Another newcomer to Pittsburgh (Ross Township, Liberty: apartments, to rent, how much)

[CraigF]

Hello,

My girlfriend and I (late 20's) are moving to pittsburgh rather quickly due to a job offer I just accepted and I figured this place was a great place for advice on where in Pittsburgh to live. We are in our late 20's and want something close to downtown. We are looking to rent either a house or townhouse in a safe area that has modest rent prices. We would enjoy a quieter neighborhood with some older homes that has some good nightlife but not really the college bar atmosphere. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Bong477]

There are plenty of places you could live, can you be more specific on your budget? You have to define "modest rent," is this modest rent compared to the rest of Pittsburgh or the rest of the country? Pittsburgh is pretty inexpensive to live in already compared to a lot of other cities.

For city neighborhoods...
Squirrel Hill is probably the first place that comes to mind given your criteria.
Shadyside is a good choice too, however it is one of the more expensive areas in Pittsburgh.
Southside is a little more "gritty" but still safe and a good place to live, unless you live by the Southside Works then its just nice upscale apartments with price tags to match.
Regent Square & Point Breeze are worth looking at as well, but I would put them a notch lower.

There are other places that would be alright to live in as well, but if you can afford Shadyside or Squirrel Hill or the Southworks area, I'd stick with those especially if you don't know the area yet.

If you want a more subburban community, I'd recommend Ross Township area which is where I live, but there are plenty of other options out there where I'm sure you'd be happy.

[BrianTH]

I'd also suggest Squirrel Hill might be a good fit given your requirements (with the caveat it is on the expensive end as far as Pittsburgh neighborhoods go) and has a large commercial area. A number of other nearby neighborhoods could be a good fit as well, however, particularly provided you don't mind a very short drive or bus ride to expand your nightlife options. For example, Regent Square (my neighborhood) is just across Frick Park from Squirrel Hill. It has its own little "downtown" with several bars, restaurants, and even an arthouse theater. But I think people in your situation would also periodically want to head over to Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, increasingly East Liberty, and so on to expand your nightlife options. Note, by the way, there are a lot of express bus routes from some of these neighborhoods to Downtown that use the East Busway (a dedicated bus-only highway), which is convenient if you are commuting Downtown.

The South Side could be an excellent choice too--you can't beat it for proximity to Downtown (well, except for Downtown itself), and it has a lot going on. My only caveat is that it can come across as a bit of a college bar area, although there is actually a lot of other stuff going on there.

[Humanoid]

The South Side could be an excellent choice too-

Except that he said:

"We would enjoy a quieter neighborhood with some older homes that has some good nightlife but not really the college bar atmosphere."

Anyhow, the areas Bong477 mention are good or decent.

[Copanut]

If you like people urinating on your front stoop, by all means live in the Southside.

[BrianTH]

Well, one nice thing about the South Side is that you have a lot of choices when it comes to where exactly you live. For example, if you don't want to live in the heart of the action in the Flats, you can live in the Slopes instead.

[CraigF]

Thanks for all of your replies. You've been a great help narrowing down Pittsburgh. As far as how much we are looking to spend per month is +-750. I don't know if that prices us out of Squirell Hill or Shady Side.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by CraigF

As far as how much we are looking to spend per month is +-750. I don't know if that prices us out of Squirell Hill or Shady Side.

For a house or townhouse, unfortunately it will likely be difficult finding anything in Squirrel Hill or Shadyside around 750.

[Geeo]

You can get a nice one or two-bedroom apratment in Shadyside for $750, but not a townhouse. They start at around $1,500 if you can find them.

[STEELCITYARTIST35]

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