Help narrowing down neighborhoods? (Pittsburgh, Lawrenceville: crime, loan, attorneys)

[greg42]

In the context of the thread and your earlier post, if you're claiming that post was sarcasm, there was 0% chance anyone could tell. If that's the way you think it is best to post sarcasm on an internet forum, I do believe I will skip your seminar.

[Uptown kid]

Well to me Larwanceville does have a bad/edgy part... Upper L'ville south of 54th St, (where I believe Wiz Khalifa grew up), is still an area that has more drugs, crime, & prostitution than the normal safe-iffy by night time neighborhood... I'm not saying it's Homewood or the Hill District, but its in the same category as the bad parts of: South Oakland, Central Northside, East Allegheny, & North Versailles; which are bad, but not that bad.

[BrianTH]

Shadyside is a decent first neighborhood for newcomers to Pittsburgh, but I'd agree that from the OP's description it may not be necessary to pay the typical price premium for Shadyside.

There really are too many neighborhoods to mention, and I still think it should depend on where the OP ends up working. But I agree the North Side and East End are both broad areas likely worth considering.

Edit: Oh, and if your audience didn't understand what you were trying to communicate, that is your fault, not theirs.

[FreightTrainRunning]

Originally Posted by Comtesse_Gigi

I really should start charging tuition to my art of sarcasm seminar. Interest has reached an all time high!

I've seen pretty similar sentiments stated seriously on this forum many times, sometimes even more cartoonishly paranoid than that. Without any knowing you we take such things on face value.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by greg42

In the context of the thread and your earlier post, if you're claiming that post was sarcasm, there was 0% chance anyone could tell. If that's the way you think it is best to post sarcasm on an internet forum, I do believe I will skip your seminar.

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Edit: Oh, and if your audience didn't understand what you were trying to communicate, that is your fault, not theirs.

Seconded! Or thirded, whatever.

[Bong477]

I agree with starting in Shadyside and Squirrel Hill when you look. You can certainly branch out to other neighborhoods, but its really hard to go wrong with either of them. The only problems with the neighborhoods are price. I would also advocate renting before buying.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Edit: Oh, and if your audience didn't understand what you were trying to communicate, that is your fault, not theirs.

With the notable exception of h_cutis.

[ferraris]

OP, are you looking for a house or a condo? A 200K budget for a house in Shadyside is going to be very difficult, if not impossible.

Like others said, there really are quite a few neighborhoods that sound like they could fit you. Shadyside IS trendy, not in the sense that it is a new fad like Lawrenceville, but it is a neighborhood that is constantly in demand with young professionals and students, and as such it is quite expensive compared to your other options.

Bloomfield, Friendship, and Lawrenceville are all options that would still put your in neighborhoods with young people and a level of diversity. The north side neighborhoods might suit you, too -- but they are very white/black, I don't see too many people of other races around there. That's not to say that people over there will care that you are Indian, but it's something to consider in case you think it might make you uncomfortable. And really you could even throw in neighborhoods like Brookline, Dormont, Highland Park, and well...too many to list to be honest. Your best bet is to come visit and check them out for yourself!

[total_square]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

OP, are you looking for a house or a condo? A 200K budget for a house in Shadyside is going to be very difficult, if not impossible.

I was looking more for a small house. I did check out Shadyside, it looks very nice but you're right, it's probably a little outside my range or at least at the upper end of it. I don't really care if the neighborhood is mostly white/mostly black, or white/black with nothing else--that's like where I'm living right now, and where I've mostly always lived, with a little Hispanic presence thrown in for good measure and almost no Asian or South Asian. It's not a problem (the cost of living is).

People chiming in about the north side neighborhoods have been very helpful, thanks all. I'd seen the names but didn't know much about them. And I will be visiting, but because I have only limited time to visit (driving up on a weekend or two), I wanted to get a little input ahead of time--hearing from people in the area or who live in these neighborhoods has been incredibly useful.

And really you could even throw in neighborhoods like Brookline, Dormont, Highland Park, and well...too many to list to be honest.

This is my problem--you guys have too many good choices!

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by total_square

I was looking more for a small house. I did check out Shadyside, it looks very nice but you're right, it's probably a little outside my range or at least at the upper end of it. I don't really care if the neighborhood is mostly white/mostly black, or white/black with nothing else--that's like where I'm living right now, and where I've mostly always lived, with a little Hispanic presence thrown in for good measure and almost no Asian or South Asian. It's not a problem (the cost of living is).

People chiming in about the north side neighborhoods have been very helpful, thanks all. I'd seen the names but didn't know much about them. And I will be visiting, but because I have only limited time to visit (driving up on a weekend or two), I wanted to get a little input ahead of time--hearing from people in the area or who live in these neighborhoods has been incredibly useful.



This is my problem--you guys have too many good choices!

I went and re-read your first post. It sounds like walkability is something you want, but is not an absolute must. I take that to mean that if you can walk to the bank, but not the grocery store, or to the pharmacy, but not the bar, that is OK? You don't need absolutely everything within a mile, but the more the better, correct? Pittsburgh only has a handful of neighborhoods that are truly friendly to those who want to walk everywhere, but as you can see, there are quite a few that are still more or less walkable, even if you still would have to drive or bus to a couple of things.

So I see it like this, there are two factors that could help us narrow it down for you, since you don't care about demographics other than "not racist."

1.) What are the most important things to have within walking distance to you? Grocery stores? Parks? Bars? Restaurants? Hair salons? Banks? Convenience stores? Big box stores? Movie Theaters? Stage Theaters? Sporting venues? Vegetarian/organic restaurants and grocery stores? Do any of those stick out as things that you'd really like to have?

2.) What are you looking for in the house itself? A yard? porch? garage? big? small? historic? new construction? getting a return on your investment? enough space to rent out part of it? Are there any particular architectural styles you like? Are you interested in being part of a neighborhood revitalization, or would you prefer well established neighborhoods?

And one last, but important thing, do you have a strong preference on hilly neighborhoods vs flat ones?

No need to answer every one of those items; I'm just trying to prompt you to give us some more info on what you'd like.