Texas to Pittsburgh...so overwhelmed! (Lebanon, Washington: rentals, lofts, houses)

[Lauren18299]

So…my fiancé is being transferred from Fort Worth, TX (our current home) to Pittsburgh in early December. We are both in our mid 20’s and know nothing about the area. He will actually be working just north of Canonsburg, PA but we would really prefer to live downtown to really get a feel for the city. We plan to rent somewhere in or around downtown for a year before buying somewhere else closer to his work.

We just spent the past weekend in Pittsburgh and I think we have narrowed our options down to either the Strip District or Downtown (specifically the Cultural District /Market Square area). We would like to stay under $1,500/month including parking. A few questions:
1. Ideas on where to live? Are the Strip District and Market Square good options?

2. How bad will his commute be? Currently in Texas it is around 20 mins. with very little traffic

3. I am a certified teacher and elementary school librarian in Texas with an undergrad in Elementary Education and a Master’s in Library Science. I will be leaving my job to come with him. Ideas on good school districts or private schools to teach in? Other jobs?

Any ideas or advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!![/SIZE][/font]

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by Lauren18299

1. Ideas on where to live? Are the Strip District and Market Square good options?

2. How bad will his commute be? Currently in Texas it is around 20 mins. with very little traffic

3. I am a certified teacher and elementary school librarian in Texas with an undergrad in Elementary Education and a Master’s in Library Science. I will be leaving my job to come with him. Ideas on good school districts or private schools to teach in? Other jobs?[/SIZE][/font]

1. The Strip District is just a bit more lively than Market Square. Market Square is located downtown and the area is quite empty after 6 PM on the weekdays and is completely deserted on Sundays. Some folks might disagree with that, but that's the opinion of someone who works downtown every day!

2. Downtown/Strip to Canonsburg will be rough. Living in the South Hills (Bethel/Mt. Lebanon/Dormont/Greentree) might be a better bet for you if commute is something you're thinking about. I worked in Canonsburg while living in the South Hills and the commute was a nice 25-30 minutes with nearly no traffic (I did not take the highway). Dealing with Downtown traffic will add a significant amount of time to that commute, no doubt about it.

3. The common notion here is that getting a teaching job in these parts is extremely difficult. Wish I could be more of a help here.

[ctoocheck]

You don't have to live Downtown to get a good feel for the city. There are lots of great vibrant neighborhoods (more vibrant than Downtown). The Southside or Mt. Washington are two nice slightly-southern-end-of-the-city (nearer to Cannonsburg) that you might look into.

[BrianTH]

I'm going to have to start taking pictures of Market Square and the Cultural District in the evenings and on weekends just to prove they are not in fact empty at those times (and yes, I also speak from personal experience).

Anyway, the real problem with getting to Canonsburg from areas like Downtown and the Strip is not getting out of those areas, but rather the outbound traffic on I-376 past the tunnel. There are ways of bypassing that too, but they all take extra time.

[gg]

If I was in my mid 20's, I think I would look at the newer section of the Southside, the part towards the Cheesecake factory. I think that area would be really nice to live with a ton of stuff going on. Also, you can walk and bike to work with ease, or if you need to drive, it has a lot of different routes to get in there, so that shouldn't be an issue.

If it is only between downtown and the Strip, I would go with one of the newer places in the Strip.

[kjtocool]

Look into Heinz Lofts on the north shore / side. You should be able to get a one bedroom place + one parking spot for around $1500 (likely a little lower). It's right next to 16th street bridge, you can easily walk to the strip, to the north shore, to downtown, etc. It's a great place to live if you've got the change. Great amenities, trails, etc.

As others have said, teaching jobs are extremely hard to come by in all areas right now. Get in anywhere and everywhere as a sub, hope to get a long time sub position, play the political game and try and work into a job. The city schools, despite their recent layoffs, are the easiest place to find work ... but also the least desirable work environment.

[Lauren18299]

Originally Posted by ctoocheck

You don't have to live Downtown to get a good feel for the city. There are lots of great vibrant neighborhoods (more vibrant than Downtown). The Southside or Mt. Washington are two nice slightly-southern-end-of-the-city (nearer to Cannonsburg) that you might look into.

Thanks!
We have looked at Mt. Washington and Southside. The problems we found with Mt. Washington are 1. You probably don't want us to try to drive up and down the mountain in ice/snow...it could be dangerous for a TX driver lol 2. It is not walking distance to much of anything so we figure if we are in a place we have to drive to get to downtown we might as well head down closer to Canonsburg
We liked Southside but we could not find any decent rentals. We did not like Carson Street Commons and we could not get anyone at the Flats of Southside Works to call us back. We would be open to rent houses in Southside as well but just ran out of time

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Anyway, the real problem with getting to Canonsburg from areas like Downtown and the Strip is not getting out of those areas, but rather the outbound traffic on I-376 past the tunnel. There are ways of bypassing that too, but they all take extra time.

If the time he is working are normal hrs (though this is obviously a gas related job so normal hrs may not apply), then he would be traveling against the flow of traffic outbound & the morning commute which shouldn't be bad.

The SouthSide would be a good choice as it caters to the younger crowd, is on the 'right' side of the rivers already that you're traveling to, has some good housing choices for your budget (I have a neighbor in the process of moving out that is looking to rent her place which is very nice if you want any of the details), and is the largest night life area in the city.

One caveat, the main bridge & road (pj mcardle) that goes directly up to the highway there is currently under construction (anyone have a clue of it's completion timeline?), and you have to detour to station square at the moment to jump on it.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by UKyank

If the time he is working are normal hrs (though this is obviously a gas related job so normal hrs may not apply), then he would be traveling against the flow of traffic outbound & the morning commute which shouldn't be bad.

On times when I have done that morning trip recently (airport excursions and the like), I have hit significant outbound traffic anyway. Very annoying, I might note.

[greg42]

Any commute through the Ft Pitt Tunnel and onto the Parkway West is never a reverse commute. Traffic is there both ways, morning and evening.