HELP!-- 3 Families Moving from NYC to Pittsburgh???? (Washington, Duquesne: rental, big home)

[ainulinale]

[quote=By~Tor;2753979]WOW!--THANKS for the pictures! - - The areas kinda' remind me of the Soulard area of St. Louis, where I spent 6 very happy years in the same kind of housing.
quote]

No problem...I have pictures of nearly every neighborhood in Pittsburgh...if you want to see an area, just let me know.

[By~Tor]

[quote=ainulinale;2754319]

Originally Posted by By~Tor

WOW!--THANKS for the pictures! - - The areas kinda' remind me of the Soulard area of St. Louis, where I spent 6 very happy years in the same kind of housing.
quote]

No problem...I have pictures of nearly every neighborhood in Pittsburgh...if you want to see an area, just let me know.

Well, I'd love to see pics of any housing that might be in the areas around Univ. of Pitt, Marshall Ave., Schenley Park, and other areas close in to the city center. Thanks for all your help, by the way!!

[fleetiebelle]

Just FYI, Google maps has the street view option for Pittsburgh--so you can click on the "street view" button on the map, and virtually drive down any street in the city and see 360 degrees at any given location. It would be a good way for you to see what neighborhoods look like, and it's fun to play with.

[ainulinale]

[quote=By~Tor;2763818]

Originally Posted by ainulinale

Well, I'd love to see pics of any housing that might be in the areas around Univ. of Pitt, Marshall Ave., Schenley Park, and other areas close in to the city center. Thanks for all your help, by the way!!

I don't think Marshall Ave. is bad, but most of the North Side is not a good area--especially the schools. Univ. of Pitt is in Oakland, and you probably don't want to live there unless you're a student looking for some parties. Areas around Schenley Park are typically expensive parts of Squirrel Hill.

I'll give you a few pics that I think typify certain areas you speak of.....

Areas in the central parts of the city are going to look a lot like this:

Central North Side:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-01-07


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-14

Uptown:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18

South Side Flats:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18

Bloomfield:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18

Strip District:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-01-06

Hill District (very bad area):


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-01-06

Polish Hill:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-01-06

Lawrenceville:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-30

I don't think the above areas are what you're looking for.

This is Morningside, it is a nice, safe area:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-01-06


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-01-06

Highland Park is great area too:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-30


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-30

Chatham Village was recently ranked as one of the nation's greatest neighborhoods by American Planning Association:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-19


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-19

Shadyside:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-19


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-19

Friendship:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-19


Oakland/University of Pittsburgh (as you asked for):


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2007-12-18


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


Squirrel Hill might be your type of area. It's safe, the houses have yards, very ethnic, and probably the best fit for your price range:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08



This is the area around Schenley:


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


By ainulindale, shot with C960Z,D460Z at 2008-02-08


Anything else? Just let me know...

[By~Tor]

Thank you SO much for the time & effort you're putting into the pics. They really do help... I assume you are either an amateur photog or perhaps, an agent?

A couple questions:

1. The areas at the top end of the photos all appear to be attached townhouses. Is Pittsburgh (city) setup like Philly, with mostly attached housing in the city and more detached out in the 'burbs? If not, then which areas of the inner Metro area has more detached housing, and is STILL in our price range (UNDER $170K)?

2. Alleys: I only noticed one shot of an alley, and there appeared to be parking in it... here in NYC, they've never HEARD of an alley..... are alleys the standard or the exception in Pittsburgh? AND, is parking okay IN them?

3. Are Morningside, Highland Park, Friendship and Squirrel Hill "neighborhoods" or actual suburbs? On the map of Pittsburgh I have, they don't appear at all, so I'm trying to get a feel of where these areas are, in relation to the downtown / Central Pittsburgh area. ALSO, bus or train connections are vital to us.

Again, thanks ever so much for your help; it is more appreciated than you may know. We're looking at trying to drive out next weekend, so I only have this one week to figure everything out and try to find a few houses to look at in our range.

[ainulinale]

Just an amateur photographer

(1) The core of Pittsburgh is all rowhouses. Rowhouse neighborhoods: East Allegheny, Central North Side, Manchester, Allegheny West, South Side Flats, Uptown, Hill District, Strip District, Polish Hill, Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, and South Oakland. All of these neighborhoods mentioned above are either all rowhouses, or mostly so. Although, Philadelphia is the rowhouse capital and has far more than Pittsburgh. There are rowhouses outside of these neighborhoods (probably rows in every neighborhood), but everything outside this core is primarily detached. These neighborhoods would include: Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Morningside, Highland Park, Greenfield, Hazelwood, Point Breeze, Spring Hill, Perry Hill Top, Summer Hill, as well as the southern neighborhoods. Unfortunately, I don't know much about housing prices. Amazingly, I was in the Shenley area yesterday and ended up talking with a real estate agent! I'm sorry, but I think a lot of that area is way out of your price range. Squirrel Hill and Greenfield are both in the city proper, have detached housing, are less intensely urban, have an older housing stock, and are probably the best fit for your price range. I believe this area is served by Taylor-Allderdice which is a good school district. My dad just sold his mother's house in Morningside for about $100 G. Morningside has the same stuff as Squirrel Hill only Morningside is quieter. The non-rowhouse neighborhoods of the North Side will have cheeper housing, but I wouldn't recommend that area, it is crime ridden.

(2) There are a lot of areas that have alleys that you can park in. Seeing that you're looking for a non-rowhouse neighborhood, you probably won't have to worry about alleys, or parking as you can park right on the street. Now, if you're looking to move into Oakland (Univ. of Pitt.), you might have some serious parking issues--parking can be a disaster in Oakland (it's the third largest central business district in the state, after downtown Philly and downtown Pittsburgh). With that being said, the denser neighborhoods tend to have alleys, but less so everything else.

(3) Every neighborhood that I mentioned and gave you pictures from is within the city limits and not suburban. Morningside and Highland Park are on the extreme east end of the city limits, and the closest neighborhoods to the Allegheny River. Friendship is a tiny neighborhood near Shadyside and East Liberty. Squirrel Hill is the largest neighborhood by area and is in the east close to the Monongehela River. This map (if you have FLASH player 6.0), gives you all the city neighborhoods in their relation to one another: Pittsburgh Map
Pittsburgh has one of the largest bus systems in the country; I don't think you would have much of problem with public transportation. However, if you want more direct access to downtown, the southern neighborhood of the city have subway/light rail access to downtown; here's the map:
T Stations

Anything else?

[By~Tor]

Actually, this post, as with your others, is extremely helpful! I guess we'll be looking in the Morningside & Squirrel Hill areas next weekend, then!

Hell, after all this I feel as if I owe ya' a beer or two, for being so helpful!!!!

[By~Tor]

Originally Posted by ainulinale

Anything else?

Okay - - I've had a bit of time to look over the map, and I wanted to ask how the following neighborhoods are, in relation to the price range ($140K), the safety, and the easy access to good groceries and transportation:

• Strip District
• Bluff
• Shadyside
• Bloomfield
• Mount Washington
• Duquesne Heights

[Smeep44]

I grew up in Mount Lebanon and it is a great township however It is not necessarily the most walkable area if you are looking to be able to go to the grocery store and walk back or anything along those lines. Also I didnt experience a lot of different cultures there. People there are welcoming to any culture. Mount Lebanon is around 6 miles to downtown. During rush hour this can mean up to 30-45 minutes to get downtown.

I would recommend Shadyside/Squirrel Hill and possibly Friendship township. Friendship is less upscale than the other two but it has some great older houses with reasonable pricing.

[ainulinale]

Originally Posted by By~Tor

Hell, after all this I feel as if I owe ya' a beer or two, for being so helpful!!!!

I just might take you up on that!!!

As for your questions:

The Strip District is all concrete, warehouses, markets, nightclubs and a couple of rowhouses...it's also not the safest area of the city...not a good place to raise a family if you ask me. Don't even consider the Bluff...the Hill District (Pittsburgh's worst slum) bleeds into the that area-- rows, Duquesne University and crime typify that neighborhood. Shadyside is extremely expensive...we're talking many homes in the multi millions of dollars. I'm certain though that you could find something there within your price range if you don't mind living in a townhouse. The area is absolutely beautiful and safe, with big old homes, trees and front lawns. Shadyside has a central business district, so I don't think you'll be hard-pressed to find groceries.

Bloomfield would definitely be within your price range. Bloomfield has a lot of ugly, vinyl-sided rowhouses though (in my opinion) and is quite dense (I don't think you'll be finding anything with a yard). It's a very safe area, noted as being Pittsburgh's Little Italy. It has a very nice central business district, and being Italian you can count on good food and nice markets in the area. Bloomfield is definitely a walking community, but, like all of Pittsburgh's neighborhoods, it has good public transportation access.

Mt. Washington is a nice, safe area definitely within your price range. I would assume Duquesne Heights is pretty much the same thing, but I don't know for sure. As long as you're not looking for anything with a view (that will run you about $1 million for a townhouse), you should be able to find something good there. I think Mt. Washington is another good walking community, so you should be close to grocery stores and other goods. Concerning public transportation, you could actually be one of the few to take the incline down Mt. Washington to station square! Depending on how eager you are to walk, you could either walk across the bridge to downtown, or you could catch the subway to downtown (which conveniently stops at Steel Plaza, Wood Street and Gateway Center and is now extending to the North Shore even though they should really extend it to Oakland...don't get me started!) Anyway, I've included a few links to real estate sites where you can enter a specific Pittsburgh neighborhood to check out housing prices in that area...
Moderator cut: linking to real estate sites is not allowed