Decent neighborhoods in Pittsburgh?

[Rob Beschizza]

What are the decent neighborhoods in Pittsburgh? This move was supposed to happen already, but it's still on the cards and I want to be prepared. The thing is, reviewing online realty sites makes the city look run down but cheap. This sounds great, but I don't want to end up in a nasty area.

No kids, so schools are not an issue. But we need to be able to walk the streets at any hour without fear. And be within internet range, which my work relies on. That's really it, though.

If I've asked this before, I apologize in advance.

[Mike O'Malley]

Do you mean in the city proper, or one of the associated suburbs?
The stuff east of Pittsburgh (heck, all the way out to Monroeville) is decent, but after that you hit economic stagnation + rednecks.
Well, to be fair, economic stagnation abounds in PA.

[Matthew Gallant]

You could just walk the streets wheeling a hi-tech podium around in a cart. When Jose Liz starts following you, that's when you're in the good part of town.

[Moggraider]

That's Philadelphia, dorkwad.

[Talisker]

That's Philadelphia, dorkwad.
You underestimate just how awesome those podiums are!

[Hawkeye Fierce]

Liz is going to UPenn? Then he is most emphatically NOT in the good part of Philly.

[Anders Hallin]

Squirrel Hill, if only for the name.

[beecubed]

try to live outside the city limits. city residents pay 3% income tax, everyone else only pays 1%. if you are buying, try to live outside allegheny county, as property taxes in surrounding counties are much lower.

if you really want to live in the city, shadyside is nice. there are also some nice areas in the north side. the problem with pittsburgh is that even the nice areas are right next door to ghetto areas.

i'm not very familiar with the area south of pittsburgh, but i think there are lots of nice communities down there. keep in mind that, if you work in the city, you need to drive through the tunnels, which SUCKS. this can also be a problem if you live east of the city. i would seriously reconsider anywhere that requires driving on route 22/30 (both east as west of pittsburgh, since there are tunnels in both directions) during rush hour.

basically, imho, living north of the city is way to go. bellevue, avalon, ben avon, sewickly are all nice. they get nicer as you go north. fox chapel is also nice (and retardedly expensive), but i'm not sure about the surrounding areas. cranberry and the surrounding areas (mars, valencia, richland) are nice, but somewhat expensive, and they are a little more "country". co-workers tell me that friendship and regent square are nice, but i have no personal experience.

good luck.

[Rob Beschizza]

I don't know if I mean the city proper or the burbs: either's good. I think we are in inclined for some city living again, though I know Pittsburgh is on the B list of cities when it comes to size. But, frankly, anything up to 20-30 minutes by car is OK. It's likely that at least one of us will be working in the city, as Heather is an edumacator and Pittsburgh proper has a very strong, very attractive education district.

Thanks to everyone who replied, I've now got a good list of QT3-Approved Pittsburgh Districts.

[Moore]

stay the fuck out of oakland

living to the south will let you ride the T and skip driving through the tunnels. Dormont, mt washington etc.. are nice enough.

Dormont has (or used to) Incredibly Strange Video, with is an awesome video store.

[beecubed]

stay the fuck out of oakland

unless you likey the college girls.

[Rob Beschizza]

Jesus, even the nice places listed here are cheap as hell.

But my baseline is London, so anywhere with cheaper real estate than London generally seems "cheap as hell to me." As London seems to have an agreement with Tokyo to swap the "worlds most astronomical real estate prices" award each year, I could probably be looking in Manhattan or San Diego and it would seem cheap.

[Moore]

unless you likey the college girls.

Oh if its for college dont lvie anywhere else. I wouldnt own any property there though. We were, uh, rough on it. I had a friend who while drinking, would not use the sidewalk there. He walked on cars. Never got in trouble either (for that, hes in prison for arson now)

I did meet my wife in Oakland though.