I'm moving to Pittsburgh in January to do a PhD at UPitt. I'm late 20s single male and trying to figure out where to live. I'm thinking either Oakland area for "campus-style" life or Downtown for "city" life. What should I do? Any recommendations for 1br/studio apartments?
Also general Pittsburgh thread I guess
North Pittsburgh is the more historic part of the city, it's an old working class neighborhood. Alternatively, you could live in some of the southern suburbs along the light rail line (the "T") that goes through downtown via a subway and you can take a bus to the campus. This might be the cheapest option for you. Pittsburgh is a pretty cool up and coming city. I enjoyed it when I spent a few days there last year.
I would NOT recommend living downtown. I'd live near the campus. Look into the Squirrel Hill area. It's right next to Oakland but probably cheaper and way better restaurants and just generally more accessible. Northside is cool, but that commute would suck balls, also you would have a better chance of getting shot. Shadyside is a good area near Oakland but probably too expensive for a student. Just my 2 cents.
Seconding squirrel hill. I lived there last year and it was pretty great, walkable neighborhood on major bus lines that run to Oakland. Oakland is alright but it can be a little sketchy. Bloomfield is also nice, could look into that.
Also nobody calls it UPitt, it's just Pitt.
>>1160990
>I would NOT recommend living downtown
Any reason for this? Just curious.
Anon is right about Bloomfield. It's sort of a hipstery area much like it's neighbors Lawrenceville and Friendship. Garfield and Polish Hill are up and coming areas but you may want to avoid living there for now unless you don't mind some sketchiness. Downtown is have a resurgence in population but it's kind of a ghost town at night still. No real grocery stores, limited bars. Mostly older professionals live down there. A few students from Point Park and Duquesne. Personally speaking I just enjoy the vibe more in the other places I mentioned. Oh yeah, Regent Square isn't a bad spot, I think the housing is somewhat affordable there.
Pitt is gay
>>1160302
Depends on your budget? How much are you willing to pay for rent, utilities, internet etc? That'll more or less decide where you can live rather than having your choice of where to live. I actually have a friend who's not living in his place in Pitt right now until the end of the year but it's also unfurnished with the exception of some cases of Mountain Dew Pitch Black. You want me to ask him for you? It's legit but kind of expensive.
Use this handy interactive map as a starting point: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/08/us/census-race-map.html?_r=0