I am moving to Ottawa in August and I've never visited. Is the South Keys/Greenboro/Upper Hunt Club area safe?

Question

I will be attending Carleton University in the fall and want to live somewhere safe with easy access to public transportation to Carleton. Will this area be okay? Any suggestions on better neighborhoods where I can find a 2 bedroom apartment for around $900 a month?

Answer 1

There are many residence all around Ottawa. All of Ottawa is safe. There is transportation everywhere and cheap housing.

Answer 2

South Keys area is very safe, so is Hunt Club area.  There are some "low rental" areas that are a little busy, meaning, lots of kids, schools, etc.  Public transportation is not a problem...there is ton's of it available to get you to/from school at Carleton.  Might be tough finding a 2 bedroom for around $900 a month, but google up available apartments in the Ottawa area, then use the guides to break it down into areas of town.

Answer 3

Nothing wrong with those areas.

It's an easy train from South Keys station to Carleton.

Did you try the east side of Parkwood Hills ? Mooney's Bay ?

You could walk from there.

Answer 4

Safe is really a subjective term. It really depends on where you are moving from. Compared to other parts of Ottawa those are not the safest neighbourhoods but compared to parts of Cleveland or even Scarborough they are very safe.

I rarely go into that area (maybe 2-3 times a year) so no personal experience but South Keys makes the news with sufficient frequency for swarmings that I now associate it with being unsafe. There has also been two drive by shootings in South Keys over the last few months or so while nothing by major city standards still not something I'd be happy living around.

Ottawa's largest street gang is the Ledbury-Banff Crips. They get their name from being centred around where Banff St and Ledbury Dr intersect. I'd have to consult google maps to be sure but that is either in South Keys or near South Keys. Again not the best thing to happen to a neighbourhood.

Can't really help much with public transportation as I don't use it. Same goes for rentals in that price range. You might try Barhaven. A lot of people I know who can't afford much live out there and they have decent places for what they are spending. No idea about how good OC Transpo is from out there.