Place to rent, moving from a different state (Pittsburgh, Homestead: 2013, apartment complexes)

[jen2801]

Hello!
My husband and myself are moving from out of state to Pittsburgh mid summer. We ll be working at the University of Pittsburgh. Looking for a place to rent (apartment/townhome/condo/house) within 30 mins of commute. spacious 2 bedroom 2 bath minimum, max $1400. Would like a relatively newer place (built or renovated within the last 10-15 years). if it helps narrow down options: I definetly need washer-dryer in unit, a decent patio, and a pantry and enough cabinets in the kitchen for my endless pota and pans. Close to malls and different activities, movies theatres etc would be huge plus. Any input is welcome!!!
Thank you!!!

[shadowfax]

I just looked at the Bakery Square apartments among others that Walnut Capitol has around the area. They might have what you are looking for. The Bakery square apartments look great and have all of the amenities you mentioned. Very convinient to Oakland. Welcome to PITT.

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by shadowfax

I just looked at the Bakery Square apartments among others that Walnut Capitol has around the area. They might have what you are looking for. The Bakery square apartments look great and have all of the amenities you mentioned. Very convinient to Oakland. Welcome to PITT.

she is asking for a large newer 2 bed 2 bath with patio and large kitchen/storage. newer units from walnut capital are typically in the mid 2k+ range. She said max of 1400.

I would be looking outside of the city proper to meet the criteria mentioned. Also, the need for the place to be newer might have to be a little flexible. Pittsburgh had virtually zero new construction apartment complexes from the 80's until around 2010 and the vast majority of new stuff that has come on line in the past 10 years has been luxury units that have pretty high prices compared to what is touted as the average rental price of the city.

you may want to consider renting a smaller single family house from a private land lord. You can definitely find something in your budget in a vast number of areas. Craigslist, Zillow etc are fine places to start.


For commutes to Oakland, I would avoid areas east of the squirrel hill tunnel, except maybe regent square.

[XRiteMA98]

Look in the north. North hills. I had friends husband and wife who worked at Pitt for a number of years and they lived in North hills. Commute was a breeze and it was close to Ross park mall

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by shadowfax

I just looked at the Bakery Square apartments among others that Walnut Capitol has around the area. They might have what you are looking for. The Bakery square apartments look great and have all of the amenities you mentioned. Very convinient to Oakland. Welcome to PITT.

You saw 2 bedroom ones at bakery square for $1400?

[eschaton]

Since you're working for Pitt, I have to ask - have they told you about the parking situation?

Oakland has the scarcest parking in the city - even worse than Downtown. Most people, if they don't live within walking distance or have a space given to them by their employer take the bus into work. My understanding is getting one of the spaces in the Pitt lots/garage involves a waitlist and can take years. This means in order to use a car to commute you basically need to either pay a lot for parking on your own, and/or be very creative in where you choose to park - perhaps parking a 15-20 minute walk from the building you work in.

Even if you're more suburb people than city people (which your post seems to indicate) I would strongly suggest locating somewhere where taking the bus into Oakland is available as an alternate method of getting into work. It will be much easier and cheaper in the short run.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by jen2801

Close to malls and different activities, movies theatres etc would be huge plus. Any input is welcome!!!

One of my favorite things about Pittsburgh is that you can't really be 30 minutes from Pitt (not rush hour door-to-door) and be close to a mall. Unless you count the Waterfront/work as "malls".

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Even if you're more suburb people than city people (which your post seems to indicate) I would strongly suggest locating somewhere where taking the bus into Oakland is available as an alternate method of getting into work. It will be much easier and cheaper in the short run.

^^^This is excellent advice, especially since your Pitt ID will be a bus pass.

[RogersParkTransplant]

Agree with eschaton that parking at Pitt is not easy, and if you can take the bus you will be much less stressed. I am on the faculty, and one of my favorite perks at Pitt is that all students, faculty, and staff ride the bus for free with their ID card -- it's a really functional bus system and you can get all around the city and near suburbs pretty easily.

Off the top of my head, does anyone know how much the apartments in Homestead cost, the ones that are nestled into the Waterfront shopping area? It might be more than the OP wants to spend but the location and amenities sound about right.

I'm a big fan of the Parkview complex at Allegheny Center, and we lived there in 2013 (before the renovations) when we first came here. Great bus connections, and we loved walking downtown (though the lack of a downtown movie theater was something we noticed right away, even before the many debates I have read about this on city-data.)

OP, just so you know -- buying is often more affordable than renting in Pittsburgh. The high number of students and relative scarcity of apartments is often debated on here, and rentals are generally considered overpriced. $1400 in monthly mortgage payments will get you a great home, but in rent it might not get everything you want, at least not within 30 minutes of campus. Almost everyone I know at Pitt ends up buying a home ASAP, if and when they can swing it.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by RogersParkTransplant

OP, just so you know -- buying is often more affordable than renting in Pittsburgh. The high number of students and relative scarcity of apartments is often debated on here, and rentals are generally considered overpriced. $1400 in monthly mortgage payments will get you a great home, but in rent it might not get everything you want, at least not within 30 minutes of campus. Almost everyone I know at Pitt ends up buying a home ASAP, if and when they can swing it.

But this might warrant a warning to the OP, even though more luxury housing is being built in Pittburgh all the time, the city is still a little gritty and shabby, housing-wise. It's not a brand-new city, and a lot of the housing options (especially geared toward students around the universities) reflect that.