Trendy Neighborhoods between UPitt & IUP (Pittsburgh, Altoona: apartment, credit, theater)

[sga5018]

My boyfriend and I are relocated to PA for grad school. He is attending UPitt and i will be attending IUP. We are looking for an affordable area to live in between both locations. We are both in our early twenties so we are looking for a youngish area with at least some culture and nightlife, but if doesn't have to be amazing. Public transportation would be a plus, but if not we can bring our cars.

[nuwaver88]

Originally Posted by sga5018

My boyfriend and I are relocated to PA for grad school. He is attending UPitt and i will be attending IUP. We are looking for an affordable area to live in between both locations. We are both in our early twenties so we are looking for a youngish area with at least some culture and nightlife, but if doesn't have to be amazing. Public transportation would be a plus, but if not we can bring our cars.

Well, Indiana, PA is about sixty miles east of Pittsburgh. There are not going to be any "trendy" neighborhoods once you get out of the city of Pittsburgh. It will either be suburban or rural, unless you live in in the town of Greensburg, which is ok, but hardly "trendy'. Pittsburgh does not try to be trendy or hip, it just is in it's own way. My recommendation would be some neighborhood in Pittsburgh's East End. The only real neighborhood where there seem to be a bunch of poseurs is Shadyside. Bloomfield may be a good choice for you.

[BrianTH]

I don't know if it is exactly what you are looking for, but Regent Square is a popular neighborhood with easy access to Pitt (including by public transit), and it is also easy to hop on the highway to get from there to Indiana, PA (in fact I spent a year working out in the Altoona area while my wife and eventually newborn son were in Regent Square, and I would often make the trip before or after work).

Regent Square is a nice neighborhood with a good mix of people (including younger people), and it has a few popular bars and restaurants in its small commercial area. However, other neighborhoods nearby have more nightlife. Its chief appeal would really be that it is relatively easy to get on the highway going east from there (including the fact it is on the eastern side of the Squirrel Hill tunnel).

[psulions2007]

I may be the only one since I never see it mentioned, but I really like Murrysville everytime I pass through it.

[ML North]

Greensburg might be a decent area for you. It's definitely not trendy, but it has a nice downtown with a few bars and a growing restaurant scene. There are three colleges in the area, Seton Hill, UPitt-Greensburg, and Saint Vincent, so there is a decent population of college-aged kids. You should be able to find a nice apartment in Greensburg for very little rent.

From Greensburg, it takes about one hour to drive to both IUP and Oakland. The drive to Indiana is wide open with little traffic. Greensburg to Pitt is a more difficult drive with the Squirrel Hill tunnels; however, Westmoreland Transit has a bus that runs from downtown Greensburg to Pittsburgh several times daily for $2 per trip. The bus is far better than driving because the fare is less than the cost of gas, you don't have to pay for parking or tolls, and it uses the East Busway, which bypasses most of the AM traffic.

[Augie6]

I went to IUP and it is not a quick drive to Pittsburgh. I would not want to try it in the winter. Public transportation does not exist viia pittsburgh to indiana (that i knwo of) ( if it does you are making a lot of stops) Indiana is a nice town-- it does not get the credit is deserves. Rural , Small , but has a lot to offer.

Greensburg is about 40-60 min away from both locations. It is not supper trendy but does have a "ok" night life..That is a tricky situation you are in, hate to say it

[JayDiFiore]

Originally Posted by ML North

Greensburg might be a decent area for you. It's definitely not trendy, but it has a nice downtown with a few bars and a growing restaurant scene. There are three colleges in the area, Seton Hill, UPitt-Greensburg, and Saint Vincent, so there is a decent population of college-aged kids. You should be able to find a nice apartment in Greensburg for very little rent.

From Greensburg, it takes about one hour to drive to both IUP and Oakland. The drive to Indiana is wide open with little traffic. Greensburg to Pitt is a more difficult drive with the Squirrel Hill tunnels; however, Westmoreland Transit has a bus that runs from downtown Greensburg to Pittsburgh several times daily for $2 per trip. The bus is far better than driving because the fare is less than the cost of gas, you don't have to pay for parking or tolls, and it uses the East Busway, which bypasses most of the AM traffic.

As someone who grew up and went to college in Indiana and currently lives in Pittsburgh, I can definitely second this recommendation. Seriously, the area between the two towns is what it is... but given what you're asking for, it may as well be a wasteland. I guess you could give Latrobe a look as well. But frankly, at the end of the day, when it comes to nightlife, you'll both probably prefer just staying put in Pittsburgh and Indiana, respectively.

If splitting the commute down the middle is more your thing, you can't go wrong with Slickville, which now features a post office AND a grocery store.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by jaydifiore

if splitting the commute down the middle is more your thing, you can't go wrong with slickville, which now features a post office and a grocery store.

:d

[neurodistortion]

I think Greensburg could be an ideal place if you want an affordable area to live in and be roughly between both locations (mind you, it's not as convenient as it seems because Indiana and Oakland are about 45 minutes to an hour from Greensburg) but you don't really have many other choices to consider considering the far apart locations that you and your boyfriend are going to school in. Someone before me suggested Slickville but I think it may be a little too sleepy for your tastes. Greensburg might not have the nightlife of Indiana, which is about the size of Greensburg, and definitely can't compete to Pittsburgh, but it does have quite a bit of things to do for being a small town with cultural/performing arts, shopping and dining as its main draws. Your drive to Indiana will be much smoother and easier from Greensburg and should only take about 45 minutes to an hour but your boyfriend will have to deal with traffic each day as the Squirrel Hill Tunnels creates a barrier between Pittsburgh and the eastern suburbs. Westmoreland Transit does have service from the Greensburg area (park and ride lots at Westmoreland Mall and Walmart) to Downtown Pittsburgh with stops in Oakland/UPitt. One way is around $4.50, which is relatively cheaper than having to drive to school each day.

Greensburg has the usual array of shopping and dining establishments which beats Indiana hands down, but the dining and nightlife climate downtown is steadily improving with new restaurants such as the upscale One Eleven and J. Corks locations as well as established places such as the Rialto Cafe and a decent tapas bar called the Headkeeper, featuring among the largest imported beer selection in the Pittsburgh area with some 600 beers and a large outdoor patio/bar area which gets packed with a young crowd during the late night hours on the weekends. There's also a number of bars and nightclubs downtown and outside the city. 42nd Street, Primanti's and the Great Escape are just some examples. Those places attract locals as well as college students and visitors going to the Seton Hill University Performing Arts Center and the Palace Theater. There's also a good-sized museum specializing in American art in Downtown Greensburg and has free admission if that's something you want to do on a rainy day.

[sga5018]

Are there other areas besides Slickville that would be splitting the distance down the middle? Disregarding "trendiness" for this one...