Grad student renting in Pittsburgh suburb

[greg42]

Originally Posted by dani5505

I have looked into the cost of rent in these areas and they are for the most part indeed quite reasonable. I'm wondering if you or anyone else could give me more information about the area itself, such as safety, neighborhood feel, if the area is thriving/run-down, etc. I am aware of the difficulties the PAT line is having, though I still feel that dealing with a transfer downtown may still be a better choice than gas costs and parking pass costs at Pitt.

I lived in Emsworth for 5 years, though it was now over 7 years ago that I moved away. Still, that area is still about the same, and indeed Avalon and Bellevue have if anything improved. In Emsworth and Ben Avon there aren't too many businesses except right on the big 4-lane Ohio River Blvd. In Bellevue you get a town probably somewhat on the upswing. It's not, you know, Sewickley or Aspinwall or something upscale but it's a decent working class town with some businesses and a true town center. Biggest problem: dry. No kidding. So if you like a drink, you won't likely be walking to a bar. (Which is, of course, unfortunate, because if there's one thing that would be good not to have to drive to it's a bar!) This still could change, but for the moment that restriction remains. I think you'll still find some empty shops and stuff along the main street (been a while since I've been there), but I believe its worst times are behind it.

The Cranberry angle makes these areas even more appealing. It's an easy reverse commute to Cranberry. From Emsworth or Ben Avon you make your way to Camp Horne Rd to 279, and from Avalon or Bellevue you could still do that or head out Union Ave which is the next exit closer to the city (these two are less than a mile apart on 279). You can get to Cranberry in about 15-20 minutes depending upon your exact start and end points.

You might want to look at things in the West View vicinity though as well which could perhaps cut your bus commute time a little, depending upon what time of day it is. Assuming you travel at typical rush hours the benefit here is that buses from that area use the HOV lanes on 279. The reverse commute to Cranberry is again very similar. West View also has a little town center to it, a few less things than Bellevue probably. Certainly you can look many places in Ross as well but get too far away from that 279 corridor and the Cranberry commute will suffer although it probably wouldn't hurt the bus commute much if you were more in the McKnight area. Not that you probably want to be right in the middle of the McKnightmare sprawl, though, at least I wouldn't want to!

[greg42]

Although, allow me to cross-reference something I noticed in another thread. There was mention of a N. Hills to Oakland bus, which I didn't know about. I looked it up, it's route O4 and it runs down McKnight and then the HOV lane on 279 and goes to Oakland without a transfer downtown. This could, in fact, be an argument for living near McKnight after all. Just another idea to think about. Keep in mind that some spots may hinder the Cranberry commute a bit, but there are some that really wouldn't.

Relying solely on the CURRENT transit schedule to pick a place you hope to live for a few years probably wouldn't be a good idea, though. This kind of direct route is one that could be cut out anytime in the future.

[Blackbeauty212]

It is getting cut on the 27th...just looked it up....PAT is falling apart quick

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

It is getting cut on the 27th...just looked it up....PAT is falling apart quick

Ah hell. What's weird is in the thread about that the poster mentioned that it still didn't go to the park and ride, something like that. So I just went looking for what route it was assuming it was still in there, and apparently we both missed that it was cut entirely.