The Mexican War Streets for families (Pittsburgh, Manchester: crime, houses, safe area)

[gameguy56]

Is this something that could be done? Does anyone know if people who were, say, priced out of some of the other east end neighborhoods decided to have a go at raising kids there? I love the houses and the general feel of the neighborhood, and there's always west park for the kids. I worry about schools and safety at night if the kids were to wander a bit too far from the park, however.

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by gameguy56

Is this something that could be done? Does anyone know if people who were, say, priced out of some of the other east end neighborhoods decided to have a go at raising kids there? I love the houses and the general feel of the neighborhood, and there's always west park for the kids. I worry about schools and safety at night if the kids were to wander a bit too far from the park, however.

There are certainly families who live there. Most of the people who live in the War Streets (or Allegheny West, Deutschtown, and Manchester) do so because they fall in love with the neighborhoods and the historic Victorian houses there.

In my opinion, if you want to do something, do it. Follow your dreams and make it work. The War Streets is generally considered a safe neighborhood. I would be careful about where your kids go at night, regardless of what neighborhood you live in. Personally, I think the beautiful neighborhoods of Allegheny West, War Streets, Deutschtown, and lower Manchester (all adjacent to each other on the North Side) easily eclipse, for beauty of architecture, anything in the East End. Plus, you don't have to deal with East End traffic!

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Or east end.....'people'

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by MeinGlanzendMotorrad

Or east end.....'people'

Yeah. We're more like "muppets" here in the East End.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

A fair observation.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by gameguy56

Is this something that could be done? Does anyone know if people who were, say, priced out of some of the other east end neighborhoods decided to have a go at raising kids there? I love the houses and the general feel of the neighborhood, and there's always west park for the kids. I worry about schools and safety at night if the kids were to wander a bit too far from the park, however.

We're doing it. Obviously, this is a personal decision and it's not for everybody, but I think that statement can be made about almost all of the choices that we make in life. We bought in the War Streets because we just felt that we got so much more house for the money there than some of the other neighborhoods in the city and with my wife working downtown and me sometimes working downtown the commutes were great.

Sounds like you already dig the neighborhood so I don't have to go into the full sell. I'm not sure if I see more kids now because they're there or if I just notice them now since I've had my own, but there are a decent amount running around and you're right about the park drawing them to it. Additionally, and I don't know if it's applicable, but the dog park is a great amenity as my boxer reminds me of daily.

With regard to safety, our experiences over the last couple of years have been mostly very positive. Personally, we've never had a problem of any sort outside of one small spray-paint incident. We've found the areas surrounding the park in all directions to be very safe. The main business districts (Western Ave, Federal, East Ohio) are all undergoing improvements at various rates. I think most of the nuisance crime has gone away from them. With the War Streets in particular, very little if anything happens south of Jacksonia. There are occasional instances of mostly drug-related crime in the areas above Jacksonia but, from what I've been told by longer-term residents, the situation is better than it's been in a very long time and the feeling/ hope is that it will continue to improve.

Can't speak to the schools personally yet, as we're not involved in them yet (but plan to be). I would say however, that PPS offers a great many programs and alternatives which is something that I like about being part of a large district. At this time, Allegheny Traditional Academy, right in the park is where my son would go, were he old enough.

On a personal note, we find the neighborhood and especially our neighbors to be fantastic. There's a core of residents who really banded together within the Streets years ago in order to preserve what they had and fight off the crime and blight that surrounded them. The outgrowth of that is strong neighborhood ties and associations. I grew up in the NYC suburbs on a very nice, safe tree-lined street. I know more of my neighbors and much more deeply in the War Streets than my family did on that Long Island block when I was growing up. I know their names, their kids names, their dogs, their drink of choice. It "feels" like more of a community, and I think that's just as important as anything when raising a kid.

Just my 2 cents. Feel free to PM me should you have any specific questions you don't want on the board.

[BrianTH]

We thought about it and may well have done it if we had found the right place. Some people will call you crazy, but I personally think a lot of people spend too much time worrying about street crime, and not enough time thinking about the lifestyle advantages of short commutes, the safety aspects of not having to drive everywhere, the socialization benefits of casual interactions with strangers, and so forth. If all that resonates with you, then I think that is a neighborhood worth considering.

[Geeo]

Post-Gazette columnist Brian O'Neil and his family live in the Allegheny West section and he has written many pieces about the area and raising a family there. The P-G has archives of his columns, so you should look it up.

Brian often writes about being able to walk everywhere, taking his daughters to the park, aviary, children's museum, ball games, riverfront, etc.

As a former North Sider, (East Allegheny), I can vouch for the closeness of the people who live there. The neighborhoods all have very active community groups, crime watches, and long-time residents who know who belongs on the street and who may cause trouble. Interestingly, during the decade I lived there, most of the new people came from out of town (Baltimore, Brooklyn, Boston) and fell in love with the architecture and the density, since it was similar to what they had left.

[peter99]

I think it is a generally a safe area for kids. I don't think the Allegheny West, War Streets, East Allegheny area are much different in terms of safety than anywhere else in the city proper. No matter where you live, a few blocks the wrong way could be "less desirable". I am a news buff, and I don't know when the last time I have read about a crime in this particular North Side are happening to child or a resident for that matter that was not directly or indirectly involved in some sort of criminal activity. I live in East Allegheny, on Suismon Street, and I have never felt the least bit in danger thus far. And in my opinion the War Streets are even a half a level above East Allegheny. And if you can score a home on N. Lincoln or Beech Avenue in AW, I think that would be even better.

On another, but similar note, being a relatively new resident to the North Side, it really bothers me the bad rap that this area gets among other Pittsburgh residents. And I think the main two reasons are ignorance and the news. Anytime there is a crime on the "North Side" of Pittsburgh, it is on the news labeled as the "North Side". There are 18 different neighborhoods in the North Side; most of them being very much different than the next. That be like every time there was a murder in homestead or Larimer they would just call it the East End, and would clump Shadyside, Friendship, etc. all together. So all the idiots watching the news see murder in the North Side. And I have work associates, friends, ppl in general saying "Can't believe you live over there, I read about crime all the time in the papers, blah blah." When in reality, someone got stabbed in a back alley, in Perry North; 10 miles away from my house.

I had to throw that out there, it really bothers me when I have to hear "the north side is such a bad area". And I don't understand what they mean by the north side..Heinz Field? Manchester? Allegheny West? Northview Heights?

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by peter99

On another, but similar note, being a relatively new resident to the North Side, it really bothers me the bad rap that this area gets among other Pittsburgh residents. And I think the main two reasons are ignorance and the news. Anytime there is a crime on the "North Side" of Pittsburgh, it is on the news labeled as the "North Side". There are 18 different neighborhoods in the North Side; most of them being very much different than the next. That be like every time there was a murder in homestead or Larimer they would just call it the East End, and would clump Shadyside, Friendship, etc. all together. So all the idiots watching the news see murder in the North Side. And I have work associates, friends, ppl in general saying "Can't believe you live over there, I read about crime all the time in the papers, blah blah." When in reality, someone got stabbed in a back alley, in Perry North; 10 miles away from my house.

I had to throw that out there, it really bothers me when I have to hear "the north side is such a bad area". And I don't understand what they mean by the north side..Heinz Field? Manchester? Allegheny West? Northview Heights?

Co-signed.

Plus police headquarters being over here means that the reporter can introduce their pre-taped piece containing footage of the shell casings, crying family members and a neighbor saying "things like this have to stop"and then come back and somberly-looking say to the audience "Live from the North Side this is Brian Fantana, yadda yadda yadda."

Puts another uneeded association with violence out there...but I guess Police headquarters has to be somewhere.