Any Info on Pittsburgh-area Neigborhoods? (McKeesport, Edgewood: renting, insurance, homes)

[marjean]

Please avoid McKeesport for anyone thinking of it. I grew up there so it pains me to say this but there is really nowhere in Mckeesport that I would live now...very high crime rate. Try White Oak...kindof a suburb of McKeesport...just minutes away but a much nicer quait little community that doens't have the crime. THere is a very large elderly population in Allegheny co...I think it is second in the country. Just to give you an idea about what it is like.

[angellewis]

Valt,

Licoln place is near West Mifflin (Century 3 Mall), Kennywood Park, Homestead Water front. So if you happen to be back again bring up Lincoln place to someone who is familar with West Mifflin.

You can mapquest Lincoln Place. Oh also is is neighbors to Munhall as well.

[VALT]

Hi

I do like the eats side now in general and the lincoln park area seems to fit the bill-

My wife doesn;t drive so we would like to be close to the stores and bus lines for her to get to work.

I did see this area and ran through Greenfield but had to get to the airport so did not give it a fair try. We are going back in Dec for 5 days, so will check it out.

Really looking for walkers paridise.

VALT

[ontheroad]

Just returned from Pittsburgh after a two week stay, and lovely Thanksgiving. I think this was the first time I looked at Pittsburgh through the eyes of a potential resident, so I asked lots of questions and spent some time in neighbourhoods I hadn't visited before.

I definitely think the East Side is the best deal in terms of services, and rather easy to travel to the South Side Flats, Oakland and elsewhere on a bus, and certainly by car. With the Food Co-op in Point Breeze, the new Trader Joe's and Whole Foods only in the East, it didn't seem like many large markets elsewhere for regular and competitive food shopping. We did however go over to the Strip District to buy all our appetizers and meat for T'day but got a farm-fresh turkey from outside the City.

I discovered I had less of a rapport with the South Side when thinking of living there rather than visiting, and found East Liberty, Point Breeze and other East Side communities more to my liking.

I liked the North Side for housing stock, and spent a day at the Children's Museum--a treat, but ultra expensive unless a member. While driving over from Regent's Square to the museum, I managed to get lost in the North Side, but it gave me more of a look-see. But keeping in mind that "all" the people I know, including my family, live East, I would take their advice about living where the services are plentiful and easy to get to by public transport.
Parking can be a small, but not insufferable struggle in Squirrel Hill and Shadyside, but 25c per 15 minutes behind the shops worked for me and I got lots of mileage out of an hour at the Mac store.

Somehow I didn't get to Lawrenceville this trip, but saw a little more of Bloomfield. It has it's Italian/Polish charm and lots of cafes, pastry shops and fooderies.

Park Place, a tiny untalked about community off Braddock, might be worth looking at for some. Housing is good, and affordable and some gentrification is happening.

Family kept me busy, so some of the places I might have visited got pushed off the map, but others come forward as more interesting. Getting around in general seemed less awesome than I thought, and I didn't get lost once without finding myself within a few minutes.

The only suburb my daughter thought I might like is Oakmont, but I didn't manage to visit as time ran out faster than I thought.

Hope some of this is helpful, and if Dan or Valt have questions, don't hesitate to ask away.

[Dan Corcoran]

Thanks for your notes! We still have to sell our house before we can start serious house-hunting in PGH, but your info will be very helpful. Where exactly is Regent's Square...it's not on my mapping software. Can you give me some street names?

Thanks,
Dan

[ontheroad]

Dan,

here are a couple of sites to explore for Regents Square.

http://www.regentsquare.net/index.html

http://www.city.pgh.pa.us/district5/html/regent_square.html (broken link)

The second site has a map of the area. It is just at the outskirt of the City, I believe. My daughter directs a watershed NFP at Frick Park and this is at its outer edge. It is a rather cosy place, with lots of trees, houses of varying size, and one great prized movie theatre.

Take care and if anything comes up and you have a question, don't hesitate.

[Mr. Mon]

Regent Square, Park Place and Point Breeze are all wonderful neighborhoods, especially with the park next door. A word of advise, if you have kids, is to try and stay on the City side of Regent Square as the schools are reputed to be much better than the Forest Hills or Wilkensburg districts. Good Luck!

[JacksPgh]

I had to leave Pittsburgh to appreciate it. I've lived in Atlanta, DC, NYC, Paris, Cleveland and Miami. Yes, I've returned to the "Burgh". It is on an upswing like I've never seen in my lifetime. Don't be put off by some of the negative reactions you might receive by some of the locals. It was inherited. They've been told for decades that is a pitt. Its unfortunate that many of the locals cant see it for what it is, a diamond in the rough. That is changing quickly.

There is a phenomena occurring here where many of the ex patriots are returning in droves. They are calling them the boomerang generation. Pittsburgh is attracting many artists from larger cities looking for affordable housing. so there is a very vibrant art scene. Pittsburgh is famous for it's cultural institutions and boasts more than any city of it's size. Pittsburgh is also pulling in a lot of people, seems in your same situation. Coming from more more popular areas of the country and opting to by solid comfortable houses that are affordable rather than spending outrageous prices that some of the "hot" areas of the country are asking.

The Mexican War Streets is truly a charming area and definitely an urban neighborhood. It looks like Georgetown in DC. (same period). The crime is still there and can be quite noisy. Yards are rare and small, it would be more of a courtyard if anything. I live in this area and love it but it is an acquired taste. It's quieter than Manhattan ;0

Squirrel Hill and Shadyside are probably the most desirable city neighborhoods but are pricey. You might check out Regent Square, Friendship, Brighton Heights or Mount Washington in the city. Large older homes, established neighborhoods and affordable. Mount Washington is just across from downtown with a commute on the incline.

Outside the city consider Edgewood Swissvale in the East Hills. The east has older suburbs but affordable. In the South, around South Park is quiet and there are bargains. The Allegheny Valley is beautiful, such as Aspinwall, Oakmont or Fox Chapel. The North is the newer suburbs and tends toward sprawl.

With Pittsburgh's terrain, there are pockets scattered all around. Unlike most cities, there is rarely that endless up scale neighborhood or blighted area. There is a mass of small communities, each with there good neighborhoods and bad. Each with their own centers, or, in some cases, what's left of them.

Im so glad you enjoyed your trip here. It has many hidden treasures.

[JacksPgh]

I had to leave Pittsburgh to appreciate it. I've lived in Atlanta, DC, NYC, Paris, Cleveland and Miami. Yes, I've returned to the "Burgh". It is on an upswing like I've never seen in my lifetime. Don't be put off by some of the negative reactions you might receive by some of the locals. It was inherited. They've been told for decades that is a pitt. Its unfortunate that many of the locals cant see it for what it is, a diamond in the rough. That is changing quickly.

There is a phenomena occurring here where many of the ex patriots are returning in droves. They are calling them the "boomerang generation". Pittsburgh is attracting many artists from larger cities looking for affordable housing. so there is a very vibrant art scene. Pittsburgh is famous for it's cultural institutions and boasts more than any city of it's size. Pittsburgh is also pulling in a lot of people, seems in your same situation. Coming from more more "popular" areas of the country and opting to by solid comfortable houses that are affordable rather than spending outrageous prices that some of the "hot" areas of the country are asking.

The Mexican War Streets is truly a charming area and definitely an urban neighborhood. It looks like Georgetown in DC. (same period). The crime is still there and can be quite noisy. Yards are rare and small, it would be more of a courtyard if anything. I live in this area and love it but it is an acquired taste. It's quieter than Manhattan ;0

Squirrel Hill and Shadyside are probably the most desirable city neighborhoods but are pricey. You might check out Regent Square, Friendship, Point Breze, Brighton Heights or Mount Washington in the city. Large older homes, established neighborhoods and affordable. Mount Washington is just across from downtown with a commute on the incline.

Outside the city consider Edgewood Swissvale in the East Hills. The east has older suburbs but affordable. In the South, around South Park is quiet and there are bargains. The Allegheny Valley is beautiful, such as Aspinwall, Oakmont or Fox Chapel. The North is the newer suburbs and tends toward sprawl.

With Pittsburgh's terrain, there are pockets scattered all around. Unlike most cities, there is rarely that endless up scale neighborhood or blighted area. There is a mass of small communities, each with there good neighborhoods and bad. Each with their own centers, or, in some cases, what's left of them.

[ontheroad]

JacksPgh, many thanks for your confirmation of much of what I saw, experienced and heard. My daughter, who has lived in 3 countries, smiled with delight when she said, more or less, what you say, "Pittsburgh is a gem undiscovered."

I did note, especially as an artist, and a former New Yorker, that Pittsburgh has made art a priority either by design or accident. It was a pleasure to know that poets are applauded, art encouraged and studio space available in a City this size.

It was also evident that foundation money is available to support culture, and that the intermingling of ethnic groups is possible to enrich rather than detract from the City.

I can readily see how one would appreciate the Mexico War district, and compare it to Georgetown and if, and that is a very big if, I consider relocating to Pittsburgh it will be one of three areas I will place highly on my list of potential communities to thoroughly explore.

Happy holidays to you and all.