When I moved to Columbus, I had two main requirements for housing. It had to be cheap, and I wanted my own apartment. Of course, I wanted it to be safe, and I didn't want to be living in a dump. But living alone for cheap was at the top of the list.
Now, before you read the rest of the post, let me make it clear that before I signed the contract at my apartment, I checked crime statistics online AND called a private detective (my brother-in-law's brother-in-law's brother) to make sure it was safe. And I saw the missionaries tracting just a few blocks away when I was driving through the neighborhood to check it out.
BUT. With that said, I live in the ghetto. Technically I live on the outskirts of the ghetto, but it is definitely low-income housing, which makes for some interesting stories. (Just as a side note, some of the top google hits that show up when I start typing in "Hilltop Columbus," where I live, is "hilltop columbus crime" and "hilltop columbus ghetto.")
Like the time I drove by a random carnival ride graveyard (?) and saw the creepiest and most ghetto falling apart carnival rides I had ever seen. And I think it was open for business.
Or the time I thought I was going to have to break up a rape outside my front door (thankfully it was a false alarm).
Or that time I had to use pepper spray on an intruder (ahem, it was a cat).
Or the fact that I actually live in an old Confederate prisoner-of-war camp and there is a Confederate cemetery just down the street from my house.
Or these nice drive-through convenience stores. Beer and wine on the go.
When I first moved to Columbus, I seriously thought I was the only Caucasian without a southern accent around. I would walk into stores and everyone in there would turn and stare at me, thinking to themselves, "Who's dat whaht gurl from da suburbs, and what she doin in da hood?" Naturally, I try to blend in as much as possible...and I definitely change my accent to sound a little more southern in my part of town!!
What can I say. Cheap rent comes with its own perks. BUT. I have really enjoyed living where I live. It's a very short 8-minute drive to the Columbus Temple, there are more than 10 discount grocery stores within 5 minutes' drive of my house, and it's super close to the most awesome cemetery I have seen in Columbus (not the Confederate one). And it keeps life exciting!
