Mission Hill (Hillside Street)????? (Harvard, Huntington: apartment, rent, crime)

[harmonj2]

Does anyone have info in reference to Hillside Street in the Mission Hill area. My friend who is a 24yr old wf looked at an apartment there, but would like to know more (ie. safety)? Please help!

[holden125]

It should be fine if your friend is not totally lacking in street smarts. A few years ago a friend of mine lived there, on Hillside near Sachem. 25 year old female from LA who'd never set foot in Massachusetts before. She didn't have any problems. The only issue she had was the neighbors were loud and had a lot of parties. It's a young neighborhood so it can be fun if you're 24 but if you like it quiet that can be an issue. In terms of safety, the area is much more safe than it was 15-20 years ago, but you're still living in the city.

[goyguy]

Well put.
Mission Hill started out as a community of German and Irish immigrants, who left their most visible mark in the form of the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Tremont St. "Mission Church" continues to be a draw for visitors and communicants as its membership has changed in composition to reflect that of the neighborhood. The "White flight" which ravaged some areas of the city from the '60s into the '80s didn't spare Mission Hill, but a significant core population remained. During troubled times of Harvard Medical Area expansion and racial unrest, a coalition of residents joined to confront the challenges and enjoyed a great degree of success.
The community has been tangibly on the rebound for the past decade or so. Greatly helping in this turnaround has been the demolition of a large public-housing development on its northern fringe which had been plagued by crime for most of its existence. The "projects" are now a mixed-income townhouse complex. A mini-mall consisting in part of a supermarket, bank, and ice cream parlor now graces a focal intersection. Several Irish-themed pubs have opened in that vicinity to complement longtime watering holes and take-out restaurants. The housing stock on the streets feeding into Tremont and Huntington, which for the most part had not deteriorated that badly, is now in good shape from intensive renovations. Fueling Mission Hill's upswing has been its newfound appeal for students and young career people, who are drawn not so much by its amenities as by its convenience along with rents which are reasonable by comparison to neighborhoods closer in to town. To say it's turned into a "student ghetto" wouldn't be too much of a stretch, although the socioeconomic mix is still healthy. It's still the norm to see blocks peopled by Irish-American, AA, and Puerto Rican families coexisting with collegians and yuppies. (There's not much left of the once significant German population.) Along with this latest shift in demographics definitely came an increase in nighttime noise, worst on weekends and in warm weather. But the East Fenway or Allston it isn't - not quite, not yet.
A while back, I enjoyed several years' residence in the section called Back of the Hill, where Mission Hill and Jamaica Plain meet. At the time a person could enjoy a sense of security on their own block while walking other parts of the neighborhood with their eyes wide open. This held true everywhere around there. Now there's a heightened feeling of safety to go along with cosmetic building improvements and the presence of more people on the streets at later times. But, as has already been stated, you're still in the city. Crime is no stranger to the community although it's diminished, and there are sections that persistently aren't as "nice" as others. On Hillside St this translates into "the farther from Parker St, the better." However, even Parker St with its boarded-up German church and its raggedy corner stores is markedly improving. You can "farm" a plot in a big community garden opposite the once-parochial-now-charter school, and get there by walking past houses and apartment buildings that boast facelifts. It's a far cry from 10-20 years ago.
Aside from advising any female to be on high alert when leaving the T at Roxbury Crossing late at night, I'm perfectly OK with giving the go-ahead to someone considering a move to Mission Hill.

[miu]

Where has your friend lived before? It's the city, so I wouldn't keep any expensive items in the apartment, no special jewelry, no expensive electronics. Nothing that could be stolen and hocked. Like for a tv and stereo, only have older units that aren't as desirable. And if they are bringing a car to park on the streets, then don't leave the GPS unit or visible valuables inside the car when its parked. But that's just commonsense when one is living in an urban area.

[ConceivedinKY51]

I'm a female and I would NOT live in that neighborhood. I wouldn't feel safe.

[xS☺B☺s]

I've known dozens of students who lived on the hill without significant problems. The most consistent and impassioned complaint I ever heard was getting up that hill when it was iced over! Same with Beacon Hill though.

[RemiJP]

I was going to add that. I used to work on Parker Hill Ave and it was seriously scary walking up the hill when it's icy. I would always go on the street! :/

[Urban Peasant]

Interesting that you mentioned Hillside Street, I grew up in that neighborhood where it is at. When I was growing up there in the 1980's and part of the 90's, the Mission Hill neighborhood was a blighted, drug infested, crime ridden eyesore full of drunks and drug dealers. It looked so awful that I was even ashamed to have come from that neighborhood.

That was then though and Mission Hill has since greatly changed. The neighborhood is much safer and cleaner than before. Instead of drunks and drug dealers, you will more likely encounter college students, young urban professionals, and employees of the Longwood Medical Area. While you still have to keep an eye out as in any part of the city, I don't think it is any more dangerous than say Back Bay or Fenway. Keep in mind though, that rent in Mission Hill is not as cheap as it used to be because it is now a safer and more popular place.

[alabama guy]

back in the 60s I was in the navy had a girlfriend on 89 hillside st she became my wife 66.with her for 30 years lost her to cancer 1999... I use to take a trolly to bottom of hill walk up to hillside so safe then love to see the place again in Alabama now

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by alabama guy

back in the 60s I was in the navy had a girlfriend on 89 hillside st she became my wife 66.with her for 30 years lost her to cancer 1999... I use to take a trolly to bottom of hill walk up to hillside so safe then love to see the place again in Alabama now

hope you get a chance to visit someday