May be re-locating to Pittsburgh in Aug. (Washington, Dormont: apartment, to rent)

[Goodjules]

I live in Crafton and I love it. Probably not the best place for a young single person. More of a family area. It's not far from Mt. Washington. I have clients there and it doesn't take much time at all to get there. Do check out Crafton. There are a fair amount of well-maintained apartment complexes here. I moved here a year ago from CA so I'm not at all familiar with the reputations of any of the apartment complexes. I live in a single family home. I could ask my neighbors. Most have lived in the area for a while and would know more than I do.

[Craziaskowboi]

Give Dormont a look. It's a middle-class suburb with a decent central business district, and you won't have to deal with the Fort Pitt Tunnel or the West End Circle to get to Crafton. Also give Green Tree a look, but be prepared to use one of the stupidest on-ramps on the entire Eisenhower Interstate Highway System to get into the city.

The terrain in Pittsburgh couldn't possibly be any more different than the terrain in Chicago, just so you know.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Goodjules

I live in Crafton and I love it. Probably not the best place for a young single person. More of a family area. It's not far from Mt. Washington. I have clients there and it doesn't take much time at all to get there. Do check out Crafton. There are a fair amount of well-maintained apartment complexes here. I moved here a year ago from CA so I'm not at all familiar with the reputations of any of the apartment complexes. I live in a single family home. I could ask my neighbors. Most have lived in the area for a while and would know more than I do.

In this case I have to disagree that it's a bad fit for a young person. In general that may be true, but if you're working in Crafton, then living there would be pretty nice. Crafton is a stone's throw from the city and its dining, entertainment, and nightlife options.

Most people work more often than they go out, so I think it makes sense to prioritize the commute to work over the commute to entertainment.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by ferraris

In this case I have to disagree that it's a bad fit for a young person. In general that may be true, but if you're working in Crafton, then living there would be pretty nice. Crafton is a stone's throw from the city and its dining, entertainment, and nightlife options.

Most people work more often than they go out, so I think it makes sense to prioritize the commute to work over the commute to entertainment.

Yeah. There's two ways of looking at this.

1.) Do I want to be closer to work?

2.) Do I want to be closer to play?

Ideally you should choose a place like Mt. Washington because you could drive the back-roads and be in Crafton in about 15 minutes for work while also being in a nice city neighborhood that is a quick jaunt to a lot of dining, nightlife, and recreational amenities. With little traffic I can make it from Merrimac & Virginia in Mt. Washington to Forbes & Meyran in Oakland (our cultural/high education epicenter) in under ten minutes via car. You can also take back-roads to the West End Circle and hop across the West End Bridge to the casino, stadiums, etc. in about ten minutes with little traffic via car.

I like Crafton a lot. I've met Goodjules before in person, and afterwards I leisurely meandered around the town a bit in my car. Wonderful place, and it's really one of the area's "best kept secrets", in my humble opinion. I don't personally want to live anywhere where I wouldn't be within walking distance to a business district, which is why I'd never live there, but if that's not important to you then by all means either consider Crafton itself or city neighborhoods between there and Mt. Washington.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by ferraris

In this case I have to disagree that it's a bad fit for a young person. In general that may be true, but if you're working in Crafton, then living there would be pretty nice. Crafton is a stone's throw from the city and its dining, entertainment, and nightlife options.

Most people work more often than they go out, so I think it makes sense to prioritize the commute to work over the commute to entertainment.

Good points. It's super easy to get to Carson St, the Strip district, Downtown, Mt. Washington, the airport, Robinson from Crafton. Honestly, Crafton feels like a residential neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Yeah. There's two ways of looking at this.

1.) Do I want to be closer to work?

2.) Do I want to be closer to play?

Ideally you should choose a place like Mt. Washington because you could drive the back-roads and be in Crafton in about 15 minutes for work while also being in a nice city neighborhood that is a quick jaunt to a lot of dining, nightlife, and recreational amenities. With little traffic I can make it from Merrimac & Virginia in Mt. Washington to Forbes & Meyran in Oakland (our cultural/high education epicenter) in under ten minutes via car. You can also take back-roads to the West End Circle and hop across the West End Bridge to the casino, stadiums, etc. in about ten minutes with little traffic via car.

I like Crafton a lot. I've met Goodjules before in person, and afterwards I leisurely meandered around the town a bit in my car. Wonderful place, and it's really one of the area's "best kept secrets", in my humble opinion. I don't personally want to live anywhere where I wouldn't be within walking distance to a business district, which is why I'd never live there, but if that's not important to you then by all means either consider Crafton itself or city neighborhoods between there and Mt. Washington.

There is some retail within walking distance of most Crafton homes. But it is very limited. I can walk to the library, an antique store, Big Daddy's Donuts, a Dollar General, a barber, and a few more small businesses that are a couple of blocks down the hill from my place. Antney's, fast food, a Thai place, CVS (or is it Rite Aid?), two dry cleaners, and more are about a mile or less in the other direction. Just didn't want to give the impression that Crafton is one of those burbs where you absolutely have to get in your car to get to any shopping.

[szug-bot]

i used to go to Crafton - Ingram Shopping Center when i lived in Beechview. "limited"? i thought it had everything i needed! plus a Subway with great employees (that Chinese next to it just sucks, though).

i had to use the car, of course - but if one were to live in Crafton, im sure they could make it a walking trip to do some shopping, with a reasonable amount of purchases to lug.

[Goodjules]

There is no central downtown type area in Crafton. There is retail, just no bustling retail district.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Goodjules

There is no central downtown type area in Crafton. There is retail, just no bustling retail district.

With a little work, Crafton could easily develop a walkable downtown around the rotary in the middle of town. There's plenty of scattered storefronts there already, although oddly they seem to face outward rather than inward.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Crafton does not have a lot of businesses, so that's somewhat surprising.

It has one particular business which would seem most likely, although that is perhaps not the only possibility.

I don't know the areas of Chicago to compare it to. I think ideas like Dormont, Mt Washington, or Crafton itself are all good possibilities, depending upon preferences.