Free Rent

[Alice]

I received an interesting offer yesterday. My boss and the owner of a building offered us free rent for a year if we lived at the owner's apartment building.

This is the place where we had to kick out over half the population because they weren't nice folks. The rest of the neighborhood isn't so bad; the baddies had just made the building a base of operation under previous owner/management.

I'd have to change the kids' schools, we'd be keeping an eye on things at the building and would have to be some wary about our surroundings, but there is already a full-time staff at the building that would stay so we wouldn't be working there so much as being "eyes and ears."

My biggest worry is the boys. There is gang activity in the area due east, even though it is no longer at the building. The police department is working diligently on this and is closing down many of the shabby apartments and the trailer park to the east of the neighborhood that is the center for these problems. Plus, the Police Commander is my new buddy, lol.

Free rent (and utilities) for a year would save us over $14,000 so we are considering it; that's a down payment on a house!

Would you consider it?

[Loverotties]

Thats a hard one only you'll know the answer.Your familys safty is first.

[FishDaddy]

As a veteran of some experience in the real estate business, remember the axiom, "Location, location, location"! Plain truth is that I would not voluntarily put my family into a bad 'location' even if they paid me. Some things are just more important. That said, you are on the ground there and can assess the situation and I trust your judgment.

Dick

[VWD]

That is a hard one. I don't know what to say. I would consider it! You have a better idea and know the area and Your boys.

[ShirleyM]

Ditto what Dick said. How old are your boys? What are their opinions?

When I was suddenly single, moving from a large Louisiana home to a tiny place in Indiana (home state), the boys told me this: Any place but an apartment. They did not want to "hang out with apartment kids". They wanted a yard. They wanted a quiet place. So, as you know, houses are way more expensive than apts. We found a tiny house, 740 sq ft (from 4200 sq ft!) and they loved it! 1 bedroom, they slept in the living room! They had a yard, a woods, a creek, and the garage was their toy room/science room and storage for all the stuff they couldn't unpack. We were there for 6 mos until I landed a regular contracted staff position with Purdue University and not the pilot program teaching work that paid only $45/day. It was worth it and they were happy. It didn't even have A/C! But we had a lot of fun together in a safe neighborhood with good schools during those 6 mos. And I didn't have to worry about them.

jmho,
Shirley

[cath]

Wow, that is a tough choice. Another thing to consider is what are the schools like in that area? With gang activity nearby, that sounds like you'd always be on the on guard. What if the other staff wasn't there, then you'd have to be in charge.

I voet noe

[motorslave]

No. I lived in San Pedro in So. California for a while. I will never put my kids even close to any questionable element if I have the knowledge to avoid it. You dont know when someone will chase soemone down your street whille your working on a buddies car and he gets in the crossfire. Dont do it. That little scenario was real. I saw a friend die. We lived in a pretty decent part of town (it was still Pedro) but it happened. Dont take that chance. Not with your family.

Robert

[tdwyatt]

hmmm...


Tough.


I would side with Dick initially, but there are always extenuating circumstances.


My gut feeling is still No, but then again, I think you're a smart and awesome woman, I think that whatever decision you make will take into account the entire situation and bring a good resolution that is best for you and the boys.


Sorry to not be of much help, but I too, trust your judgement.

[mantisfreak]

WOW!!!

That's a pickle of a problem. Free rent vs possible danger.

I truly don't know what the gang problem is like there. I thought gangs in St. Louis were bad until I picked up a client in Washington D.C. and spent a lot of time there. Now I KNOW how bad gangs can be.....the ones we have in St. Louis are nothing.

I'm not going to tell you what to do other than to recommend that you trust yourself and to pray. Only you know what is best for you and your family.

If you do choose to move there, I ask that you KNOW EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOUR CHILDREN'S FRIENDS AND KNOW THEM WELL!!!

I have a kid from DC that lives with me in St. Louis right now merely because he became friends with the wrong element that lived in the same condo complex. He has NEVER committed a crime in his life. However, his parents went out for the evening and made a he made a childish decision to have his friends (some good kids...some gang members) come over. After playing X-Box for a couple of hours, everyone wanted pizza and they took a collection of money. Here is where it get's interesting and where he made his second bad decision. They gave the money to two gang members to go to the lobby to pick up the pizza. The bad friends chose to keep that money and beat a poor pizza delivery man severely with a fire extinguisher rather than use the money that was collected. They actually broke his arm but he survived.

He did the right thing and testified. For doing to right thing he was jumped by about 10 gang members and he actually was able to hold them off. The word on the streets is that he will be killed if he is ever there again. That's why he is living with me in St. Louis. My parents have been cool and whenever I head over there, he has a temporary home.

Again, I don't know what the gangs are like in Washington. They might be tame like the ones in St. Louis. However, I just wanted to give you my experience.

Good luck and God bless.

[Doug1]

**** Alice, thats a tough choice, but i know you , And I have faith in your ability to think the whole thing thru. Gangs and wana bes are always an issue in large urban areas, access, how bad it truly is, is keepijng the kids in the present school even an option?
On the one hand i agree with avoiding a bad scene, on the other, I know you and your situation well enough to know what a break it would be, and I have a lot of faith in your judgement. I would certainly weigh all sides of the issue.
If nothing else, you know you can always reach me, if you want to hash out fine points, worse case I come up and teach the brats which end of a tazer to point at the bad guys

[Alice]

Thanks for your insights, everyone. This is a tough situation and one we're certainly not rushing into. Steve works graveyard and is starting to drive through this neighborhood on his way to work to check it out. I'm looking more closely at police reports and checking out schools, etc.

On the gang issue, this is a small town inside the big suburbs of Seattle. The Police Department does over-exaggerate their gang activity...the neighborhood might be close to Seattle, but they are still a small town PD. When we lived in Portland, we lived in an area of town that people (who had never been there) warned us about. We did our research though, and felt comfortable moving there. The worse thing that happened to us was the night the Police chased a man in a dress through our backyard and the Police broke our fence. The guy in the dress cleared it just fine. LOL.

Lots to think about.

[FishDaddy]

Another point which I'm sure you've already considered is what kind of kids are in the school? You mentioned the gang activity was still a problem in the area due East and those kids might well be in the same school district. While the building and neighborhood might be getting better, the kids are going to be spending their days at school. Tough to get stats on juvenile incidents as those are generally confidential and the principal may try to downplay any problems at his school. Your friend on the police department might be able to give you some insight.

It's tough being a parent these days and even tougher to be a kid.

Trust your instincts, Alice; you've got good ones.

Dick

[ShirleyM]

Excellent point!

Prior to my move to Indiana I was moving my boys from Lk. Charles to Baton Rouge public schools where I had a teaching position, and while talking to the principal in our residential district, I asked what the kids were like in his school. Troy was entering 6th grade. He assured me the kids were great, the school was good. I believed him, and we were in his office a couple weeks before school started, and sending off for the boys' records. That's when he learned I had taught school in the district they were coming from. He then lowered his voice, looked me dead in the eye, and said, "You do not want your boys in this school." I was shocked. I put them in a private school which cost me a lot of money, but was worth every penny. It wasn't long before I learned the reputation of that school once I was settled in and lived there awhile.

~ Shirley

[dobejazz]

Alice I wish you the best of luck whichever direction you decide to take. I'm sure you will choose the right one for your family. The schools where I live are not the best at the present time but luckily I still have a few years (Violet is just about to turn 2) before we have to decide to move or private school for her.
kelli

[Alice]

Oh yes; we'll be looking at all the facts and figure we can find on schools. Right now, that area high school is under reconstruction so the kids are getting bussed to three different high schools. It's entirely possible that the kids could stay in their present school; it would only be about a 15 minute drive for me in the morning. They'd have to ride public transportation home though, but they had to do that to and fro in Portland.

Shirley, I'm sure glad that principle told you the truth!

Along with the police Commander, I've also been working with the community policing officers and social workers to clean up this building and contribute to the neighborhood in the scope of my job. I've had some pretty frank conversations with all of them and plan to hold another one with them soon regarding our possible move.

I'd like to think they'd tell me the truth, too.