Help! I signed a lease in Northside........ (homes, school)

[louiemoon0810]

Originally Posted by eem150

Hello! I am from Erie, PA and am relocating to Pittsburh to work at UPMC- I signed a lease in Northside off of Perrysville Ave. The house is a huge Victorian divided into apartments- it is modern and beautiful, and I needed extremely perfect credit to get it. The problem is I keep reading posts that say this area of the city is crime ridden. I am a female, and now I'm scared to death. There seems to be a few nice houses next door with nice cars parked in front, but down the street it looks pretty bad. Is most of the crime between drug dealers, etc, or is it random? My apartment seems to be secure, but I'm sure I'll never be able to take the bus to work. I've read that there are gunshots during all hours of the day and night... ugh! Any insite would be appreciated....

Honestly? A single (young?) female....new to Pittsburgh....and living alone in the Northside.....yes, you should be scared. Did you research Pittsburgh neighborhoods at all before you signed your lease??

I skipped right past all of the subsequent posts about pimps and gangs....and just wanted to reply to your original inquiry. People want to think that the Northside is on the rise. Yadda, yadda, yadda.... I'm not saying that there aren't people willing to spend a buck to fix up some of the absolutely beautiful homes in that area....but let's be real, here. Yes, you will likely hear gunshots....and yes, you will likely hear about break-ins and robberies in your neighborhood. Facts are facts, and crime statistics don't lie.

I'm not saying that you're going to get gunned down while waiting at the bus stop....but in general, you certainly could have found a lot better neighborhoods....with just as quaint victorian apartments....and very close to UPMC.

[HINT : Next time, before you sign a binding contract....do some research, first.]

[PPG]

Here are apt. ratings/reviews for Allegheny center which is on the northside on Federal st. across the park from the mexican war streets. Mind you that this is just down the street from the baseball park, not as deep in as the mexican war streets and perrysville.

Allegheny Center Apartment Ratings, Reviews, Map, Rents, and other Pittsburgh apartments for rent from ApartmentRatings.com

[PPG]

I think these ones are pretty accurate, and funny.

Opinion of Allegheny Center posted 1/3/2004: Absolutely hated it!!!

Opinion of Allegheny Center posted 3/18/2004: Don't Even Consider This Place

[TRO Z]

Good call PPG...on saying the real truth, young white girl in that area of the N.side..

I am a real estate investor with many, many properties on the N.Side

Let me tell you about Perrysville Ave, not exactly a place where a young lady like that would want to live...Your very, very close to the Wilson G's ..A N.side gang that operates on that street..

I have made many trips to see progress on houses we bought..Let me tell you, it can be a very uncomfortable area..

One of my workers also lives on Clayton St, I can guarantee you he would never recommend that area to anyone either...Came to work just last week and stated those young boys were cracking off shots last night..

Not to mention, have you ever driven up Federal st around 11pm...They call it the enterprise..Like off the movie New Jack City...

I Love the N.Side, so dont get me wrong by what I have said here...It does have many many great qualities and many great areas, I was personally in the N.Side earlier today visiting some tenants...but a young lady like that...Should be looking more into the Alleghengy Center Apts..

Here's a reality check young lady...Either buy mace..Or Contact the city police dept. to find out if you need a permit to carry a stun gun..Sorry sometimes the truth HURTS..

[Hopes]

TRO Z,

Check out the Observatory Hill thread. There's a neighborhood group defending the area. It's quite entertaining.

btw, Pimps doesn't think Allegheny Center Apartments are the right place for this young lady either. See how he posted negative reviews about the place.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by vidicba

My wife and family live in in a neighborhood off of Perrysville Avenue and I can assure you that this is not a bad area. we have lived here for seven years and it is a wonderful neighborhood. Perrysville itself has terrific homes and runs through many communities. The North Side is a gem to the city - most amenties of any city location, close to everything, terrific cultural spots. a great place to be.

From what I hear, Larimer is safe and on the upswing...

[PPG]

Thanks for the honesty TRO, thats what I think people need the most. The truth can help people a lot more than anything else. What bugs me is the "self intrests" people like Drover pointed out in another thread. These people have no shame.

Having said that, it is true that Pittsburgh is unique in that you can find a nice area in a very bad area. In every neighborhood there are back roads and houses tucked in the woods that are away from the problems. You just have to drive thru the rough to get to the smooth.

BTW, it amazes me that federal st. is still bad even though it is nothing like how it used to be. Back in the day you could drive up federal at 4:30 in the morning and see both sides of the street lined with thugs, drugs, and bums. Now federal is just a big bare spot now that they tore down most of it. My guess is when they finally build the new housing it will be back to a crowded "hood" street 24/7.

[Drover]

When I was considering returning to Pittsburgh for school, I looked at a house on Buena Vista Street, just south of Ohern Street. It was a huge, beautiful, refinished 4-bedroom with four -- count 'em, FOUR finished stories, and that was NOT including the basement -- for $175,000. And that included an extra lot guaranteed buildable. All I had to do was go a couple blocks up Buena Vista to find out why this place was so cheap. My wife took one look around there and said, "no way." Now, I have a fairly high tolerance for urban condtions and i LOVE Mexican War Streets.... but one look at what kind of conditions my nearby neighbors were living in and I said "no thanks."

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Drover

When I was considering returning to Pittsburgh for school, I looked at a house on Buena Vista Street, just south of Ohern Street. It was a huge, beautiful, refinished 4-bedroom with four -- count 'em, FOUR finished stories, and that was NOT including the basement -- for $175,000. And that included an extra lot guaranteed buildable. All I had to do was go a couple blocks up Buena Vista to find out why this place was so cheap. My wife took one look around there and said, "no way." Now, I have a fairly high tolerance for urban condtions and i LOVE Mexican War Streets.... but one look at what kind of conditions my nearby neighbors were living in and I said "no thanks."

I've never been north of Ohern Street. Is it truly that bad just around the bend at the top of the hill?

I have friends who live on Buena Vista Street, Arch Street, and Fountain Street (or Henderson Street, not sure which). None of them have ever had any problems. I do think that the Mexican War Streets are truly changing for the better. It's still not the right place for a rural farm girl living on her own though. It truly takes a special type of person to move into these neighborhoods.

[Hopes]

No need to answer my question. I just looked on the Allegheny County Real Estate site and saw for myself. Those slumlords should be ashamed of themselves.