Unsafe areas of Covington? (Newport, Fort Thomas: hardwood floors, apartment complexes, rentals)

[nico7]

I'm in Connecticut, looking to move to greater Cincinnati within a month. Some pictures on the Web caught my eye from an apartment in Covington. What are the unsafe areas of Covington? The apartment is on Greenup St. near Byrd St. Is that area okay?

Here's the map:

loc: 1402 Greenup St. at Byrd St. Covington KY US - Google Maps

Thanks for any help.

[InLondon]

The suburbs in nearby Boone County, KY are very nice. I don't know about the area you are referring to. But for the most part Covington is a safe city.

[RuralGuy]

Originally Posted by nico7

I'm in Connecticut, looking to move to greater Cincinnati within a month. Some pictures on the Web caught my eye from an apartment in Covington. What are the unsafe areas of Covington? The apartment is on Greenup St. near Byrd St. Is that area okay?

Here's the map:

loc: 1402 Greenup St. at Byrd St. Covington KY US - Google Maps

Thanks for any help.

That neighborhood is a real mixed bag. There are some fantastic old homes that are well kept, but the neighborhood also has a lot of low-income residents and crime. Just four blocks north is a big public-housing complex.

If you're interested in Covington, there's a great neighborhood that begins about eight blocks south of the apartment you mentioned. The area is called Wallace woods and it starts around 20th St. and includes Wallace Ave., Sterrett Ave., and adjoining streets all the way up to Holmes High School. There are both homes and rental units in apartment buildings in that area. It would probably be worth your while just to drive around that neighborhood, because the properties often go up for rent with just a sign in the yard or on a window rather than a newspaper ad or other listing.

[nico7]

Thank you for the information. I am not specifically looking at Covington, but I saw some really nice photos of an apartment there. Too bad the neighborhood is not what I hoped.

In general, I am just looking for somewhere clean and safe, commutable to Norwood. I will probably look at Fort Thomas, and across the river in Mt Lookout, Hyde Park, Oakley, and maybe even Norwood. Specific apartment recommendations are welcome ($500-700 1-2BR, for a single 29-yr-old male, no pets).

[censusdata]

The Kentucky side is MUCH SAFER than the Ohio side. Cincinnati has the 9th highest murder rate out of the 74 largest US cities.
United States cities by crime rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Covington & Newport have a lot of nice historic neighborhoods which are experiencing a revival.

Personally, I'd recommend the East Row Historic District in Newport. It is one of the largest historic districts in the US & 2nd largest in KY (after my neighborhood )

Pictures from Wikipedia of ERHD
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/Historic_Newport_Kentucky2.jpg (broken link)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/East_Row_Historic_District.jpg (broken link)

East Row Historic District - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[davidptye]

Originally Posted by nico7

I'm in Connecticut, looking to move to greater Cincinnati within a month. Some pictures on the Web caught my eye from an apartment in Covington. What are the unsafe areas of Covington? The apartment is on Greenup St. near Byrd St. Is that area okay?

Here's the map:

[URL="http://maps.google.com/?q=loc%3A+1402+Greenup+St.+at+Byrd+St.+Covington+K Y+US"]loc: 1402 Greenup St. at Byrd St. Covington KY US - Google Maps[/URL]

Thanks for any help.

I have lived in Covington for many years, and loved it. No matter where in the country I may have lived, this has always been home. The area you've indicated has some nice qualities, however, four or five blocks north is not so charming. I would check out these three areas of Covington; Riverside District, Licking Historic District, or Wallace Woods. Good luck.

[nico7]

Wallace Woods sounds like my kind of place, but I haven't found any rentals advertized yet. I will keep looking at the areas of Covington you've suggested, plus Newport. That East Row Historic District looks great. Thank you all for those recommendations. My search rolls on...

What about Highland Heights and Cold Spring? Any reason I shouldn't live in those towns? How do they compare to Fort Thomas?

[censusdata]

You should consider using Census Maps from American Factfinder. You can find detailed maps of poverty, education, income, etc of any place in the US.
American FactFinder

Here is a college education map for Newport

[ksvs2008]

The best news is that for $500-700 for a one-bedroom apartment, you'll have plenty of options. I understand your frustration/confusion in trying to get an understanding of the various neighborhoods and cities; in the fifteen years since I relocated here, the available resources haven't improved greatly.

You'll have problems finding online listings for apartments in NKY -- most landlords actually stick a sign in the front yard with a telephone number and wait for pedestrians and drive-by traffic to provide prospective tenants. (Traditional advertising is cost prohibitive for many. Craigslist is used by many to find better-educated/informed potential tenants, and nkyrents.com is a decent site but doesn't list many.)

The only way you'll get a solid feel for the greater-Cinci area is to visit. If there is any way for you to visit a few months before your relocation, I strongly suggest it. I've known too many people who've relocated blindly and been unhappy after a few months. If you're relocating for work, your employer should have resources available to you -- even a friendly realtor with 3 hours to spare could provide a "tour" for you, although you'll likely come across a certain anti-NKY sentiment.

There is a continued "prejudice" against living in NKY over Cincinnati, except by native KYians and those who have come from outside of this region and recognize the value of the NKY neighborhoods. The neighborhoods and cities on both sides of the river all have pros and cons that are more about personal preference than any absolute superiority/inferiority. For example: do you enjoy living in historical properties, where you tolerate winter drafts for beautiful hardwood floors, or prefer a newly carpeted condo-like environment? How important are bars, restaurants and arts/cultural venues to you -- prefer walking distance or 10 minute drives? Are you more inclined to want to eat at P.F.Chang's (chain) or Riverside Korean (independent)? Are you straight or gay? Can you handle crossing paths and saying hello to the neighborhood toothless "can man," or do you want to adjust to your move by immediately being in a relatively safe, homogenous area where the majority of other residents are also college-educated, young (20-40s) professionals?

After living in the Hyde Park section of Cincinnati for a few years -- starting off point for many relocating to Cinci, I moved to Covington 12 years ago and have been happy ever since. (I'm technically in the Eastside area which does possess some of the most blighted areas -- like that 1400 block of Greenup from your original post, where the biggest problem is the drug trade.)

Wallace Woods is not as easily accessible to highways (i.e., quite a few stoplights to get to the highway for your commute to Norwood) and entertainment venues but has that tree-lined neighborhood feel. It has a very active neighborhood association [url=http://www.wallacewoods.org]Wallace Woods[/url]. It does have plenty of rentals (check craigslist for postings perhaps) but is predominately more well-established folk (married, 40s-50s).

Overall, Newport, Fort Thomas and Covington are very safe areas. Fort Thomas has more young families and its amount of rental property is decreasing as home values have risen there. However, Newport and Covington are still transitioning and developing, so even living in their pockets of pretty streets and renovated historic properties will take an acceptance/tolerance/embrace of urban issues to be content. The East Row/Mansion Hill area of Newport is probably the only area of potential interest for you in Newport (which is a relatively small town of only 2 sq.miles or so.)

Covington's city web site has some information about its neighborhoods (covingtonky.com). In addition, The Center for Great Neighborhoods of Covington helps coordinate neighborhood associations (greatneighborhoods.org). For someone of your brief description, I would suggest Licking Riverside (esp. Garrard St. up to the 800 block), Mutter Gottes or Mainstrasse for initial exploration.

(I found your posting, because I'm in the process of helping Covington develop a "red carpet" program for residential relocations (namely for our Arts District). If you have any specific questions -- like, where is X street? -- feel free to ask me. I've also been on both sides of the relocation process and think highly of most parts of Greater Cinci/NKY.)

[teeniesue]

You have got to check out Fort Thomas, KY and here's why:

Easy access to downtown Cinti via I-471 - you can get to downtown Cincinnati in minutes (literally!) and just a few more minutes up I-71 will get you to Norwood. You can completely avoid I-75 traffic and headaches.

Safe town. There are no bad areas, period. It's a town where people are out at ALL hours, walking their dogs, biking, running... There are also some killer mountain bike trails behind Tower park. It is a beautiful town, where people really take pride. It's up on a bluff overlooking the river. You can hear barges along the river, fireworks from downtown when the Reds hit a home run, and sometimes concerts at Riverbend, if the weather is just right.

Lots of rental opportunities. At this point, you could probably name your own price! There are a few apartment complexes but lots of older apartment buildings and duplexes.

The downside: (if you want to call it that) while there is a downtown area, it is mostly locally owned, and you won't find any McDonalds or *eek* Wal-Mart type stuff anywhere in Fort Thomas. But, all that stuff is within easy access. There is a huge shopping center being built right off I-471 in Newport, which is right next door to Fort Thomas. And there's Newport on the Levee.

I have lived here for 12 years and absolutely love it.

Highland Heights and Cold Spring are nice too. Anything near I-471 is a great choice for commuting. However, NKU is nearby and the traffic gets heavy at times.

Drive thru, and you'll see exactly what I mean. Good luck!!