Bad areas of Austin (Spring, West: real estate, crime, homes)

[jsantig]

I've read about all the nice neighborhoods and good areas in Ausin, but what are the bad parts of town that we should stay away from.

[ericbramlett]

"Bad" is pretty subjective... I wouldn't live on the SE side of town. Run some zip code searches here: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/police/crimeinformation.htm

[southaustingal]

I'd also avoid the northeast area, which has the highest crime rate. Unless you're a prostitute or drug dealer, stay away from the Rundberg/IH35 area.

[austin-steve]

"Bad" is relative. Even are worst areas are tame compared to some of the big city gang areas. There are no areas of Austin, for example, that are virtually "owned" by drug dealers and gangs.

Some east Austin areas certainly have a higher degree of illegal activity, but that hasn't stopped the gentrification of those areas.

Eric gave the link to crime stats. There is also a correlation usually between crime activity and the quality of the schools. Look for areas with good schools and you'll find what the average person would consider "safer" neighborhoods (and higher real estate prices).
Steve

[jread]

I've been all over Austin and have never once felt like I was in danger. It's laughable what they refer to as a "bad" neighborhood here if you've ever been anywhere in a city that truly is bad.

[LeoZ]

I used to live in this neighborhood called Dove Springs in Southeast Austin. I was very young and don't remember too much about it, but I've heard it was a pretty sketchy area. Apparently a parole officer was shot just one street down from us, and apparently arson was a major problem (although that was probably due more to the summer heat than crime).
After living there for some time we moved to this street named Georgian Drive in North Austin, which was just on the border between East and West. I remember the kids being a little rough, and there being red and blue flashing lights on my street like every other night, but I never really thought much of it.
In summation, East Austin in general is often said to be the "bad part of town," especially Southeast Austin. And there are some areas you definitely do not want to be around at night, especially around Airport Boulevard. But I don't think there's any area that's just an absolute crime-ridden slum.

[east-of-springdale]

Yes, for people who worry about bad things happening to them and think that they can avoid misfortune by avoiding certain neighborhoods - which we all know is code for certain people, i.e. poor people - PLEASE STAY AWAY from southeast Austin. Do not buy homes there, do not demand bike lanes there. Do not open stores that sell cacti for $40 there. Please. Leave the people alone. You folks have plenty of room to run around "safely", listen to your folk songs and build modernist monstrosities. By all means carry on. Just stay west of I-35. Please. And spare the rest of us your paranoia an bigotry.

[Cookiemeister]

Are there any good neighborhoods on the eastside besides Mueller. Windsor Park seems like a nice little neighborhood overall for the buck. I am not sure since I do not live in Austin but it looks safe from my perspective.

[Nighthawks11]

As a patrolman I have worked the east side of Austin. I do take a lot of burglary calls on the east side. The drug addicts do havE to get their crack money from somewhere. However the ammount of aggravated robberies are relatively small and a lot of the time the victim of the burglaries or robberies are in possession of something the perpertrator wants. Ie drugs.

The east side is rich in history and the majority of people are great neighbors and model citizens.

[haggertyj70]

I think "being" in questionable areas and "living" in them are two very different things. I've lived in bad areas....very, very different.