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Old 03-22-2008, 11:10 AM
 
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I was reseaching the Monroeville area and it seems nice. Can anyone tell me about this area for living, schools, safety, shopping etc. I would appreciate it Thanks
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Old 03-22-2008, 09:17 PM
 
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I know there is a lot of clamor about the mall declining. I have not been their in a while but I hear its not like it use to be and some say they would not go there at night. Pittsburgh Mills is nice.
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Old 03-23-2008, 12:57 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mae03 View Post
I was reseaching the Monroeville area and it seems nice. Can anyone tell me about this area for living, schools, safety, shopping etc. I would appreciate it Thanks
I'd ignore Pitts10yrs if I were you unless, like him, you also have a "rural appalachian" perspective....Anyway, I'll give you some facts & stats and leave opinions to others.

Monroeville is the shopping hub of the Eastern Suburbs and the most densely packed retail and business area in the State (except for perhaps King of Prussia outside of Philly). This means that virtually all possible big box stores are conviently located, and that traffic is often completely grid-locked. The school district is well above average and well below stellar (statewide). The neighborhoods range from middle class to upper middle class. With a few working class and upper class areas.

Monroeville is an outer ring suburb so the commute to the city is pretty bad by Pittsburgh Standards, which means it's not that bad compared to other US cities, but worse than other areas in Pittsburgh. Average income is over $50K. It's probably the most diverse middle to upper-middle class suburb with about 85% white, 8% black, 2.5% Indian, 1% Asian, 1% hispanic. Crime is the same as any other middle class to upper middle class suburb.
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Old 03-23-2008, 08:19 PM
 
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Sure its a nice place but not like it use to be....as the east side of pittsburgh is on the decline, penn hills for sure, it is also contributing to monroeville area.
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Old 03-23-2008, 09:25 PM
 
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I would say both Zip and Pitts are right. In regards to Zip being right, you can find homes and neighborhoods of ALL kinds of quality ranging from blah, to meh, to ooh ahh!

I'm sure anyone could find something to meet their needs and budget in Monroeville.

On a second note, Pitts is right, too, and Monroeville is but a shadow of it's former glory when it was the eastern hub of Pittsburgh and was considered quite a classy place, especially the Mall (which has been struggling but I heard is doing somewhat better since the District opened).

It's far from falling apart, but I do believe it is on a slow and steady economic decline as the norther suburbs of Pittsburgh have taken a lot from Monroeville, Westinghouse being a prime example.

Go check it out, though, there are PLENTY of nice areas and are tons of places to eat and shop and do business, and is not far from the city.
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Old 03-24-2008, 09:56 AM
 
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Originally Posted by guylocke View Post
Monroeville is but a shadow of it's former glory when it was the eastern hub of Pittsburgh and was considered quite a classy place....I do believe it is on a slow and steady economic decline as the norther suburbs of Pittsburgh have taken a lot from Monroeville.
Yea....I used to hear people say that, and I always wondered if it was true, because in my experience, prevailing wisdom is often times divorced from reality.

So, a while back, I researched the issue and found that much of the prevailing sentiment does not hold up under rigorous analysis.

As an example look at office-space vacancy rates

11.4% vacant Eastern submarket
19.5% vacant Parkway West submarket
14.4% vacant North Hills submarket

or mall foot traffic

180+ stores 13 million annual visitors: Monroeville Mall
150+ stores 10 million annual visitors: Ross Park Mall
133+ stores 10 million annual visitors: South Hills Village

or the fact that Murrysville has a higher household income than Cranberry. Or that
Monroeville has higher household income than Ross.

If I was forced to guess, I would say that (in the East) Wilkinsburg went from working class to ghetto and Penn Hills went from Middle class to working-class (ghetto in places). Then Cranberry (in the North) had a big boom, while Murrysville (in the East) had a smaller boom.

I think that people then used lazy-logic and came to conclusions that weren't necessarily justified...........Cranberry is booming, therefore the whole North is booming. Penn Hills is declining therefore the whole East is declining.

I think the truth is a little more subtle and something closer to: Overall, the entire region has experienced decline since big Manufacturing left. Certain specific Northern suburbs are experiencing booms, while certain specific Eastern suburbs are declining. So I honestly don't think one can carte-blanche expand those specific facts to blanket conclusions.

So at the end of the day, Even though I don't live in Monroeville, I say it is perfectly fine by many standards. You sort of said the same thing so I'm not sure if we agree or disagree.
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Old 03-24-2008, 10:40 AM
 
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The other thing that may be contributing to this assessment of Monroeville is that between the new economic developments in the East End and The Waterfront in Homestead, some people in the city who used to go to Monroeville for shopping, restaurants, movies, and so on are staying closer to home. That doesn't necessarily mean the market out there has completely collapsed, but it may be more suburban now, meaning it is drawing fewer people out from the city.

Last edited by BrianTH; 03-24-2008 at 11:59 AM..
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Old 03-24-2008, 03:35 PM
 
Location: Western PA
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I'm one of those city dwellers (Shadyside) that used to go to Monroeville, but I haven't been there in years. Since we now have Home Depot, Borders, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Giant Eagle Market District, and lots of nice shops along Walnut Street, Ellsworth Avenue, and Centre Avenue, there is no need to. In fact, I think east suburbanites come in for those specialty food stores on Saturdays, because they're always packed. And I think the Waterfront has siphoned off a lot of city dwellers who used to go to Monroeville. I go there for the big boxes and chain stores (most of which are also in Monroeville). I don't think the Showcase Cinema is in Monroeville anymore, either. I usually go to Squirrel Hill, South Side Works, Regent Square, the Harris Theater downtown or Waterfront for movies. Isn't the commercial sprawl stretching into Westmoreland County since there's little room to build in Monroeville? I could be mistaken. As I said, I haven't been in years.
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Old 03-24-2008, 03:39 PM
 
1,051 posts, read 2,600,852 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianTH View Post
The other thing that may be contributing to this assessment of Monroeville is that between the new economic developments in the East End and The Waterfront in Homestead, some people in the city who used to go to Monroeville for shopping, restaurants, movies, and so on are staying closer to home. That doesn't necessarily mean the market out there has completely collapsed, but it may be more suburban now, meaning it is drawing fewer people out from the city.
Not only that....I know quite a few people that come INTO the city to shop in East Liberty (Trader Joes and such).
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Old 03-24-2008, 04:17 PM
 
20,273 posts, read 32,857,468 times
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I agree with both Geeo and zip95 that some people are coming into the East End from outside the city these days for shopping. In that sense, I think it is fair to say that Monroeville may be losing as much or more of its market to East Liberty as to the North Hills. Similarly, I have no doubt The Waterfront has taken business from all over the area, and I am personally pretty confident it was indeed the Loews at The Waterfront that killed off the Showcase in Monroeville.
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