cleveland avenue/old hapeville road area safety (Atlanta, East Point: hair salon, apartments)

[bryantm3]

i am wondering if anyone has any experience with living in this area in the past few years, as we have found a home in this area that we really like, but are concerned about heavy crime like home invasions, homicides, bullets flying, etc.

we considered homes in adair park, east point, downtown college park, and even lakewood, but i'm not familiar with this area at all and want to know what people who are familiar with this area think.

straight up i don't want the opinion of anyone who decries any majority black area as being full of 'thugs' and 'ghetto', so if that's you, get out. demographics don't bother me. i just want to know if i'm gonna get in the middle of something walking down the street to the corner store. the neighbourhoods i listed above largely don't have those problems. any thoughts?

[testa50]

I have friends who live ~3 blocks off Cleveland, just inside the city of East Point, and seem to do fine. They're white. It seems like the area might have settled down a bit vs 10 years ago, as has happened in many areas of Atlanta. 10 years ago it was BAD, as the red light district--it would be like living on Fulton Industrial now. I'm not sure this one is the result of gentrification as much as it is the population declining and the area feeling a lot more vacant than it used to be, and the sex business shifting elsewhere. Just my two cents.

Consider Hapeville too. That's a nice place with better neighborhoods than College Park imo. And College Park is totally fine--I've walked to and from work (~1 mile) in College Park at least a thousand times. I feel safer there than in Midtown, literally.

[Larry X]

My advice would be, if possible, rent their for six months to a year then decide on your own. I would recommend you also look in Adair Park and Pittsburg too. I was about to buy in Adair Park or Pittsburg because they have nice homes for cheap but decided on West End because its closer to I-20 & 285 which I use frequently.

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by testa50

Consider Hapeville too. That's a nice place with better neighborhoods than College Park imo. And College Park is totally fine--I've walked to and from work (~1 mile) in College Park at least a thousand times. I feel safer there than in Midtown, literally.

well east point, college park or one of the intown historic neighbourhoods was our first choice, but they are either too expensive (our budget is so low i would rather not even discuss it), or the neighbourhoods are filled with boarded up houses. it's sort of a 'deal of a lifetime' thing; the house seems like a perfect fit but i want to make sure i'm not going to end up being a victim or being harassed on the streets. this is rather a specific question but does anyone know if this area of town is a safe area for gay and transgender people?

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by testa50

I10 years ago it was BAD, as the red light district--it would be like living on Fulton Industrial now. I'm not sure this one is the result of gentrification as much as it is the population declining and the area feeling a lot more vacant than it used to be, and the sex business shifting elsewhere.

the change has really been remarkable all over the city, i just hope that gentrification is not the next step. there are a lot of areas in atlanta that are now safe that weren't even just 3-4 years ago. like bankhead highway— there are now actual businesses willing to open up in the neighbourhood, like church's chicken, a gas station, etc., and you see people out and about walking down the streets. in 2010 or so everything was boarded up, nobody was out walking, the only people around were looking for or buying heroin.

i just hope that areas like this can become functional working-class neighbourhoods without being completely whitewashed like the O4W has been.

[matilda79]

The Cleveland Avenue area near the Kroger can get a little weird sometimes, but I've regularly shopped at that Kroger for over a year with no real problems--and I'm a petite woman. I did get panhandled twice there, though...in line! I've observed the occasional drug/mental health case loitering around at the nearby gas stations, but it's mostly just sad, not scary. I encountered much worse than that when I lived in the city.


I wasn't too familiar with Old Hapeville Road, so I checked out the street view. It has nice sidewalks (a plus) and the yards of homes look mostly well-maintained. The elementary school near the front there might be a good thing. There is a cluster of some apartments that might be trouble (not all apartments are bad--but there are some rougher ones in my area), but you'd have to check things out on a Saturday night to be sure.


I don't know where you work, but maybe check out Hapeville as well. Where you are looking is actually not that far from it--just keep going down Metropolitan Parkway. It's a mostly working class area with a cute downtown. The homes are older stock, smaller, but with lots of character, and somewhat affordable for young families.

[ElleKaye]

I used to go to a hair salon on Cleveland next to that Kroger and never had any problems. I kind of found unsettling whenever someone tried to sell me a bean pie while I was stopped at a traffic light, but I never felt unsafe. My stylist from that salon lived in a neighborhood further down the street like you're headed towards the main post office and that area seemed calm as well. I guess I'm saying I never felt like I was going to get knocked over the head.


Would I choose to live there? Probably not because it's far from where I need to be but maybe if the price was right and I could maintain my flexibility. Do I think it's reasonably safe? Yeah.

[Tryska]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

i am wondering if anyone has any experience with living in this area in the past few years, as we have found a home in this area that we really like, but are concerned about heavy crime like home invasions, homicides, bullets flying, etc.

we considered homes in adair park, east point, downtown college park, and even lakewood, but i'm not familiar with this area at all and want to know what people who are familiar with this area think.

straight up i don't want the opinion of anyone who decries any majority black area as being full of 'thugs' and 'ghetto', so if that's you, get out. demographics don't bother me. i just want to know if i'm gonna get in the middle of something walking down the street to the corner store. the neighbourhoods i listed above largely don't have those problems. any thoughts?

Mmmm....I'm not sure about that area. Which side of Cleveland? Those apartments on the McDonalds side concern me. And i'd be wary of a "deal of a lifetime", unless you have done your due diligence.

I know on that side Atlanta abuts (has in common with?) some of the roughest neighborhoods in East Point and yes..the things you are concerned about have been known to happen there.

On the other side o the street (Kroger side) however it's much nicer at least in East Point (Jefferson Park neighborhood) - i can't speak to the Atlanta side.

As far as the transgender question - I'm not sure about there. In the Established East Point neighborhoods, you would be fine, except for maybe the occasional harassment from young punks if you crossed paths with them. But the Cleveland area has more than a little bit of young punks.