South Side vs. Friendship (Pittsburgh, Liberty: how much, living, price)

[Hopes]

1) Safety

Friendship. To be fair and balanced, I looked at violent crime statistics for both neighborhoods. South Side Slopes has incredibly high violent crime. Even South Side Flats is significantly higher than Friendship. Friendship wins safety by a landslide. It's interesting that most people viewed it as a draw but the statistics don't lie.

2) Transportation (Easiness to commute, public transportation, walkability, biking)

Draw. I checked out average commute times for the neighborhoods, available bus schedules, etc. Both neighborhoods are walkable and bikeable because they are flat. Transportation is a draw.

3) Character

South Side. Gotta give South Side character.

4) Livability (in which neighborhood would you rather live)

Friendship. I'd rather live in Friendship.

5) Amenities

South Side. Gotta give South Side amenities.

6) Beauty (housing stock, parks, cleanliness, architecture).

Friendship a thousand times more beautiful.

[I_Like_Spam]

1. Safety- I'd give it to South Side. I lived over there for a long time, never a victim of violent crime- some horse's behind puked on my windshield on St. Patrick's Day one year, but that's hardly a crime. Friendship's crime rate is sort of hard to distinguish, as it is defined as such a narrow area by the city which really doesn't conform to its "true" borders.

Likewise, South Side's "official" border extends to Arlington Avenue, including much of crime ridden Arlington and Allentown sectors.

2. Transportation- south side. Public transport is about equal, but its an easier access to the Parkway East, North and West for auto based commuters. Also, the absence of permit parking just makes the South Side more auto friendly.

3. Character- south side attracts more characters for sure.

4. Livability- I've lived in the South Side and liked it, got to give it to them here.

5. Amenities, have to go with Friendship. more of a selection of grocers and hospitals with the closing of UPMC South Side.

6. Beauty- Friendship is classier looking

[Uptown kid]

If Salisbury Street (pretty much Arlington crip gang affiliated) & Mt Oliver Street (gritty South side Slopes street) count as "South Side" than the Southside's residential streets are rougher than the blocks of Friendship past Friendship Ave.

So what your rocking chair might get taken off your porch/you might see illigal business in Friendship- if at one night little gangsters might be playing "knock out" with someone's face, college kids might be wilding on the sidewalk, police might shot a person after a high speed chase and/or two waring street gangs could be shooting at each other outside a bar, among other things.

Also: even though almost all of the nuisance spots are closed, at night your WAY more likely to be a victem of crime on the South Side Flats/E Carson St than in Friendship (maybe even redeveloped sections of Garfield).

Safety:
Friendship

[safak]

1) Safety
Friendship and to me this is a landslide..I'm not talking just straight crime.

2) Transportation (Easiness to commute, public transportation, walkability, biking)
Draw, i don't know really.

3) Character
Friendship.

4) Livability (in which neighborhood would you rather live)
Friendship

5) Amenities
Friendship. Close one but i'd give an easy edge to Friendship for my personal tastes..if i was 21 id pick southside. I think Friendship is the perfect location between east liberty(shadyside), bloomfield, lawrenceville, and shadyside

6) Beauty (housing stock, parks, cleanliness, architecture).
Friendship.

[airwave09]

Some of these posts are pretty embarrassing. They are not remotely based in reality.

[baconlegs]

1) Safety*- Friendship by a nose. SS would have won 5 years ago

2) Transportation (Easiness to commute, public transportation, walkability, biking)- close, but its tough to commute when you have to park 3 blocks away. Friendship

3) Character*-ss

4) Livability (in which neighborhood would you rather live)- i dont think livability is a would you rather as much as it is affordable. Friendship.

5) Amenities*- SS

6) Beauty (housing stock, parks, cleanliness, architecture). Depends, but Friendship more often.

[FreightTrainRunning]

Seems kinda weird to try to compare a tiny residential neighborhood with 1,700 residents against a giant sprawling combination of two neighborhoods (flats and slopes) that has almost 10,000 people in it.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Seems kinda weird to try to compare a tiny residential neighborhood with 1,700 residents against a giant sprawling combination of two neighborhoods (flats and slopes) that has almost 10,000 people in it.

Yeah. It won't surprise me if South Side wins this just because it is more broadly appealing. Friendship fills a niche, but it fills that niche very well.

[safak]

i took into consideration though..you have to walk this far or that far to get to something in southside..you walk that far from a point in friendship you are in bloomfield or whole foods or ellsworth or w/e. i dont know the exact boundaries but if you just take strict friendship i think you have what, 2 real estate offices and maybe the wendys?

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by safak

i took into consideration though..you have to walk this far or that far to get to something in southside..you walk that far from a point in friendship you are in bloomfield or whole foods or ellsworth or w/e. i dont know the exact boundaries but if you just take strict friendship i think you have what, 2 real estate offices and maybe the wendys?

Doesn't that mean the neighborhood boundary is kind of pointless for amenities. It's not like leaving Friendship involves crossing a bridge or hills; it runs right into its neighbors. If walking 10 minutes from your apartment in the South Side to get to someplace counts, why wouldn't walking 10 minutes from your apartment in Friendship to get to someplace count?