Is Hazelwood really that bad? (Pittsburgh, McKeesport: real estate, high crime, houses)

[I_Like_Spam]

Browsing the real estate website, there is a neat looking brick home that looks very solid at 4710 Sylvan for 29,900.

A/c, bath and a half, hot water heat, big covered from porch, the only point of negativity is its location. Looks like the home would be 8 times that price over here in L'ville.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Browsing the real estate website, there is a neat looking brick home that looks very solid at 4710 Sylvan for 29,900.

A/c, bath and a half, hot water heat, big covered from porch, the only point of negativity is its location. Looks like the home would be 8 times that price over here in L'ville.

There are portions of Hazelwood which aren't terrible, although that's not one of the areas which I've heard are especially stable, like the streets on the hill by Greenfield, or the portion towards the river west of Irvine. That said, Sylvan is nearly dead-end street, and you probably won't have a lot of craziness just wandering in, provided you have nice neighbors. As long as you're fine with being the only white person on your block (presuming you're white) you could do worse.

[Uptown kid]

I would go for it... Hazelwood north of Hazelwood Ave doesn't really have any shootings... It's racially diverse and not too unsafe, however its by no means queit there's a ton of action in that area. The Hazelwood YMCA does a lot of stuff and the playground and hoop court attracts kids & young people... The Hazelwood Crips claim that park and in fact parts of Sylvan St & the playground were filmed in the new Chevy Woods (a rising rapper who went to Taylor Alderdice making him a part of Wiz's Talor Gang) music video. So sketchyness does spill over...

To answer the tittle of your thread yes Hazelwood is that bad! Most of Hazelwood has been a gang active truely gritty neighborhood for at least 22 years its just that certain parts such as the one your looking into are better off than others.

[mckeesport_alum]

Location is the only thing that matters when it comes to housing value. There are $50,000 houses in McKeesport that would go for $500,000 in L'Ville, South Side, Shadyside, etc. If a move-in ready house is priced at $29,000, there is a reason for it. The seller isn't being generous.

[Clint.]

Is the Jozsa Corner still open? That's not far from Sylvan. For years I thought it was just a shuttered business, but then read that it's less traditional than most restaurants, so you have to go there during limited times, or make a reservation. Dimperio's, a little futher down 2nd Ave., closed a few years ago:Thieves cause Hazelwood grocery to give up - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Maybe something interesting will happen with Gladstone someday? You'd be right up front next to redevelopment of that site. I don't know if I'd count on anything interesting happening there anytime soon, but you never know. On a personal note - I hit at least a couple homeruns over the tennis court fence there during softball gym class in 7th grade, back in '93. (bussed in from Lincoln Place).

Hazelwood is like a lot of the mon valley towns - many (of course not all) hard working people left when the jobs did, and those that moved in are of a different culture. Unless enough decent people move back in it will stay the way it is.

Be friendly and fair with everyone and don't get drawn into disputes with anyone - that's what is behind most violence. Home burglaries can happen anywhere; sometimes the intruder may know what they want, others are just opportunistic. Keep your doors and windows secured. Keep the shotgun handy. Noise from neighbors is a bigger concern for me. Can't use the shotgun for that, though.

[groar]

jozsa corner is still open, yes. awesome place. he has open hours but you have to call to see if he's there, and most of his business is done by reservation only.

is hazelwood that bad - well, yeah. there's high crime and a lot of abandonment and blight. but is living in a bad neighborhood that bad - well, in my experience, no. it really depends a lot on your block and your immediate neighbors. it helps a lot if you're not a gang member or drug dealer or dating one.

i love that large parts of hazelwood feel straight up rural. there are houses out in the middle of the woods on the hillside that are really cool.

[HarryRSpooner]

Hazelwood and McKeesport don't quite make me jump for joy.

[beans412]

Originally Posted by JayTwila

Hazelwood and McKeesport don't quite make me jump for joy.

hazelwood is like shadyside compared to mckeesport.

[mckeesport_alum]

Shadyside has deteriorated that much?

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by beans412

hazelwood is like shadyside compared to mckeesport.

Oh please. Hazelwood is 1/5 the size of McKeesport and has just as many problems.