Magna and West Valley area (Taylorsville, Kearns: low income, best neighborhoods, renting)

[cupofnoodles]

My husband and I are thinking of moving to Magna or West Valley. Everyone has told us that its a bad decision because there are gangs there. However, we live in downtown Salt Lake, which is supposed to have gangs, and we've never been bothered. We do know that there are some decent neighborhoods around Magna and West Valley. Where are the best neighborhoods in that area?? How is the crime in Magna compared to the crime in West Valley? And information would be great!

[CCSLC]

Just curious: Why are you considering this move? Most people I know are trying to do the opposite!

I'm less familiar with Magna, but I moved from West Valley to downtown (actually, still in the process of moving since I own both homes still!), and I can definitely say that there are parts of WVC that are wonderful. There aren't really general directions one can give for nice areas in WVC, there are some on the west side of the city, some on the east, some on the north and south.... they are just pockets. One concern is that these "pockets" of nice homes/areas could become infiltrated by the less desirable elements around them (sprawl, low income, some crime---but WVC does not fully deserve the reputation it has).

In WVC, there is a neighborhood called Peachwood, near 3600 West and 4100 South, around Peachwood Park, that is quite nice. My WVC house is in an older neighborhood north of Peachwood and I like to walk my dogs there. Incidentally, within one block of my WVC house, there is: a Cambodian Buddhist temple, a Catholic church, a Mormon ward, the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, and two polygamist compounds. Talk about diversity!

[kwm03160]

I lived in Magna for 5 years. In general, people have a grave misunderstanding of Magna. In general, the area to avoid is west of 8400 West and north of 3500 South. Other than that, I can't think of a really bad area. I enjoyed living there - the people were down to earth, honest, and usually didn't meddle in your business. I don't have a lot of direct West Valley knowledge, but there are a lot of nice areas west of 5600 West and 3500 South. I really like the Hunter Village area (near 7200 South and 3500 South - the West Valley/Magna border). Don't worry about moving to Magna, it's not as bad as people make it out to be.

[dcisive]

I think the question is more so how far from THAT element do you want to live. Make NO mistake, if you move to the Magna or WVC areas you'll be very close to it indeed. It really doesn't matter if you're in an isolated neighborhood in those areas that happens to be a haven at this time. Consider that criminals will see this as well, and gravitate towards it for easy marks of disposible items for cash for drugs and guns. I happen to work in the security industry and anyone (including those that posted here) that wish to make it seem as if those areas somehow aren't that bad due to some isolated good folks, rest assured, the areas in general are NOT desirable long term. And also consider your property values accordingly. You would be much better served to move further South if possible or nearer to the East side East of 1300 East. I'm sorry if it sounds as if I'm painting with a wide brush, but the crime statistics don't lie. This is the cold hard truth. Basically speaking, Magna and WVC suck pretty bad as does Taylorsville lately as well. South Salt Lake isn't winning any low crime awards either

[CCSLC]

Originally Posted by dcisive

I'm sorry if it sounds as if I'm painting with a wide brush, but the crime statistics don't lie. This is the cold hard truth. Basically speaking, Magna and WVC suck pretty bad as does Taylorsville lately as well. South Salt Lake isn't winning any low crime awards either

You're either misinformed or skewing the information. You speak of drugs and property crimes then claim WVC etc. crime rates are higher than areas further south and east. This is FALSE. Property crime per capita is highest in Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, east SLC, the Avenues, Draper, and South Jordan. Property criminals go where the expensive homes are. Violent crime is definitely higher in South Salt Lake, west SLC (Glendale), and Kearns. WVC, Taylorsville, and Magna are actually mid-range for both violent and property crime.

[dcisive]

Since our relationship and contact with the local law enforcement departments is consistent due to my work I can only say it is YOU who is misinformed. Bottom line is that those areas mentioned in this post are "NOT" desirable places to live if one has a choice. Without choice I fully understand. But if someone asks me where NOT to live in the greater Salt Lake area those mentioned are high on the list. Sorry.........

[markg91359]

I haven't reviewed the crime statistics for Magna. I can only speak from some personal experiences I've had. I wouldn't move there. It would be a last resort. I know based on experience that some awfully ruthless, cuthroat gang members make Magna their home. In addition to that the place is old, dilapidated, and falling apart. Usually gangs live in these kinds of places because that's what gangbangers can afford.

[Tolligirl]

Hi everybody, I'm a new poster here, but have been reading for a while and had to sign up to correct some of this.

Actually, dcisive, your claims aren't that accurate. I'm a statistics doctoral student at the U currently working on my dissertation, which focuses on crime statistics and reporting, and so far my research shows pretty much what Zionide said. Sorry. You can check for yourself at websites like this: Taylorsville City Police Stats (http://police.taylorsvilleut.gov/Stats/index.php - broken link)

I've visited every city's crime stats page (or for cities that don't have public sites, called and received the reports) for a 12-month period from 2007-2008. I'm not done analyzing yet, but when I'm done I'll have crime trends for neighborhoods, including emergency services response rates, and separating violent and property crime. I'll be sure to keep you updated as I finish things in a few months.

[cupofnoodles]

Thanks for all the information! I really appreciate it!

Zionide, we're moving because we are currently renting downtown. Now that we are no longer students, we want to move on with our lives and settle down somewhere.

The problem is, everyone has told us where we SHOULDN'T live instead of where we SHOULD live. If we listen to what everyone has said, then everywhere in the SLC valley is a place you shouldn't live. So we decided to keep our options open. People that live in the good neighborhoods of Magna say that it really doesn't deserve the bad reputation it has.

[hilgi]

CUP,

We are moving to Daybreak in South Jordan, give it a look.

Hilgi