Apartment Hunting In and Out of the City
I'm looking to move to Pittsburgh in the next month or so, and would love to get some advice. I'm slowly making my way through the archives, but I haven't much about living just outside the city yet. Plus new info is always good. Background info: Totally new to the city. I could end up with a job in the Southside, might end up moving without a job at all. I won't know until the end of the month if I have a definite commute to factor in yet, so I may just be picking a place at random.
In general, are there particular advantages/disadvantages to being in or outside city limits? Is price generally better outside, just a longer commute? (I currently have to drive 1.5hrs to Pittsburgh, so I'm pretty sure I'll be okay with anything, but you never know.)
I'm looking for a 1Bed/1bath apartment... is max $800 a reasonable expectation? I'm from a small town and new to the city so I'm a bit nervous and would be willing to spend a little extra if it meant a good location, but I don't have a good feel for what's reasonable yet.
My first choice locations right now are somewhere near the T, (South Hills, Beechview, Dormont, & Pleasant Hills? Am I missing anything good?) because I think trains are fun and would love to have that option to take it occasionally. Plus, if I get the job I want, seems like a not-too-long commute. If I go for living in the proper city, I think I'd be looking at Bloomfield, Friendship, Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Regent Square & Point Breeze. I've seen some good descriptions of these last places, but how do they compare to those outside the city?
Are there any definite "no"s that I should know about? I've already run into the Residences of South Hills a lot on Craigslist and ForRent.com, and apartmentratings.com tells me they're terrible. Anybody else that's a well-known bad idea? (Or a definite good idea?) And anything besides apartmentratings.com that I can use to check these things?
Thanks in advance for any help. :)
In general, are there particular advantages/disadvantages to being in or outside city limits? Is price generally better outside, just a longer commute? (I currently have to drive 1.5hrs to Pittsburgh, so I'm pretty sure I'll be okay with anything, but you never know.)
I'm looking for a 1Bed/1bath apartment... is max $800 a reasonable expectation? I'm from a small town and new to the city so I'm a bit nervous and would be willing to spend a little extra if it meant a good location, but I don't have a good feel for what's reasonable yet.
My first choice locations right now are somewhere near the T, (South Hills, Beechview, Dormont, & Pleasant Hills? Am I missing anything good?) because I think trains are fun and would love to have that option to take it occasionally. Plus, if I get the job I want, seems like a not-too-long commute. If I go for living in the proper city, I think I'd be looking at Bloomfield, Friendship, Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Regent Square & Point Breeze. I've seen some good descriptions of these last places, but how do they compare to those outside the city?
Are there any definite "no"s that I should know about? I've already run into the Residences of South Hills a lot on Craigslist and ForRent.com, and apartmentratings.com tells me they're terrible. Anybody else that's a well-known bad idea? (Or a definite good idea?) And anything besides apartmentratings.com that I can use to check these things?
Thanks in advance for any help. :)