How bad will any of these commutes be? (Butler, Bellevue: fit in, hotels)

[chao]

Originally Posted by cellerzo

I moved to the South Hills at the beginning of last summer, and as my lease expiration is coming up I'm looking to move into the city. Being 23 and not knowing anyone out here I definitely picked the wrong area to move to, so being in a place with people my age, bars, restaurants, shows, and shops is important me.

I've really narrowed it down to a couple neighborhoods, Southside, Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, or Shadyside. The problem is however, that I work out in Coroapolis so the commute will be pretty rough. I do work from home once a week, and then hours are 7-4 so I should miss the mornings on most days. And since it'll only be four days a week I'm willing to put up with it to not sacrifice my social life any longer.

I'm just trying to figure out which of those neighborhoods may be the best fit for me. In terms of nightlife / activities I feel they'll all be pretty similar, so I guess it comes down to which will have the easiest commute? I'm also looking to get a 1BR apartment for around $1,000. I could go up to $1,200 for the perfect one but I'd prefer not to. I've been looking at sites like Zillow but they don't really have much posted right now. I'm assuming in March / April is when a lot more listings will be up?

I had colleague who live in Coroapolis but our office is in southside, i think it's 45min drive for her
not sure what kind housing you looking for, but a colleague live in a 1bedroom duplex for less than $800 (i dont remember exact number) with gas and water included. i think that's around 23-24 street area.

[cellerzo]

Originally Posted by chao

I had colleague who live in Coroapolis but our office is in southside, i think it's 45min drive for her
not sure what kind housing you looking for, but a colleague live in a 1bedroom duplex for less than $800 (i dont remember exact number) with gas and water included. i think that's around 23-24 street area.

~$800 isn't bad at all. The only preference for housing would be to avoid being above stores. There doesn't seem to be too much out there now, but it's still kind of early so I'll just have to keep my eyes open.

[chao]

Originally Posted by cellerzo

~$800 isn't bad at all. The only preference for housing would be to avoid being above stores. There doesn't seem to be too much out there now, but it's still kind of early so I'll just have to keep my eyes open.

her house is not on main street (east carson), 1 or 2 block away from main street.
i was very surprised when she said gas is included, guess that's because it's 1 house with up and down split duplex, not sure about the rent nowadays. it's pretty basic housing, grey short carpet and white wall with basic kitchen, nothing fancy. there's a lot high end apartment close to Southside Works, but i am not sure if $1200 can do it or not, i heard it's pretty expensive.

since our office is in southside, therefore we always have colleague who live in southside, and one of colleague who lived in apartment first floor on east carson street told me that occasionally people will puke outside of his window, lol. He bought a house in Dormont few years ago. i think for awhile there's gyro stand outside his window too that he can buy gyro directly from his window, proc and cons

[svband76]

It would be foolish to live in the east end and commute to Coraopolis. 90 minutes in commuting every day x 5? I'd try Mt. Washington.

[robrobrob]

If the OP is working 7-4, I think the commute I want would be along 65 from Lawrenceville.


If you are willing to commute, then I would pick an area to live based on your neighborhood of choice. I bet all things considered you would want to be in Lawrenceville if possible.

[cellerzo]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

If the OP is working 7-4, I think the commute I want would be along 65 from Lawrenceville.


If you are willing to commute, then I would pick an area to live based on your neighborhood of choice. I bet all things considered you would want to be in Lawrenceville if possible.

Yeah I'm leaning towards Southside or Lawrenceville. I feel they offer essentially the same amenities and things to do, but the vibes seem pretty different.

Probably a stupid question, is there really any difference to Upper, Central, and Lower Lawrenceville? It seems Central and Upper are pricier than Lower, but I can't seem to find any advantages of one over the others.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by cellerzo

Yeah I'm leaning towards Southside or Lawrenceville. I feel they offer essentially the same amenities and things to do, but the vibes seem pretty different.

I mean, it kinda comes down to what sort of young person you are. South Side is more fratty/broish, and Lawrenceville is more yuppie, with a tiny, tiny bit of hipster cred left (though they've mostly moved on to elsewhere).

Originally Posted by cellerzo

Probably a stupid question, is there really any difference to Upper, Central, and Lower Lawrenceville? It seems Central and Upper are pricier than Lower, but I can't seem to find any advantages of one over the others.

Weird you said Lower is cheaper, historically Upper has been the cheaper part. Unless you mean the area between Penn and Liberty, which is still a bit "transitional" (but also worse from your commute perspective).

Regardless, Upper still has a little bit more of a working-class vibe to it in places - particularly once you get further up the hill. I think it's still a bit hip and less yuppie overall too.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by cellerzo

Yeah I'm leaning towards Southside or Lawrenceville. I feel they offer essentially the same amenities and things to do, but the vibes seem pretty different.

Probably a stupid question, is there really any difference to Upper, Central, and Lower Lawrenceville? It seems Central and Upper are pricier than Lower, but I can't seem to find any advantages of one over the others.

Where do you hang out now? Where do your friends live? This would be important to me.



You commute (on the way home) isn't going to be awesome regardless. So, pick the neighborhood you like the best.

For you walkable means something different than others. You basically want to walk to night life, etc. Not to work. This is how I was when I was younger. I lived in Shadyside and loved it. I moved to Point Breeze briefly and hated it. For me walking to bars was important so I moved back to Shadyside.

[fleetiebelle]

And since we're talking about commutes, I'm guessing that your commute is entirely by car? Something to keep in mind looking at Lawrenceville and the South Side is that parking is tight and competitive. Off-street parking, like in the suburbs, is not common, so you'll have to weigh that in as a factor in your apartment search.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

And since we're talking about commutes, I'm guessing that your commute is entirely by car? Something to keep in mind looking at Lawrenceville and the South Side is that parking is tight and competitive. Off-street parking, like in the suburbs, is not common, so you'll have to weigh that in as a factor in your apartment search.

I'm sure parking has gotten even worse since I left the neighborhood in 2014, but given his work schedule (particularly getting home before rush hour) he wouldn't be in that much trouble.

The key thing is to make sure and not move your car in the evening once you're parked. Just walk to wherever you need to go. If you want to drive somewhere else for dinner, then you won't have a space on your block when you return.