Sandusky Neighborhood OK? (Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo: apartment, high crime, houses)

[LakeEffect2]

I've been shopping Sandusky houses on the internet. Can anyone offer insights about the 500 block of 46th Street? It's fairly low-end housing and I wonder if it's a safe neighborhood? Is it possible to generalize about the people living there? Young,working couples or older retired? Quiet or noisy? Zipcode is 44870.

I'm considering the area for retirement. I've been living in and love the Great Lakes weather so that isn't a concern.

Any comments about Sandusky in general will be welcome. I don't trust these "Ten Best Place" articles that appear online. Often times the authors never set foot in the places.

Thanks.

[RiverLover11]

I grew up going to Sandusky every summer, staying with relatives. I still have family there & go up as often as I can now that I'm back in Ohio. Its a fantastic town. I highly recommend getting the boat pass, and you can go island hopping whenever you feel like it! The best thing, to me, about Sandusky is its proximity to Put-In-Bay & Kelleys. :-) There are a few really good restaurants, and many bad ones, plus of course the chains. There's a perch sandwich shack right along the downtown waterfront. Very yummy.

The only downside, imo, is the Cedar Point traffic in the summer, and the lack of retail & dining. They have plenty of chains and big box stores, but not so much for specialty items. But then you can choose btn Toledo, Cleveland, and Columbus for when you need to do some serious shopping. As a retiree, that probably isn't a high priority?

I only know 46th Street close to Columbus Ave, 100 block I think. Its fine there as far as I know. Not a high crime area, quiet. I'm sorry I don't know the demographics, but I can ask my dad if no one else responds.

The best thing would be to go there for a visit, of course. See for yourself. Best of luck with your decision!!

[Tobias C]

I currently live in Toledo, but I did live in Sandusky a few years ago and I still work there.

46th St is a decent area. I dont think there would be any problem neighbors or anything on that street.

I agree with Riverlovers comments for the most part. Sandusky is a nice place to live, especially in the summer for all the reasons mentioned. Everytime I drive into town I see new businesses popping up too, chain places out on Rt 250, as well as new local businesses popping up in the historic buildings downtown which is nice.

With that said, Sandusky isnt 100% squeaky perfect and safe. Sandusky is still a rust belt city trying to recover itself. There are areas of the city that are rougher and crime is commonplace, but not on the levels of the bigger cities like Cleveland or Toledo. Its lakefront location and tourism industry are its saving grace though. Theres still plenty of nice areas in the city and I for one would love to move back someday. I lived smack-dab downtown Sandusky and I loved it. My view out the window of my apartment was the downtown businesses out one side, and the lake out the other. All I had to do was set foot out my building and I had lots of good food options, entertainment options, as well as being able to just go outside and sit by the lake. Sandusky has a lot to offer in opinion, and for anything it doesnt have, Toledo and Cleveland are only an hour away.

If living near the lake is what youre interested in theres plenty of nice towns and cities along the lake. Port Clinton is only 10-15 mins away and has all the same Lake Erie recreation and activities, minus some of the urban problems cities like Sandusky and Lorain suffer. Theres also Marblehead, Huron, Vermilion, and all the towns along the coast leading up to Cleveland.

Hope you find what youre looking for!

[SmittyXCWRU]

I also grew up near Sandusky.

46th street is one of the nicest streets in the city, full of gorgeous older homes and a boulevard lined by sycamore trees. The 500 block is toward the lesser end of the street but still nice. The neighborhood is primarily a little older with less kids than most in the city, but it certainly is not a bad part of town at all. My grandma used to live on 46th St actually until she passed away 12 years ago.

There are a couple minor caveats about that area though:

1. If the house is really close to Milan Rd it could be a little noisier and more hectic to come and go in the summer.
2. The neighborhood gets sketchy on the other side of the railroad tracks to the north, especially north and on the other side of Milan Rd. Follett and Parish streets are a bit more gritty, although I'd still consider them to be pretty safe. The area on the other side of Milan Rd is nice still, but only south of the tracks.

All in all though, it's a great part of town and a really nice neighborhood. Sandusky isn't like larger cities where there are huge swaths of nice and poor neighborhoods, it's mostly very mixed and patchy. One block can be really nice and the next one of the worst in the city. The neighborhood around 46th Street is probably the largest contiguous nice section of the city other than the Chausee (which is completely different than the rest of the city). If I were to move back to Sandusky I wouldn't hesitate at all to live there.