Ethnic Neighborhoods? (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Mason: affordable apartments, crime, home)

[A.Mancini]

Are there any neighborhoods with an ethnic flair in Cincinnati? I'm not making this post to sound like a racist, but I'm just wondering since looking at the demographics of Cincinnati, the city appears to not really be diverse at all. I flew in town last week to check out the area and meet with my employer, but I did not really have time to check out the area in detail. I was mainly downtown and on the eastern half of the city, but I did not see much diversity at all; mainly just blacks and whites.

I'm a Mexican and Italian female so I want to move to an area where I will not have any problems. Some have told me that there is racial tension in Cincinnati. I did not get that impression during my visit, but I did notice the city seemed to be highly segregated.

My employer gave me some information on some apartments in the Hyde Park and Oakley neighborhoods. I checked out those neighborhoods, and while they were okay in my opinion, I was not particularly drawn to either neighborhood. I didn't see much diversity in either area.

Some have recommended for me to check out some of the suburbs in the area since they are "safer", but I'm a late 20's single female so I have no desire to live in the suburbs.

I'm not hard to please when it comes to choosing neighborhoods, so what would be some choices to consider for a diverse, walkable, liberal and relatively safe city neighborhood close to 'nightlife.' Being close to public transit would also be a big bonus.

Oh BTW: I want to find a 1br for no more than 1K a month.

[Wilson513]

Hyde Park is your best choice. There is no real diversity in Cincinnati; Hyde Park is the best there is with a sprinkling of every race, gender and sexual orientation in a mostly white neighborhood. There are some so called diverse neighborhoods like Kennedy Heights and Forest Park, but on micro inspection they are either almost all white or all black depending on which block you look at. There is no area which is mostly Hispanic except for a little ghetto at 8th and State St.

And, for $1000/mo for a one bedroom you will live very well in Hyde Park.

Hyde Park is utterly safe and has most of the nightlife you would want to find. I count 62 restaurants that I would eat at within walking distance from Hyde PArk Square. Trendy bars aplenty, with and without live music. Parks, tennis courts, gyms, dog parks, shopping like you won't believe ( http://www.shoprookwood.com/home.aspx (broken link) ), etc.

[A.Mancini]

Thanks a lot for your quick response!

[kjbrill]

I agree with recommendation of Hyde Park. It is close to your downtown job location, is safe enough, and offers a lot of choices in restaurants, grill/bars, and shopping.

No sense of looking for truely diverse neighborhoods as they do not really exist here.

[Sarah Perry]

Off the top of my head, I'd guess Clifton--the most upscale neighborhood of those adjacent to or near the University of Cincinnati--would offer the most diversity within the context of the types of things you're looking for. Not that Hyde Park isn't a good choice, it's just about as far from "diverse" as you can get.

[A.Mancini]

Okay, I'll make sure to check out Clifton. When I get a chance to make another visit, I'll make sure to check out Hyde Park and Oakley again since those seem like highly recommended neighborhoods on here.

Also, what is downtown 'living' like in Cincinnati? Here in Houston, a lot of people live downtown and it is extremely safe, especially when compared to most other cities.

I've been told by several people that downtown is a bad area and not to consider living there. I did not see many residential areas downtown, but the areas that I did see had a lot of vacant boarded up buildings.

I'm not a suburban person who is afraid of urban living, and I feel like I have somewhat of an elevated tolerance of crime compared to others. With that being said, I am a small female, so I do put safety at a premium.

Are there any areas downtown worth checking out?

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by A.Mancini

Okay, I'll make sure to check out Clifton. When I get a chance to make another visit, I'll make sure to check out Hyde Park and Oakley again since those seem like highly recommended neighborhoods on here.

Also, what is downtown 'living' like in Cincinnati? Here in Houston, a lot of people live downtown and it is extremely safe, especially when compared to most other cities.

I've been told by several people that downtown is a bad area and not to consider living there. I did not see many residential areas downtown, but the areas that I did see had a lot of vacant boarded up buildings.

I'm not a suburban person who is afraid of urban living, and I feel like I have somewhat of an elevated tolerance of crime compared to others. With that being said, I am a small female, so I do put safety at a premium.

Are there any areas downtown worth checking out?

The only part of Clifton you should check out is what is called Gaslight Clifton. But why? If you aren't going to work at the University or the Hospitals, then HP is the place. If you do want to see Gaslight Clifton, its epicenter is Telford and Bryant. Post up if you want links to landlords in HP (or Gaslight Clifton).

[goyguy]

As with many things, Cincinnati was late to the party in terms of having any significant Hispanic presence. Outside of a few people in the legal, medical, and academic professions - and P & G'ers - there was pretty much no native Spanish-speaking population to speak of until any sooner than perhaps the mid-to-late '80s. That's why you won't find a barrio.
A few of the less affluent Mexicans etc have gravitated to the primarily AA neighborhoods of Avondale and Roselawn, while others are succeeding the Appalachians ("immigrants" themselves during the mid-20th century) who've been dispersing from Lower Price Hill and the Vine St corridor. It's along Vine where the presence is most strongly felt, starting with St Aloysius Church at Vine & Township Ave in the city-surrounded independent village called Elmwood Place. This Catholic church is now in service to the Hispanic community, as is another in the adjacent Cincinnati section known as Carthage. A handful of corner grocery and convenience stores are now bodegas to varying extents. But even in that area - beginning in Elmwood Place and extending through Carthage and on past the fairgrounds into Hartwell - there's no real vibe that can be felt. (I lived in a part of Boston for several years which had a big Dominican/Puerto Rican/Cuban population, so I know what that vibe is and can't really "articulate" it though I trust the OP realizes.)
The professional class of Mexicans et al in Cincinnati is domiciled in, and assimilated into, the same places the better-off White folks are: Wyoming, Mason, Hyde Park, and so on. Yes, "Hype Park;" along with the main streets and some others which are chock full of affordable apartments, there are many sectors which are verrrrrrry upscale.
I don't see any ideal place for the OP to settle, though Hyde Park for all its Whiteness would certainly be comfortable and enjoyable. It can assuredly deliver in the night life department, with safe streets to walk home along after last call, and is favored by young adults of all types who are unattached and getting their careers underway. (Where's "nico7" when you need him, LOL.) Clifton would definitely work also, for all the same reasons. Elmwood and Carthage will be the barrio of the region before too many more years pass, without a doubt - with Hartwell being sort of a meta-barrio, I suppose. Classist though it may seem for my saying it, no one thereabouts "flies in to meet with" their employer. So unless "authenticity" and "living among one's own" trump everything else I wouldn't advise seeking living quarters around that way.

[progmac]

useful read: http://pleasantridge.org/Documents/hidden_treasures.pdf

hyde park and oakley are nice. oakley has some income diversification. they'd be just about at the bottom of a list in terms of diversity

[t45209]

Frankly, I'm not even sure what "diversity" means these days. People seem to attach a lot of subtlely different meanings to it, and some downright abuse the term. But, I guess that's a whole separate conversation.

If we want to talk about ethnic neighborhoods, then that's a different story. And as mentioned earlier posts, you just won't find much of that in Cincinnati. Oh, you'll hear people say that such and such is a "black neighborhood", or a particular area is popluated by "hillbillies," "b'rars" or some such. But we don't have ethnic quarters that can really be identified a Italian, or Greek, or Hungarian etc. Cities like Cleveland or Chicago, yes, but not here. We like to point to our German and Irish heritage here in Cincinnati, but you really can't see it so much anymore. We're a bit watered down and homogenized here.