Fearing getting mugged gets old IMO. Fearing that someone you love is going to get mugged is worse.I tried to be non-chalant about repeated break-ins but that gets old too. I am still glad I chose a questionable neighborhood to start my real estate ownership history when I could have borrowed more to go to a better place. Being young and single and helped.
Speculating that the neighborhood would improve was part of the motivation and it did to a large degree. I would have stayed there if I was single still.
It is hard to talk about neighborhoods and housing stock without sounding like a snob or sounding insensitive or competetive or getting defensive. I commend you Gary for being able to talk candidly about your aspirations for lower priced areas. Again, you seem very smart to me. I hope you will enjoy the feed back you get here toward helping you make your eventual choice.