Looking at a house on Lake street in Bryan (off of College). We really like the house--which has been redone nicely--but the neighborhood seemed a little...questionable.

Anybody know anything about it?

-Treloni

I say follow your gut instincts.

Well, thing is, it's a little old, but with mostly hispanic neighbors, I don't know that it will be such a problem.

Having grown up in my own personal ghetto (there were 3 homicides last month...my folks are finally gonna move) old neighborhoods don't really bother me much. I was just checking to make sure I wasn't going to end up at a former crackhouse or share a corner with local prostitutes or something.

Anybody been to the area at night?

-Treloni

Ask your realtor. They should be able to find some basic crime stats for your neighborhood. Just keep this in mind, though: crime can happen anywhere, not just in "sketchy" neighborhoods. Look what happened in CS yesterday. A guy was shot in the face for no apparent reason. You just never know. But yes, go with your gut instinct.

If you are looking for an older house that's been redone, you might look in The Oaks in Bryan or in CS over by George Bush. Both areas are older, but have a lot of nice houses. And, both are in great school zones.

Drive through there this weekend at night. That should enlighten you if know one else can. Go strapped.

Thats not the worst area in Bryan by any means, but you'd be much better off on the other side of Texas Ave.

Where are the Oaks located? I'm much more familiar with College Station than with Bryan.

-Treloni

The Oaks is over by Johnson Elementary off Barak and Windridge. In that general area.

Also, you might look at the area between Texas Ave. and College. Great older houses. It's hard to catch one on the market for very long. There are huge lots with big trees and wrap around porch type houses.

Another decent older area in Bryan is Memorial Forest. Lots of great houses with nice sized lots.

There are several older homes in my area available too. I am in the Enfield/Inwood area close to Garden District off Texas Ave in Bryan. They are older homes in a fairly quiet neighborhood.

my home is about to go on the market. it is in Garden Acres (right behind fritella off of Texas Avenue), and the lot is almost an acre. Lots to mow, but the house will come with a riding mower if the buyer wants it : )

It has been a nice neighborhood, and one that I feel totally safe in.

[This message has been edited by DeanTravers (edited 5/14/2008 3:39p).]

You're selling your house on Garden Acres too ?? There's two for sale right now. I just bought a house on that street less than a year ago, love the neighborhood. I just hope the face shooters from CS don't move in.

I work near that area--I used to stay late to catch up on work, but don't anymore....so definitely check it out at night....also try calling Bryan PD and see what information they can give you regarding crime in that area.

I live off South College but on the other side of Villa Maria, closer to CS. We have bad neighbors but we have a lot of great neighbors as well. That pretty much happens in any older communities. We feel safe where we live and we love the large lot with lots of trees.

My suggestion is to drive around a lot and talk to people that live in the area. Also, Bryan PD has a NET program (Neighborhood Enforcement Team) and they have one officer dedicated to each area. I believe Officer Holt would be your contact. He is ours as well and is very helpful. I would suggest emailing him with questions about the area. Here is the information.
http://www.bryantx.gov/departments/?name=NET_Unit

2c from a lifelong local: That's not a bad area, but it's not as nice as it once was. There are better places, IMHO.

I would also say for any neighborhood, if you have any reservations about it, err on the side of caution. You sure don't want buyer's remorse about a house.

We're actually looking to rent, probably for only about a year or two. Sounds like it's not the best neighborhood for 3 female grad students...

-Treloni

Oh, I wouldn't feel unsafe, but I don't know your threshold for feeling safe.

I just don't know if I'd buy there. I'd rent, though, especially if the price is right.

My threshold? Haha! I live on Northgate, and it's one of the nicest places I've ever lived. It got a lot better after the drug dealer moved out of the unit next door, and after the police caught the serial burglars/peeping toms that were going through the neighborhood this spring. It won't bother ME. One of my roommates has only ever lived in nice new neighborhoods, though. I'm gonna have to convince her that it's a "safe" neighborhood if it at all looks old or run-down.

-Treloni

quote:

---

I live on Northgate, and it's one of the nicest places I've ever lived. It got a lot better after the drug dealer moved out of the unit next door, and after the police caught the serial burglars/peeping toms that were going through the neighborhood this spring. It won't bother ME.

---

In that case, this will be a big step up for you. Welcome to Bryan!

All these replies and no mention of arsenic yet?

I thought that was just the "Lake"...

-Treloni

That was just the lake and if they would ever spend the money to do the tests again they would find that it's not a problem anymore.

quote:

---

wapa, we probably live VERY close to one another.

we also loved the older established lots. i adore our wildlife and the giant trees.

---

The trees and yard is why we moved were we did. Just love it. And we do live near each other, we actually talked about it at a meeting we had last week. I changed my name on here.

No offense CT'97 but you have no idea what you're talking about. If you're that interested, go to the Bryan public library and request to see the annual reports on the facility that is responsible for the arsenic "problem." There should be many of them there.

A little arsenic never killed anybody. Oh wait, yeah I guess it did...I was thinking aspartame

According to Jeremiah Wright, the arsenic was placed there by the whites of College Station to rid Bryan of minorities.

Look behind the Aerofit, and in those adjacent streets, at the intersection of 2818 and Villa Maria. Some good houses available now.

rocket definitely knows what he is talking about.........

You can check Bryan's GIS website for the Police Map Service. It will map out all of the latest police reports. I used this when we were house hunting to see how much activity there was in certain neighborhoods.

http://www.bryantx.gov/departments/?name=maps

Aggie 0407 and others, The GIS map of police activity has not been updated in months.

Is there a GIS map for College Station, too? Looking at another house that might be a *wee* bit close to the state streets.

-Treloni

2 or 3 houses on the market at any given time in my subdivision, Westwood Estates.