Moving to Regent Square! Tips? Guides? (Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg: renting, coop, neighborhood)

[OPittsburgh]

Greetings —

My wife are new to Pittsburgh (coming from NY) and after a ton of research, and we’ve chosen Regent Square to call our home. What should I know as a newcomer to the area? Any tips on how to settle in a be apart of the local community? Where’s the best place for lunch, a good dinner, quick groceries? Best hiking paths at frick park? Local events we should be away of?

Any local insight will be greatly appreciated. We look forward to joining the neighborhood!

[Pughnose]

Regents Square is great. Not sure if you're buying or already have, but be aware that RS actually sits astride bits of four boroughs: Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Swissvale, Wilkinsburg. These will have significantly different property tax rates, school districts and likely resale values, so be sure you're where you want to be for those purposes.

Aside from the convenience store, and beer at McBroom's and D's Six Pax and Dogz, the nearest grocery is Giant Eagle across the Parkway in the Edgewood Town Center. Best to drive, as the local bus 61-B won't get you very close.

PA has funny restrictions on liquor, so the nearest wine and booze is at the state store in the same shopping center. (That Giant Eagle also has a poor wine selection; groceries which lack a few tables for eating food in the store will also lack wine, by law, and the state keeps a monopoly on booze, except maybe distilleries?)

Good coffee at 61A Cafe, good burritos (probably not overpriced by NY standards) at El Burrro, good Thai at Thai Cottage, good but limited and expensive middle eastern at Istanbul Grille. (Istanbul Sofra, no relation, is several blocks north, delicious food but since the owner is awaiting trial for stalking and sexual assault, some of us no longer go there.) Good beer by the glass (as well as the 6-packs to go) and of course tasty Dogz at D's.

Squirrel Hill is a 10 minute bus ride or 40-is minute walk away, with a larger and more lively commercial district, as well as a smaller Giant Eagle, state store, movie theatre, Jewish Community Center with memberships available for gym facilities, etc.

Just explore Frick Park; best trails depend on weather (some steep trails get muddy), distance, etc. Invest in Deet or 0.5% permethrin for your hiking clothes, as ticks are bad around here.

Welcome!!

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Pughnose

Regents Square is great. Not sure if you're buying or already have, but be aware that RS actually sits astride bits of four boroughs: Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Swissvale, Wilkinsburg. These will have significantly different property tax rates, school districts and likely resale values, so be sure you're where you want to be for those purposes.

Aside from the convenience store, and beer at McBroom's and D's Six Pax and Dogz, the nearest grocery is Giant Eagle across the Parkway in the Edgewood Town Center. Best to drive, as the local bus 61-B won't get you very close.

PA has funny restrictions on liquor, so the nearest wine and booze is at the state store in the same shopping center. (That Giant Eagle also has a poor wine selection; groceries which lack a few tables for eating food in the store will also lack wine, by law, and the state keeps a monopoly on booze, except maybe distilleries?)

Good coffee at 61A Cafe, good burritos (probably not overpriced by NY standards) at El Burrro, good Thai at Thai Cottage, good but limited and expensive middle eastern at Istanbul Grille. (Istanbul Sofra, no relation, is several blocks north, delicious food but since the owner is awaiting trial for stalking and sexual assault, some of us no longer go there.) Good beer by the glass (as well as the 6-packs to go) and of course tasty Dogz at D's.

Squirrel Hill is a 10 minute bus ride or 40-is minute walk away, with a larger and more lively commercial district, as well as a smaller Giant Eagle, state store, movie theatre, Jewish Community Center with memberships available for gym facilities, etc.

Just explore Frick Park; best trails depend on weather (some steep trails get muddy), distance, etc. Invest in Deet or 0.5% permethrin for your hiking clothes, as ticks are bad around here.

Welcome!!

This is a good set of tips overall. A few more notes.

1. If you are renting (particularly if you found a unit on Craigslist) beware because landlords advertise things as being from Regent Square which are quite far away. Some of the nearby areas (like Park Place and Whitney Park) are quite nice, others are not.

2. Pugnose forgot to mention Square Cafe, which is the most popular place for breakfast/brunch in Regent Square. I tend to find the food a bit overrated (and greasy) but my kids love it so we eat there fairly often even though we don't live in the neighborhood.

3. The owner of Square Cafe is teaming up with another woman to open up a higher-end bodega in Regent Square. I know they are hosting a kickstarter now, but walking past it this morning they are pretty far along in construction.

[MamieRose]

Also not mentioned is the East End Coop for groceries. If you’re into organic and locally sourced food it can’t be beat. Also has a good selection of gluten free and vegan stuff. Our favorite place to grocery shop in all of Pittsburgh. Membership will get you savings but anyone can shop there. They also have a small cafe.

[OPittsburgh]

Originally Posted by Pughnose

Regents Square is great. Not sure if you're buying or already have, but be aware that RS actually sits astride bits of four boroughs: Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Swissvale, Wilkinsburg. These will have significantly different property tax rates, school districts and likely resale values, so be sure you're where you want to be for those purposes.

Aside from the convenience store, and beer at McBroom's and D's Six Pax and Dogz, the nearest grocery is Giant Eagle across the Parkway in the Edgewood Town Center. Best to drive, as the local bus 61-B won't get you very close.

PA has funny restrictions on liquor, so the nearest wine and booze is at the state store in the same shopping center. (That Giant Eagle also has a poor wine selection; groceries which lack a few tables for eating food in the store will also lack wine, by law, and the state keeps a monopoly on booze, except maybe distilleries?)

Good coffee at 61A Cafe, good burritos (probably not overpriced by NY standards) at El Burrro, good Thai at Thai Cottage, good but limited and expensive middle eastern at Istanbul Grille. (Istanbul Sofra, no relation, is several blocks north, delicious food but since the owner is awaiting trial for stalking and sexual assault, some of us no longer go there.) Good beer by the glass (as well as the 6-packs to go) and of course tasty Dogz at D's.

Squirrel Hill is a 10 minute bus ride or 40-is minute walk away, with a larger and more lively commercial district, as well as a smaller Giant Eagle, state store, movie theatre, Jewish Community Center with memberships available for gym facilities, etc.

Just explore Frick Park; best trails depend on weather (some steep trails get muddy), distance, etc. Invest in Deet or 0.5% permethrin for your hiking clothes, as ticks are bad around here.

Welcome!!

Awesome insight, thank you. We’ll be living right down the street from Instanbul Sofra, which is technically Wilkinsburg County. We’ll be renting for the time being.

Is the convenience store the Get Go station? Giant Eagle and East End coop or great options, just curious if there is a smaller option in walking distance.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by OPittsburgh

Awesome insight, thank you. We’ll be living right down the street from Instanbul Sofra, which is technically Wilkinsburg County. We’ll be renting for the time being.

Yeah, that's definitely not part of Regent Square proper then. Still a nice area, except for the Peebles Square neighborhood further to the north, which is still kinda iffy.

Although it doesn't have a full business district, that area has its own amenities, including Biddle's Escape (coffeeshop), Madeline Bakery & Bistro, and Park Place Fresh Market (though I think it's only open four days a week).

[Pughnose]

Originally Posted by OPittsburgh

Is the convenience store the Get Go station? Giant Eagle and East End coop or great options, just curious if there is a smaller option in walking distance.

The convenience store is just across Hutchinson, south of the GetGo, which has no non-automotive consumer products (except maybe smokes?)