Crime stats seem kinda high?

[peestandingup]

Wife & I were batting around the idea of buying in Springfield. We hang out there a lot, so are familiar with the area & its "up & coming" status & know it's a work in progress. But we do have a 2 y/o daughter, so of course crime is gonna concern us just for that aspect alone.

Anyways, I was checking out the COJ website & plugged in the most desirable area in Springfield where the nicest houses are. The stats seemed kinda high. Comparably, Riverside & San Marco (the cities other/only urban areas) weren't as bad, at least in the stats that would concern me the most (assaults, battery & things like that).

Here they are: Springfield Riverside SanMarco

Yes, I know the other 2 areas are more established & such, but still. Thoughts??

[Overstreet]

You probably just started a thread somewhat similar to this one.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,7203.0.html

[peestandingup]

You probably just started a thread somewhat similar to this one.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,7203.0.html

Nope. Not "bashing" anything here. Just asking a legitimate question & have legitimate concerns.

[soxfan]

I've been in Springfield for just over 6yrs. now. I have 11 and 9 yr old daughters. I live near 3 Layers. We've never had any problems as far as crime since we moved into the house. It was broken into before we moved into it though. The only problems I usually have are idiots walking down the street yelling at and teasing my dog for barking at them. A little bit of "Crazy white guy" usually does the trick and they leave. My cars have never been broken into, but I keep them locked. I or anyone else in my family or anyone who has visited us, has never been assaulted in any way. This has been the BEST neighborhood I have ever lived in, even with all of the infighting we do.. Just my $.02

[nvrenuf]

Being that I have no kids, I'm probably not the best to give opinions. But I do live in Springfield and am aware of a recent rash of break-ins and attempted break-ins. There are a lot and I mean A LOT of families with small children living in Springfield. Most of them however do not visit these boards. You might try posting this same question on myspringfield.org and would likely get a larger response.

[iloveionia]

Check the myspringfield.org board or call SPAR and get the Mommies Club contact information. You may be interested in getting involved with the Club anyhow since you have a little one.  You would be able to find out first hand and ask some members of that group how safe they feel living in Springfield with their small children.  This group was highlighted significantly in the most recent issue of Southern Living magazine; betting they have good things to say. Best of luck on your decision to purchase in Springfield.  I personally think it (Springfield) is a best kept secret. 

[Johnny]

I have lived here for 5 years, near soxfan & Three Layers. We have a 2 y/o son. Only problems we've had were people from other neighborhoods telling us how bad it is here, lol. We feel safe, heck safer than we did in my last house in Arlington, which was right off of the water. I didn't know my neighbors there, we just spoke as we seen them in passing. Here, I know my neighbors, which stretch over multiple blocks. That being said, it's all about your personal feelings. If you aren't comfortable here, I wouldn't advise it. Once you buy, you are stuck with the mortgage. You may want to consider renting for a spell and see how you feel about it, then revisit the idea in a year or so.

[peestandingup]

My wife & I arent too terribly concerned with stuff like this ourselves. Between the two of us, we've lived in other (bigger) cities with areas that were pretty comparable to how Springfield is currently (pre-gentrified). But that was before the little one came along. Im still pretty cool with it, wife is a bit more cautious (being the overprotective Mom I guess).

Yeah, I thought about sending her down to those organizations that were mentioned so she could talk with residents & families. I've been going up to Springfield for a while now, but she's just now starting to go with me more. This last trip, I even got her to walk from Uptown Market to Three Layers with the baby in the stroller & we all enjoyed it. So she's making progress! 

I do wonder where those stats are coming from. Esp the assault/battery stat being at 16 in 6 months all in that little corner of the neighborhood. I wonder, are these occurrences happening to the residents that live in that pocket or are they some of the outer residents from the more ghetto areas coming over??

I do know that even in that desired area, there are still some "project looking" complexes that I'm sure some stuff goes down in. Maybe its in these buildings??

[nvrenuf]

Not sure, but you might call the SPAR office and ask them if our ShAdCo rep could provide more detail on those stats.

[CS Foltz]

No better or worse than anywhere else in Jacksonville.................rent first makes sense to me or maybe rent with option to buy, but renting probably would work for the next 2 years. After that housing will start to pick up and then prices will start inching up!

[Sportmotor]

Wife & I were batting around the idea of buying in Springfield. We hang out there a lot, so are familiar with the area & its "up & coming" status & know it's a work in progress. But we do have a 2 y/o daughter, so of course crime is gonna concern us just for that aspect alone.

Anyways, I was checking out the COJ website & plugged in the most desirable area in Springfield where the nicest houses are. The stats seemed kinda high. Comparably, Riverside & San Marco (the cities other/only urban areas) weren't as bad, at least in the stats that would concern me the most (assaults, battery & things like that).

Here they are: Springfield Riverside SanMarco

Yes, I know the other 2 areas are more established & such, but still. Thoughts??

St. Johns county has better schools and far less crime ^_^

[Springfield Girl]

I've lived here for 9 years with my husband and 5 kids. Never any problems with crime, my children could never get away with anything as a neighbor was always sure to call and let me know what they were up to. In my experience the issues other than theft, for the most part have been between people who know each other or between people who are up to no good.

[Springfield Girl]

Wife & I were batting around the idea of buying in Springfield. We hang out there a lot, so are familiar with the area & its "up & coming" status & know it's a work in progress. But we do have a 2 y/o daughter, so of course crime is gonna concern us just for that aspect alone.

Anyways, I was checking out the COJ website & plugged in the most desirable area in Springfield where the nicest houses are. The stats seemed kinda high. Comparably, Riverside & San Marco (the cities other/only urban areas) weren't as bad, at least in the stats that would concern me the most (assaults, battery & things like that).

Here they are: Springfield Riverside SanMarco

Yes, I know the other 2 areas are more established & such, but still. Thoughts??

St. Johns county has better schools and far less crime ^_^

Have to disagree with this one. My kids were going to school in the Urban Core (we took them out of private school because they were bored to tears) magnet schools even before we moved to Springfield. I now have a daughter finishing up dental school (she finished college in 3 years), a daughter who just graduated with honors from Carnegie Mellon (one of the top ranked Universities in the country), a daughter attending Loyola University, and a daughter who just started FSU. My son is attending a nationally ranked magnet high school now with PSAT scores in the 98th percentile of high school students nationwide. I've been very happy with the Duval County schools my kids attended.

[peestandingup]

Speaking of schools, I'm assuming that the public elementary school in this district is out of the question? Would it be private school or bust for us??

[Sportmotor]

I wouldnt send my kid to private school in anywhere but St Johns.