considering buying in a fringe area in East End- is it safe?

[tazzled]

Originally Posted by steveinfl

In talking with a Pittsburgh friend about my upcoming relocation back to Regent Square, he suggested I look on the edges of Regent Square where I could purchase a home for a lot less $ than in the heart of the Square. It would be great to find a 3BR house for under 100K.

Ideally I want to be able to walk to Braddock Ave and Frick park within 10 minutes.

Our kids are grown so schools are not an issue. My primary concern is safety. I want to be able to walk the dog after dark and more specifically, want my wife to be able to do so.

Area to consider:

1. The area bordered by Penn Ave, Braddock Ave, Forbes Avenue and the East busway (sort of behind the McDonalds on Penn).

2. The streets around Hay/Biddle.

3. The streets at the other end of Wilkinsburg up near WTAE and Ardmore Blvd. He said there were 2 decent homes for sale on Shelbourne for under 50K. These prices are really appealing, but the distance to walk to Frick is pretty far.

4.What about Meade Street and the Point Breeeze streets just on the other side of Penn getting closer to Homewood?


I did some searches for Wilkinsburg houses under 50K and there were a lot on the other side of Pennwood and the busway. Is is safe there now? When I left the Burg in 2006, I avoided those areas after dark.


Any thoughts or recommendations?

I've lived in both Regent Square and Point Breeze.

Point Breeze is by far my favorite of the neighborhoods that I've lived in. I lived on Thomas, which is a couple streets down from Meade, and that area is gorgeous. It's got an excellent neighborly feel where you can strike up conversation with just about anyone when you're out for a walk. It's also in a good location what with East Liberty being built up as it is.

I really miss it over there.

Regent Square is nice, but the area you're talking about - around Hay and Biddle are pretty heavy drug areas. At least they were when I lived there a couple years ago.

...I just noticed that this thread is from 2011, oops.

[stburr91]

Originally Posted by tazzled

....around Hay and Biddle are pretty heavy drug areas. At least they were when I lived there a couple years ago.

Hay and Biddle a heavy drug area? I'm not sure where you got that from, but I highly doubt it. There may have been some minor drug activity there, but not any more. The area at the end of Biddle has seen quite a bit of improvement (not that it was ever bad).

[groar]

there is some drug activity around hay and biddle, but it's just someone dealing weed. the only problems it causes are parking problems. it's my friend's next door neighbor so i'm pretty confident about that.

in general that area is really nice and i'd live there in a heartbeat.

[Uptown kid]

These days Wilkinsburg west of the busway in it's entirety is a safe & livable place (barring that you're an urban pioneer or city slicker). Most of the riff-raff like the City Bound Gangstaz group that claimed the area have swiftly been pushed across the busway and I bet some of the undesirables have even been pushed out into Penn Hills/Swissvale. Wilkinsburg west of the busway really seems like a gentrified diverse mixed-income area now. If you are looking there you just gotta be aware that Wilkinsburg is not Sq Hill.