We have lived in a number of interesting places. Since 2006, we have lived in a quaint c1910 duplex owned by a benevolent slumlord. We've only had two rent increases as they don't want to invest in the property and they like just getting a check. And I'm better at repairs than their handyman, so we do most tings ourselves.
Having been the stable residents, our neighbors have been a mixed bunch. We've had a nice couple in their 30s that we got on with until the bought a house and moved on. We have had several roommate collectives that generally last about 18 months before they fall apart. Then we had the nice couple that moved in as the husband was in late stages of COPD along with their adult son. When the husband passed, the other family members did not take it well. First the wife started using drugs and burning through the money from the estate, eventually bringing in her dealer/boyfriend. They were loud and liked burning things in a makeshift fire pit out back. Next to our wooden fence. She died under mysterious circumstances and as far as we can tell the boyfriend is in jail. So the adult son took over. Also hitting drugs pretty hard. He would come and go at all hours, sometimes disappear for weeks, and then have friends over for football parties. As we found out later, he nailed all the windows shut from the inside, never cleaned (there were mice, our cats were not too sad about that (we have raised some excellent hunters, apparently, bringing 35 confirmed kills in a bit over a year and a half)). He eventually just disappeared, I was able to confirm to the owners that he had never shown up to receive the court papers for eviction and damages. So after not paying for an extended period, they had to bring in professional cleaners that did drug houses. There were bloody handprints on walls, feces in rooms, and dead mice. They spent 6 months cleaning and remodeling. And now have started running background checks.
Our neighbor now is a professional in his mid thirties. No more than normal noise and at reasonable hours. He does like to clean in the evenings so we get vacuum noises until 10 or so, but we are probably on a similar schedule so no worries.
When we moved in, there were 3-4 drug houses in the area around us. There were a few garage break ins, but not much major crime. In the last few years it has become an in demand neighborhood because of the brick houses and being in walking distance to German Village and Downtown. So housing prices have spiked (thankfully not reflected in our rent). It's like gentrification except they get to displace poor white people. We have better coffee shops and a lot of gay bars springing up mixed in with blue collar long-time residents.
