areas close to university of pittsburgh (Dallas, Highland Park: neighborhoods, movie theater, living in)

[M.I.A.]

I interested in moving to Pittsburgh with the intention of working at University of Pittsburgh since higher education is my career field. I'm looking for an area where I can walk to Pitt or hop on a bus to get there, yet supermarkets, laundry facilities, etc. are nearby. I do not plan on utilizing a personal vehicle right away. Thanks.

[Fiddlehead]

Hi MIA,

I am in a similar situation. You will probably get good replies shortly. The short answer for trulia searches, etc. are the following neighborhoods:
Eastside:
Shadyside
Squirrel Hill
Point Breeze
Regent Square
Oakland

All are within walking or bus distance of Pitt.

Each would seem to meet your needs, but have different character. Do some searching around. That said, I suspect you will get some great advice on this. In the meantime, I would suggest you search this forum on each of those names, and you will get some context.

[Hopes]

Add Highland Park, Friendship and Bloomfield to the list.

[Impala26]

Might as well add Greenfield, Lawrenceville, and South Side to that list as well.

Like Fiddlehead said, each neighborhood is unique. You would have to decide based upon housing availability and affordability, commercial/retail/entertainment nearby, transit availability, and so on. Start by searching the nearest neighborhoods, but don't hesitate if you find a great setup somewhere a bit further away.

It is my humble opinion, Pittsburgh is fairly easy to walk, bike, and use transit (especially if you combine the three). However, it is still useful to have a car or share rides with a friend, if only to use to get from A to B where there is no direct transit lines or if the time of day/day of the week is awkward. Curse you PAT and your lack of late-night transit options! *shakes fist* Oh well, and it's those once in awhile "what do I do?" situations where you should just call the Yellow Cab Co. I suppose.

[+Daimon]

I've been here for about a month now, and I would definitely hate living here if I didn't have access to a car. Granted, I live in Oakland, and there isn't much here as far as shopping and such, but even so....the places I go in this city seem to be spread out so far that without a car, I wouldn't get to do half the things I want to.

Without a car, I would definitely advice against living in Oakland. Not only does the constant stream of drunken, yelling frat-tards get old in a hurry, it's also a bit of a pain getting around to do simple things like laundry and grocery shopping. In my experience so far, the transit system is also quite lacking late at night, so that may or may not be an issue for you.

The above poster was right though..you'll really have to check out the city first. Each neighborhood IS pretty distinct, and if you choose one that you won't enjoy it will turn what may be an enjoyable stay in Pittsburgh into quite a negative one.....as evidenced by posters who have chosen the wrong areas of town to live in.

[BrianTH]

The most convenient neighborhoods to Pitt with lots of walkable local shopping options are Oakland itself, Bloomfield/Friendship, Shadyside, and Squirrel Hill. The other neighborhoods mentioned above are all popular with Pitt people as well, but if you are carless and new in town I think that short list of neighborhoods is a good place to start, and you can consider moving a little farther out later on if it seems like a good idea.

Edit: By the way, I agree about most of Oakland being not-so-convenient for some mundane tasks without a car, but it can't be beat for walking to Pitt.

[szug-bot]

i vote for squirrel hill. all things considered, its probably the place you need to be initially, for conveniences, and numerous bus routes (unless PAT eliminated and changed everything).

lovely nieghbrhood - the more isolated streets in Squirrel Hill (like the tail end of Beacon, where it hits Dallas Aveneue and Forbes Avenue) are just stunning places to take walks on sunday mornings when its quiet.

give Squirrel Hill a good amount of time for exploration (the drivers are complete, utter idiots, though).

[robrobrob]

Your best bets are Sq. Hill and Shadyside. The others neighborhoods are just a bit further away. So if you want to walk to Oakland then I would stick with these two neighborhoods. The main difference between the two is that Shadyside has more upscale shopping and a better nightlife. Sq. Hill has a movie theater and is more family friendly.