Where would you live if you only had 1 yr in Pittsburgh? (Washington: real estate, apartments)

[Krista3680]

Hi All!

My boyfriend and I are moving to the Pittsburgh area for his job as a short term relo. We are both 30, We have a golden retriever and no children. We would have to rent something for 1 year. We can spend up to $1600/mo.

If you were us - where would you live? and why?

[Blackbeauty212]

Squirrel Hill South or Shadyside .... These are the best Transient neighborhoods in the City. I would've thrown in Downtown if it wasn't for the Dog...

[BrianTH]

Yeah, Downtown would be my easy first choice if not for the dog . . . and I would still consider it.

Generally, my answer would somewhat depend on where I would be working, because I would want to minimize my commute to maximize my time to enjoy the City. But with a dog, anything right next to one of Pittsburgh's big urban parks would be a notable possibility. Squirrel Hill is right between Schenley Park and Frick Park, and a nice neighborhood in general, and pretty centrally-located. The reason Downtown is still an option in my mind is you can walk out along the riverfront trails, and in fact I do see a decent number of people with dogs doing that these days. A Mt. Washington place with a view of Downtown would also be cool, and it is walking distance to Downtown (via a fun incline), and there is now a big park up there as well.

[robrobrob]

Shadyside.

[BrianTH]

Shadyside is nice and very well-located, but I don't know if it is the best option for people with a big dog. In my mind it is also less distinctively Pittsburgh than some other possibilities (which would be less of an issue if you had more than one year).

[Krista3680]

Thanks for the ideas, I am having a terrible time trying to find any rentals in Shadyside or Squirrel Hill that will accept my dog (even if I will pay more rent!). Any ideas? Can someone tell me more about Mt. Washington?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Krista3680

Thanks for the ideas, I am having a terrible time trying to find any rentals in Shadyside or Squirrel Hill that will accept my dog (even if I will pay more rent!). Any ideas?

You might try this website to see if it helps your search:

Rent Jungle - Apartment and Rental Search Engine With Millions of Apartments And Houses For Rent

You could also try contacting a local real estate agent--they may have rentals available and might know if you could negotiate about a dog. For example, we are renting out a house (our former residence), and we used a local agent to find a tenant, and we were willing to work out an accomodation on her dog. If you would like the name of our agent, send me a private message and I will send it back to you.

Can someone tell me more about Mt. Washington?

You might start with this thread, which ended up containing a very extensive discussion of Mt. Washington, and its pros and cons:

Mt. Washington vs. Lawrenceville?

[Blackbeauty212]

You might also want to try Highland Park.....Not nearly as "transient" as Sq. Hill or Shadyside its more "established" residents, but would be perfect for your dog....

[TimGyves]

In addition to East End places like Shadyside and Squirrel Hill I'd add Point Breeze, where my wife and I life. The neighborhood is VERY pet friendly, w/ a local park and popular vet just around the corner from us.

From a real estate perspective, your budget should give you some options and will go further if you also consider neighborhoods like Regent Square, also close to a park, or Greenfield. You may encounter some resistance to pets from landlords, but many are willing to accept them w/ additional deposit. My company has people who deal specifically w/ rentals, if you'd like to be put in touch with anyone.

Craigslist seems popular for short term rental situations, and Trulia.com also allows people to search for rentals only. If I can help, please let me know. Pittsburgh's a great place to spend a year.

[Little Mizz Pittsburgh]

Shadyside or Frick Park area.