Young Professional moving to Pittsburgh (Scranton, Butler: hardwood floors, apartment, lease)

[PitHoyafan88]

Might I suggest the Brookline(city)/Dormont(suburb-but-might-as-well-be-city) area. The Brookline Boulevard is the main business district in the neighborhood and is really coming back to life. There are various bakeries, independent coffee houses and ethnic grocers up and down it. Dormont also has a pretty good business area with an urban feel.
The T (light rail) runs right through Dormont and, if you're in the right area of Brookline, is no more than a 5-10 minute walk from Brookline. The T would take you right downtown or to the Southside. It's probably the most frequent and reliable way to get downtown from parts of the South Hills.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I personally love the looks of the Mexican War Streets but my wife would not live there. She didn't feel safe. Maybe it was because a couple of my friends got mugged walking through the park at night. I know they never should have been doing that.

It's sad. Your friends should be able to walk through a park at night. But I agree with you that they should not have been doing so. Sad. Just sad.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Those are definitely nice neighborhoods, but you'd have to be a little careful about exactly where you lived without a car.

I'd suggest anything reasonably close to the Murray Avenue commercial district in Squirrel Hill would be a good choice (just watch out for all the students on the Oakland/Downtown buses!).

Between Murray and Shady, there is a lot of noise on the north side of Darlington Road because it backs up on the south side of Forbes Avenue. The same block on Marlborough Road has the same problem, but there aren't (m)any apartments there.

Also, Squirrel Hill isn't nearly as much fun without Barnes & Noble and Panera. Now when I go to the dentist, I no longer budget extra time for hanging out "upstreet."

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Also, Squirrel Hill isn't nearly as much fun without Barnes & Noble and Panera. Now when I go to the dentist, I no longer budget extra time for hanging out "upstreet."

I was always more of a Squirrel Cage and Silky's guy. These days we mostly go for various restaurants.

[ML North]

I've lived in Oakland, Downtown, had a brief stint in the Hill District and currently live in the Mexican War Streets. It is my favorite place that I've ever lived and I often recommend it to friends for the following reasons:

First, Easy bus ride to many places in the city. The 500 comes down Brighton Road and onto North Avenue. It goes through Downtown to Oakland, Shadyside, East Liberty, and Highland Park. It takes 10-15 minutes to ride from the War Streets to downtown, where you can easily transfer to the T or many crosstown routes to reach Southside and West End destinations.

Secondly, Easy (Walkable) access to basic goods and services. From my door, it's a two minute walk to a gas station, pharmacy, dollar store, coffee shop, barbecue joint, pub, 2 Baptists churches, 1 Lutheran church, and park. In the 5-10 minute range there are probably 10-15 restaurants, 3 museums, bank, grocery store, hospital, pawn shop, beer distributor, state store, Heinz Field, PNC Park, Rivers Casino, and library.

Third, free and easy parking. Have you ever tried to find a parking spot on the back streets of Mount Washington, Shadyside, or Southside? It sucks. In the War Streets, it's not overly crowded, it's not a nightlife hot spot, and it is not required that you have a parking pass. Street parking is free. I haved lived there for almost 6 months, and have not once had to park anywhere but my own block. The toughest time is Sunday morning when people come from out of the area for church.

Fourth, There are some of the coolest aparments in the city for great prices. I live in a 1br apartment for which I would pay 2-3 times as much if it were located in Shadyside. It's probably 600 square feet with a bedroom, dressing room, living room, kitchen and bathroom. 10 foot ceilings, 8 foot windows, 100+ year old wide-plank hardwood flooring. My brother lives in a dump that is the size of my living room at Aiken and Baum in Shadyside and pays 10% higher rent. My landlord is a good local guy with whom I have a great relationship (He also has vacant apartments for rent!).

Fifth, It has a great neighborhood feel. The War Streets is part of the very large and diverse North Side, but it has a much tighter-knit feel. I know the owners of the businesses that I frequent. There are neighborhood groups and events. When you stop in at the pub you see familiar looking people and the bartender knows who you are.

Finally, Living on the North Side is a unique experience unlike many other places in the city. I'm in my twenties and work with many people that are my age. They all live in Shadyside, they hang out a bars full of young professionals who drive the same cars, wear the same clothes, went to the same universities, and generally have very similar life stories. Sure it's nice to hang out with people with whom you can relate, but it can also be very one-dimensional and boring to constantly be surrounded by them. The North Side has a more diverse cross section of people than Shadyside or Squirrel Hill.

These are just notes about my experience living on the North Side. I've been here for about 6 months, and honestly would not want to live anywhere else at this point.

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Those are definitely nice neighborhoods, but you'd have to be a little careful about exactly where you lived without a car.

I'd suggest anything reasonably close to the Murray Avenue commercial district in Squirrel Hill would be a good choice (just watch out for all the students on the Oakland/Downtown buses!).

Point Breeze is a little tougher--there is stuff all around, but not a lot right in the neighborhood.

Aspinwall I don't know all that well, but if you were towards the Waterworks end that might be doable without a car. I might note Aspinwall isn't necessarily ideal for Downtown trips by public transit (doable, but it will take longer than trips from areas closer to Downtown, or from areas along the Busway).

Well it's not that they wont be without a car, they dont want to need it for commuting...The Hubby will work from home remember he'll still have his NYC job, the wife will be the one commuting and she prefers public transit rather than driving, just a habit of NYC she's bringing with her.

Now she will commute with her car if she finds a Job in another Burb, where reverse commuting by PAT isn't feasible.

[ARapaport86]

I just want to chime in and say that Im a recent college grad working for PNC and am relocating from the west side of cleveland to lawrenceville this weekend...im stressing pretty hard

[LibrariAnn]

Are there any particular management companies that I should avoid?

[ARapaport86]

I hear that Lobos is terrible

[ML North]

I would avoid Mozart Management also. I spent a few weeks looking at some of their units in the $700-900 range and gave up after being showed one tiny dump after the next. It was a waste of time. Find a small-time local guy if possible. You'll find the best value there.