Safety in McKeesport (Pittsburgh, York, Lebanon: cul-de-sac, school, to live in)

[JAKARA1]

i I have lived in Mckeesport for the better part of 20yrs. Is it the best place, no, but is it a crime ridden warzone,NO!. I have never been mugged, robbed,beat up,nor has anyone in my family or freinds. McKeesport gets a bad rap because as stated earlier it is a poor town, the mills shut down and they never recovered. It for the most part is a deserted town. I moved back to Mckeesport for financial reasons and had family here that could help with my kids. People in this area have a tendency to over exagerrate the crime in particular areas of Pittsburgh. The only trouble you find in Mckeesport is the kind of trouble you look for. People involved in these incidents are involved in things they should not be. There are many, many other areas in US that are far off worse. Mckeesport is a depressed town struggling very hard. The schools are not the best, and yes there is crime here,are there drugs here, yes, but far from the drug infested warzone described earlier.

P.S. the wonderful outlying areas that away from Mckeesport and Pittsburgh have problems too, like many suburbs they have a huge drug problem in the schools (heroin). But they are not unlike most cities in the United states. Bottom line , if you have the resources there are lot nicer areas. Look towards Irwin, Norwin, Hempfield Township (nice areas with an easy commute to Mckeesport)

[Trubld1]

What safety? I grew up in McKeesport, I wouldnt tell anyone to go back there to live. My gram was murdered there, the person who did it is still walking free. You ppl have mentioned Ghettos. Thats exactly what happened to that area right after the steel mills closed down. When I moved away from there I was living on White Street. I think that says it all. I go back every once in a while to remind myself why I made a choice 20 yrs ago and got out while I could. Do I take my children with me you bet, do we stay in the McKeesport area overnight HECK NO. You know everyone of us has heard the story from either parents or grandparents about how they had to walk 5 miles to school up hill both ways. Well I wanted to prove to my kids it was true.

Back to the original question is McKeesport safe no, its not. But, I can say this because I grew up there and dealt with that type of life I learned not to trust anyone and always look over my shoulder even in the nicest neighborhoods there is crime you never know when you may need those "ghetto" insticts to keep yourself alive.

Several of you mentioned Cleveland in your posts...You know what is funny is that is where I live at now. And let me tell you some of the worst areas of Cleveland are better than White Street. In McKeesport when you have a house that is unlivable they don't tear them down they wait for them to fall down. At least here if they are in that condition they tear them down. I think it makes a difference when the area you live in at least gets rid of the unattractive homes in order to bring the value of the livable ones back up. The run down ones there are still run down and standing. I seen them not long ago. I was just in McKeesport in Nov. Take a ride down Park Street towards the hospital you will see some very undesirable conditions. How about Hazel Street. Oh yeah, there are only about a handful of houses left on that street.

[shsh38]

Originally Posted by Drover

Yes, it is a suburb. It's approximately 5 miles from the city-proper border, and maybe 15 miles from downtown. McKeesport is to Pittsburgh as Cicero is to Chicago (that is, if all the Mexicans in Cicero where white instead) in that its danger is exaggerated but it's still not a nice place and there are real quality-of-life issues there. It's kind of like, say, Rogers Park, where there's a large seedy element even if it's not a "seriously bad" neighborhood like Englewood -- but without all the rehabs and slummin'-it yuppies mixed in with the working class and the 'hood trash.

McKeesport is NOT a suburb. It is a city within Allegheny County, as are Duquesne and Clairton. All were wonderful, booming towns with lively downtown retail centers until the steel industry went bust. Now they are all, um, let's call it "declining." I wouldn't want to live in McKeesport now, (though I did for more than 20 years) but some surrounding boroughs are quite nice, e.g., North Versailles, White Oak, Port Vue, etc. Still, it's NOT a bedroom community for Pittsburgh. Never was. A newcomer to the area who works in Pittsburgh would be better served by choosing a city neighborhood to start with. There are some areas of Pgh. that are gorgeous (read: pricey), some very nice (read: middle class) and some that are, um, what did I say before? Declining? Yeah, that's it. You can have it all right in the city.

[MissShona]

Originally Posted by Trubld1

What safety? I grew up in McKeesport, I wouldnt tell anyone to go back there to live. My gram was murdered there, the person who did it is still walking free. You ppl have mentioned Ghettos. Thats exactly what happened to that area right after the steel mills closed down. When I moved away from there I was living on White Street. I think that says it all. I go back every once in a while to remind myself why I made a choice 20 yrs ago and got out while I could. Do I take my children with me you bet, do we stay in the McKeesport area overnight HECK NO. You know everyone of us has heard the story from either parents or grandparents about how they had to walk 5 miles to school up hill both ways. Well I wanted to prove to my kids it was true.

Back to the original question is McKeesport safe no, its not. But, I can say this because I grew up there and dealt with that type of life I learned not to trust anyone and always look over my shoulder even in the nicest neighborhoods there is crime you never know when you may need those "ghetto" insticts to keep yourself alive.

Several of you mentioned Cleveland in your posts...You know what is funny is that is where I live at now. And let me tell you some of the worst areas of Cleveland are better than White Street. In McKeesport when you have a house that is unlivable they don't tear them down they wait for them to fall down. At least here if they are in that condition they tear them down. I think it makes a difference when the area you live in at least gets rid of the unattractive homes in order to bring the value of the livable ones back up. The run down ones there are still run down and standing. I seen them not long ago. I was just in McKeesport in Nov. Take a ride down Park Street towards the hospital you will see some very undesirable conditions. How about Hazel Street. Oh yeah, there are only about a handful of houses left on that street.

I am sorry about your Grandmother . However I do not consider McKeesport a ghetto/high crime area at all. Maybe I would if I didn't ever live anywhere but around this area. However I was in Miami for 5 years. Hah. And my aunt has lived in Cleveland for ages...where she lives now is ok...but where she was before looked truly ghetto. I mean convenience stores where the clerk is walled up behind plexiglass...you don't find that in McKeesport. Even in places like Allentown, PA (the city on the other side of the state...not the Pittsburgh neighborhood) you see stores and people taking all sorts of precautions because they know there is a high probability of getting robbed.

McKeesport's problem is that it is a skeleton of the city it once was. There are lots of empty areas with no infrastructure to truly support it. The police in McKeesport can't parade around on streets that have only two occupied houses in them. The "feeling" you get while in some areas of McKeesport is not good. But it's more of a feeling of "oh, this place looks like crap...and if something DID happen to me, what would I do"....not..."Oh my, I better lock my doors and walk fast because I'm about to become a crrime victim".

Like someone else mentioned unless you are hanging around the wrong sort of people....please. McKeesport is small fries on the "ghetto-meter".

[MissShona]

Originally Posted by PPG

To end this thread.......

Is it a safety issue? - yes

Are there bad schools? - yes

Slummy housing? - yes

Are there shootings? - yes

Truth speaks for itself. If this is what is bad to you, then there you have it. Your questions are answered.

Safety is an issue anywhere outside your bed really.

McKeesport school district is better than most towns in the Mon Valley (like South Allegheny for one), many Pittsburgh city schools (can we say Perry?) and better than the schools many of my co-workers (who lived in "nice" areas) sent their children to in FL. It's all relative really.

Oakland has truly slummy housing....and....?

Shootings happen a lot of places....including colleges. Are people now not wanting to send their children to Virginia Tech? Maybe some...but are their fears really rational?

[Drover]

Originally Posted by shsh38

McKeesport is NOT a suburb.

Uh, yeah it is.

[Amberloo]

Do you even know what you are talking about, you sound really stupid!!

Originally Posted by PPG

These suburb cities are not as bad as Pittsburgh's worst neighborhoods. In Pittsburgh they make sure you are dead.

[Copanut]

There are 4 cities in Allegheny County.

Duquesne, Clairton, McKeesport, and Pittsburgh.

They are classified as URBAN, not SUBURBAN.

[Drover]

I don't care who classifies what as what. When a city of 25,000 that sits right outside the metropolitan's city proper, it's a suburb.

[kevkev412]

how can one question spark such a big debate. i think its funny that people are fighting over whose neighborhood are worse. What you gotta watch for in mckeesport is those bad ass little kids cause their the ones that will get you. they really think their gangsters when their ten im telling you