Louisville vs. Southern Indiana (Frankfort, St. Matthews: section 8, rent, condo)

[notthatgirl]

Hey ya'll! I grew up in KY, currently living Etown but desperately wanting to move to Louisville. I am fairly familiar with Louisville neighborhoods and want to live in the Highlands/Crescent Hill/St. Matthews area. However, I am having trouble finding a place that meet my minimum criteria (safe area, house/townhouse/condo, 1.5+ baths, 1000+ sq. ft., outside area large enough for a grill) and my maximum rent ($900/mo.). No kids, its just me and my boyfriend and the cat. So, I am wondering whether I should look into Southern Indiana. But I don't know much about Jeffersonville/New Albany... I guess my biggest concern is the safety as I haven't been able to find a crime map of these areas. Any advice?

[chalcedony]

Don't know much about crime but generally don't think it's too bad in any of the three major Indiana communities: New Albany/Clarksville/Jeffersonville. Downtown New Albany definitely has public housing, but I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as public housing you might see, say, Chicago, nor is it as bad as Section 8 in Louisville or Indy. I say this because there are perfectly decent middle class homes immediately adjacent to public housing, which leads me to believe the crime issues aren't so great.

But if you want to live in Louisville's Highlands, I'd suspect you are looking for an urban neighborhood with stuff within walking distance. As for the three cities on "the sunny side of the Ohio", I'd say Jeffersonville, with a moderately revitalized downtown and the areas close to it, is probably your best bet. Clarksville is probably your worst bet because it just seems to be the membrane that connects New Albany and Jeffersonville; I've never seen anything very walkable or historic in Clarksville...though it does have that cool clock from the old Colgate factory!

[mdawg]

Have you looked into Lyndon, or the Hurstbourne Pkwy area, you would still be pretty close to everything going on in St. Matthews and the Highlands, but would probably have better luck finding a rental. I'm surprised you are having trouble finding a place though.

[debtmonger]

You will get more bang for your buck in Southern Indiana, and there is no question that the violent crime rate is lower than Louisville. The only problem is fighting that bridge traffic every time you need to go to Louisville.

[msdugan2003]

Keep looking in the Highlands area, you can find some pretty sweet deals there. Frankfort Ave. area is a great place too! If you are looking for easy walking with a lot of entertainment, eating, bars, shopping and so on, I think that you would be better off staying in Louisville. There is so much to do in these areas. As far as the earlier comment on Section 8. We have MANY section 8 places that are across from good neighborhoods. One is actually 2 blocks away from the Mayor's house. Violent crime tends to stay in the West end. People who live Section 8 in the East end are not "gang bangers" This link may help a little. Metro Police - Metro Police - LouisvilleKy.gov good luck with your search!