Personally I would stear clear of dodgy neighbourhoods... we are in a rental that is nice inside and out but the neighbours are horrid!! We had been living in it for three days before calling the cops at 2.30 on a Wednesday morning. 5 months in and we have the police stations' number on speed dial! We are hoping to buy but may have to find another rental in the meantime (the one we are in is on the market and under contract) and this time I will send DP out to explore the neighbourhood late at night to see what it's really like!!