Help narrowing down neighborhoods? (Pittsburgh, Butler: transplants, for sale, to rent)

[total_square]

Hi, I was hoping to get a little help on this. I'm looking at a possible relocation within the next year, and Pittsburgh is on my list of potential new homes. The problem is I've only been a couple of times, and I won't have much time to visit for longer than a day or two in the coming months. Here's my vitals:

-Single, no kids, female, late 20s
-Don't have a job lined up yet (I'm trying to figure out the best/worst-fit neighborhoods for me first, then I'll look for jobs nearby before moving)
-Coming from D.C., grew up in a slightly sketchier neighborhood of D.C., then went to school near Baltimore--most crime doesn't bother me, as long as there aren't used needles on my porch or bodies in the back yard, and my stuff remains un-stolen, I don't care.
-I'm not really PC, but I'd rather not live next to neighbors who'd be weirded out by an Indian person (dot, not feather) moving next door. I don't care if it's all or mostly white as long as they're chill about me not being white. Sorry to even include this, but I've had some odd experiences in other cities before and I'm not really sure if there are neighborhoods in Pittsburgh that I'd just need to avoid.
-I don't cheer for the Ravens, and I don't mind cheering against them.
-Walkability would be great but not entirely necessary.
-It doesn't have to be trendy. I'm proudly boring.

So basically I'm looking to narrow down the neighborhoods I'd need to visit the next time I'm up there. Any help would be much appreciated.

[Bong477]

You could live in most neighborhoods of Pittsburgh with that criteria. What's your rough budget? Guessing you'd rather live in the city from your post?

[total_square]

Originally Posted by Bong477

You could live in most neighborhoods of Pittsburgh with that criteria. What's your rough budget? Guessing you'd rather live in the city from your post?

Thanks, Bong477. Yes, city would be preferable but close suburbs are fine as well. Up to $200k would be fine, though I don't mind putting a little sweat equity into a cheaper place that's livable but a bit run down at the date of purchase. I've looked at the Trulia heat map for Pittsburgh to help narrow the neighborhoods by price, and it looks like a lot of neighborhoods are within my range by that measure.

[Morningsider]

Take a look at Morningside while you're in town. We're a friendly and quite residential neighborhood close to both Shadyside and Lawrenceville. There's not much in the way of excitement, but we have a growing population of young homeowners and recent Pittsburgh transplants who are very active in the community.

Also, You may want to look at one of the local realty websites for a more complete listing of homes currently available for sale.

[BrianTH]

You'll have a lot of choices, and I would strongly recommend renting for a while before buying so you can explore those options. Accordingly, I'd actually suggest reducing your planned order--see what sort of jobs you can find first, then find a place to rent nearby.

[total_square]

Thanks all for the help. BrianTH, you're right that that would probably be a better order to do things in. Still, any info ahead of time would be useful, too.

Originally Posted by Morningsider

Take a look at Morningside while you're in town. We're a friendly and quite residential neighborhood close to both Shadyside and Lawrenceville. There's not much in the way of excitement, but we have a growing population of young homeowners and recent Pittsburgh transplants who are very active in the community.

Also, You may want to look at one of the local realty websites for a more complete listing of homes currently available for sale.

Had a question about this. I see on the neighborhood map in the Burgh info thread that there's a neighborhood between Morningside and Lawrenceville, Stanton Heights. Is this a neighborhood I should add to the list, as it's also so close to Lawrenceville etc.--or is this one of those situations where it's officially known as Stanton Heights but it's unofficially part of another neighborhood?

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by total_square

Thanks all for the help. BrianTH, you're right that that would probably be a better order to do things in. Still, any info ahead of time would be useful, too.



Had a question about this. I see on the neighborhood map in the Burgh info thread that there's a neighborhood between Morningside and Lawrenceville, Stanton Heights. Is this a neighborhood I should add to the list, as it's also so close to Lawrenceville etc.--or is this one of those situations where it's officially known as Stanton Heights but it's unofficially part of another neighborhood?

The way you phrased that question makes it seem like you think Lawrenceville is a bad area. Lawrenceville is just as fine as Stanton Heights and Morningside.

To answer your question, Standon Heights is its own neighborhood. Check out Pittsburgh City Living to get a map and bio on each of our neighborhoods,

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by total_square

Had a question about this. I see on the neighborhood map in the Burgh info thread that there's a neighborhood between Morningside and Lawrenceville, Stanton Heights. Is this a neighborhood I should add to the list, as it's also so close to Lawrenceville etc.--or is this one of those situations where it's officially known as Stanton Heights but it's unofficially part of another neighborhood?

Different kinds of architecture. Stanton Heights is 1950s suburban brick houses for the most part, Morningside is full of foursquares, I think somewhat Victorian in style, and L'ville is mostly rowhouses built for workers in the mills that once operated below Butler Street.

Does anyone know what Stanton Heights looked like before they built all the suburban houses in the '50s?

[gameguy56]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Does anyone know what Stanton Heights looked like before they built all the suburban houses in the '50s?

I think it was a golf course

[total_square]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

The way you phrased that question makes it seem like you think Lawrenceville is a bad area. Lawrenceville is just as fine as Stanton Heights and Morningside.

To answer your question, Standon Heights is its own neighborhood. Check out Pittsburgh City Living to get a map and bio on each of our neighborhoods,

Not at all--sorry if it came off that way. I was really just curious why Stanton Heights wasn't mentioned when the other two were (in other words, I thought it was possible that it was sometimes referred to as its own neighborhood, and sometimes not, depending on who you talk to). Thanks for the website, I'll check it out. And thanks, jay5835 and gameguy56 for the info on the neighborhood.