Moving to Pittsburgh, need rental advice (Lebanon, McKeesport: apartment complexes, rental homes, crime)

[Little Chef]

Moving soon with the wife and baby and we are debating whether it is better to live in the city or in the burbs.
Seems the difference you may save on rent you'll pay on gas, since we will be working in the city, but you do get more house.

Any info on Lawrenceville? If you go by city-data.com stats it does not sound great but those date back from 2009 and it appears as if the area has gone some major makeover that last couple of years.

How about Squirrel Hill, Shady Side and Sewickley?

And if the burbs, what are the best in your opinion within 30 min tops of the city?

[Hopes]

Lawrenceville is steadily improving, but I wouldn't say it had a "major makeover" since 2009. The gentrification started long before that. It's a great neighborhood with lots of interesting shops and cafes. There's still a gritty element to it. If you are comfortable with city living, you'll be comfortable in Lawrenceville.

Shadyside and Squirrel Hill are great neighborhoods for families and college students. Busy business districts. Very walkable. Good bus service.

Sewickley is a burb. It's a very nice upscale area with a thriving town.

The best suburb depends on what you want from a suburb. Can you be more specific? Good schools, walkable, etc.

[Little Chef]

Thanks for the quick reply. As for the suburbs we would like something walkable, safe, and within reasonable distance from the city. Not too old of a construction.

Any crime issues with the neighborhoods you mentioned above in the city? Eventually I will also venture into opening a restaurant. Any good daycare centers in the city? Thanks again.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Little Chef

Thanks for the quick reply. As for the suburbs we would like something walkable, safe, and within reasonable distance from the city. Not too old of a construction.

Any crime issues with the neighborhoods you mentioned above in the city? Eventually I will also venture into opening a restaurant. Any good daycare centers in the city? Thanks again.

Well, you're going to struggle to find "walkable" AND "not too old of a construction" here. I can't even think of any local areas that fit such requirements. Sewickley, Aspinwall, and Oakmont are some highly-recommended walkable and safe suburbs, but they are all older in nature. Mt. Lebanon is fairly walkable in some areas, and the construction isn't quite as old, overall. All of our newer suburban areas cater to the automobile first and the pedestrian last.

Other than settling on something from the 1960s or 1970s in Mt. Lebanon there's also a brand new planned community called "Edgewater at Oakmont" that is walkable to that town's business district. I believe those may all be owner-occupied, though.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Well, you're going to struggle to find "walkable" AND "not too old of a construction" here. I can't even think of any local areas that fit such requirements.

You certainly can't find a whole area like that. You can find some new buildings and houses in walkable areas of mostly older construction, but it is not common and expensive.

[Little Chef]

How about Cranberry and Canonsburg, Trafford and McKeesport?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Little Chef

How about Cranberry and Canonsburg, Trafford and McKeesport?

Canonsburg would be my top recommendation out of those areas. The town itself is somewhat walkable and is even home to the famous Sarris Candies & Ice Cream Parlor! There may be some newer construction apartments in the surrounding townships that are still somewhat (maybe?) walkable to the town proper of Canonsburg. That's also a rapidly-growing affluent area, which should bode well if you're looking to open up a unique restaurant.

Cranberry Township is certainly safe and family-friendly, but it has no defined "town center" to speak of and is basically just a bunch of strip malls, big-box stores, and housing subdivisions stringed together by crowded sidewalk-less roads. That certainly wouldn't be on my radar. McKeesport is a declining industrial city that I wouldn't be so inclined to recommend to you.

I have no clue about Trafford.

[Bong477]

The answer largely depends on what your budget is (most important factor by far), where you are working ("the city" could mean a lot of places), how you plan to get to work (drive vs mass transit, if driving do you have parking with your job), what you mean by walkable (a place you can walk around for exercise or a place you can walk to the grocery store), and what you mean by safe.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Little Chef

How about Cranberry and Canonsburg, Trafford and McKeesport?

Cranberry: Really far out from the city (in the next county). Very sub-divisiony. Not walkable.

Canonsburg: Semi-dead mill town pretty far out from the city, but with highway access. Walkable, but I'm not sure what you'd walk to. It's surrounded by recent exurbia however.

Trafford: Tiny borough which straddles the county line. Near North Huntington, which is another sprawly exurb like Cranberry.

McKeesport: Dangerous, crime-ridden satellite city of Pittsburgh. Under no circumstances move there.

If you want to consider living in the city, and you're worried about good neighborhood schools for your child, look at Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and Point Breeze. Some other areas may work as well.

What is your price range?

[SorryIMovedBack]

It's not a pet-friendly region, overall. You'll probably have to stick with the apartment complexes if you have a pet. More than one pet might be a deal-breaker. I found no rental houses that would allow pets, except one rental that Old Colony had, that had a bad foundation and rain water was literally pouring into the basement. They would allow one declawed pet though. I refused that place because I know the only fix for that wall and the leak was a major repair of the foundation and perimeter drainage.

Rental homes in the Pittsburgh, Canonsburg, and Washington areas are rentals because they have characteristics that make the owners not want to live there. Like, too small, no parking, bad neighborhood, old and rundown house, etc.