Is the crime really that bad? (Phoenix, Glendale: high crime, hotels, school)

[jaredC]

Originally Posted by raindroplotus

I am looking to get out of the SLC area and Phoenix seems like a good option in many ways. My major concern(besides scorpions ) is what appears to be a significant amount of crime. Just so you know, I am a Southern California native so I have lived in some not so great areas. However, I think I've become accustomed to the safety here in the south valley of Salt Lake County. Rents have gone up so much here that I am just floored to see 4 bedroom houses around Phoenix for under $1400/month. The problem is, I'll find a property that I am interested in and then check and it's in a really sketchy area. The places that seem comparable in safety to here also seem comparable in rent.
I just have a hard time believing that the whole area is just full of crime with literally a few blocks here and there of safety. Especially when I do Street View on Google Maps and the neighborhood looks so well-kept. What gives?

Nearly 4 years ago I was living in the general vicinity of Christown mall (19th ave and Bethany Home rd. ). It was infested with crime. I finally saved up enough and moved far away to an area I thought was relatively less crime and in a general, a much better neighborhood, around 75th ave and Lower Buckey. I've been lving here nearly 4 years and want to get the hell out. As of lately, our area has been hit with heavy crime. Cars and houses broken into constantly. Last year our neighbors were burglarized. They killed the family dog and literally stole the furniture along with valuables. Two houses down from us, they were broken into twice in three years. Our house was next apparently. We were lucky though. I was able to prevent the burglary from happening.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by jaredC

Nearly 4 years ago I was living in the general vicinity of Christown mall (19th ave and Bethany Home rd. ). It was infested with crime. I finally saved up enough and moved far away to an area I thought was relatively less crime and in a general, a much better neighborhood, around 75th ave and Lower Buckey. I've been lving here nearly 4 years and want to get the hell out. As of lately, our area has been hit with heavy crime. Cars and houses broken into constantly. Last year our neighbors were burglarized. They killed the family dog and literally stole the furniture along with valuables. Two houses down from us, they were broken into twice in three years. Our house was next apparently. We were lucky though. I was able to prevent the burglary from happening.

I live at 19th Ave&Maryland (1/2 mile north of Bethany) now, area has undergone gentrification thanks to the light rail, you should move back

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by jaredC

Nearly 4 years ago I was living in the general vicinity of Christown mall (19th ave and Bethany Home rd. ). It was infested with crime. I finally saved up enough and moved far away to an area I thought was relatively less crime and in a general, a much better neighborhood, around 75th ave and Lower Buckey. I've been lving here nearly 4 years and want to get the hell out. As of lately, our area has been hit with heavy crime. Cars and houses broken into constantly. Last year our neighbors were burglarized. They killed the family dog and literally stole the furniture along with valuables. Two houses down from us, they were broken into twice in three years. Our house was next apparently. We were lucky though. I was able to prevent the burglary from happening.

Anywhere South of I-10 is dodgy east of the 101, and even then-still.

Laveen/Tolleson etc. are cheap for a reason.

I'm sorry this has been your experience, I can't say I'm surprised though. I have friends with a beautiful home in Tolleson, and while it's a nice-cheap- home, they've had nothing but problems with graffiti, burglaries, car thefts, you name it.

[WSPHXPELON]

I live in what most would consider a very "high-crime" area. Cross streets Van Buren & 16th Street. We have been in this house since 2011 and have never had any problems; crime related or otherwise. I think it's all a matter of perception and how you conduct yourself. For the most part, don't involve yourself with the criminal element and they won't involve themselves with you. Phoenix is really a pretty tame city in my opinion.

[JohnSoCal]

Phoenix has a higher crime rate than Los Angeles CA but it still is not considered a dangerous city like the cities in the mid-west. Like any large city, you just have to stay away from the bad areas.

[ScottsdaleMark]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

Anywhere South of I-10 is dodgy east of the 101, and even then-still.

Laveen/Tolleson etc. are cheap for a reason.

I'm sorry this has been your experience, I can't say I'm surprised though. I have friends with a beautiful home in Tolleson, and while it's a nice-cheap- home, they've had nothing but problems with graffiti, burglaries, car thefts, you name it.

I'm gonna guess, those horse properties between Van Buren and the freeway? Really nice little area, but I'm sure there are some spillover effects. I do like Tolleson in a lot of ways but it does have about 1.5 times the crime rate of Phoenix...very few rapes and murders, but a lot of the property crimes and nuisance crimes. I guess I just like how it still has a small-town, main-street feel to it.

Originally Posted by WSPHXPELON

I live in what most would consider a very "high-crime" area. Cross streets Van Buren & 16th Street. We have been in this house since 2011 and have never had any problems; crime related or otherwise. I think it's all a matter of perception and how you conduct yourself. For the most part, don't involve yourself with the criminal element and they won't involve themselves with you. Phoenix is really a pretty tame city in my opinion.

Good for you, although I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised if you encountered some issues, and I'm guessing you wouldn't overreact, either. You sound like a tough, common-sense-minded person who's not easily scared off, so good for you.

I lived in some bad towns when I was a young buck, it's definitely a matter of what you get used to, how you carry yourself, and just taking precautions. That said, I'm more risk-averse now and I wouldn't want to go back to those places to live today. Living in safe places can make you soft, I guess, and leads to a lot of the hyperbole we see on these messages boards e.g. the drive-by poster who thinks you'll be jumped and murdered if you walk down Van Buren after dark.

Additionally, it's always good for a neighborhood when upstanding or successful, law-abiding individuals stick around, I imagine it uplifts the fabric of the community a little bit.

One thing I did learn from my time in bad neighborhoods was that I kind of like being tucked away in industrial neighborhoods without much foot or vehicle traffic...I never had any issues at all in my time in those areas. Whereas the last place I would ever want to live is along a major thoroughfare or right next to a gas station or bus stop or other place where people come and go at all hours. I think a lot of property crimes are crimes of happenstance and opportunity and so the less people passing by or milling around your property, the lower your risk of those kind of crimes can often be.

[jaredC]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

I live at 19th Ave&Maryland (1/2 mile north of Bethany) now, area has undergone gentrification thanks to the light rail, you should move back

Are you sure? Is it because the new rail stop is further up? I know when I lived on Montebello around 23rd ave, the rail stop was right off our street, less than a quarter mile, and, the riff raft would walk those neighborhoods and cause crime. Although, I must admit, nothing truly terrible happened to me while living in that neighborhood in all those years.

[jaredC]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

Phoenix has a higher crime rate than Los Angeles CA but it still is not considered a dangerous city like the cities in the mid-west. Like any large city, you just have to stay away from the bad areas.

That's the problem though. The bad areas seem to travel. Where I live now was a dream to live in nearly 4 years ago. Now? It's a crime infested ces pool.

[jaredC]

Originally Posted by WSPHXPELON

I live in what most would consider a very "high-crime" area. Cross streets Van Buren & 16th Street. We have been in this house since 2011 and have never had any problems; crime related or otherwise. I think it's all a matter of perception and how you conduct yourself. For the most part, don't involve yourself with the criminal element and they won't involve themselves with you. Phoenix is really a pretty tame city in my opinion.

I think your reasoning is off. I mean, our house had an attempted break in a few weeks ago. We don't associate ourselves with any illegal activity or with people that do illegal things. My wife is an elementary school teacher and I work for a library. Lol. I'm sure a lot of crime has to do with whom you associate with, but definitely not all the time.

[Bondurant]

Originally Posted by LAX Star

Yeah right. Not bad at all, eh.

Take a walk down Van Buren tonight around midnight and then come back here tomorrow....If you're still able...And tell us about your low crime safe city.

Interesting. I've walked along Van Buren at night a lot. Still here. No scratches, bruises or wounds. Please try again when you have facts and not irrational hyperbole.