Anyone know about Penn Hills? (Pittsburgh, Mount Lebanon: crime, buying a home, safe area)

[summergal]

I've noticed online alot of nice looking homes in the range of around 100k in Penn Hills. Is this a decent, safe area?

[goldiemeridith]

No, Penn Hills is not a very nice area. There was a time when it was considered one of the nicest places, but today it is not decent or safe and it is just getting worse. Beaver, PA (not Beaver Falls), is a very nice place to live.

[paintballer1708]

I use to live in Monroeville which is right next to Penn Hills. I moved to Westlake, Ohio and i love it here. I just moved two years ago and when i go back to visit, the area hasnt changed, it has gotten worse to tell you the truth. Its not a safe area. I would check out Mount Lebanon, South Hills, Dormont areas.

[dogroomerPa]

Originally Posted by summergal

I've noticed online alot of nice looking homes in the range of around 100k in Penn Hills. Is this a decent, safe area?

Well if senator Rick Santorum lives there must not be a bad area is my thought. No where is a safe area. You got to look around. Some areas are better then others in Penn hills. Just like in other places you got good and bad. To be honest with you not high in crime rate. You also get more for your money on houses in the area. Just go and see the properties for yourself.

[dogroomerPa]

Here is an article I found for you. Read down that they got an award since alot of people in the area for being one of the safest. We are looking into buying a home there and when I read this board checked into it.
http://www.pennhillslibrary.org/ein/pennhills/about.html (broken link)

[wvbound1]

Rick Santorum doesn't live in Penn Hills. That's a big joke. He has 6 kids and the house he "supposedly" lives in is a two bedroom that is vacant. Don't move to Penn Hills. Pick a smaller town like Trafford or go to Murrysville

[summergal]

Thanks for all the advice and info!

[pghguy]

Penn Hills is a declining area... I would advise you if you intend to spend 100k on a house you consider someplace else. Maybe a Crafton or Ingram, if you aren't tied to being in the east hills.

If you are tied to eastern suburbs along the parkway east, I'd suggest Forest Hills, Church Hill or Monroeville.. I'd advise heavily against Wilkinsburg and Penn Hills would not be my choice either.. unfortunatley that neighborhood has been declining for quite a while now.

[armchair]

Just so long as you understand that when people say Penn Hills is getting worse, they mean Penn Hills is getting blacker.

As far as crime is concerned, the vast majority of neighborhoods are overwhelmingly safe. In Penn Hills the average black household income is higher than the average white household income so the area is very attractive to Pittsburgh's Black middle class.

So race is the real issue (crime is an easily disproven excuse). If you don't want to live around a lot of black people than don't move to Penn Hills.

[Drover]

I think maybe a when a city of less than 50,000 averages 4 to 5 murders a year, a per-capita rate about twice the national average, and with the number of murders trending up rather than down, it's possible that people might have legitimate concerns about crime and not that it's not just about race. I dunno, just a thought.