Pittsburgh apartment help

[kswiss2783]

I've done the whole looking online deal but want some real answers. My fiance and I are looking to move in/near Pittsburgh come April. What are the safer places to live? We don't want to pay more then $700 a month + utilities.

BTW, not living near Pittsburgh isn't an option as she works downtown.

[deutscheglocker]

I live in the south hills(Bridgeville). My drive time into the city (Oakland) is 22 min at about 6 AM. Later gets to be congested on Parkway West.

Dormont, Mount Lebanon ( my son has a place in Mt Lebo close to Castle Shannon for $475 -1 BR). Nice and clean good landlord well maintained 1/2 block from the T.

I'm sure some people from South Side, North Side, East Hills etc. etc. will chime in.

How far, either in miles, drive time or public trans time is acceptable?

DG

[kswiss2783]

Originally posted by deutscheglocker
I live in the south hills(Bridgeville). My drive time into the city (Oakland) is 22 min at about 6 AM. Later gets to be congested on Parkway West.

Dormont, Mount Lebanon ( my son has a place in Mt Lebo close to Castle Shannon for $475 -1 BR). Nice and clean good landlord well maintained 1/2 block from the T.

I'm sure some people from South Side, North Side, East Hills etc. etc. will chime in.

How far, either in miles, drive time or public trans time is acceptable?

DG


I think we have decided that a 30 min commute is ok.

[87vert]

Im from further south in Washington county, I work in Oakland drive time is about an hour give or take (depends on how severe the accidents are that day)

I pay 435 a month for a 1bedroom.

[deputy tom]

Just ran into an old friend the other day.He is renting an apartment in Mt. Lebanon on Bower Hill Rd. @ $450.00 per month.I was supprized he was paying so low being in one of the best areas in Pittsburgh's South Hills.Close to shopping ,hospital and everything else.Good Fire, EMT and Police protection.tom.

[yobos4vr]

we just moved back to pittsburgh 4 months ago and moved to brookline which in part of the city but on the edge, it's great neighborhood and we pay 650/month for a 3bdrm house on a double lot.

[deutscheglocker]

Originally posted by kswiss2783
I think we have decided that a 30 min commute is ok.

The <30 min commute can (under normal traffic) be had from Dormont,Brookline/Beechview, Mt Lebonan, Castle Shannon, Banksville area, Scott Twp, Greentree,Carnegie, Heidelburg, Bridgeville.

The three main roads into the city from these areas are:
Route 19/Washington Rd.
Banksville Rd.
I-79 North to the Parkway west

Once again ,this is info from the South Hills except for the Rt 51 area which also is South Hills but I am less familiar with that area.

Traffic patterns differ from day to day based on accidents, weather etc, etc.

Good luck

DG

[Vitamin G]

I recently moved from the south hills to Monroeville... I'm pretty happy with it. Its centrally located to tons of stuff, and best of all, its about a 25min drive to the state game lands in wexford... FREE range (even if it does have some funky rules).

BirnhamWoodApts.com Let me know if you end up getting a place here... I'll give you a cut of the referral bonus. I think I'm paying $650 for a 2br. The gym and pool is nice also.

[PennaOhio]

Originally posted by kswiss2783
I think we have decided that a 30 min commute is ok.

Mt.Lebanon, Dormont, Upper Saint Clair, are the city neighborhoods which come to mind.

Avoid the South Side, it is very trendy and overpriced now. It is dirty and has constant stream of loud and rowdy drunks (and urine) every weekend(I know...I used to live there).

North Side, Manchester, Homewood, Wilkinsburg, Homestead, Braddock, and Oakland should be avoided like the plague.

For $700/month inclusive you should be able get a really decent apt. If you want to consider a little over a 30 minute commute try North Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland county. Its about 35-40 minutes outside of Pgh. Good schools, low traffic, much safer and quieter. Its building up in the last decade or so, but still decades better than Pittsburgh itself.

[shindaiwa6]

if you like sitting in traffic than by all means move to the south hills / east pgh. i lived in ross twp in a 2br apt for $625 a month. the apt was on rt19, a 30min bus ride into the city, depending what bus you took. 15min if the bus took the hov lane.

not all of northside is bad. summerhill, brighton heights, observorty hill, springhill, and troy hill aren't bad.

[Vitamin G]

It also depends where you work. I work in Wilkinsburg, and my commute from south hills was about 15-20 mins, no traffic. Everyone was coming inbound when i was going outbound, and vice-versa. I actually hit MORE traffic (about 5mins worth) living in monroeville and going to Wilkinsburg.

[Easy E]

The south hills are very nice but tons of congestion. The roads as in all of the Burgh are not built for that kind of traffic load.
North HIlls is nicer, maybe a little more money but not as congested.
Ross is a good area to find a house rental. Not sure about big complex type units...
Pick up a sunday Post gazette or online www.postgazette.com
and look for some apratments. Find some that sound good and post 'em here.We can help.
I like the Westwood area of the city, Crafton,Carnegie are ok.
West like Moon and Robinson are nice but getting pricey

[UnderGlock&Key]

I live in Bellevue, which is essentially about 1 mile from the Pittsburgh City limits, and a 10 minute ride to downtown via Ohio River BLVD (PA-65). Plenty of bus routes, etc. Call Prudential Preferred Realty as I live in a pretty good sized one bedroom for about $500/mt. It would be nice to have another Glocker/shooter in the neighborhood.
Kevin

[LittleRedToyota]

if you want to live in the city instead of in the suburbs, try squirrel hill or greenfield (which is next to squirrel hill, but a bit cheaper).

both nice areas.

point breeze is another area to look at.

for $700 / mo you will be able to find a nice apt. i'd recommend looking for one that is in a house that's been divided up rather than an actual apartment building...you can get a better deal that way (and, imho, you get nicer place to live...not like living in a dorm room or something, but that's just me.)

[kswiss2783]

Originally posted by LittleRedToyota
if you want to live in the city instead of in the suburbs, try squirrel hill or greenfield (which is next to squirrel hill, but a bit cheaper).

both nice areas.

point breeze is another area to look at.

for $700 / mo you will be able to find a nice apt. i'd recommend looking for one that is in a house that's been divided up rather than an actual apartment building...you can get a better deal that way (and, imho, you get nicer place to live...not like living in a dorm room or something, but that's just me.)


Squirrel Hill is rather expensive though. My fiance lives in Shadyside and we are triyn get outta that area because it is expensive.

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally posted by kswiss2783
Squirrel Hill is rather expensive though. My fiance lives in Shadyside and we are triyn get outta that area because it is expensive.

depends on where in squirrel hill...i bet you can get a nice apt in squirrel hill for $700. try the monitor street area.

i've lived in both squirrel hill and shadyside. until about 5 years ago, i lived in a nice large 3 bedroom apt on monitor street, and the rent was something like $550/mo.

used to live in shadyside, too...more expensive and i didn't like it as much.

(ETA: one key is to avoid apartment buildings and find houses that have been split up into apartments...preferably that are owned by individuals instead of companies like walnut capital. you get much better deals that way.)

[kswiss2783]

We are currently looking at places in crafton because we know people who live there and like the area.

[cksst4]

I live at THE POLO CLUB in Moon Township.

Moon is on the other side of Robinson on RT 60 from Crafton where you are now looking. Commute would be an additional 15 minutes more than from Crafton.

Neighborhood is awesome. I'm renting a 2 bedroom place for $810/month + utilities. I believe a one bedroom place goes for around $700 here. There are also much cheaper apt complexes in Moon as well.