not an area that seems to be improving at all

That sucks. The blocks of E. Oak from Hancock to S. Shelby seem to look pretty nice, the houses anyway. And there is Shelby park which looks like it has been updated recently and the community center right there on Oak. You would think that those factors would contribute to a nicer area.

Still you say it is quite rough. I wonder what contributes to that.

We have been driving around that area every night just looking around. While it doesn't look particularly scary there are always a few shady characters walking around that area. Haven't seen anything really bad yet. Well Camp street looks pretty s*hitty actually.

Did you live around there for a while?

[censusdata]

I have lived on both sides of Smoketown/ Shelby Park - I lived in the Original Highlands in 2004 and Old Louisville from 2005 to a few months ago. Clay and Hancock Streets are defiantly the roughest areas in that part of the city, quite a few shootings and 5-10 murders per year within several blocks of those streets. In 2002 there was a store that got robbed on Ormsby Street next to Shelby Park that left 2 dead and a 5 year old girl paralyzed below the waist.

[Girl From The Country]

Originally Posted by censusdata

I have lived on both sides of Smoketown/ Shelby Park - I lived in the Original Highlands in 2004 and Old Louisville from 2005 to a few months ago. Clay and Hancock Streets are defiantly the roughest areas in that part of the city, quite a few shootings and 5-10 murders per year within several blocks of those streets. In 2002 there was a store that got robbed on Ormsby Street next to Shelby Park that left 2 dead and a 5 year old girl paralyzed below the waist.

Thanks!

Just by chance we ran into a police officer yesterday. Asked her where she patrolled and she miraculously patrols the exact area. So of course we asked her about the area and told her that we were looking at a house at Clay and E. Oak. Her advice was move there only if we wanted to stay in our house all the time, never go on walks and didn't mind our cars getting broken into 5 times a year.

Hmm...

[johnsonkk]

Sounds like Census is spot-on with his thoughts on the area. Glad the metro officer was honest about answering your questions.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by Girl From The Country

Thanks!

Just by chance we ran into a police officer yesterday. Asked her where she patrolled and she miraculously patrols the exact area. So of course we asked her about the area and told her that we were looking at a house at Clay and E. Oak. Her advice was move there only if we wanted to stay in our house all the time, never go on walks and didn't mind our cars getting broken into 5 times a year.

Hmm...

Its really not that bad there....cops tend to get jaded sometimes and I can't blame them with all the thugs they have to bust. Still, I agree with census that the railroad tracks are the dividing line. I would stay east of the tracks/Logan Street. BTW, the block that Lisa's Oak Street Lounge is on is fine.

A real gem area is known as Paristown Pointe. There are some wonderful newer homes for cheap around Vine street near Coach Lamp restaurant that is a very safe area. It is separated from the "bad area" of Smoketown by a very large railroad crossing that is fenced off. A street that comes to mind is Lampton Street.

Also, all the streets around Goss south of the railroad tracks are fine.

Anyways, just west of barret avenue is where stuff really gets cheap. You also may look around Ellison Avenue which is very safe and is for exactly people like you: priced out of the Highlands but want the lifestyle, but also appreciate the urban culture developing in lower Germantown.

[missymomof3]

I don't think I would go against what the police say, they know better than anybody.

[Girl From The Country]

Thanks so much for the help everyone!

I haven't had time to drive/walk around and explore the areas east/south of the tracks/Logan Street but the seems, according to you guys and others, to be the area to stick to. We're going to keep looking and hold out until we find something we want that we can afford in the right area.

For anybody finding this thread in the future I'll post a pic of the approximate area we're talking about. Find the railroad tracks in the pic. Everything east/south of them is the area that people are saying is the safer area to look at.

[censusdata]

I used to live at Barrett and Breckinridge and would walk my dog down to Logan Street in Smoketown. The areas right around Logan seem pretty safe but it goes down hill just a couple blocks to the west. There is a new restaurant at Oak and Logan and that abandoned storage building (it's a big one - probably 10 stories tall) is being converted into an assisted living facility last I checked.

There are some nicer and larger homes right off Breckinridge Street around Swan Street. There is also a neat newer development of mid sized homes behind that pottery place on Barrett