Living in and around Pittsburgh

If youre an urban dweller, Downtown may or may not be your cup of tea. There are lovers and haters in the city of Pittsburgh. The haters are going to tell you everything that's wrong with the place and how it doesn't in any way live up to the standards of New York / Chicago / Boston / name your city. The lovers are another story entirely. Theyre all across the board, from young professionals to young families to middle-aged couples to empty nesters and retirees. With a median housing price almost half that of Pennsylvania at large, and a relatively low median income, bargains abound—especially for New Yorkers used to the idea of raising kids in cramped Manhattan apartments. Walkability and mass transit get high scores, and amenities abound. Even the schools are pretty good. While crime certainly exists here, plenty of residents say they feel safe and don't really think about it. For a city with a history of industry, an industrious revitalization of downtown living doesn't seem all that surprising.

The streetcar suburb of Highland Park gets high marks from fans for being a relatively quiet, ethnically diverse, neighborhoody neighborhood with great amenities and easy access to downtown. Architecture spans a range from craftsman to Tudor to Victorian. Granted, the median home price here is more than double that of Pittsburgh at large—but at under 200K, it's still reasonably approachable relative to a lot of places. Schools also get exceptional marks, and the cost of living is relatively OK. And lets not forget the terrific park with the zoo and aquarium.

Originally named Buena Vista, the Mexican War Streets neighborhood gets its name from the fact that all the streets are named for historical figures and battles of the Mexican-American War. If you're in the mood for an artistic neighborhood without a lot of businesses, this could be your place. It's a quick walk to the North Side, which offers the Andy Warhol Museum, the Childrens Museum, the National Aviary and (of course) home of the Steelers, Heinz Field. If you like that whole small-town, neighborhood village vibe, Regent Square is calling. A compact neighborhood with houses built close together and lots of front porches, Regent Square has a distinct reputation for being a very welcoming and vibrant place. With plenty of amenities right there or nearby, residents claim to really enjoy it. Schools get high marks and the median home price hovers around a quarter mill. East End has been called a boomtown, and is actually a collection of several smaller neighborhoods. The Squirrel Hill and Shadyside neighborhoods are expensive, but come with the kind of excellent amenities and schools that you look for in an upscale neighborhood. These are a couple of the most established, stable neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.

Affluent Mt. Lebanon is one of Pittsburgh's early streetcar suburbs, and comes with a nationally recognized school district. Besides excellent schools, were talking about well-built older homes, a good downtown business district, high walkability (children from all over town walk to school), easy access to public transit, and a surprisingly reasonable median home price of around $200,000. Mt. Lebanon's Virginia Manor neighborhood is considered by some to be breathtaking, with beautiful, huge homes. Hitting a $500,000 price tag in Virginia Manor isn't hard, but there are still some smaller homes in the worst house in the best neighborhood paradigm. The enigmatically-named Moon Township offers a decent bang for the buck. BusinessWeek magazines has previously ranked it as one of the northeasts best affordable suburbs. With a wide range of housing inventory, you can find almost anything from new construction to fixer-uppers.