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Old 01-11-2017, 07:06 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,287,663 times
Reputation: 19071

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I have finally achieved my dream of having a Downtown office that I can walk to and from on a daily basis from my rowhome. With that being said while I personally find Downtown exciting as a single younger guy I'd probably be bored to tears growing up there as a tween and/or teen, especially after dark.

I'd suggest the Mexican War Streets, East Allegheny, Strip District, and Lawrenceville to you. I really like the Mexican War Streets, and despite the "sketchy" reputation of the Lower North Side it has really become much safer over the years. Property crime (package thefts, vehicle break-ins, graffiti, hit & runs involving parked vehicles, etc.) is sky-high in the Lower North Side; however, things like muggings, rapes, assaults, burglaries, homicides, etc. are rare. If you think you'd get your panties in a twist over the occasional theft of an Amazon package from your front doorstep or the thought of someone knocking your sideview mirror off your car and driving away, then city living in general just isn't for you.

East Allegheny east of I-279 is still very transitional, but there's a new commercial project underway along East Ohio Street that should really reinvigorate the neighborhood over the course of the next decade. East Allegheny west of I-279 is a bit dicier in terms of property crime than the Mexican War Streets, but it is also right next to the Giant Eagle grocery store and is a quicker walk to Downtown (if you find work there) and CAPA (good city public high school).

I live on the hillside above the Strip District, and I walk through the Strip twice daily. It's an exceptional neighborhood that is only going to become even better in the coming years as hundreds of new apartments are either just coming online or are in the process of being developed. Some of my favorite locally-owned and -operated businesses in the entire city are in the Strip (La Prima Espresso has awesome lattes; the cheese selection at Penn Mac gives me a boner; Pho Van has good pho; Wholey's sushi is awesome; Chicken Latino's chicken is muy delicioso; Pamela's strawberry hot cakes are melt-in-your-mouth good; and Bella Notte's buffalo chicken pizza is an artery-clogging slice of heaven). While I love La Prima I also reached out to Starbucks in 2016 about them siting themselves in the Upper Strip District, and they said they were going to investigate the area for a new location. Sometimes a gay boy just needs a mocha frappuccino within walking distance, ya know?

Lawrenceville has been RAPIDLY gentrifying. Butler Street, its main commercial corridor, is well on its way to rivaling East Carson Street in the South Side in a few years for retail/restaurant/nightlife vibrancy. In Fall 2016 we enjoyed a date-night that involved walking from our rowhome in a nearby neighborhood up to V3 (Chipotle-like build-your-own quick-serve pizzeria) and then had some flash-freeze build-your-own quick-serve rolled ice cream at NatuRoll nearby for dessert. We've enjoyed drag shows at Cattivo (the neighborhood has a high LGBT population). I've never had the pleasure of partaking, but I've heard nothing but great things about La Gourmandine Bakery. My partner enjoys the coffee at Espresso a Mano, but I've always found the environment there to be a bit pretentious for my tastes. I had a good brunch once at Coca Cafe, but I personally won't go back after placing a take-out order there once and being rudely told I had to wait outside (in sub-zero wind chills) due to the poor layout of their restaurant. The rumor mill has it that a Chipotle is coming, too. You know you've "made it" as a neighborhood when you land a Chipotle, right?
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Old 01-12-2017, 09:23 AM
 
684 posts, read 414,994 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
Property crime (package thefts, vehicle break-ins, graffiti, hit & runs involving parked vehicles, etc.) is sky-high in the Lower North Side; however, things like muggings, rapes, assaults, burglaries, homicides, etc. are rare. If you think you'd get your panties in a twist over the occasional theft of an Amazon package from your front doorstep or the thought of someone knocking your sideview mirror off your car and driving away, then city living in general just isn't for you.
Is that really true? Are there really people that are ok with living in a place where things are stolen and broken at a sky-high pace? (and the panties comment, is that meant to imply that if someone doesn't like living in a place like that , that you're effeminate??)

Seriously, I'm curious if that's the prevailing sentiment of residents, or that's an outlying point of view?
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Old 01-12-2017, 09:40 AM
 
2,519 posts, read 2,073,289 times
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Originally Posted by prnlvsxy View Post
Is that really true? Are there really people that are ok with living in a place where things are stolen and broken at a sky-high pace? (and the panties comment, is that meant to imply that if someone doesn't like living in a place like that , that you're effeminate??)

Seriously, I'm curious if that's the prevailing sentiment of residents, or that's an outlying point of view?
I would argue such things aren't at a sky high rate "in the North Side". Though petty crime is a reality in every city neighborhood, even the trendy ones. That is not to say that one who lives in a city neighborhood with these problems is "ok" with it. It's just a reality and people prepare for that reality as best as possible.
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Old 01-12-2017, 09:42 AM
 
Location: O'Hara Twp.
4,359 posts, read 7,483,988 times
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The thing that makes Pittsburgh great from a cultural standpoint is that it is very easy to get our cultural institutions. In Pittsburgh it is not a pain to drive to these places. Nor is it a pain to take public transportation there. I don't think the OP needs to, they may want to, walk to the Cultural District or to the museums in Oakland.
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Old 01-12-2017, 09:50 AM
 
684 posts, read 414,994 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by norcider View Post
I would argue such things aren't at a sky high rate "in the North Side". Though petty crime is a reality in every city neighborhood, even the trendy ones. That is not to say that one who lives in a city neighborhood with these problems is "ok" with it. It's just a reality and people prepare for that reality as best as possible.
Ok, that makes more sense to me, thanks.
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Old 01-12-2017, 09:59 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,361 posts, read 16,879,345 times
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I would very much not suggest living in Oakland with a child, while I would think it would be okay Downtown. Much of Oakland is student slum, meaning it's a bit run down due to deferred maintenance and can be quite rowdy. Parts of North Oakland are among the densest residential areas of Pittsburgh, but they are dominated by graduate students and the elderly (in some condo buildings). Oddly given the huge numbers of pedestrians in the densest area (bounded by Fifth, Centre, N Bellefield, and N Neville) the local business amenities are pretty lacking. I mean, there are things to walk to, but you'd expect the best business district in the city, and you'd be wrong. There are small areas within Oakland (like Schenley Farms) which are considered family friendly, but they are comprised of detached single-family houses and not what you are looking for.

I'd consider South Side and Lawrenceville as your top options outside of Downtown. The Strip District is another idea, but finding a family-sized unit might be hard, as all of the apartments being built are for the young professional market. I love the North Side, but it doesn't have the same array of commercial offerings. On the other hand, you can walk to the National Aviary, Children's Museum, New Hazlett Theatre, Carnegie Science Center, PNC Park, Heinz Field, Andy Warhol Museum, and Mattress Factory (another art museum). If your son rides a bike and is reasonably street smart doing it, the lower North Side is a great place, because it's mostly flat and easy to get around.
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Old 01-12-2017, 10:09 AM
 
8,090 posts, read 6,900,139 times
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It seems like Lawrenceville is the consensus recommendation.
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Old 01-12-2017, 10:49 AM
 
1,577 posts, read 1,272,224 times
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Originally Posted by gladhands View Post
It seems like Lawrenceville is the consensus recommendation.
hopefully the have 400-500k for a family home in l'ville these days.
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Old 01-12-2017, 10:57 AM
 
8,090 posts, read 6,900,139 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul2421 View Post
hopefully the have 400-500k for a family home in l'ville these days.
I'm not one to count the next person's money, but this post started with the premise of sending the kids to WT or Shadyside.
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Old 01-12-2017, 11:47 AM
 
15 posts, read 11,308 times
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Cannot thank you all enough for the fab discussion and pertinent points here. We leave for a Pittsburgh look-see this evening for a couple of days. Please keep those thoughts flowing, as for us we will totally keep you posted. Thanks again


But just putting a few things out there to make it extra helpful.
Kid should not be out after dark not becos its not safe, but frankly it's high time kids have enough school work to keep them busy and sleep early. Weekends are for all the fun they want. Money is less of an issue for us, after being in NY area for 11 years and expatriated for 7, we have some chunk of money to now finally live a life where we concentrate on family time, which we still think can only be achieved by removing commute to work. Both of us will be working in downtown. We are still leaning on downtown (maybe strip as some have pointed out)l our kid favors theatre over sports (downtown) we want to do apartment living, removes the whole shoveling mowing out of our lives.

That said, downtown we cannot have it all, from what I read here.and other neighborhoods sound more promising for various reasons that we should take into account.. Thanks again.

Last edited by HariP; 01-12-2017 at 12:01 PM..
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