New Albany Question- (Louisville, Jeffersonville: low income, crime, houses)

[mkat321]

Bumping this thread because it's the most recent I can find and my husband has a couple of job offers in the NA area. He's sent me houses off of Slate Run Road between Old Ford Road and Korb. The housing prices are low compared to other same size houses/lots in the area so I'm wondering if this is a bad area? i.e. can I safely let my 10 year old out in the front yard while I sit on the porch, let my 15 year old walk up and down the block etc ? We home school so schools aren't relevant excepting that my oldest daughter will be taking classes online through Ivy Tech, so of course the close proximity of this area to the Jeffersonville campus does count as a positive in my opinion. But my street-level experience is confined to visits to my much older cousins in the Knobs and shopping & dining along Veteran's parkway and at the mall during visits to the area for Thunder.

In short, my concerns are- safety, walkability and non shopping things to do on the Indiana side. Any input is more than welcome.

[censusdata]

I moved to New Albany last June from Louisville because of low home costs. Anything off Slate Run Rd is a great area with almost no crime. There isn't a lot of shootings or robberies in NA but there are a few poor neighborhoods that aren't well kept up, mainly north central region (which is just south of my location). You mention walkability... is that something you want? NA has a large amount of pre WWI housing stock. The best area is east of downtown between Main, Elm, and Vincennes. Almost as nice is the area from the high school over towards Silver Creek. Both areas are quite gentrified with a few older low income residents mixed in. Downtown is pretty vibrant with lots of good local restaurants and a large farmer's market every Saturday during the summer.

[mkat321]

Originally Posted by censusdata

I moved to New Albany last June from Louisville because of low home costs. Anything off Slate Run Rd is a great area with almost no crime. There isn't a lot of shootings or robberies in NA but there are a few poor neighborhoods that aren't well kept up, mainly north central region (which is just south of my location). You mention walkability... is that something you want? NA has a large amount of pre WWI housing stock. The best area is east of downtown between Main, Elm, and Vincennes. Almost as nice is the area from the high school over towards Silver Creek. Both areas are quite gentrified with a few older low income residents mixed in. Downtown is pretty vibrant with lots of good local restaurants and a large farmer's market every Saturday during the summer.

Thank you. Walkability wise, I need to be able to walk/work my labrador {training in search & rescue/search & recovery} Which it looks like the sidewalks in the neighborhood of the top house on my list {1418 Silver Slate Drive} would fill that need rather nicely. And of course there are parks and whatnot within close driving distance which would also works. But having the sidewalks in the neighborhood for winter skills practice is a huge bonus.

[censusdata]

Side walks are hit or miss in NA outside the Pre WW2 neighborhoods. Many areas have none. Silver Slate has sidewalks but Slate Run Rd has none for most of its length, so you're kind of trapped from long walks without being in the road. But in terms of crime or desirability anything in that area (east of Vincennes St / Charlestown Rd) is good. If sidewalks are a big deal you might look at the best parts of Clarksville (north of Lewis and Clark), almost everywhere has sidewalks.

[mkat321]

Thank you

[mkat321]

Mods: This post is about the Indiana side of the river, so why was it moved?

[MissingIndiana]

New Albany is 5 miles from downtown Louisville and solidly a part of the Louisville metro. People here tend to have more first hand knowledge of the area than then general Indiana forum. Not a mod, just seems to make sense.

In regard to your original question, the area is fine. Not the nicest part of town, but not dangerous by any means. Probably some mild property crime (ie car break ins) is possible, but you get that everywhere. If supervised, there shouldn't be any problem with a 10 year old playing in the front yard. A 15 year old walking should be fine if they have been taught to be aware of their surroundings and watch out for people. Most of the streets have sidewalks, but there may still be a few small sections where they are lacking.

There is plenty to do on the Indiana side of the river. Many unique restaurants in New Albany as well as some local places that have opened locations there. Huber Farm is a nice outing. There's enough shopping between boutiques in New Albany and bigger chain stuff both there and in Clarksville/Jeff to get just about anything you need. There are plenty of parks, the Ohio River Greenway with long portions open, the Big Four bridge in Jeff, live music, farmers market, Harvest Homecoming, a good library, a few small museums, some historic locations. If you feel like doing something more downtown Louisville is only 15 minutes from where you're looking at homes.

[sheena12]

I can only say that on a recent business trip to Louisville, we were put up in a remote place in Indiana. After work, we would often go to New Albany because we were kind of out in the middle of no where.

It's a really nice place and we enjoyed our stay. Very picturesque with an assortment of fine, trendy restaurants.

Seems like a cool place.

[McDougal66]

I second what Censusdata has said. The oldest neighborhoods on that end are generally the most walkable, and have homes built in the 1930s. Going up Slate Run, it transitions to 1950s homes, and Slate Run itself is less walkable with no sidewalks. Very nice, quiet area though.

Generally, you're good with the old neighborhoods east of Slate Run, like on Elm Street.

Great things about New Albany: uniquely small-town and urban feel at the same time, low housing prices, low taxes, city waste and recycling pickup, excellent restaurants, laid-back, virtually no traffic congestion, and very historic. It also seems uniquely demographically diverse: You'll have older people who've lived there for 60 years next to blue-collar next to young professionals.

Shh, don't tell anyone!

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by McDougal66

I second what Censusdata has said. The oldest neighborhoods on that end are generally the most walkable, and have homes built in the 1930s. Going up Slate Run, it transitions to 1950s homes, and Slate Run itself is less walkable with no sidewalks. Very nice, quiet area though.

Generally, you're good with the old neighborhoods east of Slate Run, like on Elm Street.

Great things about New Albany: uniquely small-town and urban feel at the same time, low housing prices, low taxes, city waste and recycling pickup, excellent restaurants, laid-back, virtually no traffic congestion, and very historic. It also seems uniquely demographically diverse: You'll have older people who've lived there for 60 years next to blue-collar next to young professionals.

Shh, don't tell anyone!

I have been singing new albany's praises for a few years now....I ALMOST moved there. Could have bought a mega historic mansion for cheap.

New Albany, is a great, urban, dense, walkable, historic inner ring suburbs....with all the growth in Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, etc etc...they will never have "inner ring suburbs" with that kind of charm. That's because in the 19th century, New Albany, as a suburb of Louisville, was among the largest 100 urban places in the USA!