A family moving to Erie, PA (Fairview: violent crime, homes, neighborhoods)

[mmmliza]

My husband might take a job in Erie. I would like info on schools, subdivisions, people, cultures, diversity, etc. We are a racially-mixed family with school-aged children. I am looking for a upper-middle class subdivision with lots of school-aged kids in the neighborhood and larger homes (3500 sq.), well-educated parents, well-mannered kids, high achieving schools, and sports and activities. Is Millcreek my best option? What is out there? I am going there to look around,and should know a little bit before getting there. Thanks in advance!

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by mmmliza

My husband might take a job in Erie. I would like info on schools, subdivisions, people, cultures, diversity, etc. We are a racially-mixed family with school-aged children. I am looking for a upper-middle class subdivision with lots of school-aged kids in the neighborhood and larger homes (3500 sq.), well-educated parents, well-mannered kids, high achieving schools, and sports and activities. Is Millcreek my best option? What is out there? I am going there to look around,and should know a little bit before getting there. Thanks in advance!

I answered another one of your posts, but now that you have mentioned upper middle class, check out Fairview and Milcreek Township for great schools and subdivisions.

[mmmliza]

Thank you, scottrpriester! Which town has more Asian-Americans or other minorities, if any?

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by mmmliza

Thank you, scottrpriester! Which town has more Asian-Americans or other minorities, if any?

I would say you really don't see many Asian Americans at all. Fairview and Millcreek are pretty diverse, because a lot of doctors reside there, and of course, there are a lot of doctors who have traveled from afar to start their careers in our country.

[mmmliza]

scottrpriester, I infer that there are Indian-born and other Asian born doctors in Millcreek and Fairview. I am worried about my kids going to school in all white area. Moving is hard enough, and I am just afraid that my kids won't adjust well if they don't see any others with who look like them. Thank you for your feedbacks!

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by mmmliza

scottrpriester, I infer that there are Indian-born and other Asian born doctors in Millcreek and Fairview. I am worried about my kids going to school in all white area. Moving is hard enough, and I am just afraid that my kids won't adjust well if they don't see any others with who look like them. Thank you for your feedbacks!

It's definitely white majority, but I know there are many more nationalities in both school districts. You, however, can't rule out singlemindedness no matter where you move.

[mmmliza]

I agree with what you said. Do you think that suburbanites in Millcreek are welcoming to the newcomers or not so friendly?

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by mmmliza

I agree with what you said. Do you think that suburbanites in Millcreek are welcoming to the newcomers or not so friendly?

I honestly don't think people really care. Lots of prominent people live in Fairview and Millcreek......and consequently lots of people come and go when they are relocated. I certainly wouldn't worry about it.

[erienative]

I was born and raised in Erie and just had to relocate to Kentucky due to a career change. I have three children, 2 in elementary school and 1 in middle school. I know how hard it can be to decide where to live and what schools to attend because I just went through it.

I can confidently say your family would be best off in Southwest Millcreek. According to your economic background and education level you would be very comfortable there. As for race, Erie is an extremely welcoming place for your family. Everyone I know that moved to Erie from another State says it is the best place they have ever lived and never want to leave. You will find that having a racially mixed family will be a complete non-issue. Millcreek schools are amazing, I miss the wonderful education my children were getting in public school. You cannot go wrong with any school in all of Millcreek. Teachers, curriculum and programs are among the highest in PA. I am sure you will be very happy with your move. Aside from lake effect snow, it is a great place to raise your family. Good luck with your move!

[lombardsouth]

Originally Posted by mmmliza

My husband might take a job in Erie. I would like info on schools, subdivisions, people, cultures, diversity, etc. We are a racially-mixed family with school-aged children. I am looking for a upper-middle class subdivision with lots of school-aged kids in the neighborhood and larger homes (3500 sq.), well-educated parents, well-mannered kids, high achieving schools, and sports and activities. Is Millcreek my best option? What is out there? I am going there to look around,and should know a little bit before getting there. Thanks in advance!

Well, you seem to want it all. I don't know if anywhere in the Erie area provides it all, but I lived there for four years at the turn of the century and found it a very livable place.

I lived in the city about a mile from downtown. As I was single at the time and a noncustodial parent I wasn't too concerned about the schools, but Erie city schools really aren't that bad compared to many schools in medium sized cities of the rust belt. I don't know anything about the elementary schools, but Erie has three general purpose public high schools: Strong Vincent, East, and Central. Of these three, only Strong Vincent seems to have performed poorly in recent PA assessment tests. East performed at the lower middle end of PA high schools and Central at the upper middle.

As far as the ethnic diversity of these high schools, Erie is about a 80% white, 15% black, and 5% other city. The public high schools have a higher minority percentage than the city overall because Catholic education (Cathedral Prep, Mercyhurst, Villa Marie) is still a reasonably popular option in the city. East is the only majority black high school but not by much. Erie has also had some significant immigration in the last twenty years from places like Eastern Europe and the middle east. Its hispanic population is noticeably smaller than most other larger PA cities. In general, PA's hispanic population is more concentrated in the eastern part of the state.

Erie also has a magnet academic high school (only about a dozen years old), Northwest PA Collegiate Academy, that places in the top ten of PA high schools. I don't know the boundaries of the magnet school, but I suspect that they would extend outside the city proper.

For middle and upper middle class families, Millreek is clearly the more popular residential option. The high school serving Millcreek, McDowell, is very well regarded and finished high in recent PA assessment scores.

Most of the type of housing you seem to be looking for would tend to be in Millcreek and outer areas of the metro. The city's housing stock tends to be old (turn of the century to perhaps the fifties) and simple working class homes (compared to most other northern metro areas, housing is very cheap in the city). There is a distinct neighborhood of more affluent homes (including some mansions) on the far west side of the city near the lake bluffs. There is also a pleasant (but small) middle class area almost directly inland (maybe a mile) from that one. There are some nice older (but fairly cheap) homes in a distinct neighborhood not far from Erie Central high school. There are also some nice neighborhoods around the Mercyhurst area. I wasn't as familiar with the east side but I never saw anything there that would seem to fit your requirements (but I haven't lived there in a decade). The city proper of Erie is rather small, though, and there isn't much space for residential development.

Most of the night life is in the city proper while most of the retail is in Millcreek (including the mall). For a city of its size and character, the restaurant and night life scene is better than one might expect. Erie is actually a college town of sorts. Although it has no major university, it has several smaller schools within the metro and downtown is often heavily populated with college students on weekend nights. Erie has a live theater and a symphony. A number of its downtown establishments feature live music regularly. The city also has a very nice downtown minor league ballpark and has an NBA Developmental League team.

The primary area for outdoor recreation is Presque Isle State Park. Presque Isle is a penninsula that stretches out (maybe about five miles) into Lake Erie. On the inside of the penninsula is the bay and on the outside is the Lake. There are several miles of beaches on the lake side. There are ample boating, fishing, walking, jogging, biking, and rollerblading areas. The paved trails probably run somewhere around five miles or more. Most PA residents would never imagine that Erie is sort of a resort town in the summer.

Climate. As for the winter, well, snow, snow, snow, and more snow. I've spent most of my life living in northern climates but none of those other places have snowed like Erie. The city does a remarkable job of plowing it, though. The city wasn't nearly as cold as I thought it would be and clearly not as cold as the upper midwest. The lake must have a moderating effect. The summers are very pleasant but very humid. I seem to sweat more in Erie on a 76 degree day than most places on an 86 degree day. There are probably, on average, less than a handful of days in a year with temperatures over 90 degrees. The typical summer day was from the mid-seventies to the low-eighties when I lived there. If you are a sun worshiper, you will not like the place because it has very little sunshine and is almost always at least partially cloudy.

As far as crime, I guess it has its share, but I think metro residents tend to overestimate the crime in the city. Once in awhile I'd read about some violent crime in the city but not so often. I regularly walked in the downtown and west side and never felt threatened. The only place I was ever regularly approached by panhandlers was in the downtown square park. I never experienced a burglary or car break in (although I always parked on the street) and I can't say that for some other cities I've lived in.

In short, I think Erie is a decent, livable area where one can get quite a bang for the buck if one has a good job. I definitely would not recommend it to people who really hate snow or really need sunshine.