Moving to Pittsburgh, where to live?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Only the OP can decide that.

What I was specifically discussing (marginal physical risks) is an objective matter, not a subjective matter. Of course how the OP would feel about an area--which is also important--would be more subjective.

In any event, though, I agree our goal should be to help the OP understand the available options. Any final decisions will obviously be up to them.

[Stijl Council]

Agreed: Squirrel Hill or adjacent (Swisshelm Park, South Point Breeze, Greenfield) seems like the obvious choice here.

The vast majority of the rotations are at the Oakland complex (Montefiore/Presby/Eye & Ear/Magee) or Shadyside. I believe they do a (very) few at St. Margaret's and Mercy, but don't quote me on that. From Squirrel Hill you'd be an easy bus ride, bike ride, or drive from the Oakland and Shadyside complex and within a 15-20 minute drive of both St. Margaret's and Mercy, and you'd find that a lot of your colleagues live nearby.

[wilsedw]

Thank you all very much for the replies! Here are some clarifications based on what you've mentioned and asked:

We will be rotating through UPMC Magee Women's, UPMC Presbyterian, UPMC Shadyside, UPMC Children's, UPMC Tissue Bank, and Allegheny General. The majority of this time will be at Presbyterian and Children's.

"Safe" to me means you lock your house/car, don't walk alone at night, don't leave phone/MP3 player/valuables visible in your car, etc. It also means that you generally don't hear about many break-ins or violent crimes and you can go for a walk or bike ride during the day with no worries. Basically, in what I consider to be a safe area, you shouldn't have much to worry about as long as you use common sense and are aware of your surroundings.

As far as the type of neighborhood, "semi-urban" sounds perfect. I'm from St. Louis, MO and I'd describe my neighborhood there in that way as well. My main concern with regard to age of the building or length of time since renovation is functionality. I lived in a four-family flat in St. Louis for about two years and, while the building was beautiful and in a convenient spot, it was poorly insulated and not maintained well. I just don't want to live somewhere like that where we'd face $300+/month heating bills or constant maintenance headaches because we just don't have the time or money to deal with that.

I guess one other consideration I didn't mention would be winter driving. We are depended upon to be on-site regardless of weather conditions; are there any areas of the city which don't get as much attention from the snow plows? If so, we would probably want to stay away from those.

Thanks again for your time!

[Stijl Council]

Squirrel Hill sounds ideal for you, then. Another thought would be to try to find a rental within walking distance of Shadyside Hospital, which would be within a couple miles of both Children's and the Presby complex, but that neighborhood is a bit more "studenty." I don't think you'd want to live in either Shadyside business district (Walnut/Ellsworth), but something near Winchester Thurston might be a good fit -- there are a couple apartment buildings around there and sometimes townhouses & condos in the neighborhood for rent.

I find that snow removal here is OK, not great. Small, hilly, residential streets with only a few houses regardless of the part of town are the ones that would be most likely to cause problems. Being within a couple blocks of one of the major bus routes (particularly the 61C/D) would be a bit of insurance; that's my preferred way of getting into Oakland when the weather's bad. That said, mass transit here has experienced and will probably continue to experience heavy cutbacks.

[BrianTH]

Based on your additional information, I also think the semi-urban East End neighborhoods we have been mentioning are in fact a good fit. Generally they get plowed in a timely fashion.

It sounds to me like the key will be finding a well-maintained and updated place. If you can visit for a few days and do an extended apartment hunt, that would probably be a good idea, because apartments can definitely be all over the conceivable range in terms of conditions. But generally I'm still confident that with your budget, you can find something suitable.

[wilsedw]

Thanks again for the information, I really appreciate it! Would you happen to know the zip codes for these areas? They'd probably come in handy when perusing the various apartment finder sites. Also, is now too early to start putting in applications for a November move?

Have a great evening!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by wilsedw

Thanks again for the information, I really appreciate it! Would you happen to know the zip codes for these areas? They'd probably come in handy when perusing the various apartment finder sites. Also, is now too early to start putting in applications for a November move?

Have a great evening!

I actually work at UPMC Presbyterian, so welcome in advance to our fair city!

Pittsburgh's rental market is EXTREMELY tight due to underbuilding during the national recession, especially here in the very popular East End, so expect heavy competition for rentals until supply can catch up to demand. I would advise you to consider applying sooner rather than later for apartments.

Some zip codes:

15206: Highland Park (generally safe---definitely check out the Highland Park Club and the Parklane that BrianTH mentioned); East Liberty (transitional/improving neighborhood convenient to Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, ethnic restaurants, Home Depot, etc.); East Shadyside (very low violent crime with above-average property crime; the Kenmawr Apartments here might be of interest), Larimer (no); Lincoln-Lemington (no); Morningside (safe "old-school" Pittsburgher neighborhood but probably not what you're looking for)

15207: Greenfield (somewhat aesthetically unappealing neighborhood that is generally safe with good bones and some rental options; proximity to Oakland, Schenley Park, and I-376 are bonuses); Hazelwood (transitional neighborhood---probably NOT what you're looking for); New Homestead/Lincoln Place/Hays (safe semi-suburban city neighborhoods with few rentals and inconvenient locations to Childrens' Hospital).

15208: Homewood (no); Point Breeze South (primarily high-end single-family detached dwellings with few rentals); Point Breeze North (you may find some options here).

15217: Squirrel Hill (generally the city's most sought-after neighborhood, most diverse neighborhood, most expensive neighborhood, and city neighborhood with one of the best business districts; apartments are plentiful here and the location is great for your commute---proximity to both Schenley Park and Frick Park is an added bonus, not to mention I-376)

15219: Hill District (generally a ghetto with the exception of the Upper Hill, which is largely single-family detached dwellings, and the Lower Hill, where you may want to consider the Crawford Square Apartments or Washington Plaza Apartments); Polish Hill (extremely convenient yet "tucked away" neighborhood with zero rentals and zero for-sale homes currently available; competition to buy or rent here is cutthroat yet the city's idiotic developers refuse to bring new projects to our neighborhood---this neighborhood would be your best to commute to both UPMC Presby and Children's in about five minutes)

15222: Strip District (Pittsburgh's historic "fresh market district" that is home to many expensive lofts but you may be able to creatively adapt a 1-BR unit at a place like the Cork Factory to fit your needs while just upping your budget a tad); Downtown (ditto the Strip District in terms of expensive housing).

15224: Bloomfield (Pittsburgh's "Little Italy" that is home to a lot of older rentals that are, in my opinion, overpriced given their condition and age, yet are still very convenient to the hospitals); Friendship (part of this neighborhood also lies within 15232---Friendship, like Bloomfield, has mostly older rental options that you may deem to not be worth the money); Garfield (no).

15232: Shadyside (you may want to concentrate a search in/around Morewood Avenue or Centre Avenue---you'd potentially be a short bus ride or a very long walk to both Presby and Children's from that part of the neighborhood, which is quieter than the areas nearer to the business districts on Walnut, Ellsworth, and South Highland).

[Bong477]

Squirrel Hill is probably your best bet. SH and shadyside are where a majority of trainees live (and for good reasons). Both are nice, SH is quieter and a little better for families, SS is a little better for the "trendy" young professional scene. This is an oversimplification (since you can do both in either neighborhood), but if you prefer to walk and get ice cream you're better off in SH and if you prefer to walk to a bar you're better of in SS. $1200 should be able to get you into either with a little work.

If you prefer the suburbs, the North Hills, particularly Ross (preferably close to 279), works fine provided you have parking. If you don't have parking and need public transit, its appeal goes down a lot.

[wilsedw]

Thanks so much for your help, everyone. It's nice to be armed with all this info for apartment hunting.

Have a great evening!