Too close for comfort (scared rant)

you hear it in the movies... but when you hear it within a few blocks of your home, you get scared. A few minutes ago, I heard about five shots... REALLY close. I guess it would have been a larger caliber, as they weren't 'firecracker' sounding... my windows are slightly open, with the 'safety' latches on... of course, I just closed them, mostly after hearing my upstairs neighbor closing theirs... hey, they're not on the ground floor... so, blinds are drawn, windows and doors locked. I'm wondering how close it was... it sounded way TOO close for my comfort.

I hate my neighborhood... I want out NOW!

Granted I knew my neighborhood wasn't the nicest when I was told the corner I live on used to be called Prostitute Corner... uhhhh... yeah.... nice.

Breaking the lease sounds pretty darn good right about now...

Going back to bed... although I doubt I'll sleep much. If at all...

Amanda

ETA: Oh holy cr**.... it looks like it was on the other side of my building, possibly on the street... I'm on the corner, but my apt faces toward the rest of the complex... I got up to check on something and saw the red and blue lights outside my dining area window. I have a frosted film on my windows to keep weirdos from peering in my windows... so I peeled a corner away on that window and saw two cops, and a corner of the area of police tape... crud, crud, crud.

HOW SCARY!!!

Yeah, if you can afford it, I'd get out of there pronto!!

It probably won't help, but me being me, I would actually take comfort in the police presence and figure that nothing else will happen as long as they are there...

Poor you!! and for a safe night and safe rest of your (hopefully short lived!) time at that place!!

oh no

I hope no one was hurt. And I agree with BelongstoEvie, you should try and get out of there as soon as possible. A nice, kitty-loving person should not be living in a dangerous neighborhood like that.

I'm assuming you keep your kitties inside...right? hehe

I had a similar incident a few years ago here. I heard loud voices outside in the middle of the night, and as I was walking to the window I heard a shot. I hit the floor instantly and crawled to the phone.

I'm glad you're okay, and if your neighborhood is that bad, you definitely should move when it's feasible. But the best piece of advice is when you hear gunshots, keep low and stay away from the windows!

I actually live in a pretty decent neighborhood, but a kid broke into a house just 2 doors down, tried to rob the family as they were eating dinner, and ended up getting shot by the homeowner with his own gun.

We've never had a problem, other than the window being broken on our car a few weeks ago.

Oh my, I'm sorry you have to deal with this. I'd be terrified. My neighborhood is pretty decent but a few years ago some guy a few streets down went nuts and stabbed his wife. Then he set the downstair of his house on fire. He ended up dying of smoke inhalation and his wife died from her wounds. I guess even though you live in a seemingly decent neighborhood scary stuff can still happen. I really hope you can find a better place to live.

Quite scary! We've had a guy charged with domestic violence try and get into our house while running from the cops one night, but that's about it in our close vicinity. A mile or so down the street though, someone was murdered a few months ago. I think it was drug related. All the crime from North Charleston is seeping out into Summerville, I think

Well, I didn't sleep well last night... duh. So I'll load up on coffee today in hopes of functionality at work. I haven't heard or seen anything new about it... but i'll check the news... I don't know if anyone got hurt... I could tell it wasn't inside my building... I'd have heard the shots differently... I think. I only heard them from the open windows.

We've had a small 'gang' of guys hanging around my corner of the complex since I moved in... I know they at least do drugs, if not deal them. I also know they don't live in the complex... they live elsewhere but hang out on the numerous steps and benches here.

I seriously felt safer living in my old place in Chicago. Now, ten or twenty blocks south of me was a different story... but my area was decent. I wish I could afford to move... but with pet fees and such... and rent keeps going up... anything i can afford is in the same kind of area around here...

Blech. Well, I better go get my day started...

Thanks for listening...

Amanda

I know how scary that is...

A couple of years ago at my old house, we heard gunshots. The cops came but didn't see anything. A couple of hours later, someone found the body of the guy that had been shot down by the clubhouse!

A few years before that on the next block, a girl shot and killed her roommate because she used her shampoo!

I am so glad we moved!

When I lived in Austin, I always stuck to the northwest part of town, because the southeast had a bit of a reputation. But when I got a job in the downtown area, I wanted to be closer, and I found a beautiful fourplex apartment just southeast of my office. It was a very pretty neighborhood with nice broad streets and a wooded area nearby... it didn't look like it could possibly be a dangerous place.

I was burglarized the third week I lived there. One of my neighbors turned out to be dealing drugs. Another regularly beat up his wife. Three doors down, to my astonishment, we had mother-and-daughter prostitutes. And the police found a huge cache of stolen guns in the woods behind my apartment.

When a dead body was found in the trunk of a car across the street from me, I started looking for a new place!

Which is what I think you should do... even if it means finding a different job, too. When bullets are flying in your neighborhood, you can catch one even lying asleep in your own bed. It's just not worth it.

I wouldn't sleep either that is pretty scary. I am glad I live in a quiet sleepy town.

Yikes! I'm glad you are ok!

I live in an somewhat ok neighborhood. A few weeks ago I heard what sounded to me like a shot VERY close to my house sometime after midnight. DH didn't wake up (we were both on the couches in the living room) but the girls and I sure jumped. I know there is drug activity in my neighborhood too. I really don't think it's that bad, but I'm not eager to raise a child here.

I was at work all day, so I haven't heard anything... I'm looking at other places... although it probably won't be feasible for me to move anywhere, breaking the lease or not, until i get better employment.

There's a place closer in (i.e. closer to downtown Portland) that is a refurbished vintage place... large complex, but all nice older brick facades, gas, and they have two bedroom town homes with basements (le sigh... I want, so want - business can go in basement, if it's dry enough). I don't know how much the rent is, or how quiet/noisy it is. Considering it is closer in, it probably will be more... but I'm going to keep checking their website, especially when I see the signs on the lawn saying they have units available. I'm also going to look at other places... I have to wait until I have better work, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop looking at places. I need something to aim for.

Thanks everyone for listening...
Amanda

Originally Posted by RubSluts'Mommy

Well, I didn't sleep well last night... duh. So I'll load up on coffee today in hopes of functionality at work. I haven't heard or seen anything new about it... but i'll check the news... I don't know if anyone got hurt... I could tell it wasn't inside my building... I'd have heard the shots differently... I think. I only heard them from the open windows.
Amanda

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Did you find out what actually happened? I hate to say this, but it sounds like someone was shot and killed. It also sounds like you live in an inner-city neighborhood...is there anyway you could move out to the suburbs?

I don't have to worry about crime too much since I live in a small quiet town with a population of about 3,000. But up in the Twin Cities, which isn't too far away, it seems like someone is shot and killed on the streets every single night.

Originally Posted by Lorie D.

Did you find out what actually happened? I hate to say this, but it sounds like someone was shot and killed. It also sounds like you live in an inner-city neighborhood...is there anyway you could move out to the suburbs?

I don't have to worry about crime too much since I live in a small quiet town with a population of about 3,000. But up in the Twin Cities, which isn't too far away, it seems like someone is shot and killed on the streets every single night.

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I wouldn't call this area 'inner city', by any stretch of the imagination. I lived in downtown Chicago for three years... within twenty or so blocks of the 'hood' (South Side Chicago). I'm not in downtown Portland, I'm in a semi-suburban area. I'm on the east side of Portland, which has typically been a slummier area. And I'm even getting priced out of this area... sad, really. I felt safer in Chicago, and the violence there is quite legendary.

I'm still not sure about what happened. Trust me, I'd move in a heartbeat if I could afford it... but I can't. I live in a 'well known to be crappy' area. I chose the place from 2000 miles away because I was desperate for a place. I'd backed out of a lease on another place in southeast Portland that had fleas and mold. I flew home and hunted for another place.

Too much quiet would drive me nuts. I can handle it on occasion, but I not all the time. My parents' house is deathly quiet and last time i was down there, there was a wind blowing some small branches against my window... I could not sleep. I like the ambient noise of a city... where I am now is not city... it's semi-clean slums. This complex is new, I'm the first tenant in my unit... but it's surrounded by a nasty area...

I'm looking, but unless a miracle happens and I suddenly have the cash to do new higher rent, pet deposit, and the cash to break the lease here, I'm stuck until next summer. I'm looking at work and apartments.

For the record: I hate suburbs. I grew up in them. I hate them. Everything is too spread out for my tastes. Nicer urban is where I want to be. For those of you who're familiar with Portland, I want to live in The Pearl (yuppie/artsy area for those of you who don't know).

Now, off to find dinner...

Amanda

I know how you feel, I live in a neighborhood with so much crime that the police have a special task force and when I tell people where I live I get incredulous stares. In a month I'm moving to Philadelphia, and my neighborhood will actually be much safer despite being even more urban.

Last night as we were walking to the grocery some little punks threw a glass bottle at us. They think they're a gang, but all they do is vandalize and steal and throw rocks and bottles at people for fun.

I always hate the sound of gun shots, but as often as not they're something else anyway. Obviously in this case it was, and I'm glad you're safe.

Breaking a lease is expensive, and anyhow, the person that got shot was probably shot over drugs (if they were dealing as you suggested) and you were in no danger.

The Pearl District is really nice now, but hasn't always been. It's great how it has come so far. When my daughter first moved to Portland she was near the Albina area, near Emanuel Hosp. That is where I saw my first gang enforcement car, didn't know they existed. I wanted her to come home NOW!
She has been in different places over the years. She and her partner recently bought a home in St. Johns. Very nice neighborhood. This is the child that grew up in the country near a small town. Couldn't wait to get to the city. Now she's leaning back towards her her roots, they want to eventually have a home in the country. (They raise chickens in their backyard! )

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

I know how you feel, I live in a neighborhood with so much crime that the police have a special task force and when I tell people where I live I get incredulous stares. In a month I'm moving to Philadelphia, and my neighborhood will actually be much safer despite being even more urban.

Last night as we were walking to the grocery some little punks threw a glass bottle at us. They think they're a gang, but all they do is vandalize and steal and throw rocks and bottles at people for fun.

I always hate the sound of gun shots, but as often as not they're something else anyway. Obviously in this case it was, and I'm glad you're safe.

Breaking a lease is expensive, and anyhow, the person that got shot was probably shot over drugs (if they were dealing as you suggested) and you were in no danger.

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Yes, breaking a lease is costly... which is why I can't do it just yet. And I know I'd never be an actual target of someone's gun around here (for the typical reasons, i.e. drugs), but stray bullets don't care who they hit.

When I first moved here two years ago, I had already found a group of science fiction friends. We held a picnic. I introduced myself, and one of the older men in the group (who dresses as a monk in the SCA [period reenactment group]) asked me where I moved into... I told him the intersection and he made the sign of the cross and said "Bless you, my child" I was then filled in on the reputation of my neighborhood. I have done my best looking past the cr*p here... but as the title of my original post says, this time was a little too close for my comfort.

You mention the task force in your area... we just had a little ice cream social at the community room last week... three officers were there to introduce themselves and let us know that if a call comes in from this complex, they won't delay... and any reports will get CC'd to the management... well, that's nice, but seriously, that's not gonna push the dealers out of the area... too many strip clubs and corners for people to pimp themselves off of around here... blech.

I found another building, down in the Pearl. Most of its units are income restricted, like this place, and they seem much more reasonable in price... slightly smaller... but hey, I can deal. And it's walking distance to downtown, which I'm dying for...

I still haven't gotten food... I must peel myself away from the computer. I've fed the cats, but not myself... well there's leftover chicken... and hte bottle of ketchup is calling my name. Of course JoJo will insist on having some chicken... she inhales it.

Amanda