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Old 03-26-2014, 03:07 AM
 
2 posts, read 1,772 times
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Hello everyone,

My boyfriend and I are potentially moving to Pittsburgh in July from the other Oakland, CA. We are currently looking to buy or rent a place, but are leaning towards buying. I would love some advice on what neighborhoods may suit us. My boyfriend would be working at the google campus and I would be a student at UPitt. We enjoy going out and meeting people, having friends over for board games, and going out to to do whatever sounds interesting at the moment.

What we are looking for:

- Walkable neighborhood- hopefully under a 10 min walk to things
- Near public transit- would like to be within 40 min mass transit to UPitt
- A carport or garage would be awesome, but we could do without if the parking situation was ok (we only have one car and don't really want another)
- We are very outdoorsy and enjoy being able to leave the house and go on walks and wander around. One of the things I hate about my current neighborhood is that I feel a bit unsafe going for walks alone in the evening here in Oakland. (I think most places in Pittsburgh will be safer in general, so yay for that!)
- Most importantly, our price point is 1600/mo max for rent, and 325k max for purchasing. We would prefer to be on lower than that, ideally.

So far we have been looking into:
Lawrenceville
Regent Square
Highland Park
Southside

We are confused about the Highland Park neighborhood. Some of the houses for sale there look amazing, but we don't know much about that area. What are your thoughts on this Highland Park?
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Old 03-26-2014, 06:31 AM
 
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I personally would avoid the southside as its further away from bakery square(where googles at). that and the loud drunk folks during the weekends and terrible parking. Some here say its a bit unsafe during the evening/night especially during the weekends, but I cant say for sure as I don't go there (this apparently gets worse as you approach the weekend).

I would suggest renting first before buying so you can get to know the area better. regent square is a nice area stuck in the middle of the ghetto, but I don't know the specific streets to avoid as some folks here do lol.

but out of those 4 places you looked at, id take Lawrenceville or highland park, but id consider friendship,stanton heights,morningside, shadyside (though rent would be a bit higher there, it has a lot of walkable areas) or even squirrell hill.

you can probably find some nice apartments for less than your max budget on rent with easy bus routes to the pitt campus.
on a personal note, id stick to living anywhere the 71a,b,c and 61a,b pass through since imo, the buses for those lines pass way more often going downtown via Oakland( where pitt is at)
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Old 03-26-2014, 06:52 AM
 
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Regent Square is in the ghetto & SouthSide is unsafe??
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Old 03-26-2014, 06:54 AM
 
2,369 posts, read 2,893,391 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UKyank View Post
Regent Square is in the ghetto & SouthSide is unsafe??

meant surrounded by. southside I don't think would be the ideal place imo and should clarify it by saying the closer one is from carson st. I think there are way better options closer to both google and pitt than SS.
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Old 03-26-2014, 07:02 AM
 
5,894 posts, read 6,837,899 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BarqCider View Post
meant surrounded by. southside I don't think would be the ideal place imo and should clarify it by saying the closer one is from carson st. I think there are way better options closer to both google and pitt than SS.
Being next to a 'ghetto' would disqualify almost all of the eastend, I don't think regent square is negatively effected by that fact then any of the other places you suggested and would consider it very safe. Likewise while I agree southside with the point that it is further away from the google campus it is far from an unsafe area even on Carson st.
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Old 03-26-2014, 07:14 AM
 
Location: North Oakland
9,150 posts, read 10,820,283 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BarqCider View Post
I personally would avoid the southside as its further away from bakery square(where googles at). that and the loud drunk folks during the weekends and terrible parking. Some here say its a bit unsafe during the evening/night especially during the weekends, but I cant say for sure as I don't go there (this apparently gets worse as you approach the weekend).

I would suggest renting first before buying so you can get to know the area better. regent square is a nice area stuck in the middle of the ghetto, but I don't know the specific streets to avoid as some folks here do lol.

but out of those 4 places you looked at, id take Lawrenceville or highland park, but id consider friendship,stanton heights,morningside, shadyside (though rent would be a bit higher there, it has a lot of walkable areas) or even squirrell hill.

you can probably find some nice apartments for less than your max budget on rent with easy bus routes to the pitt campus.
on a personal note, id stick to living anywhere the 71a,b,c and 61a,b pass through since imo, the buses for those lines pass way more often going downtown via Oakland( where pitt is at)
I agree with much of what BarqCider says, with a couple of qualifiers: first, there's only one bus route from Lawrencville to Oakland, and I don't think it runs as frequently as the 71 and 61 buses; second, there's also a 61C and 61D (Squirrel Hill to Oakland).

Would your boyfriend prefer to drive or take the bus to work? If he will be driving, all of the 71 and 61 buses will take you easily to Pitt (it's "Pitt," btw, not "uPitt"). The 71C and 75 buses go right past Google, I believe, and you can take them going in the other direction to Pitt, from Shadyside or East Liberty.

I looked up bus routes on the Port Authority website, using Bakery Square and the Cathedral of Learning as my to/from destinations. The 71C and 75 buses are the ones that will work best for both of you. http://www.portauthority.org/paac/Sc...00%20AM&aord=D

If he wants to drive to work, that opens Squirrel Hill up as a neighborhood to live in. It and Shadyside are probably the most walkable neighborhoods in Pgh. I think it's easier to park in Squirrel Hill than in Shadyside or East Liberty.

Highland Park has beautiful houses, but except for a three-or-four block strip, there's nothing to walk to. You'd have to go to East Liberty or Shadyside to go grocery shopping. You could get off the 71A or 71C on your way home from Pitt to go grocery shopping at the Market District at Centre and Negley, which is at the border between Shadyside and East Liberty, and then get on the 71A to go home to Highland Park. Your boyfriend will be able to walk to Trader Joe's at lunchtime.

You'll have noticed I mention East Liberty as a place to shop, but not as a place to live. It's a gentrifying neighborhood, and has some very nice apartments, but much of it is not yet recommendable as a neighborhood for a woman to walk around in alone at night. Google is very close to East Liberty -- most people think of it as being in EL -- but it's technically on the western edge of Larimer, a neighborhood you don't want to live in.

Any questions, feel free to PM me.

Quote:
Originally Posted by UKyank View Post
I don't think regent square is negatively affected by that fact then any of the other places you suggested and would consider it very safe.
It's not the most convenient neighborhood, however, for someone who wants to be able to walk to everything within ten minutes.

Last edited by jay5835; 03-26-2014 at 07:28 AM..
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Old 03-26-2014, 07:17 AM
 
1,947 posts, read 2,230,983 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UKyank View Post
Being next to a 'ghetto' would disqualify almost all of the eastend, I don't think regent square is negatively effected by that fact then any of the other places you suggested and would consider it very safe. Likewise while I agree southside with the point that it is further away from the google campus it is far from an unsafe area even on Carson st.
We very nearly bought in Regent Square. It's a lovely little neighborhood, right next to Frick Park, couple of good restaurants and bars, and a great independent movie theater. I'd live there in a pinch, it's convenient for both Google and Pitt, and its not unsafe at all. Point Breeze might be worth looking in to as well? And Sq Hill/Shadyside as others have noted - you get into easy walking distance to Pitt/Google in those areas, as well as good buses.

Last edited by gortonator; 03-26-2014 at 07:26 AM..
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Old 03-26-2014, 08:33 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
1,776 posts, read 2,684,379 times
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DON'T MOVE HERE, THIS CITY IS DYING. YOU WANT TO GO TO CLEVELAND. (totally kidding – welcome to Pittsburgh!)

Look at Shadyside, Point Breeze, Friendship, Highland Park and East Liberty if your boyfriend wants to be close to the Google campus. Those have great transit access to Pitt as well ... like 25 minutes at the absolute max during normal people hours – including wait times.

If you value green space and the outdoors a little more than walkability to Google, expand your search to Squirrel Hill (KILLER business district and close to big city parks) and Lawrenceville (another great business district and it's on the riverfront). And these are still close to his work. Squirrel Hill has great transit to Pitt. Lawrenceville is the most far-flung of all previously mentioned neighborhoods, but is the most bohemian vibe.

I would really skip South Side. It has a ton of amenities and great business district, but you're not going to find a lot of like-minded people living there. It's a much younger drinking crowd. Early 20s. A lot of people who finally moved out of their college dorms for the first time. If you're attracted to South Side's Carson Street, Squirrel Hill's Forbes/Murry Ave is the more mature alternative.

Regent Square is small, cute, awesome and close to parks, but a little more quiet than the others. Lots of smart young people there though.
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Old 03-26-2014, 08:54 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,360 posts, read 16,861,447 times
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Regent Square is not next to a ghetto. To the west, there's Frick Park. To the south, there's the parkway, and the portion of Swissvale on the other side is less desirable, but fine. To the east, there's nice parts of Edgewood, and gentrifying portions of Wilkinsburg (the busway blocks off the really bad parts of Wilkinsburg). To the north, there's Park Place (a desirable city neighborhood in itself).Out of this whole area, the worst portions overall are Wilkinsburg west of the Busway, excluding the Regent Square portion, which is 100% safe. Still, this area is fine - certainly quite safe for someone who lives in Oakland.

The only thing which makes the Regent Square area less desirable is the school situation. It's a neighborhood split across Pittsburgh and three "suburban" municipalities. As odd as it would sound, the Pittsburgh section is actually the most desirable, given it has a good neighborhood school feeder and access to PPS magnet schools. Less and less people in Edgewood/Swissvale utilize their school district, but it's not awful. Wilkinsburg is pretty much a "failed city" with a few nice neighborhoods on its edge. Virtually no one uses the public school system any longer, and it has the highest property taxes in the state.
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Old 03-26-2014, 09:20 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,360 posts, read 16,861,447 times
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I concur with others that South Side doesn't make much sense given a job at Bakery Square/going to Pitt. It's probably the single most pedestrian-friendly neighborhood in terms of amenities now however. Kind of a shame how it developed into party central - it used to have much more potential.

I've lived in Lawrenceville for six years now and love it. Admittedly, I bought here when it was scandalously cheap (I got a house for not much over $50,000). It's developing some of the same dynamics as the South Side, but as long as the South Side doesn't get cleaned up and yuppiefied more I'm confident Lawrenceville's not going to become bro central. The business district isn't quite as nice or complete (and we lack a decent grocery store), but the housing stock is overall better than the South Side.

Highland Park was originally built up as a "streetcar suburb" to East Liberty, although the streetcars have long since vanished. A small business district was retrofitted on Bryant Street in the mid 20th century as East Liberty went downhill, but the business district is small enough you'll need to go elsewhere frequently. Thankfully East Liberty is in comeback mode now, but still it's a bit too far to walk for day-to-day needs (although a quick, flat bike trip).

Regent Square, which I discussed before, is another streetcar suburb type neighborhood. The business district is a bit bigger than Bryant Street, but arguably less useful, as it has more bars and restaurants, but lacks a market.

Shadyside was also a streetcar suburb neighborhood originally, but it had heavy retrofitting during the mid 20th century, so that it has many apartment buildings. On a square foot basis it's probably the most expensive part of Pittsburgh, so it's unlikely you'd find a house within your price range, although a condo is doable. There are three different business districts, all with slightly different characters. The neighborhood has a "yuppie" reputation, but also has a high proportion of graduate students.

Point Breeze is nearby, but it's mostly a suburban-style neighborhood. it has a tiny business district which is literally only a block long. There are some houses in your price range here sometimes (particularly in the area north of Penn Avenue) but prices are quite high overall. It's also not a very walkable area, not only due to the lack of businesses, but also because it seems to have the highest number of cyclists hit by cars in the city. My favorite portion is the "Park Place" sub neighborhood, by Regent Square, which has many handsome 19th century homes.

I would not suggest Squirrel Hill to buy, but it's fine to rent. The business districts are very large and filled with essentials. But the areas close to the main business districts either have large, incredibly expensive houses, or small houses which are rented out and never on the market. You can sometimes find an affordable rowhouse within the northern portions of the neighborhood, but most houses go on the market in the far southern portions of the neighborhood, which are functionally suburban.

One area which has not been discussed in the thread is the Bloomfield/Friendship area. The boundary between these two neighborhoods is somewhat fuzzy, but the housing stock is quite different, with Bloomfield having small frame rowhouses (usually remuddled to the point of ugliness), while Friendship has handsome brick Victorians which are often subdivided. The area is very walkable to both the Liberty Avenue and Penn Avenue business districts, and probably has the highest concentration of bus lines in the city. The only down side is if you choose to buy there isn't much on the market - it's a renter heavy area, so at any time there are only around ten houses between the two neighborhoods on the market. Still, I would say this would be your best bet if you wanted convenience, safety, and fairly low price.
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