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My own rent in a non-trendy neighborhood has risen 27% since 2010, and we expect that to increase again August 1. No, we're not Manhattan, Georgetown, Beacon Hill, Beverly Hills, Castro, etc. expensive, but we're not supposed to be. We're supposed to be similarly-priced to our PEER cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Louisville, Columbus, etc., and we seem to have experienced higher median rent appreciation than those cities over the past few years while our income growth has struggled to keep pace. What does this mean? Pittsburghers are paying a higher percentage of their income towards housing than in the past, so they're cutting back elsewhere in their budget to account for it.
You're describing the early stages of a housing boom. Hold onto your hats.
Pretty big increase in IT pay last year. Biggest percentage raise in the country. Don't make too many assumptions on where Pittsburghers are having to cut back. The field the OP is going into will put a roof over his head and a nice roof at that.
well im back from pittsburgh (took longer than it normally does. 5 hrs vs 2.5). all my IT courses and majoriy of my community college courses transfer. the only thing i find hilarious and a "huh?say what?" is the fact i need to take 2 semesters worth of a foreign language.
as a hispanic guy who is fluent, i took spanish in hs as a joke. since i have a C in my hs transcript, they give me credit for it, but now i need to take another spanish class to fulfill that. seriously, isnt there an exam i can take to exempt myself from paying 5,000 for something i already speak and read?
anyways other than that im happy. The only downside is all the craigslist ads for roommates who bailed on me. all 7 of them. So im back to square one and at this point im willing to go live in westmoreland county than alleghany and commute from there. The commute would be no different than if i stayed here in northern va and commuted to manassas for classes (from fairfax). anyways....now im trying to figure out how to pay 5,000 difference between tuition due and my financial aid granted..and a place to live lol.
HAAHAHA i wrote a big, long, helpful post and it got erased when my internet connection cut out as i hit "post." ok, here goes, second time.
i moved to pittsburgh back in 2009. i'm a PhD student at pitt. my budget is the same as yours. allow me to impart some insights i've picked up.
the two best ways to find an apartment in our price range is craigslist or pounding the pavement, seeing "for rent" signs, and calling the number. if you can't make a visit to the city before you start school, craigslist will have to suffice.
neighbourhoods you should look at:
1. bloomfield/friendship. these neighbourhoods are adjacent. i live there! they are a mix of working class families, old-school long-time pittsburghers (mostly italian and african-american families), just-out-of-college young professionals, grad students, and pittsburgh's version of the hipster (vegan crust punk bike messengers). in the 4 years i've been living here, penn avenue has completely transformed from scary board-ups to quirky art galleries, great restaurants, yoga studios, and concert spaces. on the first friday of every month, the entire street hosts an art gallery crawl, complete with "free" booze (by donation), art shows, and punk and hip hop shows (google "unplugged on penn ave"). it's mostly a 20/30-something crowd, but people also bring their small children to these events. there's a direct bus to oakland (25 minutes), buses to downtown and other parts of the city, and the best vietnamese food in the city (pho minh!!). in 2009, i paid $600 including utilities for a 1 bed apartment. in 2011 i moved one block and paid $625+elec (works out to $650/month). highly recommended, no regrets, i've convinced more than a few people to move to this area. it's great. DISCLAIMER: north of penn ave is a separate neighbourhood called garfield. it is a high crime and low income area and has not been gentrified. as a single white female, i have never felt unsafe going into garfield so i think the fright around it is a bit overblown, but the apartments i looked at north of penn avenue were in really sorry shape. total slumlords in this area.
2. lawrenceville. in 2009, this neighbourhood was "in transition." now it's transitioned. lots of restaurants, wine bars, interior design firms, and a GREAT bowling alley (arsenal lanes, on 44th and butler). ever since they rerouted the 93 bus to oakland, more students have been moving into this area. the rents are going up and fast, though. if you can find something in your price range here, rent it. you won't regret living in this neighbourhood. there will be less around 600/month here, though, unless you look into roommate options.
3. point breeze and highland park. very residential neighbourhoods, no shops or restaurants really, but easy access to other places with shops and restaurants. on the buslines to oakland. highland park in particular will have studios and maybe even 1 beds that are UNDER 600. yes, UNDER. you can bike or bus to all the cool stuff in shadyside, friendship, or bloomfield from here, so if you need something cheaper, look here.
4. shadyside. this place is yuppie central. expensive restaurants, pricey shops, lots of late 20s/early 30s careerists here. it's not all bad. they have the apple store and a great yoga studio. but this place is WELL out of your (and my) price range. you're looking at 900/month for a studio here. the only way to afford a place below 600 is to live with 2 or 3 roommates. so search roommates wanted or don't waste your energy on living in shadyside.
5. squirrel hill. same as shadyside really. the forbes/murray ave intersection has cool shops, restaurants, and the only new-release movie theater in pittsburgh proper (or what seems like it anyway). good cheap bowling alley there too. but it's expensive, and your money doesn't go far in terms of square footage or... nice-ness. we're talking carpet in the bathroom and kitchen cabinets hanging on by a single hinge for $750/month. but it's only a 15 minute bus ride to oakland and buses go frequently. look into roommate situations here.
6. regent square. be careful here. it's a long commute by bus and you will feel every minute of it. plus lots of places that are listed as regent square are actually in wilkinsburg, and wilkinsburg is not a safe area. now, did actually live in wilkinsburg for a month and i enjoyed it, but i also didn't go out after dark. there will be many a shooting in your neighbourhood if you end up in the wrong part of "regent square." there are some good restaurants and a great independent movie theater here, but it's also got a very residential feel to it. lots of families, not that many young single 20-somethings.
7. south side flats. the flats are different from the slopes. the flats are bars and bars and bars and really terrible top-40-from-9-years-ago clubs. this place is overrun on fridays and saturdays with undergrads and jersey shore rejects. if you like to PARTAY then the flats are great on the weekend. if you want it to be quiet before 2 a.m., they're not. the rest of the week, the flats are awesome. close to trails, short commute to oakland, great little shops. shame about the weekends...
8. south side slopes. the slopes look close to the flats on a map, but they're up really steep and winding hills. the commute to oakland is MUCH longer because of it. the slopes are also mostly older, established local families, not a lot of young people or students. not a bad option if the budget is right, but you might hate going up and down the hill in the icy winters.
9. the north side. in this, i'm including the mexican war streets, allegheny center, allegheny north, west, and east. recently revitalized, home to cool museums and great restaurants and coffee shops. you're next to the national aviary, where you can watch condors the size of a house flap around in their outdoor enclosures. walking distance to baseball, football, casino, downtown (but nothing happens downtown...). really cool and really underrated part of town. commuting is a bit tricky here. you either change buses downtown or have to go all the way through bloomfield to get to oakland. you're looking at closer to 45 minutes on a bus, but biking it can be done in 15.
and that's it. those are all the places you should live in pittsburgh.
here's why. parking in oakland is HORRIBLE. if you park in a parking garage, you're looking at over $20/day. if you find a metered spot, you have to put more money in the meter every 3 hours or so or you will get tickets. they ticket you FAST too, and you're looking at 25-35 bucks a ticket. even if you make it to the meter, you're still dumping 10 bucks minimum to be there for 6 hours.
you could rent a parking spot in a garage on campus, but that's $300-500/semester. not a year, a semester. that's a lot. and those student parking garages are not close to your classes. you will still have to walk 20 minutes to class after you park, or wait for a campus shuttle that goes on such a meandering route you might be on it for half an hour. i know many students (myself included) with cars. none of them park on campus. even the professors with cars take the bus to campus. parking there is a nightmare. not cost effective for your money or your time.
the other places mentioned in this thread (monroeville, bethel park, etc.) are very suburban. they feel VERY disconnected from the city. they're great places to raise families (although, so is the east end of pittsburgh) but they're not great places for a mid-20s young person who wants a little bit of culture and diversity. the commute from these places is brutal (pittsburgh's urban design sucks in terms of traffic flow... there are bottle-necks everywhere and rush hour is a nightmare) even before you factor in the time you spend getting from your car to your class. i know a few people that lived out in these places when they first got to pittsburgh and they all moved as soon as they could. avoid at all costs. really.
good luck with your apartment search. honestly, your best bet is to actually come to the city for 2-3 days this summer and look at places on foot. if you HAVE to rent sight-unseen, lots of my friends have had good experiences with mozart management (although, frankly, they're overpriced).
oh, and there might be an exam for you to take to get out of the foreign language classes. you should talk to the hispanic languages and literatures department directly instead of going to the dean's office or something.
575 including utilities. sounds small, but s. fairmont is right next two 2 really frequent bus lines to oakland. would be a fast commute. also walking distance to shadyside, giant eagle, whole foods.
Last edited by StrangeLight; 05-25-2013 at 09:12 PM..
well i have set up most of my fall semester. most of my classes are from 6pm-8 or 9pm, so i wouldnt need to worry bout paying the meters then. Honestly i have friends out in the suburbs i rather be around than not and being that i saw first hand how crappy pa drivers are when a bit of rain hits, it reminded me a bit of traffic down here in dc. while the drive looks it takes forever to get to the campus from the monroeville area, technically its under 25 miles. I can live with that.
Doesn't mean im not looking still, but i think im leaning towards the monroeville/trafford area to live at.
well i have set up most of my fall semester. most of my classes are from 6pm-8 or 9pm, so i wouldnt need to worry bout paying the meters then. Honestly i have friends out in the suburbs i rather be around than not and being that i saw first hand how crappy pa drivers are when a bit of rain hits, it reminded me a bit of traffic down here in dc. while the drive looks it takes forever to get to the campus from the monroeville area, technically its under 25 miles. I can live with that.
Doesn't mean im not looking still, but i think im leaning towards the monroeville/trafford area to live at.
and thank you strangelight
Be aware of the following: On-Street Meter Enforcement Hours
Effective as of January 1, 2013 (on-street meter hours) by City Ordinance No. 31. Enforcement shall not occur after 6:00PM until July 1, 2013.
I always found street parking to be tough around North Bellefield Avenue where many of your classes will be. There is a garage across the street at 130 North Bellefield and an outdoor lot at the corner of Bigelow and Ruskin St. where I usually ended up parking.
Trafford will be a 30-35 minute commute assuming the Squirrel Hill Tunnel is not backed up. It won't be bad most days at 5:30PM, but about once a week you will come to a complete stop at the Edgewood/Swissvale Exit and traffic will slow to about 10-15 MPH to the tunnel.
i had missed the posts about you already having friends out in the burbs. i think proximity to people you like tends to trump most things, including traffic. i will say, though, that every time i turn on the radio there's a report of something wrong with the squirrel hill tunnel. i'd probably try driving into/out of campus at the times you expect to commute so you're prepared for how long it really takes.
i figured living out in the burbs and paying parking will equate to almost the same as living in the city and taking the bus to classes. i have one class at 11am once a week. most of the classes fall twice a week for 50 minutes after 1pm, with my two main classes being at 6pm and one at 6:45pm until 8 or 9:30pm.
its going to be interesting to be in a class of 200 or so as the biggest class i ever had was 76. anyways im still open and honestly this whole craigslist thing isnt working for me. ideally my friend who is a landlord might have a spot at her place, upper level out in the burbs. that would be my ideal place tbh. near friends,food, can commute into city.
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