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stx - As I posted in several earlier entries in this thread, my source is livingchoices.com. This is a national site that gives data for every zip code in the country. Crime is only one of many categories they cover for each zip - they also give # of households, educational breakdowns, income levels, climate data, environmental info, job data, etc.,etc. I find it to be a helpful guide when first checking a new area. I look at the crime #'s as an "indicator" as to the level of crime in a prospective area. I have lived in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. my entire life - both in Maryland and Virginia - and I know this area very, very well. I have looked up various zips in this area in the livingchoices.com site and they are extremely accurate as to the overall "level" of crime. I felt it was important to let ic-epi know that the zip code she was considering - 40502 - had an "elevated" level of crime. As others have mentioned - and I said this too - often these crimes occur in certain "pocket areas". But, when the overall Total Crime Index for 40502 is 180 - and it is 27 where I live, which I know has very little crime - I would be a bit wary. I would at least want to be aware that there were probably some areas within that zip that had some crime issues.
When you live in a densely populated area, you take the good with the bad. Parks, restaurants, shopping, libraries, culture, job opportunities are within walking distance....and crime is higher. It's all part of the package. However, statistics can also be misleading. As someone said, there are places within places that have higher crime and that will cause the crime rate for the entire area to inflate.
If the crime rate is 100 for the country, I would always expect the places nearby the downtown area of city to have an above 100 index, and those further away to be lower. It doesn't stop people from moving there and loving it though. As stx said, it is where you feel safe that is safe for you. Thanks Tory, for bringing this topic to life.
When you live in a densely populated area, you take the good with the bad. Parks, restaurants, shopping, libraries, culture, job opportunities are within walking distance....and crime is higher. It's all part of the package. However, statistics can also be misleading. As someone said, there are places within places that have higher crime and that will cause the crime rate for the entire area to inflate.
If the crime rate is 100 for the country, I would always expect the places nearby the downtown area of city to have an above 100 index, and those further away to be lower. It doesn't stop people from moving there and loving it though. As stx said, it is where you feel safe that is safe for you. Thanks Tory, for bringing this topic to life.
cynthia - I think part of this is that Lexington is different in that the residential areas that are almost like suburbs are actually in the city itself. Here in the Washington, D.C. area you have lovely residential areas in NW Washington that are within walking distance of shops, restaurants, etc. - but they also have higher crime than the suburban residential areas in VA and MD. In my county - Fairfax,VA - (which has a population of one million people!!) - there are tons of restaurants, shopping centers, libraries, theaters, office buildings, etc. - but, for the most part, you have to drive a short distance to get to them. And, of course, you are farther from downtown Washington. It takes about 30 minutes on the Metro for my husband to get to his office in D.C. But we do have very low crime in comparison to those who live in the city itself. So, I totally agree with your assessment! It's just a new experience for those of us who have been suburbanites to consider moving into a city! Lexington doesn't really have suburbs, per se - unless you count Georgetown, Versailles, Nicholasville, and Paris. So it is unique, in that respect. But we loved the area - and it is high on our list of places to relocate to when my husband turns 55 later this year and we will be able to "retire"!! I love Harrods Hill and Palomar - and Nicholasville looks pretty, too!
Edited to add - I think we will consider Georgetown, too, after reading several threads here! Sounds very nice!
cynthia - I think part of this is that Lexington is different in that the residential areas that are almost like suburbs are actually in the city itself. Here in the Washington, D.C. area you have lovely residential areas in NW Washington that are within walking distance of shops, restaurants, etc. - but they also have higher crime than the suburban residential areas in VA and MD. In my county - Fairfax,VA - (which has a population of one million people!!) - there are tons of restaurants, shopping centers, libraries, theaters, office buildings, etc. - but, for the most part, you have to drive a short distance to get to them. And, of course, you are farther from downtown Washington. It takes about 30 minutes on the Metro for my husband to get to his office in D.C. But we do have very low crime in comparison to those who live in the city itself. So, I totally agree with your assessment! It's just a new experience for those of us who have been suburbanites to consider moving into a city! Lexington doesn't really have suburbs, per se - unless you count Georgetown, Versailles, Nicholasville, and Paris. So it is unique, in that respect. But we loved the area - and it is high on our list of places to relocate to when my husband turns 55 later this year and we will be able to "retire"!! I love Harrods Hill and Palomar - and Nicholasville looks pretty, too!
Edited to add - I think we will consider Georgetown, too, after reading several threads here! Sounds very nice!
You make a good point!
I looked up the crime index for where I live now, and as I imagined, it's low: 43. Not too much hard crime here, but we do have a lot of teen pregnancy, under-age drinking, and bored teenagers! I wonder what our index would be for that!
I too, when I move to Lexington, will be making a big change. I am looking forward though, to a more "exciting" experience....and yes Stx, I plan on spending a lot of time in your great city of Louisville too. I'm looking forward to exploring Cincinnati too! (I see that Kenny Chesney will be performing there in August....I only wish I could go that concert!!)
It's all relative. We live in Manhattan and I feel incredibly safe walking around. However, I don't walk around late at night, even though there are so many people out and about. I wouldn't feel safe walking around at night in a rural area either. The only thing that scares me about NYC is potential terrorism. Now, when we went to Lexington recently, it did not seem like a dangerous place at all. We've been to many places, and I usually see some unsavory types everywhere, but I can actually say that we didn't see anyone who looked creepy, hostile, dangerous, psychotic or drugged out. I'm sure they exist in Lex, but they weren't out in the open. I honestly believe that a middle-class family can live in 40502 and not have to worry about being a victim. As I said in another thread, crime victims are usually known to the assailants. Think about drug dealers shooting each other, drug users robbing their mothers, domestic violence, etc. As for rapes, statistically, people rape people of their own race, so a white woman does not have to walk around afraid if she sees darker faces, and vice versa. Just my two cents. In the old days I counseled crime victims, so I'm kind of an expert on crime (in my mind at least). I've also had the pleasure (not) of working with people who have committed crimes. I have heard their stories, and 99.9 % of them committed crimes against people like themselves.
gimme it - Thanks for your message. Being in the Washington D.C. area, we, too, worry about terrorism. Also, it is very sad to see all of the barricades, etc. downtown that weren't there before 9/11. As to the crime in 40502, it is probably limited to certain "pockets" that would quickly become apparent when living there. It was the excessively high index # of 180 that caught my eye - vs. 116 for the 40513 zip of Harrods Hill, Palomar, etc. Also, the # of rentals in 40502 was almost equal to the # of homes owned, which was not the case for 40513, 40503, or Versailles. We are considering 40513 - and Nicholasville and Georgetown. We will also check out Anchoarage, Prospect, etc. in Louisville. And Portland, Oregon is a very serious contender for our relocation! (my husband lived in Oregon during part of his childhood!) Good luck in your search!
Just wanted to say a few more things about this whole "crime" issue! I agree with stx that it is where you feel safe that counts. Personally, I would not feel safe on Norborne with the knowledge that within the last six months they have had a burglary and an assault with a weapon! (per nlschr0's earlier post) I have never lived on a street with that kind of crime. Even though most of the crime in 40502 is probably in rental units such as Sonnet Cove and Section 8 housing, just knowing that crimes like assaults with weapons can happen on lovely residential streets like Norborne would worry me. That is why I feel these crime index #'s are indicators of what neighborhoods may encounter. As I said earlier, we were thinking about 40513 because it's crime index was lower - 116 - vs. 180 for 40502 - (but still far higher than the 27 in our current zip). But now I'm beginning to think that 116 is too high for my comfort level. Again, it is all about what you are used to - as stx said, where you feel safe. Nicholasville, Georgetown, and Versailles have #'s more like the suburbs I have always lived in - as does Anchorage in Louisville. This is one of those personal issues that each family must weigh - "to each his own" - I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.
Just wanted to say a few more things about this whole "crime" issue! I agree with stx that it is where you feel safe that counts. Personally, I would not feel safe on Norborne with the knowledge that within the last six months they have had a burglary and an assault with a weapon! (per nlschr0's earlier post) I have never lived on a street with that kind of crime. Even though most of the crime in 40502 is probably in rental units such as Sonnet Cove and Section 8 housing, just knowing that crimes like assaults with weapons can happen on lovely residential streets like Norborne would worry me. That is why I feel these crime index #'s are indicators of what neighborhoods may encounter. As I said earlier, we were thinking about 40513 because it's crime index was lower - 116 - vs. 180 for 40502 - (but still far higher than the 27 in our current zip). But now I'm beginning to think that 116 is too high for my comfort level. Again, it is all about what you are used to - as stx said, where you feel safe. Nicholasville, Georgetown, and Versailles have #'s more like the suburbs I have always lived in - as does Anchorage in Louisville. This is one of those personal issues that each family must weigh - "to each his own" - I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.
Tory - if you would still like to consider Lexington proper, you should check out the official crime maps from Lexington/Fayette PD: Citizen's Crime Watch Home Page
You can search by street, intersection, police sector, etc for anywhere in Fayette County, and it will show you all of the complaints registered with the police and their exact locations.
One note of caution, though - it is only a list of "complaints" which can be very different from the number of actual, verified crimes that have occurred. For example, a person might call the police on a neighbor and report that they are using/selling illegal drugs, when the police investigation later reveals that they were never involved with illegal activity - that would still show up on the map. Also, the "assault or assault with weapon" complaint on Norborne could have been a domestic violence case or a scuffle between two high school students after school that a neighbor reported to the police dept. Or it could be something more serious like a person randomly attacked with a weapon. So you do have to take the information with a grain of salt.
But, it is a pretty good tool if you have specific homes or addresses you are considering. You can also limit the maps to show petty crimes (vandalism, etc) vs serious crimes (rape, murder, kidnapping, robbery, etc). If you have found any homes in Lexington that you would consider, I would recommend you plug the addresses into the system and check it out. For many streets/areas in Lexington, there were very few reported crimes or only a handful of reports for small petty crimes, so there are definitely many neighborhoods and streets where you should feel safe with your family. I think that you could easily feel comfortable in many places within Lexington.
Of course, Versailles, Georgetown, etc also offer nice areas if that appeals more to you!
Tory - if you would still like to consider Lexington proper, you should check out the official crime maps from Lexington/Fayette PD: Citizen's Crime Watch Home Page
You can search by street, intersection, police sector, etc for anywhere in Fayette County, and it will show you all of the complaints registered with the police and their exact locations.
One note of caution, though - it is only a list of "complaints" which can be very different from the number of actual, verified crimes that have occurred. For example, a person might call the police on a neighbor and report that they are using/selling illegal drugs, when the police investigation later reveals that they were never involved with illegal activity - that would still show up on the map. Also, the "assault or assault with weapon" complaint on Norborne could have been a domestic violence case or a scuffle between two high school students after school that a neighbor reported to the police dept. Or it could be something more serious like a person randomly attacked with a weapon. So you do have to take the information with a grain of salt.
But, it is a pretty good tool if you have specific homes or addresses you are considering. You can also limit the maps to show petty crimes (vandalism, etc) vs serious crimes (rape, murder, kidnapping, robbery, etc). If you have found any homes in Lexington that you would consider, I would recommend you plug the addresses into the system and check it out. For many streets/areas in Lexington, there were very few reported crimes or only a handful of reports for small petty crimes, so there are definitely many neighborhoods and streets where you should feel safe with your family. I think that you could easily feel comfortable in many places within Lexington.
Of course, Versailles, Georgetown, etc also offer nice areas if that appeals more to you!
Thank you so much for your reply!! This will sound silly, but I feel like those "V8" commercials where someone gets slapped on the forehead and the person says "should have had a V8"!! I feel that way about Georgetown! I don't know why it hadn't been on our radar screen before, but after reading several threads here - with quite a few posts by you - it sounds like a wonderful location for us to consider! Since we are "suburbanites", Georgetown might very well be a better fit for us. We would still have easy access to downtown Lexington for all of its wonderful attractions - but our home would have a more suburban feel to it. Thanks again!
Thank you so much for your reply!! This will sound silly, but I feel like those "V8" commercials where someone gets slapped on the forehead and the person says "should have had a V8"!! I feel that way about Georgetown! I don't know why it hadn't been on our radar screen before, but after reading several threads here - with quite a few posts by you - it sounds like a wonderful location for us to consider! Since we are "suburbanites", Georgetown might very well be a better fit for us. We would still have easy access to downtown Lexington for all of its wonderful attractions - but our home would have a more suburban feel to it. Thanks again!
Glad to help! Georgetown and some of the other areas around Lexington are nice and growing in popularity. They offer a variety of housing options, some of their own retail areas, and often a small downtown area with historic homes, shopping etc. They are definitely more rural than most of Lexington/Fayette county - there are still many working farms and hobby farmers in the area, and it isn't unusual to get stuck behind a tractor on some of the streets. There are still feed stores, tractor sales lots, etc. Many people prefer the scenery and smaller town atmosphere that these towns provide while still offering easy access to Lexington. Many of the surrounding counties offer decent school systems, although they don't usually offer the range of programming that Fayette has.
Within Fayette county, you can also find a standard, middle-class suburban environment in areas like Tates Creek, Nicholasville Rd, Harrodsburg Rd, etc. These are different than the suburban areas that you're probably used to because Lexington is a smaller, compact city, and it doesn't have separate suburbs with their own school district, police department, etc like larger cities offer. However, there are areas that offer a typical suburban feel, with planned, single-family neighborhood developments tucked behind shopping areas, office parks, etc - very "middle america" suburbia. In fact, there are still a few areas of Fayette county that have working farms and acreage available for sale, with little development at this time.
Either choice could be good - it really just depends on your family and your preferences. If you want a more rural and small-town feel, consider the outlying towns that you've mentioned. If you want a more typical suburban environment bordering the more urban setting of downtown Lexington, than look along the outer perimeter of Fayette county. Or just plan to take a quick drive through several of the areas - the differences are usually pretty obvious and you will probably be drawn to one or another.
Glad to help! Georgetown and some of the other areas around Lexington are nice and growing in popularity. They offer a variety of housing options, some of their own retail areas, and often a small downtown area with historic homes, shopping etc. They are definitely more rural than most of Lexington/Fayette county - there are still many working farms and hobby farmers in the area, and it isn't unusual to get stuck behind a tractor on some of the streets. There are still feed stores, tractor sales lots, etc. Many people prefer the scenery and smaller town atmosphere that these towns provide while still offering easy access to Lexington. Many of the surrounding counties offer decent school systems, although they don't usually offer the range of programming that Fayette has.
Within Fayette county, you can also find a standard, middle-class suburban environment in areas like Tates Creek, Nicholasville Rd, Harrodsburg Rd, etc. These are different than the suburban areas that you're probably used to because Lexington is a smaller, compact city, and it doesn't have separate suburbs with their own school district, police department, etc like larger cities offer. However, there are areas that offer a typical suburban feel, with planned, single-family neighborhood developments tucked behind shopping areas, office parks, etc - very "middle america" suburbia. In fact, there are still a few areas of Fayette county that have working farms and acreage available for sale, with little development at this time.
Either choice could be good - it really just depends on your family and your preferences. If you want a more rural and small-town feel, consider the outlying towns that you've mentioned. If you want a more typical suburban environment bordering the more urban setting of downtown Lexington, than look along the outer perimeter of Fayette county. Or just plan to take a quick drive through several of the areas - the differences are usually pretty obvious and you will probably be drawn to one or another.
Thanks, again, for your very thoughtful reply! We will check out all of the above mentioned areas!
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I'm looking forward to exploring Cincinnati too! (I see that Kenny Chesney will be performing there in August....I only wish I could go that concert!!)
