Safety in the Slopes (Pittsburgh, Allentown: apartments, lease, neighborhood)

[Paint It Pink]

Originally Posted by interested_burgher

If you're going to be alone a lot, I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think you'll feel comfortable. The Slopes are nostalgic, but you'll be surrounded by some bad areas. It's the type of neighborhood where everybody is on top of one another, so it's important you have good neighbors. Unfortunately, that's definitely not guaranteed there. I guess it depends on what you're comfortable with. If you're used to suburban living, I'd say definitely not. If you're used to living in city neighborhoods with cramped space and higher than normal crime rates, you'll probably be okay.

Exactly. The Slopes are very cramped and LOUD... there's an explosion of college students in the Flats and the Slopes, so unless you like profanity at 3 am, hearing someone throwing up at 4 am, and then car alarms at 5 am, I wouldn't recommend it.

If you're looking to be in the city, and have a young child (middle school, no less!) try Squirrel Hill or Shadyside.

Not to mention that the Slopes have very tight streets- which you may be used to in Boston- and in the winter, they're a pain as the city sometimes salts them, but usually not. They're narrow, and parking is also a nightmare.

I'd rethink the South Side in general, if I were in your shoes.

[flutterbyu]

Part of the diffiuclty right now is that the rental market in Pittsburgh is a joke. I must email 7-10 properties off craigslist per day and I never get a response. I've worked with a couple of realtors who have been extremely negative about the market in general and even more discouraging seeing as we have a dog. If anyone has any tips on how to get someone to respond to a listing, I am all ears! I'm obviously getting fairly frustrated with this whole process, mostly because my husband and I make decent money, have steady jobs, a generous rental budget, and there doesn't seem to be anyone out there that wants to rent to us!!

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by Paint It Pink

Exactly. The Slopes are very cramped and LOUD... there's an explosion of college students in the Flats and the Slopes, so unless you like profanity at 3 am, hearing someone throwing up at 4 am, and then car alarms at 5 am, I wouldn't recommend it.

Okay, this is just a crazy exaggeration. The slopes are a 100x quieter than the flats, they are totally different worlds apart from each other.

Just don't live on one of the (very few) through streets and stay several blocks from Arlington at the top of the hill and you will essentially living in Mayberry with an unbelievable view.

Nobody drives through the slopes that doesn't live there, because the streets for the most part are an assortment of one lane goat paths.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by flutterbyu

Part of the diffiuclty right now is that the rental market in Pittsburgh is a joke. I must email 7-10 properties off craigslist per day and I never get a response. I've worked with a couple of realtors who have been extremely negative about the market in general and even more discouraging seeing as we have a dog. If anyone has any tips on how to get someone to respond to a listing, I am all ears! I'm obviously getting fairly frustrated with this whole process, mostly because my husband and I make decent money, have steady jobs, a generous rental budget, and there doesn't seem to be anyone out there that wants to rent to us!!

Honestly, I would think that since you have a generous rental budget you should be going through a realtor. Try calling the Fox Chapel Howard Hanna Office. I know that have a few rental listings on the MLS. Lately, when you do a property search (for sale) on Howard Hanna they list the rentals at the end. For example, in Fox Chapel they have one for 10,000 a month.

If you are set on the city this may not help but Fox Chapel Real Estate in Aspinwall has a lot of rentals.

A city realtor in Julie Wolf Rost with Prudential Preferred in Squirrel Hill. A suburban realtor (Fox Chapel) Jane Herrman also with Prudential Preferred.

A big player on the Southe Side is Carlson and Associates. Call them if that is where you want to live.

The dog will be a problem as you know.

[flutterbyu]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Honestly, I would think that since you have a generous rental budget you should be going through a realtor. Try calling the Fox Chapel Howard Hanna Office. I know that have a few rental listings on the MLS. Lately, when you do a property search (for sale) on Howard Hanna they list the rentals at the end. For example, in Fox Chapel they have one for 10,000 a month.

If you are set on the city this may not help but Fox Chapel Real Estate in Aspinwall has a lot of rentals.

A city realtor in Julie Wolf Rost with Prudential Preferred in Squirrel Hill. A suburban realtor (Fox Chapel) Jane Herrman also with Prudential Preferred.

A big player on the Southe Side is Carlson and Associates. Call them if that is where you want to live.

The dog will be a problem as you know.

We really need to be either in the city or to the south of the city, so thank you for the Fox Chapel idea, but we have ruled that out. And btw - when I said generous, I didn't mean insane. $10,000 for a rental is absurd.

[Paint It Pink]

Originally Posted by airwave09

Okay, this is just a crazy exaggeration. The slopes are a 100x quieter than the flats, they are totally different worlds apart from each other.

Just don't live on one of the (very few) through streets and stay several blocks from Arlington at the top of the hill and you will essentially living in Mayberry with an unbelievable view.

Nobody drives through the slopes that doesn't live there, because the streets for the most part are an assortment of one lane goat paths.

Then perhaps the 4 places I've lived at in the slopes are just a huge coincidence, but that's exactly what I dealt with. Every night. And yes, people who don't live there DO drive through there to get around the main streets. You'd be surprised.

To the OP, I'm not sure how to get peoples attention to respond to you, other than emailing several times... ? I'd try one of the rental agencies that other people have suggested.

[flutterbyu]

Originally Posted by Paint It Pink

To the OP, I'm not sure how to get peoples attention to respond to you, other than emailing several times... ? I'd try one of the rental agencies that other people have suggested.

The emailing several times thing is what I'm doing now. My husband and I are both in touch with several different real estate agencies, but there just isn't a ton out there, and, as someone noted, having a dog makes it all the more diffiucult. Thanks for the input on the slopes though.

[gallacus]

Originally Posted by Paint It Pink

Then perhaps the 4 places I've lived at in the slopes are just a huge coincidence, but that's exactly what I dealt with. Every night. And yes, people who don't live there DO drive through there to get around the main streets. You'd be surprised.

To the OP, I'm not sure how to get peoples attention to respond to you, other than emailing several times... ? I'd try one of the rental agencies that other people have suggested.

I must say, I lived in the Slopes for 6 years and never experienced this. Quite the contrary, actually. It was a very pleasant neighborhood that remained quiet. If we stepped out onto our balcony, we could hear the far-off roar of Carson St. on weekend nights, but the Slopes stayed quiet and separated from it all.

I found it to be very safe, but I wouldn't recommend walking around alone at night, it is a city neighborhood afterall. Additionally, I have to echo a comment made earlier that if you stay away from through-streets, and especially stay away from Alrington, you'll find it to be a very pleasant area.

Finding a rental that allows dogs presents its own challenge, though, as there is high demand for rentals right now.

[soniqV]

I lived there for 6 years in 3 different places, moved away 3 years ago. My experience, it really depends where you are. Over by Brosville, my neighbors were mostly blue collar middle-aged to older white homeowners that had been there for decades. At the top of the west side, between Warrington and Mt. Oliver St, may as well be part of Knoxville... Rough area. In the middle, Pius and the roads above it (between the playground and 18th) were heavily college student rentals. Then the east side over the Mission St. bridge is the biggest part, and things are a tad more spread out, and you get more of a mixture of folks including some more affluent professionals and businesspeople. Some of the homes are really nice, and built to capitalize on the view. On that side, Arlington is a geographical and cultural border. The closer you get to it, the more you'll likely be aware of the street element on the other side of the hill.

[flutterbyu]

This is super helpful - thanks!