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Camp Washington is one of those neighborhoods that's gentrifying off the radar. At least one of the former factories thereabouts has been converted to loft condos. Most of the houses have seen better days but still have "good bones." The somewhat overused "ripe for development" would apply.
There's a small and growing artist colony which goes largely unnoticed in the shadow of Northside and the attention-getting Brighton/West End cluster. A large Catholic church is beloved far and wide for its annual spaghetti festival - whether the congregation is especially viable let alone comprised of people who can walk to Mass is an open question. And then you have Camp Washington Chili, a 24-7 but "never on Sunday" institution. But what most people know as a local landmark is the huge road-salt piles by I-75, lol, now that the "workhouse" has been demolished and replaced by a smaller prison. When it's time to buy clothes, the only local haberdasher is a Deveroe's. And grocery shopping would necessitate an expedition to Clifton or Westwood.
City kid that I am, I want to like that community and cheer it on as it slowly turns around from the Appalachian/AA and mostly poor locale it'd evolved into by the 1960's. Ideally many of the folks there now wouldn't be priced out and could coexist happily with the people "discovering" it. But my take on it is that it's still in the urban-pioneer stage and probably not the safest place to be after dark. Drive along the main drag (Hopple St) and you'll see deserted sidewalks except around the chili parlor once the sun goes down. For a single mom with a canine and small child there are lots of better places to be. Hartwell, Cheviot, Fairfax, and Norwood come to mind immediately as affordable and more secure locations.
BUT...take the Saturday/Sunday test. Drive (but walk more) around the streets near the potential apartment. Check out how the feel of the area is on a Saturday around 10 PM and on a Sunday in the middle of the afternoon, preferably in good weather. Observe how people are interacting, and how they greet and treat a stranger. During the Saturday-night visit, gauge whether all's quiet or if blasting music and screeching tires are all that can be heard. I'm wary of painting any section of town with a broad brush, knowing full well that there are pockets of "nice" mixed in with "nasty" 'most anywhere you go. So see for yourself. Best o' luck to ye!
On the far North End of C.W. on Colerain you have Machine Flats which is safe and clean and close to Valley Park. On the South End there is a converted warehouse lofts that look nice. In between, it's a mixed bag but there are some signs of renewal in the area. Marshall Ave near is OK too. IMO, the area is safe, just not entirely pretty. Being single female with a toddler might be unnerving depending on your tolerance of even the slightest appearance of shady-ness. I was surprised when I rode through C.W. on a nice evening to see of joggers and dog walkers, and the positive activity at Valley Park.
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