is Perry Hilltop a bad area? (Pittsburgh, Washington: violent crime, chapel, attorney)

[Grofica]

Hello all...

How about Perry Hilltop? good or bad?

[vtPGH]

While the terms 'good' and 'bad' mean different things to different people, there definitely are still swaths of Perry Hilltop where drugs and violent crime persist. At the same time, there's some newer development with great views of the city. With the Lower North Side neighborhoods closer to downtown becoming more affluent and professional, and the city continuing to phase out residents from the Northview Heights and Allegheny Dwellings housing projects, the Hilltop and Charles St. Valley will likely persist as lower income neighborhoods, with higher incidents of crime. There's still some well-kept, quiet streets in Perry Hilltop, but its very much block to block. This coming from a North Side booster...

[Chautauquast]

As vtPGH said above, Perry Hilltop is a block-by-block good and bad area.
I've lived here for over twenty years. Never any serious problems, as in break-ins or property theft of any kind. Most of my neighbors are great, we watch each others properties and take care of our own. We all help out the elderly neighbors.
The City, the URA and the U. S. Attorney's office are our biggest problems, since they control the biggest slice of blighted properties, and ignore our protests of them being absentee landlords.
In the last few years I've sunk a lot of money improving my 90 year old house. I wouldn't have done that if I didn't believe that this neighborhood can be saved.
I love it right here, but three or four blocks away, I'm not so sure.
One main point about owning property up here: it sure is cheap.

[scottrpriester]

Oddly enough......

3 People Injured After Perry South Shooting, Crash - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

[CaptainObvious]

Haha...I was waiting for that news story to be linked in this thread after hearing it on the news today.

If I've said it once on these boards, I've said it 100 times. If you're comparing block by block, the area is BAD. Violent crime can and does happen anywhere. I am sure we can find where murders have taken place in Fox Chapel and no crime at all has been reported in a 4 block span in Homewood. Having said that, if routine drug, gang, and otherwise negative influences persist only blocks away, it scars the general surrounding area. I would indeed call Perry Hilltop "bad" if "bad" and "good" are my only choices. It is way too iffy to discern the lines. I've often said that if your "nice" area is right next to a "bad" area, your "nice" area isn't so nice. And with housing prices being as reasonable as they are around here, there is no reason to look into such "dicey" areas when you can find more suitable, safer housing at the same price elsewhere...why wonder? Just move to the nice area, all things being equal.

I know I am in the minority on this viewpoint. Perhaps it has something to do with being a transplant and not being born and raised in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is very unique in its citizens' "block by block" reasoning...I've never seen anything like it. Other cities in which I've lived have areas to avoid and areas you don't have to. Pittsburghers deliniate it by block, and often by house...as if crime is stationary and doesn't have feet or cars. Very interesting.

[TRO Z]

Well Captainobvious, you must have never lived in an Urban Enviroment before....Neighborhoods get built up and destroyed a block at a time in every major city in the US...And not nearly as quick, these same neighborhoods are rebuilding themselves a block or EVEN A SINGLE HOUSE at a time..

PerryHilltop needs smaller investors and homeowners to pick up the slack...Because no major dollars are coming into that neighborhood anytime soon...All the Northside funds are hitting the War Streets, Manchester & Brighton Heights...

Perry Hilltop has ALOT of vacant properties..And my opinion is that area can change very quickly if good people continue to buy these mini mansions on Perrysville Ave....I just viewed a property on Perrysville Ave, owned by the city and 2 doors up from the home of Old Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy...Stay in the 2300 block or lower of Perrysville Ave and IMO, your investment will pay off oneday...

[kettlepot]

For a non-local who knows the city only by the maps I've seen online, can anyone tell me where exactly Perry Hilltop is in relation to Observatory Hill, or the Mexican War Streets, or Manchester, or Fineview? Is Perry Hilltop in Perry North or Perry South or somewhere else entirely?

As for this reference of staying below the 2300 block of Perrysville Avenue, doesn't that then put Observatory Hill in the area to avoid category? That doesn't seem quite right. But again, I'm not a local, only a map viewer.

[RockLobster]

I bought a pad in Perry Hill Top 2 years ago. I have the best view of the city bar none. I have a greenway below me so I see deer and turkey everyday. My street is quiet and thus far I love the place. This coming from a guy that moved from Sewickley. True some of the streets in back and below are still in limbo as vacancy and some crime go. That's urban living for you.

[vtPGH]

Originally Posted by kettlepot

For a non-local who knows the city only by the maps I've seen online, can anyone tell me where exactly Perry Hilltop is in relation to Observatory Hill, or the Mexican War Streets, or Manchester, or Fineview? Is Perry Hilltop in Perry North or Perry South or somewhere else entirely?

Yes, Perry Hilltop is in what the city calls Perry South...
The official city names for neighborhoods are often different than what residents call their neighborhood. And within neighborhoods, there's often seperate sections...

For instance

Perry South includes...
1. Charles St. Valley (Charles St. and adjoining alleys that wind from Brighton Rd. up to Perrysville Ave.)
2. Perry Hilltop (Areas in and around Perrysville Ave from the lower Y with Federal St. up to around the Marshall Ave. intersection)

On the North Side, Observatory Hill is essentially Perry North, Brightwood is essentially Marshall-Shadeland, the Mexican War Streets are a large chunk of Central Northside, and Deustchtown is more or less East Allegheny. It's definitely confusing.

[CaptainObvious]

Originally Posted by RockLobster

I bought a pad in Perry Hill Top 2 years ago. I have the best view of the city bar none. I have a greenway below me so I see deer and turkey everyday. My street is quiet and thus far I love the place. This coming from a guy that moved from Sewickley. True some of the streets in back and below are still in limbo as vacancy and some crime go. That's urban living for you.

Truer words were never spoken. Almost all photos you ever see of the city are from the overlook near Elliot or Mount Washington, but I've long said the best view of the city is from the north if you can get up high enough. The view from Allegheny General's roof is amazing.