Help Picking a Pittsburgh Neighborhood (Erie, Ross Township: restaurants, assess, airport)

[robrobrob]

The Presidential election will be decided by a few swing states. Same as it was the last time. Although, there is some debate about which states are swing states this time around. In order to win you have to have a message that plays well in those states.

[gg]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

You realize the Democrats just won the national House vote by 10 million right, so I think the middle has just made its voice loud and clear how they feel about the GOP. If people were as happy with Trump as some seem to think here, 41 Congressional seats would have flipped hands...

No one voted. People will show up for a president. Also a gridlocked government is what you want. The less that gets done the better.

[pittsburghaccuweather]

Originally Posted by loverinthecold

Thank you for condensing this for me! There's a lot of information and advice in this thread. Way more than I could have hoped for. I appreciate everybody who has weighed in. Right now I'm zeroing in on the Fox Chapel School District. But I'll also keep Squirrel Hill and the others mentioned in mind. We should hear the word this week on whether the move is happening, so I feel pretty prepared should all go as planned.

OP, are you guys moving out this way or staying in Minneapolis?

[Knepper3]

I have never been to MN but I grew up in NJ then lived in FL and have visited many places. I'm not a big city person so Pittsburgh is perfect for me. Just keep an open mind on areas, everyone has an opinion and really comes down to your preferences.

[Bballnut74]

With the exception of Fox Chapel, anywhere in the North Hills is going to be saturated with conservatives and have more than a few racists. Your kids will definitely go to school with kids in any North Hills district whose fathers tell them that BLM is a terrorist group. But you're not going to find a rental home in Fox Chapel for less than $2k that isn't connected to another unit.

Penn Hills is my suggestion for you. It's minutes to East Liberty and you'll be able to find a terrific freestanding family home in a left-leaning area. Many people will balk about the school district, and it's true that the district test scores are among the worst in the state. But there are several high achieving students that graduate from Penn Hills each year, Aaron Donald, for instance. The Penn Hills school district has everything a student would need to become successful, the issue in Penn Hills, as is the case in all the large Eastern suburban districts in Allegheny County is always going to be a lot of students who don't personally care about their own educational opportunities. Penn Hills borders Homewood, arguably the most violent city neighborhood, and as such, that small area coming out of Homewood sees a fair amount of violent crime. But we're talking about beef-related crime in an area that represents about 10% of the entire Penn Hills municipality. I lived in Penn Hills for several years and absolutely loved it. I loved having a large, private yard and being so close to the East End. I also loved my neighbors. They were welcoming and very diverse.

You're limited because most rentals are going to be connected like a townhouse or something.

Best of luck.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by Bballnut74

With the exception of Fox Chapel, anywhere in the North Hills is going to be saturated with conservatives and have more than a few racists. Your kids will definitely go to school with kids in any North Hills district whose fathers tell them that BLM is a terrorist group. But you're not going to find a rental home in Fox Chapel for less than $2k that isn't connected to another unit.

Penn Hills is my suggestion for you. It's minutes to East Liberty and you'll be able to find a terrific freestanding family home in a left-leaning area. Many people will balk about the school district, and it's true that the district test scores are among the worst in the state. But there are several high achieving students that graduate from Penn Hills each year, Aaron Donald, for instance. The Penn Hills school district has everything a student would need to become successful, the issue in Penn Hills, as is the case in all the large Eastern suburban districts in Allegheny County is always going to be a lot of students who don't personally care about their own educational opportunities. Penn Hills borders Homewood, arguably the most violent city neighborhood, and as such, that small area coming out of Homewood sees a fair amount of violent crime. But we're talking about beef-related crime in an area that represents about 10% of the entire Penn Hills municipality. I lived in Penn Hills for several years and absolutely loved it. I loved having a large, private yard and being so close to the East End. I also loved my neighbors. They were welcoming and very diverse.

yes, penn hills is urban perfection. no racism there, broad-minded people, so welcoming, so lovely. they drive so courteously as well.

the north hills? absolute garbage. stay away.

[svband76]

Originally Posted by Bballnut74

With the exception of Fox Chapel, anywhere in the North Hills is going to be saturated with conservatives and have more than a few racists.

Complete lies. North Hills are filled with beautiful, loving human beings that treat everyone with respect.

Stop vomiting the lies that because a person is white and Republican they are racist. Just stupid idiotic nonsense racism.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by svband76

Complete lies. North Hills are filled with beautiful, loving human beings that treat everyone with respect.

Stop vomiting the lies that because a person is white and Republican they are racist. Just stupid idiotic nonsense racism.

i agree, to a large extent.

I find along the Route 8 corridor there are more...."nasty people", if you will.
I dont know if that is a function of the more working class ethos there, compared to the generally more upscale/academic/white collar people in McCandless and in communities that straddle McKnightmare Road.
They (Shaler, Glenshaw, et al) seem to be so less apt for random conversation, almost scared to interact. This is what i love more about city life, I guess....(these are generalizations based on my experiences and observations, of course, and for discussion. I am of course not claiming anything as absolute!)

however, to label the 'north hills' as some ugly, racist, right-wing area is just ridiculous. Sure, and the "French are rude and hate us", and "canadians are so polite" (except in touristy areas when they put on airs), and "mexicans are devious and all criminals".

Ross seems so nice. McCandless is nice. The catholic and greek orthodox communities and their services (Vincentian), and the cleanliness of the general area, and the low key behaviour of people around you, generally (compared to the constant yelling, horns, and LOUD ****ING VOICES people use down here!) are nice to experience.

West View kind of sucks, though - lots of drugs, as in a lot of places. Im sure those there that imbibe are connected to the city for their goods, but most certainly condescend on our communities that suffer the inevitable violence associated with drug lifestyles.

but yeah, to steer a newcomer AWAY from a place, and TOWARDS another based on generalizations of politics is just the wrong thing to do. i can live next to a communist, and it woudl be cool. i detest that system (as ive discussed on this board a few times), but i can still love that person provided they are a good neighbor and care for their home and are considerate. why not? as long as they reciprocate that respect.

[guy2073]

So many generalizations being floated around here, thank god i live in the south hills away from all the criminals, racists and drug addicted deadbeats living in the north.

[Bballnut74]

I've lived all over this metro and I stand behind ny assessment, regardless of how many white people I trigger.

If you don't want to be called out for being Trump loving closed minded racists than don't sit quietly while your neighbors display their penchant for Trump loving racism.

The OP wanted to know where in this metro he could avoid living by that element. I didn't tell him anything that isn't backed up by voting behaviors.