Need help relocating my college daughter (Buffalo, Amherst: renting, crime, safe area)
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She will be attending D'youville College and I would appreciate info on safer areas for her to live within a resonable commute to the college. Your help is appreciated in advance.
I would start by checking with campus housing. Unless she is already from the area I believe it is best to be around other students adjacent to the campus rather than traveling from other parts of the city. After a year she should be familiar enough with the area to make an informed choice.
I just posted in another thread something that may be relevant for you. I would think it's safe to say that if she finds a place in between Main Street and Richmond Avenue in the city of Buffalo, those are all safe (actually nice, vibrant areas) neighborhoods.
That is, areas east of Main Street and west of Richmond tend to be neighborhoods to avoid. This isn't always true, but I think it's a general rule. (Richmond Ave itself is a very nice street). These areas would all be relatively close to D'Youville, and she should of course take all precautions as you would in any city.
Is she able to commute? I graduated from DYC in 2008 and commuted from the suberbs. The area is sketchy in the day and Niagara St./Porter can be downright scary at night. I'd definately recommend a close suberb (tonawanda, kenmore, west seneca, kaisertown) with a short 10-15 minute commute and a parking pass.
The area right around D'Youville is pretty nice (called the Cottage District), but some areas are more solid and stable than others. I agree about contacting the campus housing people. Even if she lives off campus they may be able to recommend the nicer blocks.
As in any city, she should always be aware of her surroundings and use some basic street smarts. This is true whether she is living in the neighborhood or commuting (probably more important if commuting, since when you are living in the area you quickly get a feel for it that you won't have if you're just driving in and out).
If it was my daughter I would steer her away from renting in that area. No need to take unnecessary risks. The area within walking distance of the Campus is sketchy at best. There were several rapes reported in that neighborhood in the recent past. The I-190 has an exit very close. The commute from the safety of Tonawanda would be a miniscule 10 minutes. Plus Tonanwanda offers many more shopping and entertainment options than that section of Buffalo.
The area within walking distance of the Campus is sketchy at best. There were several rapes reported in that neighborhood in the recent past.
Could you point me to the source referring those rapes??Im quite familiar and do not recall any rapes in that area.
Here is a Google map.i drew some safe areas and i believe any user could be able to update it.
for future safe neighborhood questions i will try to draw a google map with safe areas where users could be able to edit the map.Should be good to implement colors for areas to be distinguished by their colors like Red,Yellow ,Green etc.
Map ranking Erie County neighborhoods by safety. They rank the neighborhoods on a 100 point scale for safety with 100 being the safest. the D'Youville Neighborhood scores an anemic eleven points out of one hundred for safety. Not some place I would want my daughter to live - especially since there are much safer areas just a 10 minute drive away. Click and check for yourselves.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
Here is a Google map.i drew some safe areas and i believe any user could be able to update it.
You're map has zero crime stats associated with it. It just represents your desired opinion so I don't really see it's value to a person from outside the area.
[quote=donbuy;19384800]Map ranking Erie County neighborhoods by safety. They rank the neighborhoods on a 100 point scale for safety with 100 being the safest. the D'Youville Neighborhood scores an anemic eleven points out of one hundred for safety. Not some place I would want my daughter to live - especially since there are much safer areas just a 10 minute drive away. Click and check for yourselves.
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
According to the map I am "safer" at Genesee and Moselle than at Kenmore and Starin - or heaven forbid the "unsafe" Wegman's on Amherst Street!! I can feel safer (53 points safer!) standing in front of the Projects on Ontario Street than at the new Coffee Culture on Elmwood - or even worse - across Elmwood at the Blockbuster where the crime is a scary "1".
There are (at least) 2 things wrong with the map that was linked: (1) the neighborhoods represented cover too large a geographical area and tend to make good areas look bad, and perhaps some bad areas look good; and (2) the statistics at what designates an area "safe" as you call it are bogus.
An example of #1 is an area that covers from Elmwood and North to Main Street - a moderately trendy business area to a borderline urban prairie close to a drug dealing area. Yet, it is all considered the same.
Examples of #2 could be that North Buffalo is skewed low because of rowdiness at the Cinema and shoplifting at the K-Mart. Or that the suburban areas are skewed high because there are fewer bars and businesses (and parking lots) in those areas per capita. And also, the statistics which feed the "neighborhood" data are only available by subscription, so where is the supporting data?
How many of these crime statistics have nothing to do with "safety"? Are: vandalism, driving arrests, possession by stopped motorists, drunken disorderly students in the many drinking establishments, vehicle burglary/theft, domestic disturbances - ALL considered in the statistics? These may be crime issues, but have little to do with safety.
How "safe" is it for a pedestrian to cross the road at Millersport and Maple Road? How "safe" is it to take a walk along Transit Road. Or, how about commuting along any of the highways in any vehicle. In 2007 (last data I saw) there were 8,777 people receiving emergency treatment in Erie County as a result of motor vehicle crashes, with 53 deaths.
As I stated earlier, students should work with the student housing coordinator to find out what is best for their particular situation. They will identify which areas are best for residents and commuters. As a commuter, the student may find themselves exposed to more risky areas than by simply staying in a more local and managed area. The LAST thing a campus wants to do is allow their students to live anywhere unsafe.
Last edited by Yac; 07-14-2011 at 06:14 AM..
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