Recommended places downtown or near, or whatever

[Hopes]

The mall with the most upscale shopping is Ross Park Mall. It's about 15 minutes from downtown in Ross Township. It has all the other standard stores like Hollister and Forever 21 too. Southside and Squirrel Hill have unique privately owned stores. Shadyside is mostly chain stores these days. Waterfront and Southside Works are outdoor shopping malls. There are boutiques sprinkled everywhere---Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, etc.

Many of the suburban townships are very close to the city. Many commutes into Downtown can be as little as 15 minutes. Farther out areas towards the edges of the county take about 30 minutes to get into downtown.

All in all, Pittsburgh is rather convenient. People coming here from flat regions are a little intimidated by our hills at first. But our drivers are mostly polite and it's not uncommon for cars to take turns and yeilding to let someone pass. There's very little road rage here. I suspect the people who do road rage are transplants. I think it's funny when they blow their horns.

[skrizzle]

Awesome, I asked people for opinions on KC forums (cuz our decision is between here and Houston) and so far, Pittsburgh is winning from people in KC =P

I really like what i've been seeing.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by skrizzle

Thanks for the replies they really do help!

You are very welcome.

Your strip district kinda looks like our River Market actually... do people like the strip district or live there?

It is sorta the same story as Downtown: up until a few years ago, there weren't many people living in the Strip, but recently there have been some big condo conversions coming through the pipeline. I get the sense there is more in the works for Downtown than the Strip right now, but it is certainly an option.

By the way, another possibility in that area is Lawrenceville, which is along the Allegheny River starting on the other side of the Strip from Downtown. Lawrenceville is a former blue collar neighborhood that is starting to get a bit of an artsy-foodie-hipster vibe (although I think it is fair to say it is still very much a neighborhood in transition). One problem with Lawrenceville is that it is more inconvenient for Oakland than a 2D map would suggest--in Pittsburgh, it doesn't pay to be on a different radial, as is the case with Lawrenceville and Oakland.

[PreservationPioneer]

When I first moved to Pittsburgh, my goal was to live downtown. It is, in my opinion, the most vibrant part of Pittsburgh. It is very walkable, densely urban, and has a fine collection of historic skyscrapers and mid 19th century commercial buildings. It is absolutely beautiful, and is not dead at all. It is quiet after around 7pm, but there are still lots of people downtown attending theater performances and restaurants, as well as tourists. There are two downsides to living downtown: parking is expensive, and the apartments/condos themselves are among the most expensive in the city. Downtown is really the prestige address in Pittsburgh. It's where the million dollar condos are located. Living downtown is at the moment in high demand, so expect to be put on a waiting list if you intend to rent an apartment (there are several large apartment buildings downtown, some very pricey. They include The Pennsylvanian, The Penn-Garrison, the Roosevelt Apartments, May Building, Midtown Towers, Market District Lofts, plus several others I have forgotten the names of. The main reason I don't live downtown is because demand makes getting apartments there very difficult, and it's too expensive. Downtown is separated from several adjacent neighborhoods by the two rivers and hills. Some of these adjacent neighborhoods, in a flatter city, would probably be considered part of downtown. The adjacent neighborhoods in easy walking distance to downtown include South Side Flats, Central North Side/ Mexican War Streets / Deutchtown, Strip District (several pricey apartment buildings there), Uptown/ Bluff, and perhaps a couple more I am forgetting. The bottom line is don't let anyone tell you Downtown isn't a vibrant or beautiful part of the city. Most cities could only dream of having the kind of architecture and density we have downtown. It is, however, a defined area, and not a sprawling area like in flat cities such as KC. Downtown would be an ideal place to live if you also worked downtown, or within walking distance. It is however very expensive if you factor in parking and want more than a studio apartment.

[hazfora]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

When I first moved to Pittsburgh, my goal was to live downtown. It is, in my opinion, the most vibrant part of Pittsburgh. It is very walkable, densely urban, and has a fine collection of historic skyscrapers and mid 19th century commercial buildings. It is absolutely beautiful, and is not dead at all. It is quiet after around 7pm, but there are still lots of people downtown attending theater performances and restaurants, as well as tourists. There are two downsides to living downtown: parking is expensive, and the apartments/condos themselves are among the most expensive in the city. Downtown is really the prestige address in Pittsburgh. It's where the million dollar condos are located. Living downtown is at the moment in high demand, so expect to be put on a waiting list if you intend to rent an apartment (there are several large apartment buildings downtown, some very pricey. They include The Pennsylvanian, The Penn-Garrison, the Roosevelt Apartments, May Building, Midtown Towers, Market District Lofts, plus several others I have forgotten the names of. The main reason I don't live downtown is because demand makes getting apartments there very difficult, and it's too expensive. Downtown is separated from several adjacent neighborhoods by the two rivers and hills. Some of these adjacent neighborhoods, in a flatter city, would probably be considered part of downtown. The adjacent neighborhoods in easy walking distance to downtown include South Side Flats, Central North Side/ Mexican War Streets / Deutchtown, Strip District (several pricey apartment buildings there), Uptown/ Bluff, and perhaps a couple more I am forgetting. The bottom line is don't let anyone tell you Downtown isn't a vibrant or beautiful part of the city. Most cities could only dream of having the kind of architecture and density we have downtown. It is, however, a defined area, and not a sprawling area like in flat cities such as KC. Downtown would be an ideal place to live if you also worked downtown, or within walking distance. It is however very expensive if you factor in parking and want more than a studio apartment.

What do you think of apartments on North Highland Ave. near Highland Park? I'm sort of considering to rent one in a turn-of-the century building. Is that close to retail shopping -- i.e. walking distance? I will be car-less and need the convenience, but don't mind taking public transport to other activities. I just need to know if that's a safe area for a single woman. The google view makes me wonder how far grocery shopping is since I don't see any of them in the viewable area of the map. Thanks for any input you can share.

By the way, since I've never been to Pitts, I am amazed that this apartment costs only $900 for a really, large apartment with nice character and nice rooms and kitchen. It's a 3-floor walkup though so maybe that's the reason it's cheap? I don't know if I should believe it and am almost paranoid that there's probably something wrong with it. I so love it that I am almost tempted to rent it sight unseen, but prudence got the better of me and I will wait when I visit in April-May. I'm always paranoid when rents fall below $1200 having lived mostly in NYC and Washington DC and now CA. I'm looking for an urban neighborhood with reasonable rents.

[BrianTH]

$900 is a completely reasonable budget for a decent apartment in Pittsburgh in many good neighborhoods. In fact I wouldn't feel like you have to jump on a place at that price point.

Highland Park doesn't have a huge amount of local retail, and while I think there may be some small markets, I believe the closest big grocery stores are on the other side of East Liberty. I'm not sure I would consider those walkable.

[onwardandupward]

Highland Park is a lovely neighborhood with the best coffee shop in town; Enrico's Tazza D'Oro. The Park itself is great, and draws a lot of joggers, walkers, etc., along with some music festivals in the summer. There is a small grocery store on Bryant Avenue along with some restaurants, but to do bigger grocery shopping you would need to bus it unless you don't mind a bit of a walk to Whole Foods or the Market District Giant Eagle. There are lots of buses going down North Highland, North St. Clair and Negley, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I'd agree with Bryan on the apartment price - while it may be hard for outsiders to realize, $900/month is actually on the higher side of a 2br rental. That's not to say that you shouldn't take it - if it's large, nice and what you're looking for, I'd say go for it.