It's hard to answer questions like this because what you might think of a "rough" area, I might find perfectly fine. Low income housing doesn't necessarily mean the area won't be safe, but it's worth investigating. Like others said I would pull up the crime stats on the area. I think I posted this for another similar question, I've moved a million times and this is my method for checking out the safety of a neighborhood.
1. Walk around by yourself at 10:00 on a Saturday night, just go down a few streets, walk around the block. I prefer to do this while wearing a skirt or dress to see if I get harassed at all (better to know before you move).
2. While you're walking take notice: are there large groups of people (ok, men-sorry guys) standing on corners, not having a BBQ or listening to a game, but just loitering? To me that's a bad sign. Are small kids still out on the street in droves by themselves after 10:00? That's also not a great sign, IME.
3. Walk around on a Sunday morning during post church time. This gives you a chance to see more families, as well as people who normally work during the week. Take this chance to stop by the grocery store too. Look at what is being sold (is it all junk food?) and who is in the store. If on a typical weekend the liquor store is busier than the grocery store, that's probably a bad sign.
Hope this helps.