BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Pittsburgh is a lovely (and affordable) City, and you and your family are certain to enjoy it. The east end of Pittsburgh is full of nice neighborhoods within an easy (flat) commute from Oakland and the University of Pittsburgh. Squirrel Hill has the advantage of being just on the opposite side of Schenley Park from Oakland. The commute would be city streets, with some traffic moving at speed, but would be in or adjacent to a very large city park. The commute distance would be in the 3 mile range, probably, and very easy. As an added bonus, there are dozens of bus routes that connect the two neighborhoods, giving you a convenient option in times of bad weather, etc. The other really nice option would be the Regent Square area, which is located on the far side of Frick Park, a couple miles further east of the University. Same flat ride, same ride through a City Park for parts of the ride -- just a tad longer. If you want to look in the Regest Square area, my personal "would kill to live there area" would be the area between Braddock Avenue and Frick Park, south of Forbes Avenue.

I don't know where you are coming from, but you might want to know that Schenley Park is what I consider to be a traditional sort of very large urban park, with swimming pool, golf course, ice skatinf rink, etc. It also has some wooded areas with nice walking trails, etc. Frick Park is a more rustic park, sort of, with fewer built amenities aside from awesome CLAY tennis courts. Most of the rest of the park is wooded, with great trails for hiking, mountain biking, etc. I guess what I am trying to say is that I always find surprises in Frick Park -- a singletrack mountain bike trail leading to a hard packed hiking trail leading to a soccer field. On another end of the park is a big kids playground, or the clay tennis courts, or even manicured lawn bowling greens.

A little further north, you have the options of Shadyside, or north of that, Highland Park (yes, another large urban park, this one featuring the City Zoo.) Again, about 3-4 miles from the University, accessible for most of the way by relatively good cycling roads for Shadyside, a couple additional miles for Highland Park. Bus service to both areas is available from Oakland, but not quite as frequently as bus service to Squirrel Hill.

Squirrel Hill to Pitt is downhill, so your commute in would be close to car speed. The commute home is harder.

Easy, fun. Probably through the park.

Magee is down on the flats. The Med School itself is up a short, but killer hill.

Other easy-commute, prosperous neighborhoods are Highland Park and Shadyside. Not sure of the school situation.

All these neighborhoods are in the city limit. Any of the suburbs have some barriers to commuting.

If you have $$$, then Fox Chapel/Ohara Township would be the best 'burb for both school and commuting.

Mick

I agree totally with Mick and Swalforth.If you like city dwelling you can't beat Squirrel Hill or Regent Square with maybe Shadyside coming in a distant third.Living outside the city would be Fox Chapel.

A quick note about schools --

Within the city, your "neighborhood" school isn't necessarily in your neighborhood. The public schools also have a magnet school program. It's complicated, but with vigilance the city schools can work for you.

Feel free to email me re: schools (or biking, or biking to school). marymeg AT gmail

Another vote for Sq. Hill, I love it here. Very easy commute to Oakland, 2-4 miles depending on where in Sq. Hill you are, and you've got a few choices about how to get up the hill - from long and gradual to all at once. It's not really that big of a hill in any case.

Shadyside is nice too, I lived there for years and commuted to Pitt every day - same distance but almost completely flat.

Thanks very much for the feedback. I had more or less presumed that this was the case, but it's good to get some confirmation.

If I do make the move, I may be back looking for more specific advice on routes, etc.

You folks are certainly good ambassadors for your city - thanks again...

Ok, so it seems like the thread has reached an end, but I figure I'll put my two cents in here.

While I'd love to put the word in for East Liberty or Highland Park (it IS right next to a sweet park after all.... ), it is a bit easier to bike from Shadyside than it is from my area. However, I would venture that Point Breeze isn't that bad of a commute either (someone back me up on this?), and given the choice btwn the two, I'd take PB over Shadyside any day of the week.

I agree with Greenbike! A very underrated,beautiful neighborhood.I've lived in both Shadyside and Point Breeze, and while both neighborhoods are nice,I liked living in Point Breeze more.Another nice section of the city that gets my vote is Edgewood

well, i live in shadyside, and it's wonderful here. i do not, however, have a family to worry about. i feel like if i did, i would probably prefer living in squirrel hill. like Swalfoort says, it's just on the other side of a brilliant urban park from mcgee. unlike she said, though, it's considerably less than 2-3 miles, unless you're on the outer edges of it. nor would i call it flat. it's a very clear downhill into oakland and a very clear uphill back into squirrel hill.

i have a friend who is currently raising a family in squirrel hill, and i don't think he'd change that for anything. i also have a very close friend who grew up there. she went to a shadyside school, but i feel like the family housing situation in squirrel hill is far superior to that of shadyside, and obviously that won't limit your school options overmuch.

so, i guess, +1 for squirrel hill, if you can afford it. which is like saying to a nyc resident "if you can afford to live in the catskills." or a so-cal resident "if you can afford to live in mexico."

I live out in Ben Avon and commute in to Oakland. It's only ~14 miles each way, and much of it is on trails. I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for suburbs.

One thing to keep in mind is that Pittsburgh is a fairly compact city - so even the "far reaches" aren't all that far.

Regent Square gets my vote! And you can be neighbors with mmfranzen, above.

if cycling to work is a priority, do not move to the south hills, ie. mt lebanon, dormont, beechview, etc. you have to be pretty solidly committed to it as there is a huge mountain and crappy fast roads between.

To quote Caitlin - "Regent Square gets my vote!"

My second vote goes for Point Breeze. Both very easy commutes, and I think the neighborhoods are nicer than Squirrel Hill. Point Breeze is very quiet and beautiful. Bordering Frick Park by the bowling greens.

Regent Square has a little more commercial property but the neighborhood on the Frick side of South Braddock could just be one of the most family friendly (kids safely playing in streets, etc) in any of the communities you are looking at.

Personally I think Squirrel hill can get a little dirty as you get closer to the shopping districts that interrupt most of the neighborhoods. Most areas are high traffic and not as safe (or fun).

to help a little here is a link to the Regent Square area I am talking about http://bit.ly/csMaO

and Point Breeze http://bit.ly/CFzSx

I live in Sq Hill, have a son at Colfax (going into gr 5) and bike to Pitt campus often. The ride there is quick -- I take Beacon through the park.

Watch the school zones carefully. Parts of Pt Breeze are also Colfax. Parts of Sq Hill are Minadeo (also a good school). Sterrett recently lost it's full magnet status and is undergoing changes.

The Car Free Friday fols have a bike pool from Sq'ill to Pitt campus. Once you move here you might want to hook up with them.

*fols = folks. Just didn't want you guys to think I calling you names.

Just to say I concur wtih the consensus - Point Breeze, Highland park, and Regent Square are good City of Pgh neighborhoods for bike commuting and family life.

Shadyside? IMO, too "hip" for raising kids. Status in shadyside is really money-oriented compared with the rest of the city and the young adult urban hipster culture might not be best for adolescents. Also it's plagued with a high concentration of halfway houses of all varieties.

Regent Square - You have to be a little careful, because the Regent Square area has 4 municipalities, with very odd boundaries, so most of us are unsure of where the borders are. City of Pittsburgh (has it's plusses and minuses for sure), Wilkinsburg (with freakishly high real estate taxes and awful schools), Edgewood, and Swissvale.

I'm not sure about the taxes/schools in Edgewood and Swissvale. Edgewood tends to be insufferably pompous about being a community in itself (Hint 1: the people who live in the next block are not "out of towners."), but this might not be a problem for people living there.

Mick

Don't totally agree with Pratt.He says Point Breeze nicer than Squirrel Hill??? I don't know about that.I think it depends where in Point Breeze and Squirrel Hill you're referring. Both areas are nice though,and will be happy living in either neighborhood

I suppose I should cast a vote for my 'hood, Morningside. Small, quiet, family-oriented, with a tiny business district and multiple parks within walking/biking distance. Real estate is still relatively inexpensive, too--my mortgage is less than the rent I was paying in Point Breeze four years ago.

The only disadvantage is that you need to bus-hop to get to Oakland.

I like living in Friendship. I will agree that most places in the east end are cycle commute friendly. Looking into buying a home myself, I can comment a bit on the taxes issue. Edgewood and Wilkinsburg seem to have about twice the tax rate of say regent square or point breeze or anywhere else for that matter.

But if you are looking to rent or buy I would say Friendship, Shadyside, or Squirrel Hill.

South Oakland, practically on top of Magee, if you worked in central Oakland, it would be maybe a 5-10 minute ride in. Affordable housing, right next to Schenley Park and quick access to the Jail/Eliza Furnace Trail. In fact, Oakland Planning and Development Corporation is selling some houses.

http://www.oaklandplanning.org/new/

Edgewood and Wilkinsburg seem to have about twice the tax rate of say regent square or point breeze or anywhere else for that matter.

One thing to keep in mind about Regent Square is that the neighbor spans several neighborhoods, including Swissvale and Wilkinsburg. A good friend lives in Regent Square, and he pays Swissvale taxes, which are high compared to the city.

I suppose I should cast a vote for my 'hood, Morningside.

And you can use Stanton Ave. as a "slingshot" to get down Stanton really quickly, provided the light at Stanton and Negley is green (or is it Stanton and Chislett? I can't remember, I usually am going too fast). I love doing that.

Morningside gets my vote too. Of course I live there too.

Prices have gone up a bit, and little is for sale since I bought here last year, but things are still very reasonable. I would guess we have one of the lowest incidences of vacant housing in the city.

Probably too late for my $0.02, but I put a vote in for the area of Squirrel Hill closest to Schenley Park. Such as, the apartments off of Wightman. Commuting through the park is a good route for those who are new to Pittsburgh. And Squirrel Hill is a good starter neighborhood - I lived there for two years and never needed a house key.

I would agree that Morningside is a nice, quiet neighborhood, but Negley is pretty rough for bikers.

Oh and I put in a vote for my neighborhood: southside slopes. Bird's eye view of the freak show, and you don't have to hose off your walk in the morning.

A bit about the semi-outer suburbs. McCandless would make for a really long daily bike ride, easily 12 miles each way, and I'm on the very southern edge of the township. There's one PAT bus route that goes from here to Oakland, the 13U. Always jammed, every trip. Schools out here are pretty good; North Allegheny usually does pretty well in any objective ranking. Parts of McCandless can get really pricey, but others are sub-$100K.