Good Neighborhoods in Pittsburgh (Oakmont, Fox Chapel: apartment, rentals, chapel)
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I am planning on attending Nursing school in Pittsburgh, I recently went to go check out the city and look at a few "cheap" appartments and didn't see any I liked. All the neighborhoods I went in seemed dirty, scary, and kind of run down. Maybe I was just in the wrong ones? So what are some good/safe neighborhoods to move to? My price range is $300-600. I really would like something remotely close to UMPC St. Margret's, as that is where I will be working when I get out of college. I don't mind driving 20-30 mins, but I'd rather not drive more than that to get there. I'm not picky about amenities in the appartments, so long as it isn't a scary place to live. Thanks for the info!
I am planning on attending Nursing school in Pittsburgh, I recently went to go check out the city and look at a few "cheap" appartments and didn't see any I liked. All the neighborhoods I went in seemed dirty, scary, and kind of run down. Maybe I was just in the wrong ones? So what are some good/safe neighborhoods to move to? My price range is $300-600. I really would like something remotely close to UMPC St. Margret's, as that is where I will be working when I get out of college. I don't mind driving 20-30 mins, but I'd rather not drive more than that to get there. I'm not picky about amenities in the appartments, so long as it isn't a scary place to live. Thanks for the info!
-A
Where did you look? oakland? if so, that explains it. Oakland is a rat-infested hole. It's a ghetto for college students and 90% of the apts are disgusting and should be boarded up. For $600 you can get a decent place with a roommate, especially around shady side, the south side, or squirrel hill. are you completely against a roommate? if you are against a roommate, but want a nice 1BR, then you might have to look a little more outside of the city. do you have a vehicle? if so, then you could find a decent 1BR in monroeville. i'd use the bus for the school though.
What neighborhoods were you looking in? Just curious?
St. Margarets is in Aspinwall. Look for an apartment there. Its not considered the city, but shoot, you're like 2 minutes away from it, with all that access to Route 28 and the Highland Park Bridge.If you want to be in the actual city, look into rental units in East Liberty, Highland Park, Morningside, Stanton Heights, or Lawrenceville. East Liberty and Lawrenceville are your best bets for that $300-600 range you're looking for. But, you might get lucky and find something down in Aspinwall, too....or you can try Sharpsburg.
By the way, these communities are VERY close to St. Margaret's. 5-10 minute drives.
I agree about Aspinwall itself being a good choice, as well as Highland Park and Morningside, and you might look at the Verona/Oakmont area as well.
By the way, some safe, convenient, and affordable Pittsburgh neighborhoods can also look a little run down. Which is not to suggest you shouldn't use your intuition on whether an apartment is in an acceptable area, but you may need to recalibrate it a bit for use in Pittsburgh.
For the record, Aspinwall is not inexpensive. It is Fox Chapel's Town Center if you will. They want keep a good quality of life by keeping the the rent's only for people who have good enough jobs to afford it. The reason for this is, given it's location, is there is good demand for Awall, as we call it around here because it is Fox Chapel School District and just a nice town with a great location. Given this location, cheap rents would allow this town to deteriorate rather quickly, like Sharpsburg.
They are vowing not to let that happen in Awall.
Aspinwall is indeed one of the higher-priced neighborhoods in that immediate area, but I think it might be possible to find a modest 1BR in the $500-600 range.
There are some affordable places in Aspinwall and some more expensive places as well. Since you want an easy commute, I would look there first. I would then look in Blawnox which is cheaper than Aspinwall and still safe and fairly close to St. Margarets. Oakmont is nice, some blocks are awesome and some aren't nice. Verona can be bad. Do a search on Verona and ready the City Paper article about it. So unless you know Verona I would avoid it because a block that may look nice may not be so nice.
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