I have dealt with similar issues not far from you in the Nashville area. Get the remodel done just well enough to be livable. Rent the home but hold onto the property. Do not spend anymore than the bare minimum to get it ready to rent. Get out now and hold onto the property as long as you can. If it is a good house with good structure and land it is worth holding onto.
I have seen areas with homes that were crack houses a few years ago selling for 300k to 400k because the area made a swing in the other direction and became the trendy new development area. A few blocks further up the road there are still section 8 homes and crack houses but slowly the neighborhood is being "reclaimed". My family had eight rental properties in the area, most were section 8 rental a few years ago. The family has sold most of them off now with the death close family friend that took care of them. We made money on all but one of the properties and made an absolute killing on two of them. One was purchased over 10 years ago for about 25K and had maybe 10k worth of work done on it. It sold for $145k two years ago.
Your only other option is to be a real hard ass. Barricade your property, high fence the yard, gate the drive, bar your widow, and put your family at some level of risk. Take no crap and make sure the local thugs know you have no problem shooting back to protect your family. You still run the risk of retaliation but if you stand up you could be the front runner in getting some of your neighbors stand up as well. Most thugs are out for easy targets and will just move on if they run into resistance. Introduce yourself to the cops that do still patrol the area. Find out where they take lunch and breaks, buy them a cup of coffee and say hello/wave every time you see them. Most police officers have a job to do and can not play favorites but if they know your name, your wife's name, and where you live it is human nature that they will look twice and keep an eye on your home when they pass by.
It may sound strange but contact a local Realtor's Association and see about doing a tour of homes in the area. It may take some real doing and you may have to knock on a bunch of neighbors doors but it can bring interest to your area. The previously mentioned area of Nashville did that as a part of the turnaround for the neighborhood. They had a walking tour of homes to show some of the nicer older homes that were available for sale. Of course they put a ton of work into making sure the area had some curb appeal, it was during the daylight, and they somehow managed to run off some of the less desirable residents but it was worth it for the area. I do not know how much work was put into it but it must have been a bunch.
Good luck, it is a rough road to travel no matter what path you choose.
