Oak Manor Apts in Penn Hills

[Rettorney]

We returned to the Monroeville, PA area after having lived away for eight years. I was shocked to see the decline in Monroeville alone. The mall has changed tremendously, catering to teens, and if you want to go to a mall that includes more options (the Macy's at Monroeville Mall carries much less merchandise than the South Hills Macys, for example), you need to drive out of the area. The cinemas in Monroeville have closed, and many houses are for sale. And this is Monroeville, next to Penn Hills. Penn Hills has a high crime rate - home invasions, shootings, almost on a daily basis. Monroeville, too, has taken a hit in this area with highly increased crime, drugs, burglaries, and yes, home invasions. I wish we had chosen to live in Cranberry, Murrysville, or even the Mt. Lebanon area. It seems the east suburbs have really declined in quality of living, and in the numerous businesses now closed. It's very sad.

[escilade18]

Originally Posted by Rettorney

We returned to the Monroeville, PA area after having lived away for eight years. I was shocked to see the decline in Monroeville alone. The mall has changed tremendously, catering to teens, and if you want to go to a mall that includes more options (the Macy's at Monroeville Mall carries much less merchandise than the South Hills Macys, for example), you need to drive out of the area. The cinemas in Monroeville have closed, and many houses are for sale. And this is Monroeville, next to Penn Hills. Penn Hills has a high crime rate - home invasions, shootings, almost on a daily basis. Monroeville, too, has taken a hit in this area with highly increased crime, drugs, burglaries, and yes, home invasions. I wish we had chosen to live in Cranberry, Murrysville, or even the Mt. Lebanon area. It seems the east suburbs have really declined in quality of living, and in the numerous businesses now closed. It's very sad.

Firstly to address the cinema issue: Monroeville Mall to add cineplex - Pittsburgh Business Times
I do not notice a difference between the Macys at South Hills Village and the one in Monroeville Mall, but I do not shop there that often so if someone else notices any differences then there might be something.
Next, you say that you wish you lived in Murrysville, which last I checked was East of the city, then you go on to state that the east suburbs have declined

Next to the Penn Hills issue: Penn Hills is a HUGE municipality with a large population (to put it in perspective, Penn Hills has approximately 33% more population than Morgantown WV). The parts near Homewood and East Hills do have trouble, but there are also parts further east that have beautiful housing and that I have never felt unsafe in. It is hard to bash an entire municipality like that, it is the same as saying Pittsburgh is terrible due to crime in Homewood. Mt. Lebanon has wealth which helps deter crime. Going to the Southern suburbs along the Mon (Whitaker, Duquesne, Glassport, Homestead etc.) you get at least as bad if not much worse than the eastern suburbs. Even going north of the city you have places such as Sharpsburg, New Kensington etc...

[Uptown kid]

The only bad areas of Penn Hills are Lincoln Park, Eastwood & Laketown Heights. Plus section 8 complexes such as Hulton Arbors, Leechburg Gardens & Bale Drive are rough too. The Oakhill Manor Apartments & Universal area will probably soon decline into apart of the Penn Hills ghetto as well since there's an increasing amount of hard core dope being sold!

[tclifton]

Originally Posted by CrispyCritter

Does anyone know anything about Oak Manor Apts? They have a lot of listings on craigslist, but I'm kind of wary. The apartments are managed by Lobos Management and I've heard a lot of bad things about them based on reviews. I also found a post gazette article from 2006 about a woman and her son who moved into Oak Manor and had a bad experience. The article mentioned that she was on Section 8 and SSI, so is this low-income housing? Have things changed since then?

Stay away from anything owned/managed by Lobos Management. They suck.