NOT family friendly
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4/12/2008
I have lived in Kent for 10 years have witnessed a steady but sharp decline in the quality of life here. First off, violent crime rose 101% in 2007. Second, most neighborhoods have more rental properties than owner- occupied houses and so you never know who your neighbors are (and will be). For example, this year there are three (youth oriented) sexual offenders living within a half mile of my home (two not even a full block away); all of them live in rental properties. Third, the neighborhoods are loud and, since there so many rental houses, block parties are coming into fashion. During these parties, people cut through yards- damaging garden space and stealing/ destroying children's toys. We can't put any holiday decorations up in our front yard as they will either be maimed or stolen by people walking home from parties and bars. Fourth, there are many run- down houses in Kent that never seem to be taken care of; there are exterior maintenance codes but they are seldom enforced. Fifth, we can't take our kids for walks down certain streets because of what they might see; from our own backyard my daughter saw a man urinating (fully exposed) during a house party.
Kent should be a nice place because it has so much potential and, to be fair, there are people who are really trying to better the atmosphere here but, for the most part it is not a good city in which one can raise a family. The situation here has spun out of control so that most neighborhoods are just extensions of the University. City officials underestimate the magnitude of the problems and thus the situation has been severely mismanaged. We are getting out as soon as we can!
Eve | Kent, OH