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I understand that there are unsafe areas in Penn Hills near Homewood/East Hills/Wilkinsburg/L.L.B., but it seems like it would be hard to generalize (then again I'm not directly familiar at all w/ the area) that an area that has that size and appears to be almost all suburban style housing (judging from google earth) would be deemed totally unsafe. I guess my main question is: If the problems in Penn Hills start in the areas close to Homewood, how far east do they stretch in the township?
most of this thread is nonsense. penn hills is perfectly fine everywhere east ot robinsen and verona. Like 85 percent of the city.
I grew up in Penn Hills and moved out in the late 1990's when I went to college. My parents moved out shortly afterwards when my father retired. When I lived in Penn Hills, it was a very convenient place to live, was relatively safe, people were friendly, and the area was well kept. I attended the Penn Hills Public School District and felt like I received a very well rounded education from highly qualified teachers that pushed me and motivated me to do my best.
Regarding the issue of race:
When I lived in Penn Hills, the west end of the municipality (East Hills Area, Lincoln Park, Mount Carmel Area) was predominantly middle class black. The neighborhoods around Swanson's Drug Store and Churchill Estates were kind of mixed, and the rest of the neighborhoods were predominantly white with a smattering of black families here and there. There was hardly any crime. My graduating class was about 75% white, 25% black. At least in my perspective of going through the school district, race was never really an issue and we all got along very well.
10 years later, when I go back to Penn Hills to visit friends that still live there, I'm saddened at what I see. So many of the neighborhood grocery stores and businesses have closed and are boarded up, or have been replaced with "Paycheck Advance" stores, bars, cigarette outlets, or other low class stores. There really is only one grocery store to shop at in Penn Hills which is really inconvenient as there used to be neighborhood stores all over the place (Penn Hills is a huge area and getting from one end to another is quite difficult at times). All of the department stores and corner drug stores are gone with the exception of the new Walgreens that they opened.
The look of Penn Hills has changed. There are many buildings on Frankstown Road (the main artery through Penn Hills) that are now abandoned and vandalized. People are not taking care of their homes and yards like they used to. There are many derilect, trashed properties full of junk cars throughout the neighborhoods west of Rodi Road. Past Graham Blvd, what used to be nice safe black middle class neighborhoods now all look like the Homewood ghetto.
People say that Penn Hills is declining due to the increasing numbers of blacks from Homewood and Wilkinsburg. That is true to some extent. The middle and upper class blacks that have lived in Penn Hills for years are leaving the area and are going to better neighborhoods. Ghetto black people are taking their place and are bringing a lot of crime with them. You can't blame it all on black people though! The same thing applies to white people! The majority of middle to upper class white families have left the area too and a lot of white trash has taken their place. Their properties have not been taken care of, the the entire area looks run down and dilapidated. No one seems to care anymore which is quite sad.
All in all, there are still nice areas of Penn Hills to live in. Keep in mind that Penn Hills is HUGE and you can choose where to live within the municipality. The neighborhoods of Frankstown Estates, Churchill Area, Crescent Hills, Penn Hills Park, streets off of of Hulton, Jefferson and Hamill Road, and Crescent Gardens have all been pretty well maintained.
That's my honest opinion about Penn Hills. Hope I didn't offend anybody!
That is bout how it went down..but anyhow Penn Hills is not on the way downhill, it has been down the hill for a long time, just some refuse to see it for whatever reason, but I would not live there if you paid me too.
I grew up in Penn Hills and moved out in the late 1990's when I went to college. My parents moved out shortly afterwards when my father retired. When I lived in Penn Hills, it was a very convenient place to live, was relatively safe, people were friendly, and the area was well kept. I attended the Penn Hills Public School District and felt like I received a very well rounded education from highly qualified teachers that pushed me and motivated me to do my best.
Regarding the issue of race:
When I lived in Penn Hills, the west end of the municipality (East Hills Area, Lincoln Park, Mount Carmel Area) was predominantly middle class black. The neighborhoods around Swanson's Drug Store and Churchill Estates were kind of mixed, and the rest of the neighborhoods were predominantly white with a smattering of black families here and there. There was hardly any crime. My graduating class was about 75% white, 25% black. At least in my perspective of going through the school district, race was never really an issue and we all got along very well.
10 years later, when I go back to Penn Hills to visit friends that still live there, I'm saddened at what I see. So many of the neighborhood grocery stores and businesses have closed and are boarded up, or have been replaced with "Paycheck Advance" stores, bars, cigarette outlets, or other low class stores. There really is only one grocery store to shop at in Penn Hills which is really inconvenient as there used to be neighborhood stores all over the place (Penn Hills is a huge area and getting from one end to another is quite difficult at times). All of the department stores and corner drug stores are gone with the exception of the new Walgreens that they opened.
The look of Penn Hills has changed. There are many buildings on Frankstown Road (the main artery through Penn Hills) that are now abandoned and vandalized. People are not taking care of their homes and yards like they used to. There are many derilect, trashed properties full of junk cars throughout the neighborhoods west of Rodi Road. Past Graham Blvd, what used to be nice safe black middle class neighborhoods now all look like the Homewood ghetto.
People say that Penn Hills is declining due to the increasing numbers of blacks from Homewood and Wilkinsburg. That is true to some extent. The middle and upper class blacks that have lived in Penn Hills for years are leaving the area and are going to better neighborhoods. Ghetto black people are taking their place and are bringing a lot of crime with them. You can't blame it all on black people though! The same thing applies to white people! The majority of middle to upper class white families have left the area too and a lot of white trash has taken their place. Their properties have not been taken care of, the the entire area looks run down and dilapidated. No one seems to care anymore which is quite sad.
All in all, there are still nice areas of Penn Hills to live in. Keep in mind that Penn Hills is HUGE and you can choose where to live within the municipality. The neighborhoods of Frankstown Estates, Churchill Area, Crescent Hills, Penn Hills Park, streets off of of Hulton, Jefferson and Hamill Road, and Crescent Gardens have all been pretty well maintained.
That's my honest opinion about Penn Hills. Hope I didn't offend anybody!
Sorry, but you've offended lots of people, and its only because Pittsburghers are hyper-sensetive. I am not one of those people.
most of the replies i see here are full of gross generalizations. what's the difference between living in churchill valley vs. the churchill section of blackridge or perhaps eastern penn hills vs. the south western portion of plum boro or even the pittsburgh portion of east hills vs. the penn hills portion. point being its not a municipal issue it's a matter of geographic location. obviously high crime rates and a lower standard of living are going to be associated with older poverty-stricken areas of any city with the opposite being true for newer and/or wealthier areas. using a municipality the geographic (and population for that matter) size of a penn hills or, for comparison sake, the woodland hills district (which includes appealing areas like churchill and wilkins - two areas recommended by individuals posting to this board - as well as braddock hills and rankin - two "east hills esq" areas) is not really a valid way to debate the "would I live there" question. The matter of fact answer is that like many older suburbs of any city, penn hills has many very appealing, very affordable areas in which to live. if house hunting, one would be foolish to write such a large and diverse area off using the enormous generalities i have read throughout this thread.
I fail to see where pennhills native was being disrespectful here, he or she told the truth and from what I had read, he or she was not out of line and told the truth. sorry, but that is how I honestly see it here.
We are relocating to Pittsburgh next month. I've found a beautiful rental home on an acre of land near Laketon Road and Frankstown Road. It's a nice rental home on approximately the 3000 block of Laketon Road. But I'm now concerned about Penn Hills in general after reading posts.
I work in Braddock Hills three miles away, so it seems like a good fit. However, I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old and I don't want to live in a war zone. I also understand that Monroeville is close for malls, shopping, etc.
Penn Hills is a big place and I see there are good spots to live and bad spots. Can anyone confirm if this house location is a good spot or bad spot to live?
Thanks.
Brandon
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A Review of Penn Hills
