Will My Dogs Be Safe?

[Dog Walker]

jag,  There are lots and lots of dogs in both places that are doing just fine.  I think half the shops in Springfield and 5 Points have dogs in them too.

BTW, barking dogs are about the best security system you can have, even if they are small.

Come on in to the "urban center"!  Life is just great here.  All these neighborhoods are "no boredom" zones.

[KuroiKetsunoHana]

Gentrifiying neighborhoods breathe potential and excitement.

only if you're the gentry.  everyöne else gets pushed around and told they don't matter.

[hooplady]

W 12th just has a different feel than the rest of Springfield.  I think I would rather be in the mix. 

I'm over on W. 12th a lot...between Main and Silver it's really pretty quiet.  Having the school on the north side makes it almost like living across from a park.  But the further west you go it can get a little dicey;  there's a lot of interesting traffic on Pearl and Boulevard.

[Springfielder]

If they were serious about looking to buy in Springfield, then hearing wild stories and then hearing the truth, should have raised a red flag about the wild stories and any validity to them. Also, wouldn't this person, if serious, have read through the springfield threads and after doing so, realized that this is actually one of the safest neighborhoods?

Me thinks we were just being poked by a troll  

To the troll remarks.. JagNole is a friend of mine.  He has been looking to move to one of the urban neighborhoods for a while now and has finally reached the point financially to where he can buy.  He has always been a fan of springfield but expressed his concern with crime to me.  I recommended MJ to him and advised him to start a thread asking residents for their honest opinion.  He was not aware of this site/online community until this past sunday.  I recommended the site because not only am I a daily reader but when I was looking to move out of the suburbs two years ago I posted a similar thread concerning Riverside and the members of MJ greatly influenced my decision to move to Riverside.  And now I love where I live and I am hoping that MJ will be able to help JagNole out as much as it did me.

The person may be a friend, but with them making such a snap decision after only a few serious posts (as most on the first page were jokes between regulars) and nothing was negative....but yet they decided that this isn't the neighborhood for them....please....it's more than clear that they weren't serious, if they were, then there would still be dialog between them and the others here...but is there...nope..so what are those sincerely responding to think....which is the conclusion I came to as well

I am not a troll.  I am sorry I did respond and interact as you thought I should.  Thank you A-Finnius for being my friend and sticking up for me.  I apologize too if I have offended anyone.  It was not my intention and I had no ill meaning.  I just want to hear from everyone before I make one of the biggest decisions of my life and that I make a well informed decision.  There is no "snap" decision nor did I ever say it was not the place for me and that I am not interested.  I am trying to make an informed decision. 

I have never purchased a home before.  I have never lived in a urban area.  I live in Mandarin now and I have lived in several cities but always in the burbs.  I agree it is boring and I cannot stand it and I need out and want to be in a real neighborhood.  There is crime where I live to.  It is however different for me to think of place like Springfield as I have never lived in a neighborhood like that.  I fell in the love with the area and have enjoyed meeting all the people I have met.

I simply wanted to know the safety of my dogs while I was not home.  Not about cats killing them and goats.  I am concerned about the break-ins I see on the COJ website.  It is an alarming number so I wanted to hear from more people in Springfield.  While it may be trivial to some, my pets are my children and are treated as such.  I am concerned for their safety and want to know they will be safe before I would purchase a home.  

Thank you to everyone who shared their stories of their life in Springfield and explained to me how it was for them and how they got there.  I really appreciate that and that helped me in many ways.  It was the honest answers I was looking for.  

Again I am sorry if I offended anyone or created drama.  That was not my intention.

The thing is, you say that you wanted to hear from us, but then made the statement after just a few responses, that you were going to look elsewhere...which wasn't even time for most of us to respond. Had you not been so quick to toss in that statement, I would've offered my two cents, given that I've lived in the neighborhood for many, many years.

There's no safe neighborhood, crime happens everywhere...however, what happens within our 1 square mile of Historic Springfield, is in fact, a great deal less than most other neighborhoods. There's a few break ins now and then, there's been a few robberies...but as a whole, we're pretty darned safe. Hell, even the gated communities have crime.

I don't know why you would think that your dogs wouldn't be safe within your home, when you're not there. To be honest, I've never heard anyone ask that before. My dog is perfectly safe, as are my neighbors dogs.

[jagnole04]

W 12th just has a different feel than the rest of Springfield.  I think I would rather be in the mix. 

I'm over on W. 12th a lot...between Main and Silver it's really pretty quiet.  Having the school on the north side makes it almost like living across from a park.  But the further west you go it can get a little dicey;  there's a lot of interesting traffic on Pearl and Boulevard.

I was out on W 12th Saturday and met a couple neighbors by the house I like.  They said it was quiet too and they don't have any problems.  I have been on the street time and time again at different hours and it is always quiet.  The school also is nice because people are around during the day.  The neighbors told me that the problems on the other side of the tracks pretty much stays over there.  I love the house and it is the one I go back to time and time again.

[jagnole04]

If they were serious about looking to buy in Springfield, then hearing wild stories and then hearing the truth, should have raised a red flag about the wild stories and any validity to them. Also, wouldn't this person, if serious, have read through the springfield threads and after doing so, realized that this is actually one of the safest neighborhoods?

Me thinks we were just being poked by a troll  

To the troll remarks.. JagNole is a friend of mine.  He has been looking to move to one of the urban neighborhoods for a while now and has finally reached the point financially to where he can buy.  He has always been a fan of springfield but expressed his concern with crime to me.  I recommended MJ to him and advised him to start a thread asking residents for their honest opinion.  He was not aware of this site/online community until this past sunday.  I recommended the site because not only am I a daily reader but when I was looking to move out of the suburbs two years ago I posted a similar thread concerning Riverside and the members of MJ greatly influenced my decision to move to Riverside.  And now I love where I live and I am hoping that MJ will be able to help JagNole out as much as it did me.

The person may be a friend, but with them making such a snap decision after only a few serious posts (as most on the first page were jokes between regulars) and nothing was negative....but yet they decided that this isn't the neighborhood for them....please....it's more than clear that they weren't serious, if they were, then there would still be dialog between them and the others here...but is there...nope..so what are those sincerely responding to think....which is the conclusion I came to as well

I am not a troll.  I am sorry I did respond and interact as you thought I should.  Thank you A-Finnius for being my friend and sticking up for me.  I apologize too if I have offended anyone.  It was not my intention and I had no ill meaning.  I just want to hear from everyone before I make one of the biggest decisions of my life and that I make a well informed decision.  There is no "snap" decision nor did I ever say it was not the place for me and that I am not interested.  I am trying to make an informed decision. 

I have never purchased a home before.  I have never lived in a urban area.  I live in Mandarin now and I have lived in several cities but always in the burbs.  I agree it is boring and I cannot stand it and I need out and want to be in a real neighborhood.  There is crime where I live to.  It is however different for me to think of place like Springfield as I have never lived in a neighborhood like that.  I fell in the love with the area and have enjoyed meeting all the people I have met.

I simply wanted to know the safety of my dogs while I was not home.  Not about cats killing them and goats.  I am concerned about the break-ins I see on the COJ website.  It is an alarming number so I wanted to hear from more people in Springfield.  While it may be trivial to some, my pets are my children and are treated as such.  I am concerned for their safety and want to know they will be safe before I would purchase a home.  

Thank you to everyone who shared their stories of their life in Springfield and explained to me how it was for them and how they got there.  I really appreciate that and that helped me in many ways.  It was the honest answers I was looking for.  

Again I am sorry if I offended anyone or created drama.  That was not my intention.

The thing is, you say that you wanted to hear from us, but then made the statement after just a few responses, that you were going to look elsewhere...which wasn't even time for most of us to respond. Had you not been so quick to toss in that statement, I would've offered my two cents, given that I've lived in the neighborhood for many, many years.

There's no safe neighborhood, crime happens everywhere...however, what happens within our 1 square mile of Historic Springfield, is in fact, a great deal less than most other neighborhoods. There's a few break ins now and then, there's been a few robberies...but as a whole, we're pretty darned safe. Hell, even the gated communities have crime.

I don't know why you would think that your dogs wouldn't be safe within your home, when you're not there. To be honest, I've never heard anyone ask that before. My dog is perfectly safe, as are my neighbors dogs.

This is very strange.  I think you just assumed and judged me instantly.  If you look back at my post it said I was looking on W 12 street.   I responded and I said, you can go look, that I would focus my search farther south in SPRINGFIELD.  Why that caused such alarm to you and backlash I am not sure.  I am sorry if you are that sensitive that I cannot discuss blocks.  Perhaps you are just an uninviting person.  I am not sure as I get a VERY negative tone from all your responses.  It is actually more of a turn off to Springfield than the crime.  I don't want to live around people like that as misery loves company and negative people love to spread it.

To answer about my dog question once again, which I have previously made clear, is that they are my children.  They weigh 10 pounds together and could hurt no one or protect themselves.  I worry someone could break-in, hurt them, or even take them.  It is my job as a parent to protect them.  So I want to know everything I can about the area before I move there and hear from other people. 

Most responses have been wonderful and I am very much appreciative and thankful.  I can over look a few bad apples.

[hooplady]

Hmmm...I think your bigger issue is that you don't have the minimum animal poundage to be allowed to live in Sp'fld.  Ten pounds isn't nearly enough.  But don't worry, you can supplement with fosters and porch cats.  W. 12th has a rather happy colony of community cats, I'm sure they'd be willing to stray your way for the right kibble.

The school is a minor inconvenience at drop-off and pick-up times; other than that it's great.

[Springfielder]

My error for not seeing where you mentioned a little further south, in Springfield...so I do apologize for that.

As for this being a safe neighborhood or not, it is and it's in fact, one of the safest. I've had pets ever since moving here, and have never, ever had a problem. Mind you, I don't leave them outside all of the time, like my neighbors do, and I have seen people walk by and tease those dogs. There have been break ins, but have never heard of anyones pets being injured...so I would say that your dogs would be safe. Most times, people will not break into a place, where there's dogs inside, those jerks want as little attention as possible.

There's just no better place than Springfield, great neighbors and a real sense of community.

[iloveionia]

Have you touched base with a local Realtor?  We have SEVERAL folks who live in Springfield who can help you that are licensed agents.  Now that you know your dogs will be just fine, time to find the right house, 12th Street or not! 
Hooplady was too kind about the poundage:  plan on a new child once you move in.  SACARC will gladly adopt a very special baby into your family.  ;-)

[Springfield Chicken]

I agree with using a local Realtor.  A bunch of us live and work here and you can't go wrong with any one here.  And the inventory of homes is the best I've seen in months, at all prices and all over the neighborhood.  Many of them are selling quickly so work with someone who will keep their eyes open for you.  This is the best neighborhood EVER and we'd love to have a new neighbor!

[Debbie Thompson]

JagNole, if you keep going back to that house on W. 12th, it may be the one for you.  Often times, in Springfield, our old houses choose you instead of the other way around.  I'm not kidding.   You can always be "in the mix" by attending neighborhood parties and events. There are LOTS of them.  Plus, walk your dogs.  Take them to the dog park.  You can meet lots of people that way.

On the other hand, if having your neighbors right there and all around you is important to you, as Chicken said, there are other options where you will have neighbors on all sides.

No matter which house you choose, you will love Springfield.  

Here's the URL to the Springfield Resident Realtor's page on MySpringfield.  All of them know their stuff.  As Springfield Chicken said (one of them) you can't go wrong with any of these people.  

http://www.myspringfield.org/springfields-resident-realtors.html

[Dog Walker]

I have this funny idea that the distance between the houses in Riverside/Avondale and Springfield are an element that makes them "real" neighborhoods, not just clusters of houses.  That and the closeness of the houses to the sidewalks and the front porches.

My friends who live in the suburbs frequently don't know who their neighbors are and just wave at them as they come out of their driveways.

Maybe it's more about the physical layout than the kind of people who live in the different places.

In our old neighborhoods, you WILL get to know your neighbors.  I love it!

Walk your dogs and you will get to know everybody within several blocks.

[danno]

My neighbors and I wash our dishes at about the same time every night and we are able to look across; and chat if we have the windows open.

[DeadGirlsDontDance]

The dangers of Springfield are greatly exaggerated.

I'm sure a couple of Chihuahuas safely shut up in a house will be just fine, if I can take long, rambling walks in the middle of the night without anybody bothering me. In fact, the few loonies, druggies and homeless people I run into greet me by (nick)name and solicitously inquire about my health and general well-being. I am not making this up.