young family relocating to pittsburgh (Wilkinsburg, Liberty: apartments, rentals, houses)

[tech99]

Hi everyone, This is another one of those which-is-the-best-place-to-stay inquiry. I have read most of the related topics/threads in this forum, including the ones about shadyside. My wife and I have two kids aged 4 and 2. I will be working in shadyside hospital and will try to minimize the apartment rental expense without sacrificing space.

Do you agree with the comments mentioned one of the threads here that even if Shady is one of the best places in Pitt, there are not much kids around? I personally would prefer the extra space available in apartments outside of shady for the same price.

Other areas being considered:
SQUIRREL HILL AREA

POINT BREEZE AND REGENT SQUARE AREAS
– family friendly; near Frick Park

POINT BREEZE
- tree-lined streets
- close to Shadyside
- rentals - tad bit lower than Shady price
- Thomas Blvd - near Food Coop, Trader Joes, & a small park

REGENT SQUARE
- located further east (other side of Frick)
- much more affordable; 40% less than Squirrel Hill
- school – Minadeo elementary school

FRIENDSHIP
- Shadyside houses for less
- More families in the area
- Walking distance to Bloomfield and Shadyside

WEST OF NEGLEY AVE
- more single-family homes and a lot quieter.

One of my top choices located in HIGHLAND PARK called Parklane managed by Mozart.
Pros: -spacious than shadyside apartments (1200 sq.ft. 2BR +2BA for $935 all in except electricity)
-pool
-park nearby
-looks relatively new
-good view
-near the bus line

Cons: -2.2 miles from shadyside hospital (looks near via googlemap but i am not sure about the traffic going into shadyside esp in the morning...just straight all the way down to Negley ave then west to Center ave)
-the area is near a river (ohio river?)and two reservoir, hence, may be much more colder than shadyside ...just my analysis when i saw the aerial view via googlemaps
- need to pass by east liberty when going to and from the hospital (which may be dangerous)

For the same price, there is also that temptation of getting a house-type of apartment instead but there seems to be more disadvantages (shoveling snow in your driveway, security, repairs might arrive slower, etc).

Plenty 2cents needed. Presently doing much of my apartment research online through emails, websites, craigslist. But I will be traveling to shadyside next month to physically see choices I've narrowed down.

Thanks in advance!

[BrianTH]

A few random comments:

Originally Posted by tech99

Do you agree with the comments mentioned one of the threads here that even if Shady is one of the best places in Pitt, there are not much kids around? I personally would prefer the extra space available in apartments outside of shady for the same price.

Yes, and basically for just this reason: for a given dollar in rent, Shadyside offers less space inside the apartments, and the neighborhood in general also has less yard space, fewer garages, and so on, all of which makes Shadyside relatively less attractive to people with children than some of the other nice East End neighborhoods.

REGENT SQUARE . . . school – Minadeo elementary school

Note this is only true if you are in the Pittsburgh part of Regent Square (other parts are in the Wilkinsburg and Woodland Hills school districts).

One of my top choices located in HIGHLAND PARK called Parklane managed by Mozart. . . . Cons: -2.2 miles from shadyside hospital (looks near via googlemap but i am not sure about the traffic going into shadyside esp in the morning...just straight all the way down to Negley ave then west to Center ave)

This isn't a really high volume commute and there are numerous alternative paths (meaning parallel streets), so my impression is that the congestion wouldn't be bad (and if so, you could take an alternative route yourself).

-the area is near a river (ohio river?)and two reservoir, hence, may be much more colder than shadyside ...just my analysis when i saw the aerial view via googlemaps

There isn't much temperature variation within the East End. Among other things, the various valleys leading from the rivers channel the same air pretty much everywhere, acting as a natural ventilation system. Indeed, Shadyside is actually at the end of valley systems leading from both rivers (from the Al past The Strip and along the Busway/Neville, and from the Mon along Panther Hollow past CMU and again up Neville).

- need to pass by east liberty when going to and from the hospital (which may be dangerous)

East Liberty is not a warzone-type urban environment. Indeed, recently a lot of commercial development has gone into East Liberty (e.g., a Home Depot, Whole Foods, Borders, various upscale restaurants and shops) and those places are drawing customers from across the East End. So, I wouldn't be worried about just passing through East Liberty, and in fact I suspect you may end up shopping there too.

For the same price, there is also that temptation of getting a house-type of apartment instead but there seems to be more disadvantages (shoveling snow in your driveway, security, repairs might arrive slower, etc).

This is a personal choice, but I will note there are often people around who will do things like shovel your drive for a pretty nominal fee. I also find it nice to have at least a little yard with our two-year-old, although if you are close enough to a park this becomes less of an issue.

[tech99]

Hi Brian TH! Thanks so much for your insights! Very helpful comments indeed!
How about the others?

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

This is a personal choice, but I will note there are often people around who will do things like shovel your drive for a pretty nominal fee. I also find it nice to have at least a little yard with our two-year-old, although if you are close enough to a park this becomes less of an issue.

I would agree with the yard, and add, that even proximity to a park isn't the same. You have to drop what you are doing to go to the park. If you have a fenced yard, you can let the kid(s) play there while do your work in the house (like post on CD, LOL). Well, maybe not when they're two, but certainly by three or four. The kids have to be considerably older to go to the park by themselves.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I would agree with the yard, and add, that even proximity to a park isn't the same. You have to drop what you are doing to go to the park. If you have a fenced yard, you can let the kid(s) play there while do your work in the house (like post on CD, LOL). Well, maybe not when they're two, but certainly by three or four. The kids have to be considerably older to go to the park by themselves.

I agree--it is definitely not the same, and even with our two-year-old it is much easier to pop outside in the yard and play with him than to head to the park, and the parents can alternate doing things inside. So we play in the yard basically every decent night, but only go to the park on weekends.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I agree--it is definitely not the same, and even with our two-year-old it is much easier to pop outside in the yard and play with him than to head to the park, and the parents can alternate doing things inside. So we play in the yard basically every decent night, but only go to the park on weekends.

Yes, a two year old's attention span is such that, by the time you get to the park, they want to come home, sometimes. Or they want to stay much longer than you planned. Been there, done that! It was a lot of fun, as well. But back to topic; I would definitely go for a yard if at all possible.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Or they want to stay much longer than you planned.

This is definitely our problem. In fact, I don't think he has ever had enough of the park.

[Scientist Mom]

Regarding Apt. vs. house rental with kids:

Go for a house rental if you can.

Consider how noisy kids can be. Do you really want to worry about your neighbors if your kid is screaming about something (particularly in the middle of the night). Or have to stop rough-housing with them because of the noise.

A bit of yard is nice too. My 4 year old loves to hang out in the yard while we are getting dinner ready.

There seem to be a good number of homes for rent around. Try Craigs list.

[CaptainObvious]

Originally Posted by tech99

- need to pass by east liberty when going to and from the hospital (which may be dangerous)

Agree with BrianTH's response here, but FYI: Shadyside Hospital itself is basically in East Liberty. Not sure where the official line is, but where the hospital is is much more East Liberty than it is Shadyside in terms of "niceness", for lack of a better term.

Furthermore, the "Shadyside" that everyone thinks of when they think "Ohhhh, Shadyside is so posh and nice" encompasses all of 4 square blocks. Get outside of that and it looks about like anywhere else in the East End. Unless you've got $1.5M to drop inside those 4 square blocks, save your money and look elsewhere. The incredibly high $/sq.ft. in Shadyside is because of name only in my opinion, not because the area offers any more than say, Regent Square. For the price of a 2 bedroom apartment in Shadyside, you can get a nicer 3 bed house in Regent Square.

Just my 2 cents.

Cap

[onwardandupward]

Originally Posted by CaptainObvious

Agree with BrianTH's response here, but FYI: Shadyside Hospital itself is basically in East Liberty. Not sure where the official line is, but where the hospital is is much more East Liberty than it is Shadyside in terms of "niceness", for lack of a better term.
Cap

Shadyside Hospital is actually across the street from Bloomfield, and a block away from Friendship. You could easily walk from Friendship to the hospital, and much of what is called Friendship is actually in Bloomfield. There are some houses there on the Friendship side of Liberty Avenue that may have some yards; the houses on the other side of Liberty are mostly row houses with little or no yards.

East Liberty is a couple of blocks away, and Highland Park a little further, but Highland Park is still really close, and you might be able to find a place with a yard there.

I'm sure it's been posted elsewhere, but for details on exact Pittsburgh neighborhood boundaries, check out:
Neighborhood Map List Map