Regent Square / Wilkinsburg Line - ok for a single woman? (Pittsburgh: apartment, lease)

[Plumpity]

Hello,

I am currently looking for an apartment in the Regent Square area. Love the neighborhood but most is way too expensive for me.

I have seen a few possibilities in the area of Mifflin, roughly between the cross streets of Union and Chestnut. Some very nice places.

I am pretty street smart and can usually get a good feel for what's a good area and what is not...but this little area seems to go "house by house". Very expensive homes a couple of houses away from what look like potential crackhouses.

Any insight or information on the suitability of this part of town would be appreciated. I don't need fancy, but don't want to accidentally sign a lease in what could be a dangerous part of town.

[BrianTH]

I've been living in the Regent Square area a pretty long time now, and that little section confuses even me. Anyway, I personally don't think it is likely to be a dangerous area by normal urban standards.

[Plumpity]

I guess it's not just me then.

Yeah, I'm alright with living somewhere that doesn't "look" nice...but shootings, daytime/open drug activity, potential meth lab next door, etc. is not OK.

By the way, though it's pretty much irrelevant, is this section of town classified as Regent Square or Wilkinsburg?

Appreciate the information.

[PeterRabbit]

Mifflin Avenue Methodist Church, 905 Mifflin Ave., Regent Square, PA 15221

It's Wilkinsburg.

[john7104]

If you have to ask whether or not a town or section of the city is safe -- then it probably isn't.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Plumpity

By the way, though it's pretty much irrelevant, is this section of town classified as Regent Square or Wilkinsburg?

By way of background, Regent Square is a neighborhood, and Wilkinsburg is a municipality, and Regent Square as usually defined actually includes parts of four municipalities: Wilkinsburg, the City of Pittsburgh, Swissvale, and Edgewood. So, there are places that are in both Regent Square and Wilkinsburg.

Getting back to your question, see here for that definition of Regent Square and a map of the approximate borders of Regent Square

Regent Square Civic Association - Street Map

Unfortunately that map is schematic, and not entirely accurate in the exact area we are concerned with. However, as you can see from the definition section, where you are talking about is just outside the borders of Regent Square, since in that area the north border of Regent Square is Union Street.

By the way, this all makes sense if you look at Regent Square on Google Maps using the terrain function. Regent Square was originally a roughly rectangular promontory with stream valleys on three sides. However, the streams along the east and southeast parts of Regent Square were buried in underground concrete tunnels back at the beginning of the 20th Century (the streams along the west and southwest part are still above ground, in Frick Park, and you can see where the underground streams come out in the part of the Park just south of Regent Square). Nonetheless, with the terrain map you can still more or less pick out the valleys where the streams used to be, and those are the borders of Regent Square.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by john7104

If you have to ask whether or not a town or section of the city is safe -- then it probably isn't.

I don't think this is quite right. Specifically, Pittsburgh has several relatively rundown-looking areas that nonetheless don't have particularly high crime rates. For example, Polish Hill is a fairly rundown-looking area, but it has reasonably low crime rates. That is because Polish Hill is mostly aging blue collar retirees, students from Pitt, and a few young families and artist-types ... not exactly a tough crowd.

[pitt_transplant]

Check out how many rapist close in that area. I moved out of that area for safety reasons. Rebecca which is right near there has shootings on it all the time. Especially in summer. Not a lot gets coveredin the news. But I would hear it multiple times a week.

Regent Square is a trendy neighborhood right now and over priced. You could find a better deal elsewhere if you look. There is one paticular Landlord I would avoid based on maintance/tenant type issues. But I guess I cant say that here. They do own a lot of property over there though.

[PeterRabbit]

^^^ Regent Square has always been trendy and trendy places tend to cost more - not necessarily overpriced. The location is handy if you need to use the Parkway and for shopping at Edgewood Town Square, Frick Park, going to Squirrel Hill, close to alternative routes for when the parkway is closed.

I didn't know Rebecca Ave. was bad at the lower end also. It seems like it is the dividing line between safe and unsafe.

When you don't name the landlord you're teasing about you make all landlords suspicious. One of the benefits of the Internet is that bad people can't hide unless you let them.

[BrianTH]

Rebecca may seem close to the area we are talking about, but it is in a different section of town.

As for housing prices in Regent Square proper, in the years I have lived here they have always tended to track Squirrel Hill, just at a bit of a discount. So, Squirrel Hill has increased in price, and so has Regent Square. Generally, I believe all the nice neighborhoods in the East End have seen some housing price increases, which I suspect is a result of increasing interest among people with decent incomes in living in walkable neighborhoods close to Downtown and Oakland.

Of course if you don't value those things, these East End neighborhoods may not be a good fit. But if you do value those things, then you will be getting what you are paying for by living there.