Excited to move to Pgh, but where should I live? (Highland Park: apartments, for rent)

[P's Girl]

Well, I'm prepared for the barrage of naysayers, most of which will probably be Pgh residents, but I am excited to be relocating to Pgh from Dayton, Ohio in November of this year! I am here looking for some opinions on which neighborhoods might fit my fiance and my tastes best.

We are going to be married in Oct, so we will be newlyweds. He just got a job with a company in Pgh, thus the reason for relocating. I will likely be tackling my MBA as a full time student (hopefully at Pitt) once we get to Pgh, so we may be living on one income for awhile. We have visited Pgh once, and we really loved Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Strip District and the Mexican War Streets neighborhoods but I think while we're living on one income they may be a bit out of our price range. We're open to townhome/condo, but would prefer our own (and first) single family home. We are in our mid & late 20's, we don't have kids and don't plan to for awhile (at least a couple of years) so schools won't be a concern for several years. We want to stay in the city (no outlying suburbs), and we'd love to be close to entertainment of some sort...shopping, restaurants, bars, etc. We're very social and would like to find a neighborhood with other people our age or other people in the same stage of life. We also obviously want a neighborhood that is relatively low in crime (which I'm finding is the hardest thing to judge from afar about a city).
Any ideas, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Katarina Witt]

I don't live there any more, so can't really advise you on neighborhoods. What is your price range? If you intend to go to Pitt, you will have to wait until you are a resident, or pay out-of-state tuition for a while.

[subdivisions]

Originally Posted by P's Girl

Well, I'm prepared for the barrage of naysayers, most of which will probably be Pgh residents, but I am excited to be relocating to Pgh from Dayton, Ohio in November of this year! I am here looking for some opinions on which neighborhoods might fit my fiance and my tastes best.

We are going to be married in Oct, so we will be newlyweds. He just got a job with a company in Pgh, thus the reason for relocating. I will likely be tackling my MBA as a full time student (hopefully at Pitt) once we get to Pgh, so we may be living on one income for awhile. We have visited Pgh once, and we really loved Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Strip District and the Mexican War Streets neighborhoods but I think while we're living on one income they may be a bit out of our price range. We're open to townhome/condo, but would prefer our own (and first) single family home. We are in our mid & late 20's, we don't have kids and don't plan to for awhile (at least a couple of years) so schools won't be a concern for several years. We want to stay in the city (no outlying suburbs), and we'd love to be close to entertainment of some sort...shopping, restaurants, bars, etc. We're very social and would like to find a neighborhood with other people our age or other people in the same stage of life. We also obviously want a neighborhood that is relatively low in crime (which I'm finding is the hardest thing to judge from afar about a city).
Any ideas, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Have you considered Morningside? It's an east end neighborhood which is relatively inexpensive to buy in because it has smaller houses & not as much of a shopping district as other similar neighborhoods. However, it is an easy drive to more hip places like Shadyside or Sq. Hill. for shopping, bars, restaurants and so forth.

I have also heard that Morningside is the new up-and-coming neighborhood for DINKs (dual-income-no-kids) who can't afford to live in Shadyside, so you would probably find other couples like you there.

I also have several friends who live there (both associated with the university), and all of them rave about the neighborhood!

[BrianTH]

For those who like the East End but find Shadyside and Squirrel Hill too expensive, I think Morningside is a good suggestion, along with Highland Park, Friendship, Regent Square (my neighborhood), and Park Place (just to the north of us). I'd note that Regent Square in particular has an increasingly popular little commercial area, and also ranks well in the crime statistics I have seen.

[dugdogmaster]

Try Oakland or the South Side. Both neighborhoods would seem to fit your guys tastes. Affordable living, nightlife, plenty of bars in both neighborhoods, especially the South Side. And Pitt is in the heart of Oakland.

[Awesomo.2000]

I always suggest Friendship, over Morningside. Beautiful huge Victorian houses that most were turned into apartments. It is a neighborhood on the up, and is walking distance to Shadyside. Morningside is kind of isolated. I have family that lives there. They all think it is going downhill instead of up.

[Scientist Mom]

For a first house, Greenfield might be good. Many smaller (3/1) and affordable houses. It is very close to Oakland. Morningside and some of the smaller houses in Squirrel Hill may also be good possibilities.

Regent Square and Point Breeze are nice but are only affordable if you are looking for a fix-it-upper. In our recent househunting experience, we found the nicer houses in these neighborhoods to be as pricey as Squirrel Hill. But just to be completely honest, we were not looking for a starter home, either.

For renting any of the East End neighborhoods frequently discussed on this forum would be fine.

Good Luck.

[P's Girl]

I hadn't even heard of Morningside until now, so I'll definitely be checking that out. As for the comment about paying out of state tuition...I've been wondering about that. How does that work? When would I be officially considered a PA resident?

[dugdogmaster]

I'm not sure, check state websites, but I believe you must be a resident for 6 months.

[desibhar]

Originally Posted by P's Girl

I hadn't even heard of Morningside until now, so I'll definitely be checking that out. As for the comment about paying out of state tuition...I've been wondering about that. How does that work? When would I be officially considered a PA resident?

I am going to Pitt for graduate school, and you have to be a resident for 1 year, and you have to petition the school to get reclassified from an out of state resident to an in state resident. The school is a pita when it comes to reclassification for tuition purposes. They want to ensure that you stay in the city.