Need some neighborhoods to look in Pittsburgh: update

mts

OK. So my graduate school career is nearing its end and am currently searching for postdocs. right now 2 of my leading choices are U. Pitt and Un. Maryland Baltimore: School of medicine

SO what i am searching for neighborhoods to look for a place in either city

Pet friendly areas: ie parks to walk etc
nice neighborhoods preferred nothing too shady

thanks

OK, figured i would bring this back from the dead since its still roughly the same thread. I am going to be flying out to Pittsburgh to see if its a place for me/get along with the professor etc. My wife is likely going to come out with me and check out the area since she has never really been there.

So looking for areas/things to make a list of things for her to see while I am busy

One of the main reasons to look at places to live.
After looking at rent prices we realize it would probably be better financially to look at buying a place based on current real estate prices

Definitely looking at shadyside

Would like some more suggestions for places that aren't exactly in downtown, kind of quieter family type places. we have a dog and are planning on kids in the near future. outdoorsy/woodsy is a plus. but really any cool place to live is fine

appreciate the help

Grimm

Ok im just passing through on my way to bed but i'll throw in a quick vote for Pittsburgh. I grew up in Pittsburgh and spent the first 22 years of my life there. Before we can suggest neighborhoods, it might help to know your financial situation, if your just looking to rent or if you want something more long term, etc. Look into the south side area of town. Its full of all sorts of places to go after hours. I'll try to post some more info on the town later but i need to get to bed and end this night from hell now.

EDIT: I wasn't suggesting you live in the south side. Just that its a big part of Pittsburgh life and a good place to play. Yeah you could live there if you like that kinda atmosphere but for me its fun to visit, but i wouldn't wanna live here. Too much traffic, not enough parking, drunken idiots roaming the streets at 3am pissing on your front door and bashing in your car windows.

cyphr

I'll just add that, living in the DC metro area and having visited a couple of times, Baltimore scares the hell out of me. Anything outside of the Inner Harbor looks like a shantytown.

Or maybe I was just driving through the wrong parts.

Steel Angel

mts wrote: »

Pet friendly areas: ie parks to walk etc
nice neighborhoods preferred nothing too shady

Stay the hell out of Baltimore then.

3lwap0

I live in Baltimore - Certain parts of the inner city are pretty nice, but if you live anywhere north of the inner harbor, odds are, it'll suck hard. once you leave the beltway, it's really nice though. I live in Owings Mills, and it's a pretty decent area to live in. There are plenty of places to live outside of the inner city, and none of them bad. Towson is a college town 15 minutes north of Baltimore, and it's a fun place I think.

The school of med. is right in the middle of the city, so Towson would probably be the best place to check - you can take 83 south right into the city, so commute wise, that's damn nice. But there are a lot of nice towns with good parks, Catonsville, Glen Burnie, Ellicott City.

Steel Angel wrote: »

mts wrote: »

Pet friendly areas: ie parks to walk etc
nice neighborhoods preferred nothing too shady

Stay the hell out of Baltimore then.

Yeah, most of Baltimore metro is a DMZ, north of the inner harbor anyways.

CoJoeTheLawyer

Pittsburgh, hands down.

In terms of neighborhoods, stick to Shadyside area. Despite the name, IMHO it's the most non-shady part of the city. Lots of parks and green space for dogs and thier owners, 10 minutes away from Pitt's main campus and good selection of food, shops and bars for your pleasure.

koiz

I lived in pittsburgh growing up. If staying around town you can find cheap college style housing right near Pitts campus in the Oakland area, but keep in mind there might be college neighbors throwing parties and such. Southside is the bar hopping area of town, there are still lots of apartments around there too though.

EggyToast

Actually, north Baltimore is mostly where everyone with money and/or sense lives. It's east & west baltimore that are slums. The neighborhoods to look at are Roland Park, Mount Washington, Hampden, Charles Village, and Mount Vernon.

My wife's a PhD, just finished up at Hopkins. Obviously, all of her friends are also PhDs, and we're friends with a nurse at some hospital downtown. I think U of Md. She's going for a masters, as well. She lives near Loyola, which is pretty hoity-toity (and North of downtown).

Of course, there's also right around downtown too, with Canton and Federal Hill.

But you should choose whichever school you think you'll get a better education from.

brandotheninjamaster

Where are you coming from?

If you come from a place with a cheaper standard of living you may be in for a surprise when you see the price of most places for rent here in B-more.

I live in Perry Hall (North of the City) and it is pretty nice for the most part. It's a very nice and central location. Should you choose MD, Parkville may be a good combination of affordable and safe.

I personally avoid the city like its the plague, but Parkville is located near the interstate (695, 95, 83) and most places here you can get from one of those 3 interstates.

Edit About the Cost of Living: I rent a tiny 2 bedroom townhome and pay 1k a month in rent (thats pretty cheap around here). You can find a 1BR apartment for as low as 600 or 700 (that is in a decent area).

mts

Well part of the reason i asked about baltimore is i know much of the city is nuts. i figured i would not wind up in baltimore proper.

To answer some questions:
Both my wife and I are finishing Phd degrees. No kids yet but probably in teh near futures, so probably looking to rent for now but maybe settling in a place in the near distant future

We are both east coast people, but we have been in Davis, CA for the past 6 or so years. currently pay 1400 for a 2B/2B with a yard and garage so cost of living will actually be less.

I have some though limited knowledge of baltimore but mostly that i know i don't want to actually live in city itself. I have been to PItt a couple of times but nothing t build off of.

EggyToast

I live in the city itself, in the Hampden neighborhood ("behind" the Hopkins Homewood campus). I love it. I can walk to the grocery store, restaurants, and one of the best wine stores in the city. I can bike to work and it takes the same time as driving. I can go to the weekend farmers markets as an afterthought, rather than driving for 20 minutes.

We don't have bars on our windows and my street's crime free, as far as I've been able to tell.

My wife and I own a house that's increased in value about 25% since we purchased it, and this includes through the housing crisis. Prices are still increasing in the city, on average, compared to the rest of the country (and indeed the county).

I'm not saying that it's an amazing city, of course. But you guys are making it sound like it's a leper colony.

NargorothRiP

It really depends. Baltimore has some amazing places and some places that look like Gaza or Lebanon. As has been mentioned hampden is nice, and alot of the east baltimore area has undergone a huge redevelopment by Hopkins which is pushing the "unsavory" elements out. I grew up in PG county Maryland so even the bad parts of baltimore dont really bother me. however you will find maryland is just as or more expensive then the 1400 you are paying for a place with a yard and a garage. I live in howard county and own a town home. I pay about 2200 a month for 2 bedrooms and no garage heh.

Peen

CoJoeTheLawyer wrote: »

Pittsburgh, hands down.

In terms of neighborhoods, stick to Shadyside area. Despite the name, IMHO it's the most non-shady part of the city. Lots of parks and green space for dogs and thier owners, 10 minutes away from Pitt's main campus and good selection of food, shops and bars for your pleasure.

I second this pick; I lived in Shadyside while I was going to grad school at Pitt and it was great. It's a really nice neighborhood but not too expensive, convenient to Pitt's main campus, and close to the nice shopping that there is in Squirrel Hill.

mts

I am going to be flying out to Pittsburgh to see if its a place for me/get along with the professor etc. My wife is likely going to come out with me and check out the area since she has never really been there.

So looking for areas/things to make a list of things for her to see while I am busy

One of the main reasons to look at places to live.
After looking at rent prices we realize it would probably be better financially to look at buying a place based on current real estate prices

Definitely looking at shadyside

Would like some more suggestions for places that aren't exactly in downtown, kind of quieter family type places. we have a dog and are planning on kids in the near future. outdoorsy/woodsy is a plus. but really any cool place to live is fine

WOuld be nice if it was close to campus too or at least less than 20-30 minutes

appreciate the help