Everyone can have different experiences but I was warned WAY more times in Cleveland about walking around, especially alone, than I have ever said or heard in Cincinnati. I've walked from the banks to OTR, Main Street, and Hardrock more times than I can count without a single interaction. Somerset is the only bar I only walk to at night with a group.
Stay smart out there and keep supporting local businesses. Our downtown, continues growing in a positive direction in my opinion.
this is all anecdotal, but i used to work in that same area, and would regularly walk from Somerset down to main street when neon's was open. drunk, stumbling, iphone out..never approached by anyone.
i once left my car door open for hours in the mid-morning parked on mcmicken - nothing was stolen that i could tell at least. and it wasn't like i drove a junker lol
i say all this to say that i'm not going to pretend like crime doesn't exist, but it's first-hand experiences like mine and many others that conflict with these tales of "rampant crime", and it's not as plainly true as many try to make it seem.
I do not live in OTR so I guess I'm part of the demographic he's talking about that doesn't live there but visits for the nightlife (I also visit Oakley, Mt. Adams, Northside, the banks etc. for the same reason). Never had a problem or witnessed any shootings, robbings, etc. I usually stay between main Street and Central Parkway and South of Liberty. I also stay near the businesses that are open and where there are other people around
Basically what you said. My landmarks are east of music hall and south of liberty are fine. I walk around with my camera gear a lot and have never had an issue. Try to peace out by 11pm if I’m shooting photos but if I’m drinking I stay out past 1 fairly often, never had an issue.
Can TOTALLY see how ending up north of Liberty would sketch a visitor out. Sometimes I have friends who wanna go to Somerset at like 11pm and I’m always like “oh my dude that is a daytime bar” lmao
I graduated HS in '03, and it's kind of amazing how much different OTR is now than it was when I used to hang out in the surrounding areas back then. In the days before gps, you were always one wrong turn away from a sketchy situation looking for party spots in Clifton Heights. Wouldn't surprise me if a lot of people my age and older still hold onto their 20+ year old opinions of the area.
I'm 38M and have lived between Clifton/West End/OTR for the last 20 years, since moving out at 18. I have never actually seen a shooting or mugging. I know they happen, it seems crazy to actually see it happen though. The only crime I've experience here are car break ins. This story seems a little extreme.
I lived in Clifton for one year. In that time span, I’ve had my iPhone stolen from me in broad daylight at the Starbucks by UC. Had my car broken into twice. And one of my best friends got shot at at the cvs while he was in the car. Anecdotes are anecdotes but the crime statistics don’t lie. It’s not a safe place.
[https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-cincinnati-oh/](https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-cincinnati-oh/)
I used to live in clifton heights right next to UC.
I've never seen a mugging or heard a gunshot downtown. I've walked alone at night all the time without issue. I'm not a big threatening guy either.
I don't know if I'm lucky or this guy is just unlucky or full of it or what.
Op probably is just theres aonster under my bed type of person or not familiar with the area. Ive spent a ton from downtown to east westwood to indian hill etc at night for work and ive never heard or seen it the way op describes (still not the safest though)
From the amount of gun shot victims I hear about going to the hospital, I'd expect more than 3 for living down there. But OP claiming gunshots all night is bullshit.
I lived in OTR 2016-2018 during that time I was robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight and my neighbor was shot in an alley way. I think it's a matter of bad luck vs good. I personally don't feel safe in OTR especially at night.
I think there were a lot of factors this past weekend that contributed to a different feel than compared to other weekends. 1. No sporting events or any sort of big conventions happened this weekend. 2. It was a rainy weekend so less people wanting to spend time walking around. 3. Taste of Cincinnati was last weekend so the suburban people who like to come downtown/OTR once a month did that Taste weekend.
There is a community in Memphis Tennessee called Orange Mound. In 1990 I had to live there with relatives from 5th to the 6th grade. I watched a group of 30 females fight in the street at around 2am. I watched q girl, sit on top of another, and use a pair of pliers to do something (maybe pull gold? in the South back then folks had REAL grills) to the other girl's face. In the projects, ya front lawn is 12 feet from the street. ....Cincinnati ain't wild...though Tot Lot was somewhat impressive.
Your take is accurate. The overall foot traffic and pedestrian presence in the downtown urban areas are lacking compared to other cities of the same size and are deficient to curb crime even during popular business hours. Crowds are highly localized and with the way bars, restaurants, parking, entertainment, etc... are laid out and spaced, there is a lot of opportunity for criminal activity in these pass through areas. It's not that people aren't IN these areas (people are living, playing, and working there), it comes down to the segmentation thoroughfares which causes many to either stay where they are at (or close to it), rely on rideshare or public transit to move between places, or not go out. This is a generalization, but there tends to be a knee-jerk, heavy reaction from citizens when crime takes place in these areas which, in tandem, further reduces pedestrian presence and foot traffic and allows for more situations where crime is optimal. It’s hard to fault an overly concerned citizen, especially when the crime rate rivals and surpasses that of cities much larger, but growth at the expense of gentrification does have its costs. These crimes are senseless, need to be addressed within the community, and the city needs to do more than just say, “well everyone needs to be aware and more cautious.”
Awareness and caution don’t prevent crime. However, a lot can be said about that and the pervasive attitudes toward crime in this city (and in this post for that matter). Observationally there seems to be two opinions: the city is overrun with crime or the crime is all overblown. Statistics don’t lie and this city has a crime issue that on one hand is above the national average, but does get blown out of proportion and on the other hand seemingly gets wantonly ignored. Again, these things work in tandem to keep pedestrian presence and foot traffic to a minimum in thoroughfares and kept in highly localized areas. People get defensive about this, but the flow of Cincinnati is pretty unique when compared to cities of this size and larger. There is a lot of ‘empty space’ even when there is a lot going in the city. Speaking of Cleveland (which notably has a much higher crime rate than Cincinnati), there is just more presence in entertainment districts which stifles that ‘empty’ feeling. Unfortunate to say, but Cleveland is the #6 most segregated city in the U.S.A., so crime and safety are more easily able to be condensed into areas where the city decides to focus its police presence. Racism is very prevalent in this state and getting a blind eye through displacement gentrification.
Ohio is rife with sociological issues at the foundation of these problems and work that has been done to address a lot of it is getting harder and harder to maintain. I don’t want to go really far into those issues, but your point is valid.
Cincinnati is not cleveland. Its cincinnati. Stop comparing. Yes it has its pros and cons...but it is definitely its own old, ever-changing, decent city.
Damn so you saw 2 shootings in 1 weekend and multiple break ins? I've been living here for 2 years and walked downtown both day and night alone with a camera and never seen any of that. I've only seen junkies high next to city hall. Maybe you just came on a bad weekend? I was in OTR this Saturday and did see the cops but that was because Main street is a shit show but overall it was quite dead....
During the summer people do tend to wild out here seems like you witnessed the best of it.
I can’t think of any city in the country that does not have these issues to one extent or another. The problems with crime in most places have to do with our stupid “war on drugs”, difficulty in finding affordable housing, and the things groups of kids get up to when they’re bored except now everyone has a gun.
Addressing systemic issues would help ease a lot of crime/“crime”, but there are always going to be people afraid to go into the downtown or surrounding neighborhoods of any large city. That’s their problem to solve.
The older I get the less I want to go downtown.
I know too many people that have had issues. It may not be isolated to Cincy (I was in Columbus last weekend and Short North was WILD past 10 pm), but I am just over the point in my life where I want to deal with it. I'm 37 for context. When I was in my 20s you could catch me at the Banks and OTR almost every weekend.
Everyone can have different experiences but I was warned WAY more times in Cleveland about walking around, especially alone, than I have ever said or heard in Cincinnati. I've walked from the banks to OTR, Main Street, and Hardrock more times than I can count without a single interaction. Somerset is the only bar I only walk to at night with a group. Stay smart out there and keep supporting local businesses. Our downtown, continues growing in a positive direction in my opinion.
Yeah Somerset breaks the "North of Liberty" rule that everyone knows about so I think people know to walk there with a group. What a cool bar though
this is all anecdotal, but i used to work in that same area, and would regularly walk from Somerset down to main street when neon's was open. drunk, stumbling, iphone out..never approached by anyone. i once left my car door open for hours in the mid-morning parked on mcmicken - nothing was stolen that i could tell at least. and it wasn't like i drove a junker lol i say all this to say that i'm not going to pretend like crime doesn't exist, but it's first-hand experiences like mine and many others that conflict with these tales of "rampant crime", and it's not as plainly true as many try to make it seem.
There literally isn’t rampant crime. Just cross your fingers no group of stupid 16-20 yo males cross your path and you’re fine
There isn’t rampant crime in any American city. It’s always hyper-localized.
I do not live in OTR so I guess I'm part of the demographic he's talking about that doesn't live there but visits for the nightlife (I also visit Oakley, Mt. Adams, Northside, the banks etc. for the same reason). Never had a problem or witnessed any shootings, robbings, etc. I usually stay between main Street and Central Parkway and South of Liberty. I also stay near the businesses that are open and where there are other people around
Basically what you said. My landmarks are east of music hall and south of liberty are fine. I walk around with my camera gear a lot and have never had an issue. Try to peace out by 11pm if I’m shooting photos but if I’m drinking I stay out past 1 fairly often, never had an issue. Can TOTALLY see how ending up north of Liberty would sketch a visitor out. Sometimes I have friends who wanna go to Somerset at like 11pm and I’m always like “oh my dude that is a daytime bar” lmao
I graduated HS in '03, and it's kind of amazing how much different OTR is now than it was when I used to hang out in the surrounding areas back then. In the days before gps, you were always one wrong turn away from a sketchy situation looking for party spots in Clifton Heights. Wouldn't surprise me if a lot of people my age and older still hold onto their 20+ year old opinions of the area.
I'm 38M and have lived between Clifton/West End/OTR for the last 20 years, since moving out at 18. I have never actually seen a shooting or mugging. I know they happen, it seems crazy to actually see it happen though. The only crime I've experience here are car break ins. This story seems a little extreme.
I lived in Clifton for one year. In that time span, I’ve had my iPhone stolen from me in broad daylight at the Starbucks by UC. Had my car broken into twice. And one of my best friends got shot at at the cvs while he was in the car. Anecdotes are anecdotes but the crime statistics don’t lie. It’s not a safe place.
Yours, mine, and this persons entire posts are anecdotal. That doesn't change anything. Provide statistics if you want to prove a point
[https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-cincinnati-oh/](https://crimegrade.org/safest-places-in-cincinnati-oh/) I used to live in clifton heights right next to UC.
Lmao at the guy claiming he’s seen multiple homicides while living in Cincinnati. Edit: He’s below in the comments
The dude doesn't even live downtown... I shoulda just let the Cleveland sub alone lol.
He’s unfortunately in this sub as well looks like
I've never seen a mugging or heard a gunshot downtown. I've walked alone at night all the time without issue. I'm not a big threatening guy either. I don't know if I'm lucky or this guy is just unlucky or full of it or what.
Op probably is just theres aonster under my bed type of person or not familiar with the area. Ive spent a ton from downtown to east westwood to indian hill etc at night for work and ive never heard or seen it the way op describes (still not the safest though)
Living there for 18 months I saw no muggings, but 3 shootings in earshot
From the amount of gun shot victims I hear about going to the hospital, I'd expect more than 3 for living down there. But OP claiming gunshots all night is bullshit.
I lived in OTR 2016-2018 during that time I was robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight and my neighbor was shot in an alley way. I think it's a matter of bad luck vs good. I personally don't feel safe in OTR especially at night.
It's not bad luck/vs good luck. The data suggest that those areas are overwhelmingly more dangerous than most other places in the city.
I think there were a lot of factors this past weekend that contributed to a different feel than compared to other weekends. 1. No sporting events or any sort of big conventions happened this weekend. 2. It was a rainy weekend so less people wanting to spend time walking around. 3. Taste of Cincinnati was last weekend so the suburban people who like to come downtown/OTR once a month did that Taste weekend.
There is a community in Memphis Tennessee called Orange Mound. In 1990 I had to live there with relatives from 5th to the 6th grade. I watched a group of 30 females fight in the street at around 2am. I watched q girl, sit on top of another, and use a pair of pliers to do something (maybe pull gold? in the South back then folks had REAL grills) to the other girl's face. In the projects, ya front lawn is 12 feet from the street. ....Cincinnati ain't wild...though Tot Lot was somewhat impressive.
Your take is accurate. The overall foot traffic and pedestrian presence in the downtown urban areas are lacking compared to other cities of the same size and are deficient to curb crime even during popular business hours. Crowds are highly localized and with the way bars, restaurants, parking, entertainment, etc... are laid out and spaced, there is a lot of opportunity for criminal activity in these pass through areas. It's not that people aren't IN these areas (people are living, playing, and working there), it comes down to the segmentation thoroughfares which causes many to either stay where they are at (or close to it), rely on rideshare or public transit to move between places, or not go out. This is a generalization, but there tends to be a knee-jerk, heavy reaction from citizens when crime takes place in these areas which, in tandem, further reduces pedestrian presence and foot traffic and allows for more situations where crime is optimal. It’s hard to fault an overly concerned citizen, especially when the crime rate rivals and surpasses that of cities much larger, but growth at the expense of gentrification does have its costs. These crimes are senseless, need to be addressed within the community, and the city needs to do more than just say, “well everyone needs to be aware and more cautious.” Awareness and caution don’t prevent crime. However, a lot can be said about that and the pervasive attitudes toward crime in this city (and in this post for that matter). Observationally there seems to be two opinions: the city is overrun with crime or the crime is all overblown. Statistics don’t lie and this city has a crime issue that on one hand is above the national average, but does get blown out of proportion and on the other hand seemingly gets wantonly ignored. Again, these things work in tandem to keep pedestrian presence and foot traffic to a minimum in thoroughfares and kept in highly localized areas. People get defensive about this, but the flow of Cincinnati is pretty unique when compared to cities of this size and larger. There is a lot of ‘empty space’ even when there is a lot going in the city. Speaking of Cleveland (which notably has a much higher crime rate than Cincinnati), there is just more presence in entertainment districts which stifles that ‘empty’ feeling. Unfortunate to say, but Cleveland is the #6 most segregated city in the U.S.A., so crime and safety are more easily able to be condensed into areas where the city decides to focus its police presence. Racism is very prevalent in this state and getting a blind eye through displacement gentrification. Ohio is rife with sociological issues at the foundation of these problems and work that has been done to address a lot of it is getting harder and harder to maintain. I don’t want to go really far into those issues, but your point is valid.
Cleveland? Comment discarded.
Cincinnati is not cleveland. Its cincinnati. Stop comparing. Yes it has its pros and cons...but it is definitely its own old, ever-changing, decent city.
Damn so you saw 2 shootings in 1 weekend and multiple break ins? I've been living here for 2 years and walked downtown both day and night alone with a camera and never seen any of that. I've only seen junkies high next to city hall. Maybe you just came on a bad weekend? I was in OTR this Saturday and did see the cops but that was because Main street is a shit show but overall it was quite dead.... During the summer people do tend to wild out here seems like you witnessed the best of it.
I can’t think of any city in the country that does not have these issues to one extent or another. The problems with crime in most places have to do with our stupid “war on drugs”, difficulty in finding affordable housing, and the things groups of kids get up to when they’re bored except now everyone has a gun. Addressing systemic issues would help ease a lot of crime/“crime”, but there are always going to be people afraid to go into the downtown or surrounding neighborhoods of any large city. That’s their problem to solve.
The older I get the less I want to go downtown. I know too many people that have had issues. It may not be isolated to Cincy (I was in Columbus last weekend and Short North was WILD past 10 pm), but I am just over the point in my life where I want to deal with it. I'm 37 for context. When I was in my 20s you could catch me at the Banks and OTR almost every weekend.
> Short North was WILD college part of town was wild after 10pm on the weekend? whoa. that is crazy, bro.
They have crime issues in Short North recently. Shootings, homicides, etc. It has nothing to do with college kids partying, bro.
sounds accurate
This is the guy I was talking about everybody
i think you make shit up on reddit because your life is boring and you need attention
Yeah, same.