Pittsburgh, PA

[robot_librarian]

I have friends that found a place as late as late August / early September, but if you had the choice I would obviously recommend getting here sooner to find a place, should be more opportunities and should save you some sanity :mrgreen:

would you recommend waiting until july (if i want to start a lease on august 1)? or just trying to come up there as soon as possible?

[nazzaz99]

Hey!

This will be too detailed but I am asking since there are people who know the area well. I found a one bedroom apartment from Franklin West at 340 S.Highland Avenue in Shadyside. It is like a mile to CMU and close to Giant Eagle and stuff. The rent is $870 (heat included). Do you think this is a good deal? I know there are cheaper places but I keep reading horrible things (roaches, terrible management etc) on the net about places that seem nice at first glance and I am worried about security as well. What would you say?

[soybean]

I don't know how Columbus is, but Pittsburgh's climate can vary. In the winter, there is a lot of snow and ice and it can be very overcast. However, some days it will be bitter cold and bright and sunny. The spring tends to have very nice sunny days, btu when it does rain..it will rain all day! In summer we get a lot of sun, humidity, and severe thunderstorms. In the fall we tend to get a lot of rain and then snow. I have to admit that when it rains all day, people around campus seem to move slower and just generally feel more tired. My advice, find a hobby or something you like to do to pass the time during the rainy days.

Thanks for the advice! :-) I will keep that in mind.

I've been thinking about where to live in my first year and I was wondering if it would be okay to live in the dorm for a while..

Does University of Pittsburgh offer an apartment/dorm only for graduate students? If so, how's living there?

[nazzaz99]

Hi again!

Could anyone give idea on which management companies to avoid or which are good? There seems to be mixed reviews on most of them. I remember someone on the forum had written way earlier to stay away from Lobos and Es Management.

Thanks.

[yinz_guys]

Hi again!

Could anyone give idea on which management companies to avoid or which are good? There seems to be mixed reviews on most of them. I remember someone on the forum had written way earlier to stay away from Lobos and Es Management.

Thanks.

Those are 2 to definitely to stay away from. Mozart, Walnut Capital, and Forbes are companies that have good reps.

[capnganch]

Also, I read such mixed comments about Pittsburgh in general. How is it there? Is the winter too terrible, is the city really dangerous? How is the social scene? (Although don't expect much of it since I will be a PhD student:( I visited CMU and really liked the school and the town actually.

Thanks a lot.

Pittsburgh can be cold, I guess, but no colder than most of the other Northeastern states. What's probably the worst thing about the weather is the wind ... when it whips through, it carries a lot of the moist, cold air right to your bones. But a scarf will help with that.

The social scene is funky ... there are a lot of student-friendly/twenty-something-friendly neighborhoods (like Southside, etc.), but the downtown itself virtually shuts down after 5 pm. There is a good cultural scene, though. The Pittsburgh Public Theatre will stage a lot of smaller traveling shows/original pieces while Heinz Hall and The Benedum will host a lot of the bigger Broadway shows coming through.

It's a pretty cool place, but what's the best is that almost everyone is hyper-proud to live there.

[Tropes]

Is it true that there is lots of crime?

[teaganc]

Is it true that there is lots of crime?

Yes, Tropes. Lots and LOTS of crime. Also, terrible weather. Basically a miserable place to be. You should probably just turn down that offer now.

[Tropes]

Yes, Tropes. Lots and LOTS of crime. Also, terrible weather. Basically a miserable place to be. You should probably just turn down that offer now.

ha, ha, ha. i think we know each other from another frequented site....

[teaganc]

ha, ha, ha. i think we know each other from another frequented site....

If you are who I think you are, and have a different username than on that site, I think we might.

But in all seriousness, I am very familiar with Pittsburgh, and yes, it is a somewhat high crime area. I mean, it's not the worst place in the world to live, but compared to other US cities of its size, Pittsburgh is somewhat dangerous and reasonably dirty (it's a steel city, what do you expect?). It's not bad enough to scare me off, but I'm from a high crime city myself, so I don't scare easily.

[zooey]

Hi I'm starting school at CMU come August and was wondering if any girls are looking for roommates...or anyone here knows any apts (preferrably in Shadyside or Squirrel Hill) that will be available for lease from Aug. I'm Indian btw and if anyone has any info pls email me/send me a private msg. And yes, cheap is good Thank you.

[Tropes]

for the people in pittsburgh or familiar with it: is getting a one-bedroom apartment in a decent area possible for under $600?

i should add that i don't necessarily care about being super close to campus (30 minute walk or bike ride is okay by me) but i do care about being in a neighborhood with a decent cafe, grocery stores/markets, interesting types of buildings/houses to live in, a sense of community. i'm from a major city that has lots of little neighborhoods and i'd like something similar.

[romelope]

for the people in pittsburgh or familiar with it: is getting a one-bedroom apartment in a decent area possible for under $600?

i should add that i don't necessarily care about being super close to campus (30 minute walk or bike ride is okay by me) but i do care about being in a neighborhood with a decent cafe, grocery stores/markets, interesting types of buildings/houses to live in, a sense of community. i'm from a major city that has lots of little neighborhoods and i'd like something similar.

If you are willing to have a roommate and a 2-bedroom apartment, you can probably pay under $600 each, but I don't think you can get a one-bedroom and pay utilities for under about $700 unless you want to give up your "nice neighborhood" requirement, or are willing to commute your 30 minutes by car (you can save a lot by living outside of Pittsburgh and driving in).

[wheresthelight]

for the people in pittsburgh or familiar with it: is getting a one-bedroom apartment in a decent area possible for under $600?

i should add that i don't necessarily care about being super close to campus (30 minute walk or bike ride is okay by me) but i do care about being in a neighborhood with a decent cafe, grocery stores/markets, interesting types of buildings/houses to live in, a sense of community. i'm from a major city that has lots of little neighborhoods and i'd like something similar.

I visited some time ago, and met some folks with decent one-bedroom apartments around $600, so it seems like they're not impossible to find. If you find something on the bus route, you should be fine without a car.

[shirechai]

how about the other side of Friendship across from... Penn Avenue? (okay, it's been about 8 months so I may be a bit rusty... the road that goes up into garfield) A good friend lived in a HUGE first level 1br and I doubt she paid much over 600...also check bloomfield, edgewood/swissvale, and polish hill. you can live pretty cheaply on the north side, but it's nowhere near the campuses.

 

regarding winters, it entirely depends where you're coming from. compared to Boston, winter was a BREEZE. compared to Singapore (where I live now), I'd say pretty frigid. winter 07 was full of nippy overcast days and flurries, but very little build-up.

regarding social: you spend a lot of time hanging out with your cohort. there are many bars to be found. some live music as well, but more often it'll just be the bar. head to the south side for clubby excitement, lawrenceville/bloomfield for the indie scene/art galleries, and shadyside for the more upscale/queer scene. this is an EXTREMELY rough guide, and I'm sure someone else will iron it out. regardless of your interests or inclinations, I'd recommend a visit to Your Inner Vagabond Coffeehouse in Lawrenceville for some good old-fashioned lounging on pillows and baclava.

I don't want to give away the treasures of the city in one wall post; suffice to say that you should be able to find enough to do and people to do it with.

my main recommendation would be to join http://www.thisishappening.com/ -- it's easy and free, and then you'll get a weekly email loosely tailored to your interests. you can also join different departmental listservs to find out about films and lectures. it's quite easy to access the event calendars for the different universities.

-shirechai

[romelope]

I visited UPitt last week, and I was just really unhappy with the vibe of the area. Even some of the places that people said were "nice" seemed a little run down, but I guess that's just because the recession is hitting this area particularly hard. I've lived in NYC, LA, Toronto, and a few other cities, and while I can definitely see Pittsburgh as having a "funky" vibe, there still wasn't a lot to do (that the students I was with knew about) or a lot open late compared to a more vibrant city, and for some reason, everyone who worked in the restaurants/bars I went into was pretty rude. Maybe I was just with a lame group of students/in a bad part of town? Anyway, I just can't see myself living in Pittsburgh for the next 5+ years.

[fields&charts]

I lived in Pittsburgh about 8 years and have only been away for about 7 months.

Good neighborhoods that you'd want to live in near Pitt or CMU include: Bloomfield/Friendship (avoid crossing Penn Avenue into Garfield if you're new to town/don't know anyone, but on Penn might not be too bad. Garfield is coming up with the strip of art galleries and whatnot, but it can still be kind of iffy), lower Lawrenceville (maybe between 39th and 49th is alright, nice houses and fairly cheap, $500-$600 for a 2 bedroom). I used to live in Bloomfield and total rent for a three bedroom house with a garage and a backyard was $890 a month. Shadyside is nice as well, but more expensive. Squirrel Hill is nice as well and it seems to be a bit of a go-to neighborhood for graduate students. Greenfield is a nice quiet neighborhood that's mostly residential and fairly safe.

That said, yes, like any urban area crime is something that happens. People get mugged, cars get broken into, etc, but in general things like gang violence and violent murders are uncommon (I'm not saying they don't happen, but they're not really an everyday event in most places). Avoid Oakland. Yes it's close to the schools you may be attending, but it's the college neighborhood and so unless you're really interested in being surrounded by undergrads doing their college-student-being-loud-and-living-in-filth shtick, it's probably not a good place to live (also rent is relatively high and most places are in poor condition).

Polish Hill can also be nice, but it's somewhat difficult to escape from if you're using public transportation. The more central East end neighborhoods I mentioned above all have buses that go downtown and to Oakland, decent places to eat and shop, ok places to get coffee and study, and some ok nightlife, but they're also relatively quiet and reasonably safe.

 

romelope said:

I visited UPitt last week, and I was just really unhappy with the vibe of the area. Even some of the places that people said were "nice" seemed a little run down, but I guess that's just because the recession is hitting this area particularly hard. I've lived in NYC, LA, Toronto, and a few other cities, and while I can definitely see Pittsburgh as having a "funky" vibe, there still wasn't a lot to do (that the students I was with knew about) or a lot open late compared to a more vibrant city, and for some reason, everyone who worked in the restaurants/bars I went into was pretty rude. Maybe I was just with a lame group of students/in a bad part of town? Anyway, I just can't see myself living in Pittsburgh for the next 5+ years.

Honestly it depends on what you're looking for. As far as "open late", most coffee shop/cafes are open until midnight, most restaurants until 10pm, a handful of diners run all night, and well, bars close at 2am. What you're seeing isn't the recession hitting the area hard, but a city that never fully recovered from steady population decline resulting from the collapse of the steel industry. For a city of its size it's actually alright. There are a lot of arts related events going on most nights, a somewhat thriving music scene, and a decent array of food options. That said, yes it's not LA or NYC. It's not Buffalo either.

[fireworks82]

I'm starting grad school in UPitt this fall. I am scanning some apartments online, as an international student. My two 'recommended' areas are Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. I don't mind commuting as long as the bus stop is near my house... And I would definitely want to live in a lively part of town, although safety is very important to me. I won't have a car and I might have to walk home some nights. Which area would you recommend?

And do you think I would be able to rent a place if I come early in May and meet with the companies, etc. , so that I will come just before the school starts in August?

Thanks a lot!!

[skp]

Yet another incoming CMU grad student here. I was just in Pittsburgh last weekend--maybe it was because of a festival on campus or because the weather was beautiful, but the areas around both CMU and UPitt were really lively. It's definitely an older city than my hometown of Atlanta, but it doesn't seem like a bad place to be for 2 years (as long as you don't plan to drive a whole lot around the city...the roads are really not laid out that well at all).

And for any classical music fans, students can get $14 rush tickets to see the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. They put on a great show last weekend.

I'm planning to take a few days off sometime in June and go back to try to find a place. Our program's coordinator is putting together some helpful info for us, so I'll wait to see what she has to say. I liked Shadyside, and I visited the home of another incoming student that had been renovated fairly recently and was really beautiful, but it would be nice to be closer to a grocery store (like the Giant Eagle everyone keeps mentioning).

[LucyLove87]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Lucy and I am new to the site. I am probably going to attend Carnegie Mellon University this fall for a MA in Literary and Cultural Studies. I was talking to a woman who used to live in Pittsburgh and she recommended that I live in either Shadyside or Squirrel Park. She told me to avoid living in Oakland. She said there were too many undergrads living there and various "slum lords" as well. However, I heard that Oakland had way more things to do when you compare it to Shadyside and Squirrel Park. Furthermore, I head that Shadyside was very expensive. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for your help.

[StrangeLight]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Lucy and I am new to the site. I am probably going to attend Carnegie Mellon University this fall for a MA in Literary and Cultural Studies. I was talking to a woman who used to live in Pittsburgh and she recommended that I live in either Shadyside or Squirrel Park. She told me to avoid living in Oakland. She said there were too many undergrads living there and various "slum lords" as well. However, I heard that Oakland had way more things to do when you compare it to Shadyside and Squirrel Park. Furthermore, I head that Shadyside was very expensive. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks for your help.

http://www.coolpgh.pitt.edu/index.php

this site's a pretty good source on the general feel and amenities of different neighbourhoods in pittsburgh where grad students are living.

oakland does have a lot of undergraduates, and while it's one of the more populous neighbourhoods, there are plenty other neighbourhoods with a lot to do. most grad students attending pitt or cmu live in shadyside or squirrel hill. most undergrads live in oakland or south side. lots of duquesne students live in south side too.

shadyside has a major shopping/boutique/restaurant corridor along walnut st. squirrel hill has less shopping, but it's right next to shadyside should you need anything. both of these areas are two of the more expensive neighbourhoods in the city of pittsburgh. shadyside can be very pricey, and you'll pay as much for a studio there as you would for a two or three bedroom rowhouse in other neighbourhoods. lots of people love it there, though, so if size doesn't matter that much to you, there's nothing really wrong with paying for less space.

south side is catching up to shadyside and squirrel hill in price, too. the south side flats are right across the ... i wanna say monongahela river from downtown and oakland (where the schools are). you can walk across the bridge and buses run to oakland frequently (pitt and CMU students ride the bus for free), so its still quite close. it's party-central though. east carson is where most undergrads and frat guys go to bar-hop. now, i love me some barhopping, but i don't necessarily want to live next to the club. then there's the south side slopes, just south of the flats, going up the hill. cheaper, although prices are rising, and still pretty convenient provided that you don't have a car. i've heard that trying to drive down the slope in the winter can be dangerous because of the ice.

i'd also say to look into the friendship and bloomfield neighbourhoods. they're right next to shadyside, but they're cheaper. more to the north of campus rather than east-northeast like shadyside and squirrel hill are. friendship's full of lots of old victorian homes that have been converted into multi-unit apartments and they're cheaper than shadyside or squirrel hill. bloomfield's the old italian neighbourhood, with lots of little delis and restaurants, and lots of rowhouses. there's some major shopping and attractions along penn avenue and liberty avenue, walking distance from either place. also close to lawrenceville, which has a good number of new art galleries and boutiques popping up all the time. l-ville's still a bit rough around the edges in some places, though, and if you get into upper lawrenceville it'll be hard to get a direct busline to the universities in oakland.

i'd recommend searching craigslist to get an idea of what's out there, but also to realize that a lot of people renting out places in pittsburgh aren't using craigslist, so there's more inventory than what you find online. try to set up appointments to see places for your visit, read the classifieds when you're there, and consider popping into a real estate agency or two in neighbourhoods you like and seeing if they have rental listings.

[grendel]

Hi yall!

I just graduated from "waiting it out" to "decisions, decisions, decisions" when I received my acceptance from Carnegie Mellon. I am very excited about coming to Pittsburgh to study, although I've never been (but I plan to visit before I accept). I appreciate all the advice so far, but perhaps the Pittsburgers (or is it Pittsburghers? looks a bit odd) out there could offer their views on a few things:

* How easy is it to get by without a car? Obviously it's possible to get by without one (it appears to be a fairly dense city with a bus system like any city its size), but I guess I'm really asking if there are any compelling reasons to get a car. This brings me to my second point

* What's there to see or do nearby? I would love to be able to drive to New York, Philadelphia or Chicago when I get bored, but it seems quite far! Then again, Pittsburgh seems quite big, and I might never get bored.

* Outdoors activities. Things like skiing, hiking, camping or bike tours nearby.

Any thoughts?

[gollux]

Hi yall!

I just graduated from "waiting it out" to "decisions, decisions, decisions" when I received my acceptance from Carnegie Mellon. I am very excited about coming to Pittsburgh to study, although I've never been (but I plan to visit before I accept). I appreciate all the advice so far, but perhaps the Pittsburgers (or is it Pittsburghers? looks a bit odd) out there could offer their views on a few things:

* How easy is it to get by without a car? Obviously it's possible to get by without one (it appears to be a fairly dense city with a bus system like any city its size), but I guess I'm really asking if there are any compelling reasons to get a car. This brings me to my second point

* What's there to see or do nearby? I would love to be able to drive to New York, Philadelphia or Chicago when I get bored, but it seems quite far! Then again, Pittsburgh seems quite big, and I might never get bored.

* Outdoors activities. Things like skiing, hiking, camping or bike tours nearby.

Any thoughts?

I am in Pittsburgh while my beloved does his MA, and as far as visiting New York, Philly, Chicago, you can basically rule it out for a quick Saturday-Sunday trip. I thought we were moving to the East Coast and would get to see friends all the time, but it turns out this is the Eastern Midwest. This is what I hate about Pittsburgh, but that's just me.

If you are going to school and live near campus, don't worry about the car. If you have a partner who is going to work, he or she will probably need a car.

There is hiking, skiing, and canoeing nearby. Lots of great museums in the city. Fallingwater is close and it is beautiful. Gettysburg not too far. Although, for the outside-pittsburgh stuff, you need a car. Rental?

I am not wild about P-burgh, but it's because I have the breadwinner position and I work a job I don't like, and also work on weekends. If I had a little more free time, or was a student with a built-in community, I think I would find P-burgh sort of enchanting. Wouldn't want to live here forever, but a good place to spend a year or two. That said, people who are from Pittsburgh love this place beyond reason and seem never to leave.

[ArsVitaAmericana]

So it's looking likely that My boyfriend and I will be moving down to Pittsburgh in the near future. We currently live in Syracuse, NY. Our current rent is ridiculously low, and I know that because I lived in Philadelphia for the last 3 years, but my boyfriend has not so his concept of reasonable rent is sort of swayed. We have one car between the two of us, and I bike most of the time (except if the weather makes it dangerous- which is unfortunately more months of Syracuse time that I would like) or I take public transit. I will be going to UPitt in the Fall (MA Theatre), and I would like to live within a 30 min. Public Transit radius of the school. We're also not going to be able to do more than about 600 in rent, and we'll be looking for a 1 bedroom (or 2 if it fits in the price range) with enough room that we don't drive each other crazy. I'd like to live in walking distance to a grocery store as well. I've been looking through all of the different threads, and it seems like Friendship would be an awesome neighborhood. But I'd like to know more about Wilkinsburg, and possibly Mexican War Street, and any other cheaper neighborhood thats not too far and not too dangerous (like I said I lived in Philly, so as long as theres not gang shootings happening on the street/living next to all the crackhouses it's okay by me). Any suggestions? Any realtors we should look into? I'm super excited about the move, and my boyfriend is a huge steelers fan so he's stoaked as well.

[schoolpsych2]

On 2/24/2010 at 10:42 AM, ArsVitaAmericana said:

So it's looking likely that My boyfriend and I will be moving down to Pittsburgh in the near future. We currently live in Syracuse, NY. Our current rent is ridiculously low, and I know that because I lived in Philadelphia for the last 3 years, but my boyfriend has not so his concept of reasonable rent is sort of swayed. We have one car between the two of us, and I bike most of the time (except if the weather makes it dangerous- which is unfortunately more months of Syracuse time that I would like) or I take public transit. I will be going to UPitt in the Fall (MA Theatre), and I would like to live within a 30 min. Public Transit radius of the school. We're also not going to be able to do more than about 600 in rent, and we'll be looking for a 1 bedroom (or 2 if it fits in the price range) with enough room that we don't drive each other crazy. I'd like to live in walking distance to a grocery store as well. I've been looking through all of the different threads, and it seems like Friendship would be an awesome neighborhood. But I'd like to know more about Wilkinsburg, and possibly Mexican War Street, and any other cheaper neighborhood thats not too far and not too dangerous (like I said I lived in Philly, so as long as theres not gang shootings happening on the street/living next to all the crackhouses it's okay by me). Any suggestions? Any realtors we should look into? I'm super excited about the move, and my boyfriend is a huge steelers fan so he's stoaked as well.

You are going to be hard pressed to find a suitable apartment for $600 as most studio apartments are are around that much. My apartment, 1 bedroom, kinda small in Friendship shared my my fiance and I is 700 a month. I am not sure I would want to live in Wilkinsburg because I've heard stories about the crime in areas like that. I've recently been on the look for a bigger apartment and they run about 800/month. We found a 2 bedroom house finally, but that is running us about $895/month. I would say Friendship/Morningside/Highland Park are the cheaper areas. Oakland (South mainly) is filled with over priced slumlords (I lived there for a year and had to get out).

In Pittsburgh, many people are surprised about the price of housing (including me).

 

On 2/20/2010 at 5:49 PM, grendel said:

Hi yall!

I just graduated from "waiting it out" to "decisions, decisions, decisions" when I received my acceptance from Carnegie Mellon. I am very excited about coming to Pittsburgh to study, although I've never been (but I plan to visit before I accept). I appreciate all the advice so far, but perhaps the Pittsburgers (or is it Pittsburghers? looks a bit odd) out there could offer their views on a few things:

* How easy is it to get by without a car? Obviously it's possible to get by without one (it appears to be a fairly dense city with a bus system like any city its size), but I guess I'm really asking if there are any compelling reasons to get a car. This brings me to my second point

* What's there to see or do nearby? I would love to be able to drive to New York, Philadelphia or Chicago when I get bored, but it seems quite far! Then again, Pittsburgh seems quite big, and I might never get bored.

* Outdoors activities. Things like skiing, hiking, camping or bike tours nearby.

Any thoughts?

I've been in Pittsburgh for my undergrad and I am staying for grad school and I still love it. It's easy to get by without a car, I haven't had one here I take the bus but my fiance who works does have one. Parking in Pittsburgh is actually ridiculous and expensive so I prefer not to drive IN the city if at all possible. It would be really easy to drive to say Philly but it would be like a weekend trip. Pittsburgh has a lot of stuff to do.

One thing that throws people off is that although Pittsburgh is a city, it feels more like a small city with a hometown feel. Its not a city like Chicago by any means, its much smaller but still just as awesome.