To Pittsburgh, PA from Boise, ID. (Philadelphia, Washington: crime rate, houses, safe neighborhoods)

[BruBru]

Hello everyone,

I was recently admitted into a PhD program at the University of Pittsburgh and will be moving there this summer. I will not have access to a car, and will be relying completely on public transportation during my 4-5 year stint in the city. Is this a realistic prospect? Being from Idaho the idea of reliable public transportation is foreign to me, and I find myself a little fearful of being without a vehicle.

Also, In the West I find that Pittsburgh has a terrible reputation. When my friends and family found out about my plans to accept an offer from the University of Pittsburgh, many warned of the crime-filled city and the dangers it poses to my safety. While I know much of this is a rural population simply suffering from a case of xenophobia, I also know that the crime statistics from the city seem to hint at some long-term problems. Is there anything to be worried about?

I have more questions, but in the spirit of simplicity and organization, I will await responses before inquiring further. Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to provide unbiased information regarding Pittsburgh.

Bru

[juliegt]

Hi! I'm from the SF Bay Area and have spent time in both Pittsburgh and Boise. Pittsburgh will defintely be a culture shock for you, but as cities go, it's way less dangerous than your friends and family are leading you to believe. That said, it's an old city and will probably seem dirty and rundown compared to what you're used to. Still I really love Pittsburgh and hope to move there someday. If you can afford it, I'd advise you to go visit for a week before you actually move there. I think it would allay your fears a bit.

[nuwaver88]

Originally Posted by BruBru

Hello everyone,

I was recently admitted into a PhD program at the University of Pittsburgh and will be moving there this summer. I will not have access to a car, and will be relying completely on public transportation during my 4-5 year stint in the city. Is this a realistic prospect? Being from Idaho the idea of reliable public transportation is foreign to me, and I find myself a little fearful of being without a vehicle.

Also, In the West I find that Pittsburgh has a terrible reputation. When my friends and family found out about my plans to accept an offer from the University of Pittsburgh, many warned of the crime-filled city and the dangers it poses to my safety. While I know much of this is a rural population simply suffering from a case of xenophobia, I also know that the crime statistics from the city seem to hint at some long-term problems. Is there anything to be worried about?

I have more questions, but in the spirit of simplicity and organization, I will await responses before inquiring further. Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to provide unbiased information regarding Pittsburgh.

Bru

Since you will be attending Pitt and do not have a car, I suggest a neighborhood in the East End. They all have excellent transportation to Oakland, the neighborhood where the University of Pittsburgh is located. Here are a few to look into. ...Oakland, Shadyside, Bloomfield, Squirrel Hill, Regent Square. There are more. Link:http://www.pittsburgh.net/neighborhood_east.cfm

[scottrpriester]

Originally Posted by BruBru

Hello everyone,

I was recently admitted into a PhD program at the University of Pittsburgh and will be moving there this summer. I will not have access to a car, and will be relying completely on public transportation during my 4-5 year stint in the city. Is this a realistic prospect? Being from Idaho the idea of reliable public transportation is foreign to me, and I find myself a little fearful of being without a vehicle.

Also, In the West I find that Pittsburgh has a terrible reputation. When my friends and family found out about my plans to accept an offer from the University of Pittsburgh, many warned of the crime-filled city and the dangers it poses to my safety. While I know much of this is a rural population simply suffering from a case of xenophobia, I also know that the crime statistics from the city seem to hint at some long-term problems. Is there anything to be worried about?

I have more questions, but in the spirit of simplicity and organization, I will await responses before inquiring further. Thanks in advance to anyone who is willing to provide unbiased information regarding Pittsburgh.

Bru

Crime filled? Hardly. Where do your friends and family get there information from, actual visits here? Is there crime here? Of course, not many areas in the United States can say there is no crime. People come from all over the world to attend the Univ of Pittsburgh, CMU, etc. I've lived in the city for almost three years now, and one thing you notice is that there are definite areas where more violent crimes occur, and it's generally targeted shootings. Attending Pitt, and living in some of the great east end neighborhoods as recommended above, there is no reason to go to any of these neighborhoods.

[Blackbeauty212]

I think they're confusing Pittsburgh for Philadelphia where they're killing cops right now.

[Mugatu]

Pittsburgh is one of the safest cities of it's size. You have no reason to be worried. I moved up here from Orlando and find Pittsburgh to be much, much safer. Like scottpriester said, most of the crime occurs in a few bad areas. If you are not going into those areas, you really don't have much to fear. I'm not sure why people would think Pittsburgh is so dangerous.

[ainulinale]

Here is a link to a Pittsburgh neighborhood map.

File:Pittsburgh Pennsylvania neighborhoods.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Terrace Village, Middle Hill, Upper Hill are bad neighborhoods. Also, if you look in far east section at Homewood North, South, West...these are bad neighborhoods. East Liberty is not great either. However, unsafe neighborhoods are the exception in Pittsburgh rather than the rule. I've even taken pictures in our worst neighborhoods without much of a problem.

Now with that being said, you'll probably want to focus on the good neighborhoods. Pittsburgh is pretty eclectic, so you have some options.

The core of the city will be very urban and composed mostly of rowhouses. These neighborhoods include:

South Side: Loaded with bars and restaurants; our primary entertainment district.




Lawrenceville and Bloomfield: Up and coming artsy, but with more grit





Downtown (Central Business District): The center of Pittsburgh; bustling during the day, but clears out at night








Central Northside, Allegheny West, East Allegheny, Troy Hill: Near some rougher areas, but has the nicest housing in my opinion; also even though the neighborhoods surrounding these areas may look the same (like Manchester), I'd avoid those places due to the higher crime.











The Bluff: has Duquesne University with a significant student population, but I'd avoid this area.



Central/North/West Oakland: Pittsburgh's university and medical district. This is where you'll go to classes.









South Oakland: Primarily residential; mostly students live here, so the area is kind of dirty





Now, if you don't like the ultra-urban, don't be scared of by my pictures; these next neighborhoods might be more to your liking.

Squirrel Hill: The best way to describe this neighborhood is: funky. Like Oakland, a lot of different ethnicities collide here. Definitely slower paced than Oakland and Downtown. Has more space; housing ranges from mansions to smaller tutors even a few row houses. Very safe neighborhood.






Shadyside/Friendship: Shadyside is the Greenwich Village of Pittsburgh. Very safe with beautiful housing and upper end shopping and dining. Friendship is purely residential with big old Victorian homes.











Highland Park: Pretty residential neighborhood with big old mansions. Relatively safe in most parts.









Now, the rest of the neighborhoods are either boring, seedy or well out of your price range. Thus, concludes your brief tour of Pittsburgh.

Sorry this is more than 5 pics, but this is special circumstances.

[sr1234]

Don't believe what the cheerleaders are telling you. Crime and blight is up. Just check out the stats for the area...they don't lie.

[ainulinale]

^ There are also a lot of self-depricators in Pittsburgh. Here's the 2008 crime rate rankings for U.S. cities as released by the FBI:

http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/City...8_Rank_Rev.pdf

As you can see, Pittsburgh is ranked 61st most unsafe city in the nation.

Thus, we are safer than such cities as: Nashville, Columbus, Kansas City, Miami, Dallas, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Minneapolis, Orlando, Atlanta, Memphis, Cleveland, Baltimore, St. Louis, Detroit, New Orleans, Knoxville, Bridgeport, Houston, Sacramento, etc.

[Copanut]

Since there are no jobs and all people are poor, there is nothing worth stealing.