Whats up with the North Side? (Pittsburgh, California: apartment, rentals, how much)

[mattm93]

I've heard a lot of different things about the North Side. On one hand I've heard it was a rough area you should try to avoid. On the other hand I've heard it was a nice beatiful historic distict. I've seen pictures that make it look like a quiet old nieghborhood, but when i look at it on Google Streetview, I see barred up shops and boarded up houses. Can someone who either lives there or is there on a regular basis tell me how it really is? Thanks for the imput.

[vtPGH]

The North Side is a bit of everything all wrapped into one. You have quiet, well kept residential streets; violence plagued public housing projects; revitalizing, historic business and residential districts; Appalachian-like hollows with old rickety houses tucked into the hillsides. It's a big geographic area with 16 different neighborhoods, and 100 years ago was an independent city of over 125,000. We've got a lot of good stuff going on and a fair share of problems as well, but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in Pittsburgh.

[mattm93]

Which areas of the North Side would I not want to live in or stay away from?

[vtPGH]

Originally Posted by mattm93

Which areas of the North Side would I not want to live in or stay away from?

The rougher neighborhoods are Perry Hilltop and California-Kirkbride, while parts of Manchester and the upper streets in the Central Northside can be very hit or miss. The Northview Heights housing project, way out near Ross Twp. is also a rough spot.

Brighton Heights, Observatory Hill, Summer Hill, and Troy Hill are all stable, predominately residential neighborhoods while Deustchtown and Allegheny West are higher density historic mixed-use neighborhoods that used to be rougher, but have been reinvested in and revitalized substantially over the last 10-15 years.

[mattm93]

In the nicer areas, how much would an average 1 bedroom apt or house be a month?

[vtPGH]

Originally Posted by mattm93

In the nicer areas, how much would an average 1 bedroom apt or house be a month?

$400-650 for 1 BR is pretty much the norm in the neighborhoods close to downtown, like Allegheny West, Deustchtown, and the Mexican War historic streets. The last 1BR apartment I lived was $550/mo., and it was huge. In the stable neighborhoods up the hill and farther from downtown, like Brighton Heights, you can often find 3 br full houses in the $700-800/mo. range. There's usually a decent selection of North Side rentals on craigslist.

[mattm93]

Thats pretty reasonable. What about parking? Is there driveways at most houses, or will I have to parallel park? Either way dosent matter but I'm just curious. I'm moving to Pittsburgh pretty soon and I'm just doing my research now.

[vtPGH]

Originally Posted by mattm93

Thats pretty reasonable. What about parking? Is there driveways at most houses, or will I have to parallel park? Either way dosent matter but I'm just curious. I'm moving to Pittsburgh pretty soon and I'm just doing my research now.

It's mainly parallel street parking in the rowhouse dominated neighborhoods closer to Downtown Pittsburgh. However, many of these neighborhoods do have back alleys, which sometimes have unattached garages. The farther out neighborhoods are a mixture of homes without garages and those with small garages right off the street. I've always parked on the street, which as a city dweller I'm used to.

[Hopes]

It's mostly parallel parking, but some places have off-street parking

[Hopes]

For the record, I don't consider Brighton Heights part of the North Side.