Where in the Pittsburgh area have you lived? (Penn Hills, Plum: sales, real estate)

[Billy53]

North Shore last 2 years. After 21 years in the Navy and 16 addresses, I believe its my last and favorite destination!!!!!!

[icantthinkofanick]

Wow, I see this thread is old but a really good read. Especially when you see varying opinions about the same places. Here is mine:

Kittanning: Grew up here. It is small and quiet, and when I lived there, not much crime. Much like ManhattanMan I missed its heyday, and I watched walmart kill what was left of the downtown area. It is a bit too "country" for my taste. I didn't have a good appreciation for some of the old buildings / architecture, but alleghenyangels thread on it was great. It's a little sad revisiting the area though as not much is going on there anymore.

Millvale: I had an apartment here. I didn't like it very much. I lived right on the main drag (grant st?). The street was super loud and the parking was horrendous. My neighbors were pretty trashy too and constantly yelling at each other through the walls or blasting music. Also my basement constantly flooded (and I was a lucky one because they get it bad sometimes there). On the positive it was a super easy commute to both the McKnight area and downtown by 28. It was super cheap. The neighborhood, despite its shortcomings, had some really neat little shops, millvale days, and one of the biggest beer distributors in all of PA (Vecinie).

Blawnox: A quiet neighborhood with a really small but somewhat convenient business district. There were awesome river views. The area itself didn't seem to have a lot of diversity. Commuting wasn't terrible, but it got pretty bad when the 28 construction was heavy. It was convenient to some things like malls (waterworks, pittsburgh mills) but the public transportation was practically non existent. For the money, it wasn't too bad of a deal to live there. Never had any parking problems or bad experiences.

Homewood/PointBreeze (on the border) - This changed my perspective on a lot of things. I knew moving there it had a reputation of being close to a shady area, which scared me a bit. Moving there was great though. I had zero problems for the most part. Frick park was in walking distance. I more or less got introduced to the PAT transit here as its on a main bus line and I have been using it non-stop (I love it, and so does my car). By car, it takes about 5 minutes to get to any area in the east, and I more or less fell in love with areas like regent square, point breeze and squirrell hill. Just being able to walk around their neighborhoods and businesses was great. There was quite a lot of stuff to do and at the same time it was close to some nice amenities (target , trader joes).

Greenfield - I knew I wanted to be in the east after my last place but couldn't really afford the areas I really liked. Regret square seemed to have everything I wanted (public transportation , stuff to do, but a quiet side), but it was a tad out of my price range. I almost settled in edgewood/swissvale as they were more affordable, and the areas I looked into were relatively nice and close to regent square.

Ultimately after a lot of looking, I found that the best mix of price/quiet/transportation/close to everything/ area that best fit me turned out to be Greenfield. It wasn't on my radar until the end but I've liked it so far. Its close to everything like southside, waterfront, and squirrell hill. It's quiet. In a decent school district. And everyone seems pretty friendly.

The negatives: it has just "ok" public transportation.. Ill be walking to squirrell hill for the bus if the next round of cuts go through (yey PAT & Corbett). I'm a little worried about my car making it up the hills in the winter, and it could use some younger people.

[Q-tip motha]

- May 07 to May 09 Rosemoor Street in Squirrel Hill (close to Greenfield)

It was ok. People weren't really that friendly, and the commute downtown/home on the bus was so bad that I walked most days. About 6 miles through the bluffs, oakland, and the northern part of Squirrell Hill. Good exercise.

- May 09 to April 2011 Brereton Street in Polish Hill

Parking sucked, but the neighborhood was extremely friendly. Our neighbors Lynne and Jimmy were a breath of fresh air. We still miss them a lot. Had every reason to like Gooski's, but ended up avoiding the place. Loved the music, selection of beers, and the food. As we didn't dress like hipsters or look like the punk rock crowd the people working there were usually unfriendly or downright rude towards my wife and I so we became turned off to what would otherwise be a great bar. Excellent neighborhood though. Extremely active civic association, really enhances the close knit community feel.

BLOGSKI

April 2011 to present - Troy Hill

Our first and probably only home as we like the place quite a lot. Love the neighborhood, reminds us of Polish Hill but more walkable. Wish the civic association were as active as Polish Hill's, but they do a lot all the same. Similar to Millvale, but quieter and with a better view. Exceptional view of the strip and the Immaculate Heart of Mary church in Polish hill from our back patio. Love the people. Couldn't ask for nicer neighbors. Our block has a wide range of people from all races and income levels. Always seems to have kids playing in the street outside. Prefer the Penn Brewery to the Church Brew works. Going to take our daughter to the splash park when she's old enough.

http://troyhillpittsburgh.com/

[goodgirl49]

Aliquippa from 1949-1974.

[DaBurgh]

North Oakland, early 90's. walk to Mitchell's, Chief's, and that beer distributor. That's all I remember!

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

Other than the convenience factor, I don't really see how Chalfant and the East End even belong in the same sentence. I guess it kind of has a Stanton Heights vibe to it, although when you mention "East End pretense," I have the feeling you're not thinking about Stanton Heights.

Chalfant does not have many similarities with the East End. My point was that it was convenient to the East End. I never stated that they were similar.

[Bert Peters]

Brentwood (0-14 yrs old): Eh, not too bad. Schools were kinda crappy. Holds a hell of a 4th of July celebration. Really love a lot of the houses on Brownsville. Always been iffy about the area of Brentwood near Carrick... I know some kids that have lived on Pyramid Ave and witnessed a stream of shootings back when I was in 8th grade or so.

Castle Shannon (14 yrs old-present): I don't mind it really... live right by the T-line, close to South Hills Village mall, South Park, some other nearby parks... 51 and 88 kinda suck, but I don't drive around here much.

Oakland (19 yrs old-present, I go to Pitt so I'm here during school mostly) Central Oakland... or South Oakland most people consider it (Oakland/Atwood/Meyran/Semple/McKee...) you know, typical college party atmosphere... loud on weekends, not too bad on weekdays. Dirty streets of course, but what can ya do... love the convenience with all the buses that run through Forbes/5th, as well as all the restaurants and what not, but yeah, this is essentially a place mainly just for people in their early/mid 20's to live.

[barneyg]

Lawrenceville (2005-2007), around Main St -- we loved the house, how central the neighborhood is, and the easy walk to Bloomfield and Friendship Park (where I ended up in one of Evergrey's photo tours, lol). Ultimately got tired of the lack of trees.

Wilkinsburg (Whitney Park, 2007-09) -- best neighborhood ever. Grand stately houses with lots of greenery, nice people, easy walk to Frick and Regent Square, easy drive anywhere else. When we left back to Canada, we wished we'd have been able to just take the house and neighborhood back with us.

[Millennial]

2004-Squirrel Hill: (Tilbury Ave)

Pros:
A small walk shops and restaurants
A block from frick park

Cons:
Parking

2005-2011-Shady Side: (Aiken and 5th)

Pros:
A small walk shops and restaurants
Easy commute to Oakland and Downtown by bus

Cons:
Parking
Road Noise


2012-Point Breeze: (Reynolds st)

Pros:

Peaceful and Quite
Diversity
5-10 min walk to Mellon and Frick Park.
5 Minutes walk to Bakery Square (Gym and coffee shop)
10-15 min walk to Shady side (S. Highland Ave)
10 Min walk to Traders Joe and Target
10 min drive or bus ride to CMU, UPitt, Chatham, Squirrel hill...

Cons:
None so far!

[norcider]

Mt. Washington: Lived on goat path with high traffic, didn't like it
West View: Boring and isolated for teenage kid from the city
Wilkinsburg: Had great time in my 20's when lived there in beautiful building on Whitney then on Savannah, lived closer to Edgewood so any crime was petty. Had cars broken into, property stolen heard/witnessed crazy stuff at night
Swissvale: Nice up on hill above parkway, quiet neighborhood
Greenfield: Squirrel Hill rent because we shared the 15217 zip code, otherwise neighborhood mostly quiet, some shady spots
Observatory Hill/Pleasant Valley: Boyhood home, fond memories, crazy stuff every now and then but it was way before the drugs and gangs
Brighton Heights: Present, great neighborhood, maybe Pittsburgh's best kept secret regarding affordable homes, low crime and proximity to major arteries and town