Question About Ravine St. and E. McMillan (Cincinnati, Ada: apartment, rentals)

[cdelgado]

Hello everyone!

First off, I cannot say how much of a help this site has been. I am relocating to Cincinnati in the fall for law school at UC and many of you have already given me so much great advice.

I am striking out for Gaslight property so I have a question about the safety of two areas I am considering.

I am looking at an apartment on Ravine near Volkert/Ada. Is this a safe area? What about walking to campus from this area?

The same for E. McMillan near Auburn.

Any opinions? Should these places be avoided? I am relatively new to Cincinnati so ANY help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!

[TomJones123]

Both areas are fine and have lots of students in the area. Crime is always an issue with an urban campus. No matter where you live around the campus you will want to endeavor to walk in groups, take the UC shuttle etc. But both areas are fine and I live very close by and personally walk most everywhere I go.

Also, check out Unique Campus Rentals. They have a lot of property on Wheeler and W. Clifton Ave as well as 33 McMillan in between Vine and Auburn. Best of luck!

[motorman]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

Both areas are fine and have lots of students in the area. Crime is always an issue with an urban campus. No matter where you live around the campus you will want to endeavor to walk in groups, take the UC shuttle etc. But both areas are fine and I live very close by and personally walk most everywhere I go...

Solid advice here from TomJones123--both streets are dense with young people, both UC and high school students. Lots of foot traffic, bicycles, and buses. Crime? Sure, if you want to stumble home alone from a college bar at 1 AM or if you park your car leaving your laptop on the seat, but you needn't fear for your life every time you venture out onto the sidewalks. Perhaps the things to challenge you the most will be navigating the UC campus and disposing of your disposable income.

[progmac]

i like ravine & ada over mcmillan & auburn. ravine & ada is part of the fairview neighborhood, a relatively quiet and residential zone (though ravine st is fairly busy). the good thing is that neighborhood is closer to the corner of campus with the law building than the other location you mention.

regarding mcmillan & auburn, there are some really neat old buildings over there and you would be closer to kroger and some other stores. less of a residential feel, but perhaps a bit more convenient to shopping.

i love the area around campus. CUF is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. but it is urban and a little run down. that is a shock to some people, particularly those coming from the new south or western parts of the country.

[jmecklenborg]

There is very little street crime in the UC campus area. However, you would be wise to choose the Ravine St. area over Auburn south of McMillan, and especially near Christ Hospital. There is little traffic on Auburn late at night and few people walking so you are very vulnerable to being mugged.

[Chemistry_Guy]

I d not know how familiar you are with the UC campus, but the Law school is located at the extreme southwestern corner of West Campus, and the place on Ravine you are talking about is a few blocks west-southwest of campus. In other words, there are some on-campus locations that are less convenient than Ada and Ravine. It is at most a 10-15 minute walk, or about a 5 minute bike ride. On a bad parking day you might even have commuting law students parking in front of your house. A very good friend of mine bought a house on Ada when we were graduate students at UC, and he loved the convenience.

Auburn and East McMillan may be closer to some parts of UC's campus, but definitely not the Law School. In addition, there is a lot more questionable activity on Auburn Ave than on Ravine.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

There is very little street crime in the UC campus area.

Well, there is a lot of activity around here. From car break ins, burglaries, robberies, etc.

Cuf, Cincinnati, OH Neighborhood Crime Map, Statistics, Alerts and Reports

The map will give you an idea.

Now, with that said, it's not a bad area at all. Just very dense urban with a lot of diversity. Clifton Heights in particular has a lot going on. Personally, I love it around here but I am aware there are a lot of happenings around here. A streetwise person will do well.

[wolden]

Originally Posted by cdelgado

Hello everyone!

First off, I cannot say how much of a help this site has been. I am relocating to Cincinnati in the fall for law school at UC and many of you have already given me so much great advice.

I am striking out for Gaslight property so I have a question about the safety of two areas I am considering.

I am looking at an apartment on Ravine near Volkert/Ada. Is this a safe area? What about walking to campus from this area?

The same for E. McMillan near Auburn.

Any opinions? Should these places be avoided? I am relatively new to Cincinnati so ANY help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!

A lot of people will say "oh its fine!". But that is meaningless. Look at the crime reports on Cincydata.com and decide what you are comfortable with.
There is no doubt that there is more crime in the areas you are mentioning than Clifton gaslight.

Again however its simply what level of crime you feel fine with, or you feel fine for your family.

From briefly looking at the Cincydata site it seems there is a lot more crime on Warner than Ada. The crimes on Ada seem to be mostly theft and burglary and only the occasional armed robbery.

[jmecklenborg]

Jesus. The only crimes that matter for ordinary people are crimes between people who don't know each other. That list certainly includes domestic violence, bar fights, roommates stealing from roommates, and so on.

The useful gauge of the safety of an area is the number of pizza men who are robbed. In the past five years, fewer than 10 pizza men (and other places that deliver) have been robbed in the delivery areas of UC-area pizza parlors, and only one of them violently (a China Food driver was shot on Tafel in 2010 or 2011) There are about 25 guys delivering pizzas around UC every night of the week -- so about 9,000 shifts per year, and only 1 or 2 robberies per year. Adriatico's has one guy who has been delivering since 1988 and another since about 1995 who have never been robbed.

I'll take my chances.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Jesus. The only crimes that matter for ordinary people are crimes between people who don't know each other. That list certainly includes domestic violence, bar fights, roommates stealing from roommates, and so on.

The useful gauge of the safety of an area is the number of pizza men who are robbed. In the past five years, fewer than 10 pizza men (and other places that deliver) have been robbed in the delivery areas of UC-area pizza parlors, and only one of them violently (a China Food driver was shot on Tafel in 2010 or 2011) There are about 25 guys delivering pizzas around UC every night of the week -- so about 9,000 shifts per year, and only 1 or 2 robberies per year. Adriatico's has one guy who has been delivering since 1988 and another since about 1995 who have never been robbed.

I'll take my chances.

Those are very specific statistics, obviously very current and sorted by type of business. Where did they come from? I think access to this kind of information would be of real interest to many of the people who post here. Please give us your source, whether online or otherwise. Thanks.