Moving to Toledo at the end of Feb! (Columbus, Sylvania: apartment complex, rental)

[kerirae]

Me and my best friend have decided that we'd like to relocate to Toledo at the end of February. We're in our early twenties and just looking for some place to start anew.

What are good places to look for apartments in? And what areas should we avoid??

Any help would be awesome We're gonna be new to the area, so anything anyone can tell us would be great!!

[OhioJB]

Originally Posted by kerirae

Me and my best friend have decided that we'd like to relocate to Toledo at the end of February. We're in our early twenties and just looking for some place to start anew.

What are good places to look for apartments in? And what areas should we avoid??

Any help would be awesome We're gonna be new to the area, so anything anyone can tell us would be great!!

Hi kerirae, I'm curious why you chose Toledo and if you have jobs lined up? Toledo's doesn't really have a hot job market, but if you have one waiting for you that's different, obviously.

As to your question about apartments, I live on the NW side of town and quite frankly don't like the apartments in this area that I've either lived in, been in visiting a friend, or heard about. Main reason is a lot of these were built before building codes required better construction, so many (like the one I live in currently) have no sound barriers. I can hear every thing my neighbors do and vice versa. Totally destroys quality of life while at home.

Really depends on where your job will be. Before my company allowed me to start working from home I had to travel to Maumee, about a 20-25 minute drive, which I didn't like especially during winter. Perrysburg, Sylvania, Sylania Twp., and possibly Maumee, might be places to consider looking. I'll be honest, even though I grew up in Toledo I'm not an expert regarding great apartment buildings to live in, or each and every community.

I grew up on Toledo's East Side, and also spent 9 years living there after time in the military, and I wouldn't move back. Gangs are much more prevalent now, and my impression is people don't keep up their houses like they used to, including people who just use them for rental property. When I was a kid we used to think of the west side as being the place to move to, but living here myself I'm not sure that's as true any longer. It's ok, but probably not quite as nice as it once was. Also stay away from the central city and certain parts of north Toledo. I'm not as familiar with south Toledo, but believe there are great areas there, and also some really bad ones, but I can't tell you exactly which neighborhoods to stay clear of there.

Now, if you don't have jobs lined up I'd consider a place like Indianapolis or maybe Columbus, places you should be able to find a job easier. It would cost more, especially Columbus (not really in the know about Indy rent prices), but if you and your friend each find a job, you shouldn't have any trouble.

I moved back to Toledo in 2007 due to aging parents, and while I love my native city, if my parents leave this world before I do I'll most likely move again. There are pros and cons to every town or city. Not trying to sound too harsh about the area, just giving my perspective. If others chime in they may disagree with me on some things, and offer even better advice.

Good luck and Merry Christmas

[Tobias C]

I would agree with most of what OhioJB said.

Being in your early twenties, I dont know how stringent your demands are as far as style and quality go when it comes to apartments, but there are lots of apartments through out the area. As OhioJB said, a lot of them are pretty mediocre and outdated, and in some areas of the city they can be sketchy. Your budget will be the ultimate determining factor. I would say you will need to spend at least 400 - 450 a month to get a decently livable, 2 bedroom apartment. If you really dig deep and search around, you can find super good deals on great places, but those are usually apartments rented out by individuals, not big, widely advertised apartment complexes. As an example, when I was 19-20 years old, (im 28 now), I lived at Georgetown Village, which is in west Toledo, about half way between the Franklin Park Mall and the University campus. My rent was about 500 a month for my two bedroom I shared with my friend. The apartment complex was/is really old, but old enough that its actually solidly built, and the units are all updated by now I imagine as they were renovating alot of them when I lived there back then. It was safe to come and go out of the building and that area of Toledo is pretty safe, but there is the occasional burglary, etc. But the area is far from being dangerous or anything. So I was happy living there, and it met all my needs as a young person.

If you come to town and check out apartments, I would actually try to talk to someone living at the place your looking at. Not the management, but a regular resident, to get a realistic assessment of what the place is like. Theres a lot of apartment complexes throughout the city that look relatively decent, but still have less than desirable people living there that cause problems.

While I dont know what kinds of things you guys are interested in, I always recommend to younger people to look into living downtown or the Old West End. There are lots of really nice apartments downtown and in the OWE, for the same thing you would pay around the city, but with much more character and style, and proximity to fun things downtown. Its just a matter of whether that kind of "urban living" is for you. Downtown there are quite a few apartment buildings that rent from around 600 to 1200 a month. 1200 a month will get you a big, super trendy, loft apartment which is very affordable compared to in big cities. And even for 600-800 a month, you can get a cool, decent size apartment near a lot of the bars, restaurants, sports, and entertainment. Its just a matter of whether youre into that kind of downtown living, but what I can say is, is that downtown can be just as safe, if not safer than a lot of the places in the outlying areas of the city.

The Old West End has a lot of apartments as well. They are more of the style of divided up, big old historic victorian homes though. The OWE is a super nice old neighborhood, adjacent to downtown, where the Art Museum is. I think most would consider it a "progressive" neighborhood, with a lot of artistic types and those of alterative lifestyles. The immediate areas surrounding the Old West End are drastically different when it comes to safety though and from the core of the neighborhood, you can go a matter of a couple blocks over and be in gang territory, so it takes a certain mentality to live in a neighborhood like that, but as I said, the nice part, is super nice, and you kind of just learn what areas you dont need to be in. In the OWE though, you can easily find a really cool apartment in a big old home with tons of character and charm, for 400-600 dollars though. Its something look into if youre into that.

Any questions about anything though, feel free to ask!