possible move to cleveland (Lorain, Alliance: crime rate, neighborhoods, purchase)

[crag73]

Recently I posted a thread about a possible move to Cleveland or Chicago. My Cleveland neighborhood interests were in downtown or close on the westside of the city. The high murder and crime rates are starting to be a concern of mine. Is this high crime rate throughout most of the city? I do not want to live in a suburb! Cleveland is still a consideration of mine since most of my family is a hour or so away. I don't want to choose the wrong city for me. I'm from Ohio(florida for now) but more familiar with Chicago then Cleveland. Please help.Tell me the bad areas and good ones

[askajak]

Personally, I love living in the city (I live on the west side,) and wouldn't trade it for anything. I'd agree that Cleveland has crime issues, but I don't think they're bad enough to be a deal breaker- I've never had any problems, for what that's worth. Overall, crime is down in the city, but homicides are slightly up compared to the same time last year. Property crimes outnumber violent crimes, and most violent crime is linked to gangs and/or drugs. If you're not involved with either of those, then honestly, you won't have much trouble with crime, especially on the west side or downtown.

If you're thinking of Ohio City or Tremont, the northern parts of those neighborhoods are very gentrified and have less crime than the southern parts, although that's a generalization. The only area I would avoid on the west side is a swath from the eastern edge of Tremont to about W. 50, between Lorain and Clark avenues. Edgewater and Westpark have very low incidences of violent crime, but are farther from downtown.

You might be interested in the Stonebridge development on the west bank of the Flats (technically part of Ohio City.) I've heard that the area looks sketchy but is actually very safe, probably due to all the development in the vicinity. Downtown, the DCA (Downtown Cleveland Alliance) does patrols, which has helped curb crime- in fact, the third district (including downtown) had the lowest violent crime rate in the city last year.

Overall, I'd say that downtown and the west side are pretty safe bets. Like I said before, most violent crime is drug and gang-related, and a large amount of that is on the east side. Every city has crime, and Cleveland is no exception, but if you're expecting an urban environment, I don't think you'll be surprised with the level. Good luck with your search!

[crag73]

Thank you for the response, very helpful.

[bubbagirl]

Honestly....

Violent crime, as already stated, is mostly amongst the bottom feeders and geared towards people they have a common interest with. I will say, though, there is greater chance of dealing with non violent crime if you're in downtown. I only worked at my downtown job for a month before my vehicle was broken into during business hours (between 12-5pm) just over a real crappy stereo that was probably worth less than the window they broke to get to it.

No matter what, larger cities are going to have higher crime. That is just a given and something that we have to accept. However..... if you're looking to purchase your next home, Chicago definitely can't touch the C-land area housing prices right now!