I help a lot of people relocate to the area. When I’m driving them around various towns, inevitably, the question “is this a safe neighborhood” comes up.
Legally, I cannot tell you if a neighborhood is safe. Everyone has different levels of comfort and what I might consider safe, you might not consider safe, or vice versa. Much of this depends on your upbringing and the various places you’ve lived in the past. It is important for you to determine on your own if you feel safe in an area.
For example, it is common for out-of-towners to tell me that they’ve heard all sorts of terrible things about Hartford from co-workers, even if they aren’t even looking for housing in Hartford. They’ll usually give an example or two. Then they ask me my opinion about the city. What they don’t usually realize is that I live in Hartford. So when I tell them that they are usually somewhat embarrassed and then curious why I chose to live here. We get into a discussion about what I was looking for when I relocated and it goes from there.
Because we all have different perceptions of “safe,” here is what I typically recommend buyers do when checking out an area…
1. Call the local police department to ask about crime statistics in the area.
2. Walk around at various times of day and talk to the neighbors. Feel free to knock on doors. People will be happy to tell you about their neighborhood, both good and bad.
3. Visit the area at night. What’s it like? The noise level, traffic level, pedestrian level, street lighting.
From there, you should have a better feeling for the neighborhood and be able to evaluate, on your own, if it fits with your lifestyle and needs. Because you’re the best judge of that.