How is Betty Jo Dr. in Fayetteville these days?? (Salem: apartment complexes, renters)

[Headed Back South]

So my fiance and I are relocating back to Fayetteville in July. We are considering moving into a unit of the Greenleaf Townhomes, located at 1011 N. Betty Jo Drive, Fayetteville, AR 72701. The rent is really cheap there... but I'm wondering if there is a reason this is the case?

The complex manager said it used to be pretty bad over there as far as complaints/crime goes (for Fayetteville, anyway), but that it has gotten a lot better. Any thoughts or experiences w/this??

I lived in Fayetteville from '98 to '06, so I'm fairly familiar w/the city in general. I remember stopping at the Betty Jo Corner gas station a few times, and going to a few places on Weddington around this area. I didn't spend much time there, though, so I'd like to get someone's perspective who has, especially if you've lived around there recently.

My brother, who lived off Weddington for a while a few years back, said that there were a few hold-ups every now and then at Betty Jo Corner. I've also read in this forum about it being one of the least "desirable" places in Fayetteville. I'm just wondering if this is still the case these days...

I would like to save some money on rent, but don't want to have my vehicle or our townhouse broken into, or my fiance's safety be an issue... in particular if she continues to bartend to where she comes home late at night.

Any help is appreciated!!

[thewizard16]

Most of the neighborhoods along Wedington continues to grow and get nicer, but Betty Jo Drive is still a bit of a run-down hold out. Personally, I don't consider anywhere in Fayetteville dangerous, your risk of being mugged/robbed/etc. is very low virtually anywhere in NWA, but Betty Jo and parts of south Fayetteville are still considered some of the least desirable areas to live. As cheap as Fayetteville rent is in general, there are probably better options around as far as neighborhoods go, especially if the feel and look of a neighborhood are important to you.

[OurGreatEscape]

You might want to check the police records...especially from last night. There was a shooting somewhere off of Wedington. Having just driven out to the Betty Jo/Wedington area this weekend, I can tell you the area has grown... a lot! There are some nice pockets of living areas. And some really not so nice

My hunch tells me the property is cheap for one of two reasons--1. the landlord wants to keep it occupied; 2. it is hard to entice someone to live the area.

Do you have a rental budget? Jobs? Living somewhere cheap but having to pay for gallons and gallons of gas to drive to a job almost defeats the purpose of having cheap rent.

[Headed Back South]

Originally Posted by OurGreatEscape

You might want to check the police records...especially from last night. There was a shooting somewhere off of Wedington.

Do you have a rental budget? Jobs? Living somewhere cheap but having to pay for gallons and gallons of gas to drive to a job almost defeats the purpose of having cheap rent.

Thanks to you both for your response. That helps.

I've looked at some police records... but I'll take a look at some recent ones as well for any updates.

Neither my fiance nor I have jobs yet in Fayetteville, so it's hard to say exactly what our rent max will be yet. Initially we were thinking about renting a house, which would be pricier... but decided after thinking more about it that we want to pay less in rent initially w/a townhome or duplex until we get settled w/jobs and our finances there.

We do know that we'd like to live in the Mt. Comfort or Weddington Dr. area if possible, because we have a good friend in that area that we'd like to live nearby.

Thanks again for the responses.

[ashg11485]

Betty Jo is still a mess- there are drug dealers in $80,000 cars that drive back and forth all day, kids always in the street, but you always have a cop nearby! I currently rent a house in the subdivision behind Harps off of Salem and it's going downhill pretty bad, too. Most of the people around here joke that it's turning into Betty Jo. I would look for duplexes off Porter Rd, Mount Comfort, etc. Stay away from Trinity Multi Family- they have the duplexes in our subdivision that's Betty Jo Jr. Just check out Craigslist- there's always some on there.

[greenways]

Dangit, I was eying the neighborhood behind Harps on Salem for a possible relocation. It looks nice on google street view. lol When I look at the crime maps, it looks like the whole city is a mess, minus a few subdivisions way out in nowhere.

[thewizard16]

Originally Posted by greenways

Dangit, I was eying the neighborhood behind Harps on Salem for a possible relocation. It looks nice on google street view. lol When I look at the crime maps, it looks like the whole city is a mess, minus a few subdivisions way out in nowhere.

Crime is a ubiquitous fact of life, but Fayetteville is still a very safe place to live overall, certainly not a mess. I lived in a nice complex near part of Leverett that was considered borderline shady for a year and never had any concerns. In Fayetteville there are very few neighborhoods you need to worry about avoiding, it's more about specific apartment complexes and parts of streets that are wise to avoid... but even then there is nowhere near as concerning as in larger cities.

[bagelw]

Originally Posted by greenways

Dangit, I was eying the neighborhood behind Harps on Salem for a possible relocation. It looks nice on google street view. lol When I look at the crime maps, it looks like the whole city is a mess, minus a few subdivisions way out in nowhere.

I lived in the neighborhood behind Harps (east of Salem is called Pinecrest, west of Salem is Walnut Grove) for 8 years before moving a little over a year ago. It was a nice neighborhood when I first moved there but over the last few years most of the homes became rentals for college students. That led to late night parties, drug bust and crushed beer cans in yards. I never had any issues with crime other than some vandilism to Halloween Pumpkins and stolen solar lights but as a home owner it was annoying to live around a bunch of renters that didn't care about the neighborhood. If you're a college student or young adult needing a decent place to rent for a short time I wouldn't rule the neighborhood out.

[cynsevgilim]

betty jo is getting better. pretty safe; it is NWA!

[WestForkGrant]

Originally Posted by greenways

Dangit, I was eying the neighborhood behind Harps on Salem for a possible relocation. It looks nice on google street view. lol When I look at the crime maps, it looks like the whole city is a mess, minus a few subdivisions way out in nowhere.

That neighborhood is fine. Betty Jo isn't great but I think the OP could swing it for a while until they get more settled. It's not the best part of town but in Fayetteville there aren't any "scary" hoods in my opinion.