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The West End is a fairly diverse area...not necessarily racially diverse since it is predominantly African American (exception being Portland), but socioeconomically diverse. Parts are poverty stricken ghetto and parts are more middle to working class.
The area the thread parent is posting about sounds like the urban renewal/projects area, mainly the old Beecher Terrace & Village West projects, with sort of light industrial/commercial stuff north of Market and along the railroad embankment west of 13th. This urban renewal/housing project area is roughly btw 9th and 13th (west to east), Broadway to Market (south to north).
Beyond 13th and the railroad you are in Russell, which used to be the "Detroit" of Louisville (a lot of abandonment and vacancy), but is being rebuilt...this is more around Pioneer Park.
I think these areas are probably OK to walk through during the day (in fact I will be walking through them this Saturday to go to a folk-art show at the African American musuem). I know Portland is safe to walk through during the day...walked the entire neighborhood, Bank Street and Portland Aveneue and some of those cross streets, from the old part of Portland by Our Lady church to those factories closer to downtown, near Main Street, and back again.
I can't say about walking through at night. I wouldnt do it at night.
I should also say the area the thread parent asked about appears to be pretty well served by TARC, the local transit service, so you don't have to walk to downtown, you could take a bus. The busses all have bike racks in front so you can both ride and take the bus depending on how you want to go.
Last edited by Dayton Sux; 10-31-2012 at 06:33 AM..
It's sad to see the negative comments like stay East of 9th street, etc. These attitudes are racist, since the predominately African American neighborhoods are on the West Side. I live in the Portland neighborhood (near 22nd street) which is completely mixed racially. The west side of Louisville has been horribly neglected but it should no be continually vilified.
Isn't this the first mention of race on this thread? It doesn't seem like much of anyone else said race was involved. If the west side is broadly known to be the epicenter of the city's homicides, wouldn't it naturally follow that people conclude that it isn't very safe--regardless of race?
It's sad to see the negative comments like stay East of 9th street, etc. These attitudes are racist, since the predominately African American neighborhoods are on the West Side. I live in the Portland neighborhood (near 22nd street) which is completely mixed racially. The west side of Louisville has been horribly neglected but it should no be continually vilified.
I say the same about portland. I personally wouldn't live there for free. too many people getting beaten half to death in the streets for no good reason. this has nothing to do with race (most of portland is white). I worked in portland for three years with a lot of good people from portland. it was nothing to see these good people come to work after getting jumped by strangers and kicked in the face twenty times.
it's the same in the west end. I work with great people who just got their car stolen last week around 22nd st. they say it happens nightly in their neighborhood. they want out and talk about the high crime and poor quality of life. oh yeah, they're black. must be racist, huh.
It's sad to see the negative comments like stay East of 9th street, etc. These attitudes are racist, since the predominately African American neighborhoods are on the West Side. I live in the Portland neighborhood (near 22nd street) which is completely mixed racially. The west side of Louisville has been horribly neglected but it should no be continually vilified.
This is interesting! I'm probably relocating to Louisville in a few years, but have been unsettled with the segregation in most neighborhoods. I was raised in KY, so I'm not surprised by it. But after living in Brooklyn & Queens for so long, it makes me very uncomfortable. Because it's never accidental, or maintained without effort. On the other hand, I don't want to be an unwanted element, a harbinger of gentrification and doom, ya know.
One of the reasons I fixed on Old Louisville was that it's supposed to be diverse and less segregated, but it seems like by the time I'll have the cash to move, OL will be unaffordable for me. (I'm an artist, so my idea of "affordable" is more extreme than most.) I'd wondered about the west side, it always looked interesting. I like the feel of it. Portland's certainly MUCH closer to my price range than Butchertown or Bardstown Rd.
When I ask about crime, I really am only interested in the probability of being a victim of violent crime by "wrong place, wrong time". On every board for every city, not just Louisville, it's been difficult sifting through racism for real impacts. Portland sounds promising. Thanks!
This is interesting! I'm probably relocating to Louisville in a few years, but have been unsettled with the segregation in most neighborhoods. I was raised in KY, so I'm not surprised by it. But after living in Brooklyn & Queens for so long, it makes me very uncomfortable. Because it's never accidental, or maintained without effort. On the other hand, I don't want to be an unwanted element, a harbinger of gentrification and doom, ya know.
One of the reasons I fixed on Old Louisville was that it's supposed to be diverse and less segregated, but it seems like by the time I'll have the cash to move, OL will be unaffordable for me. (I'm an artist, so my idea of "affordable" is more extreme than most.) I'd wondered about the west side, it always looked interesting. I like the feel of it. Portland's certainly MUCH closer to my price range than Butchertown or Bardstown Rd.
When I ask about crime, I really am only interested in the probability of being a victim of violent crime by "wrong place, wrong time". On every board for every city, not just Louisville, it's been difficult sifting through racism for real impacts. Portland sounds promising. Thanks!
I'd say Portland, Smoketown, or Old Louisville for you. I would really lean toward Old Louisville. It is very dense and very diverse. The eastern edge of Old LOuisville is the most affordable since it is near Smoketown/Shelby Park, which is an up and coming but still fairly crime riddled area. Very few areas in Louisville are you likely to be a victom of random violent crime. Even in the nicest part of Old Louisville, St James Court, a nice one bedroom can be found for under 700 per month.
Most violent crime in Louisville is gang, drugs, or prostitution related. If you stay outside those circles, your chance of being a subject of violent crime are substantially less than the risk you take driving your car every day om freeways.
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Personally, I think it is a shame that the West End is riddled by social problems, because I love some of the housing styles over there. I have a couple of friends who live over there. I often went to that part of town for comedy shows and good food. Good things over there that are sadly overshadowed by the problems of inner-city America.
This is interesting! I'm probably relocating to Louisville in a few years, but have been unsettled with the segregation in most neighborhoods. I was raised in KY, so I'm not surprised by it. But after living in Brooklyn & Queens for so long, it makes me very uncomfortable. Because it's never accidental, or maintained without effort. On the other hand, I don't want to be an unwanted element, a harbinger of gentrification and doom, ya know.
One of the reasons I fixed on Old Louisville was that it's supposed to be diverse and less segregated, but it seems like by the time I'll have the cash to move, OL will be unaffordable for me. (I'm an artist, so my idea of "affordable" is more extreme than most.) I'd wondered about the west side, it always looked interesting. I like the feel of it. Portland's certainly MUCH closer to my price range than Butchertown or Bardstown Rd.
When I ask about crime, I really am only interested in the probability of being a victim of violent crime by "wrong place, wrong time". On every board for every city, not just Louisville, it's been difficult sifting through racism for real impacts. Portland sounds promising. Thanks!
I lived in Old Louisville for three years before moving to Manhattan last year. I can tell you, as someone who has been and remains very poor, that Old Louisville is for you. It's incredibly cheap: my wife and I rented a pretty spacious one bedroom for $500 a month on St. James Court. The landlord paid the utilities w/the exception of the electric bill, which is incredibly cheap until the summer months when you need to run the A/C. If you're coming from Queens, I can promise you Louisville will be affordable. You could easily live in a really nice apartment in East Louisville (the Highlands) for cheaper than a crappy apartment in Astoria.
Old Louisville used to be pretty dangerous at one point, but it's not anymore. I walked around at night without any worries, although I would say that I knew several people who were mugged in the area. However, they lived north of Ormsby toward downtown, which is where things get a bit more rough. All in all, Old Louisville is beautiful, safe, and easily the most affordable safe neighborhood in Louisville.
Other than Old Louisville, I would say that the Highlands is the nicest area of town, but it is more expensive. However, Bardstown Road is a great area of town. Lots of bars, restaurants, etc. Also, there's a great independent bookstore there--one of the oldest in the U.S., in fact--called Carmichaels that I used to frequent at least once a week. If you can afford around $700-$800 a month, you can get a nice place in the Highlands, and you definitely won't face any crime whatsoever. It's about as safe as city neighborhoods get.
I don't like saying this for reasons I'll elaborate on below, but don't live in West Louisville. That area of town is tragic. The city government has completely abandoned the whole west side of the city, even though the government made numerous promises of development money a few years ago. The west side used to be a separate city before Louisville and Jefferson County merged. West Louisville opposed the merger, but were placated with promises of government assistance. It never happened. I think the larger issues are racial. Louisville is segregated--whites live in the east and blacks live in the west, and the city has decided to act like the black area of town doesn't exist. It's a disgrace, but sadly completely typical for southern cities. However, you can't fix that problem by yourself, and people need to be safe. West Louisville simply isn't very safe compared to the rest of the city. It has a couple of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the United States, although most of the west side is not nearly so bad. I would never feel safe walking in West Louisville after dark, and I don't know many people who would. You don't want to live somewhere where you can't walk after dark just to save a couple hundred bucks in monthly rent.
I don't like saying this for reasons I'll elaborate on below, but don't live in West Louisville. That area of town is tragic. The city government has completely abandoned the whole west side of the city, even though the government made numerous promises of development money a few years ago. The west side used to be a separate city before Louisville and Jefferson County merged. West Louisville opposed the merger, but were placated with promises of government assistance. It never happened. I think the larger issues are racial. Louisville is segregated--whites live in the east and blacks live in the west, and the city has decided to act like the black area of town doesn't exist. It's a disgrace, but sadly completely typical for southern cities. However, you can't fix that problem by yourself, and people need to be safe. West Louisville simply isn't very safe compared to the rest of the city. It has a couple of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the United States, although most of the west side is not nearly so bad. I would never feel safe walking in West Louisville after dark, and I don't know many people who would. You don't want to live somewhere where you can't walk after dark just to save a couple hundred bucks in monthly rent.
Old Louisville looks very beautiful. I'm definitely investigating it.
But I'll still investigate Portland a well. I found a good article in LEO that gives some background on it. leoweekly.com/news/portrait-portland It seems poor, and has the usual issues that stem from that, but parts are pretty and interesting. And the people seem nice. Smoketown, on the east side, was the neighborhood at #14 on the most dangerous neighborhoods list. I need a house below $75K, preferably around $50K, so I can get my total monthly expenses under $600/mo. That way I can "art retire" in a few years.
^
There is a part of Portland that seems in better shape and thats that older part along Rudd and North Western Parkway, vicinity of Our Lady church. Some of the old houses there are fixed up or are being maintained. In fact I used to talk with a guy who lived there who would come to the Gesangverien every so often since he was interested in his German heritage...sort of a good old buy but an OK guy.
Portland seems to break down into little sub-neighborhoods, and some are probably rougher (they at least look rougher) than others. The area around the Marine Hospital and the Portland Museum is also not too bad.
Old Louisville looks very beautiful. I'm definitely investigating it.
But I'll still investigate Portland a well. I found a good article in LEO that gives some background on it. leoweekly.com/news/portrait-portland It seems poor, and has the usual issues that stem from that, but parts are pretty and interesting. And the people seem nice. Smoketown, on the east side, was the neighborhood at #14 on the most dangerous neighborhoods list. I need a house below $75K, preferably around $50K, so I can get my total monthly expenses under $600/mo. That way I can "art retire" in a few years.
Smoketown is poor....for now. The projects have been razed and it is getting totally gentrified. Not sure if it is good or bad.
I really think of anywhere in the world, you belong in Old Louisville. Take the Old Louisville ghost tour. You will fall in love. I promise.
Gil Holland, the man behind the yuppified Nulu, thinks Portland is the next hot area. I am skeptical still. If Louisville can sustain yet ANOTHER mixed income, artist friendly area it may be the only metro area in the US under 2 million that can boast 8 or more solid, very large neighborhoods with walkable urban strips, good food, and alot of artists with great architecture.
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