Jamaica Plain apartment - Safety? (Boston, Brookline: affordable apartments, condos, crime)

[redsquareblack]

My fiancee and I are planning to move to Boston this summer, and we're in the process of looking for apartments. We have some limitations, as we will be bringing our dogs with us, so it sort of restricts our options a bit.

Found a great apartment near the Sam Adams brewery (Brookside neighborhood, I think?), price is right, and commute to school is a breeze. I've heard conflicting info about Jamaica Plain, and that area specifically. I've read in some places that the area is terrible, while others have written that it's an up and coming neighborhood with a very diverse, tight-knit community.

Any guidance would be much appreciated!

[goyguy]

The problem with your "conflicting" info is that it's all accurate to some extent!
But I lived in another section of JP during the "terrible" era - White flight, rising crime, etc - and found that assessment to be an overstatement. Whether folks admit it or not, often their perception of a community is based on how many "minorities" dwell there and not on actual danger. The Brookside neighborhood always maintained a diverse feel, though the Hispanic population grew markedly to go with an established Caucasian (principally Irish or German) and AA presence. And even in the worst of times it was quiet and safe for the most part. Its reputation suffered for a while when street gangs - the "X-Men" in particular - were causing trouble mainly amongst themselves, but things have long since calmed down.
JP on a whole has been on an "up and coming" trend for the past quarter-century. Only relatively recently, though, has gentrification seriously taken hold in the areas astride the Orange Line. Now the urban pioneers whose households were islands unto themselves have plenty of company. Around Brookside Ave, this has been helped by the Sam Adams brewery - and homes/apartments that stayed relatively affordable compared to the "hotter" sections surrounding Centre St. The main "problem area" thereabouts - Egleston Square to the north - has made considerable progress in rebounding from the decay of the 1960's to '80s too. As a rule, though there are no blocks to avoid you're better off the closer to Forest Hills and/or Centre St you are.
I'm friends with a large Irish-American family that stayed in their big house on Marmion St for over forty years (until about 2006) and they loved every minute of their time there.

[lz1982]

I don't live in JP; however, there have been a lot of muggings around the Stony Brook station recently, and I think that's the nearest T stop to the brewery, right? Seems like every couple years I read about a string of muggings over there. Of course, the 39 bus is also an option and would deposit you on busy Centre St.

[redsquareblack]

Thanks for your replies!

I found out a little bit more about the apartment. With the assistance of Google Maps, I've been able to determine that the apartment is on Washington St., between Boylston & School St. Any idea how this location is?

[lz1982]

I think that might be an iffy location, but I'm going to defer to someone with more knowledge of the area.

[goyguy]

Until 1987, the Orange Line ran on el tracks above Washington St. In a way, that corridor is still unaccustomed to the sunlight that started shining down after the el was demolished. Commercial development's never really taken off the way it was thought would happen. But the area has steadily if slowly improved. A big plus is its close proximity to Franklin Park, the crown jewel of Boston's "Emerald Necklace," and Forest Hills Cemetery (an expansive "garden cemetery" a la Woodlawn in NYC, Spring Grove in Cincinnati, etc.) When the noise and distractions of urban life start to be too much to handle, tranquil green space is close at hand. The pooches would love it. And for fun evenings out, the Midway Cafe and Doyle's (among other spots) await.

Although Washington St is a primary traffic artery - the longest continuous street in the state, matter of fact - it actually isn't that heavily traveled. You'd still rarely forget that you're not on a side street, though. IMHO it'd be OK to live there, but by the same token you could easily do better not too far away. Robeson and Forest Hills St's, and Glen Rd, in the same neighborhood have numerous three-deckahs and brick apartment buildings that are well-maintained and nice to reside in. An advantage would be the significantly higher birdsong-to-truck noise ratio. The main downside of the community overall is its lack of a supermarket save for the Harvest Co-Op over on South St. Also, the Boston English and Egleston Community high schools are both along Washington, which means lotsa rowdy kids before/during/after classes (easily enough avoided when you get to know what the schools' hours are.)

On my arbitrary one-to-ten scale, I'd rate a crib along Washington St thereabouts at approximately a low seven.

[lz1982]

Are you and your fiancee going to be able to visit the apartment in person? You guys are the only ones who can judge whether something is comfortable for you. That's true no matter how nice the neighborhood is.

[rranger]

Originally Posted by redsquareblack

My fiancee and I are planning to move to Boston this summer, and we're in the process of looking for apartments. We have some limitations, as we will be bringing our dogs with us, so it sort of restricts our options a bit.

Found a great apartment near the Sam Adams brewery (Brookside neighborhood, I think?), price is right, and commute to school is a breeze. I've heard conflicting info about Jamaica Plain, and that area specifically. I've read in some places that the area is terrible, while others have written that it's an up and coming neighborhood with a very diverse, tight-knit community.

Any guidance would be much appreciated!

It's not the "best" part of JP, I guess. But, I wouldn't be that concerned. You could run to/from the Stony Brook or Green Street Stations (Orange Line) really fast if some suspicious characters were following you . Alternately, you could go to Sam Adams Brewery or Bella Luna, get yourself a beer, and buck up for the scary trip to the train station.

It's taken me some time, but I really think I'm getting into the spirit of the City-Data forums!

[eachpeach]

Hello -- I wanted to ask a similar question as the original poster but about a slightly different area. From what I've read, the farther away from Washington St & Forest Hills stop, the safer the neighborhood. That being said, JP seems to change block to block so I was wondering about Oak View Terrace, Paul Gore St, and Sheridan St close to Centre. I'm a female medical resident and will likely be riding the 39 really early in the morning -- is this an area where I'll be relatively safe? If I need to go to a downtown hospital, will I be able to use the Stony Brook T station early in the morning? I tried to speak with the JP police, but they only referred me to a crime report website where it is hard to distinguish the gravity of crimes occurring (i.e. a million assaults are reported in the middle of the afternoon on Centre St but I'm assuming those are more likely to be shoving matches at a bar than "real" crime I should be concerned about).

My boyfriend and I have seen beautiful affordable apartments around these streets and have also looked at a few condos. Since we're thinking about buying in the near future, we're not considering Brookline.

Thanks for your help!

[lz1982]

I can't speak to the safety of those specific streets, but I think you should be fine riding the 39 early in the morning. Centre St. has always seemed safe to me and there are always people around. I would think Stony Brook would also be fine that time of day.

You might also consider Roslindale if you are thinking about buying. It's more affordable than Brookline, but on the whole, I think it's safer than JP.