Advice needed (new to area) (Pittsburgh, Ross Township: crime, neighborhood, luxury)

[Clevelandguy88]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

Ouch. $800 = student slums in Pittsburgh.

Thanks everyone for the help. I’m going to stick to Bellevue considering I found some nice places under $800, and not in the ‘slums’🙃

[Knepper3]

I think you'll like Bellevue. It's a nice little town and has made some improvements the last couple years. redoing the downtown business street area and several new business have come. Also a Kuhns grocery right in there. Bayne park is right in the middle and every week June to Oct they have a nice farm market there. My wife sells great salsa there, she's a FT Realtor but has always loved to make salsa and wanted to try selling. Stop by if you move before the season ends.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Clevelandguy88

Thanks everyone for the help. I’m going to stick to Bellevue considering I found some nice places under $800, and not in the ‘slums’🙃

I think you'll like it. I've been in Bellevue for almost a year now and so far it's been pretty good to me. It may not be near the "hip" areas of the city, but it's safe and as others have mentioned, it definitely has a decent main street with recent improvements. It's also doesn't take very long at all to get to the parts of the city with the most nightlife. If you'll be working Downtown too, the bus service is very frequent.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Knepper3

I think you'll like Bellevue. It's a nice little town and has made some improvements the last couple years. redoing the downtown business street area and several new business have come. Also a Kuhns grocery right in there. Bayne park is right in the middle and every week June to Oct they have a nice farm market there. My wife sells great salsa there, she's a FT Realtor but has always loved to make salsa and wanted to try selling. Stop by if you move before the season ends.

I need to remember to check out the farmers market. I always just forget about it though when it's Wednesday and after a long day at work.

[Knepper3]

Yeah it really is one of the better farm markets, not huge but has about maybe 15-30 vendors each week. Some come once a month or every 2 weeks, others every week. My wife is there every week, I usually help her setup if I'm in town and break down at the end of the night. I'm biased but everyone that sampled has said it's the best salsa. It's there till 7 then in the summer there is a nice concert after if that's your thing. Also several food trucks each week. If you come like 6:30-7 its a little easier to find parking

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Knepper3

Yeah it really is one of the better farm markets, not huge but has about maybe 15-30 vendors each week. Some come once a month or every 2 weeks, others every week. My wife is there every week, I usually help her setup if I'm in town and break down at the end of the night. I'm biased but everyone that sampled has said it's the best salsa. It's there till 7 then in the summer there is a nice concert after if that's your thing. Also several food trucks each week. If you come like 6:30-7 its a little easier to find parking

I'll need to remember this on Wednesday. When I think about it, it really bugs me I haven't bothered to check it out once yet. I don't even need to worry about parking because I'm only three blocks away from the park!

[Knepper3]

Well if you need more convincing, there is a baker there who makes very good cookies/breads but also the best cakes. I love sweets but not cake really and her cakes I love, best I have had.

[szug-bot]

i would strongly urge you look in the uptown corridor. start with Chatham Center - you might have to go a little higher than $800/month, but you can walk to work downtown. my girlfriend actually lived there for a few years. it has its perks for location. very secure building, too.

car? parking it there will run you a pretty penny, but if you live there....ditch the car.


Then there are some rehabbed places, such as the old Fifth Avenue High School, and the Roma Bottling Works. I'm sorry, i have no idea about cost - their advantage that comes to me: LOCATION - a brisk walk to downtown, maybe 15 minutes.


Other areas I would suggest:

Greenfield! The park, baby, Schenley Park. This is a safe, urban neighborhood that is remarkably 1980s - little league, families, seemiingly nice people that are friendly....either my experiences there are lucky, or this is one of the most human, friendliest neighborhoods you can experience. I have had cousins that lived there for decades, and still a couple aunts/uncles who are seniors now. They have no issues with Greenfield.

It is a short bike ride, or a moderately long walk to the park. THere is one regular bus to downtown that does not disappoint - WARNING the afternoon crowd on that bus is very neighborhood-centric and possessive with getting a seat!

Costs for an apartment in Greenfield will vary - but surely you may find one for $800 that is decent.

My last suggestion: stay as close to the job as possible. it is not necessary for a single professional to have to endure an hour long bus ride for commuting. (sorry, i am not on board with the Bellevue theme! great place, though).


EDIT: WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!! hope you enjoy pittsburgh. let us welcome you with friendliness and warmth....as we put Baker on the turf hard this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Catia]

Bellevue is a great little neighborhood, but I agree to find a place closer to work.
I also agree ditch the idea of Oakland. It's overpriced, overcrowded, parking, & traffic suck.
Look to Mt Washington, Southside Slopes--$800/month is completely doable from regular landlords that do not use agencies, you don't have to get a roommate & I don't blame you for not wanting one LOL.
Agencies always have higher rents because the tenant absorbs the cost.

[Formerly Known As Twenty]

Originally Posted by Clevelandguy88

Hello, I am moving to Pittsburgh for work and need to find an apartment fairly quick. I’ve done some research and asked around but would like some more opinions on certain areas.

Oakland - I have found reasonable prices apartments in This area but have been told it can be quite loud with college parties. Is this true for the area? I am a younger person so I don’t mind living in a college area but not sure about not getting proper sleep each night lol. Also, is Oakland generally a safe area?

Bellevue - I have also found some decent price apartments in the Bellevue area. What is the reputation of Bellevue? Is it quite? Safe?

I will be working downtown fyi.

Thanks for your help!

Bellevue is great whether you plan on driving into work or taking public transportation. It's relatively quiet, basic needs can be met within the neighborhood itself (grocery, hardware, bakery, brewery, several restaurants, a farmer's market, beer distributor, etc.) and the commute is relatively fast with several available routes into downtown. In terms of crime, neighboring Avalon has a slightly lower rate, but within both communities, most crime is limited to nuisance calls and the occasional petty theft rather than violent crime. (Outside of the recent downtown violence, crime in general here in Pittsburgh tends to be personal or "business-related.")

I live in the neighborhood that abuts Bellevue (Avalon) and work downtown in the Cultural District. I generally take public transportation during the week and drive to work on the weekends. (Parking downtown is expensive and rather limited during the week, but is inexpensive on Saturdays; it's free to park on the street on Sundays.)

The commuter bus line that runs during the week (19L) usually gets me downtown in twenty minutes; the other bus (16 Brighton) takes about thirty minutes depending upon whether school is in session (the 16 is taken by a lot of city kids who go to school downtown) and time of day. There is another bus which runs along Route 65 (14), but I've never taken it. Guessing that it likely takes about twenty minutes given that it should make fewer stops than the 16. The weekend drive into work usually takes between eight and ten minutes.

A lot of my social life happens in the East End (Squirrel Hill/Shadyside/Bloomfield/Lawrenceville) or in the North Hills/Ross Township/McCandless. Depending upon time of day and traffic, it generally takes me about twenty minutes to get to Squirrel Hill; I can get to Ross Township (this is an area with a high-end mall and plenty of other shopping and services) in ten to fifteen minutes. The South Side is also an easy drive (about fifteen to twenty minutes depending upon traffic patterns).

In terms of rentals (I'm a homeowner), several of my coworkers rent in Bellevue with most paying around $750 plus utilities for a clean, basic (no workout rooms, pools, or other luxury amenities; shared coin op laundry facilities within the building) good-sized one to two bedroom apartment--similar to those you'd find in Lakewood or Cleveland Heights. It's fairly common to find independent landlords who own either houses that were built to be duplexes or large houses that were broken into smaller units. The best way to find the latter type is to take a walk around the neighborhood and look for "For Rent" signs in the windows or front lawn. (Not an option for you now, of course, but good to know for future reference should you not be pleased with your first rental.)

If you would roll with either Oakland or Mt. Washington, just watch what areas in which you choose to live. I lived in Oakland for two years, liked it and found it to be quiet for the most part, but I was in South Oakland in a tiny neighborhood behind Magee Women's Hospital. There are several of those quiet "pocket neighborhoods within neighborhoods" in Oakland, but they're not easy to find unless you already live here or know someone who does as those landlords tend to advertise vacancies via signage rather than online. Most of Mt. Washington is perfectly safe, but parts of it abut rougher areas, which means you'll need to be a bit more vigilant about being aware of your surroundings and securing your vehicle, etc. The usual urban routine, which, depending upon where in the Cleveland area you currently live, should already be familiar to you.

Outside of amenities and commute times, know that the local income tax for Bellevue/Avalon is half that of the city. (Three percent for the city; one and a half percent for Bellevue/Avalon.) It's not a lot, but that one and half percent does add up over time.)

Welcome to our city and best of luck!