You will get used to the helicopter quickly. Ambulances aren’t very noticeable — they might even turn off sirens when they get close, now that I think of it. To be honest though I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable walking a dog alone in the middle of the night in the East Promenade of Allegheny Commons. Evening time / dusk sure though!

Isn’t friendship in the city and close to west Penn?? Um?

That’s exactly my point? I didn’t grow up in north side, thus, asking for advice/other folks’ experiences.

Thanks for the insight! How would you describe the area? We’ve heard some things about E Ohio (which would be around the corner) but not sure if things have changed

It’s like 2 miles away? Seems pretty similar to me ? Not trying to be mean .

Friendship is near Shadyside, 3.5 miles away. That's a long way when you live in an area that you technically never have to leave to meet your living needs.

I’ve personally found that things change a lot from neighborhood to neighborhood after living in other cities, which is why I’m asking. (Ex: homewood vs squirrel hill). Lol

Oh… I think I understand now…. Based this example.

>To be honest though I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable walking a dog alone in the middle of the night in the East Promenade of Allegheny Commons.

I'll second that. I was in that area last Fall, couple interesting characters out and about even during the day, including one person so strung-out and belligerent that 6 cops showed up to deal with her. Then, not long after that, there was that triple-shooting near the Sunoco station. Some parts of the North Side are nice, that area is definitely questionable, IMO.

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Thank you, will keep this in mind. And I’m sorry about your friend-i hope she’s okay and healing.

I didn't live there, was just passing through taking care of some business in that area, and a little bit was enough for me (but I'll admit to being a little bit of a suburbanite who enjoys a different lifestyle than city dwellers). At least they cleared out the homeless encampment on Stockton.

Totally different vibes.

To be fair, this is one of the least safe or quiet parts of the Northside. The part of Commons Park that is closest to you is an open air drug market. East Ohio Street is being gentrified with expensive new restaurants and an expansion of the local brewery. You are directly underneath the flight path of life flight helicopters, which are insanely loud and not easy to get used to in that proximity.

I would look elsewhere—you can do much better to find a place that suits your needs as explained in your post. That said, part of the experience of living in the city is being in the middle of a living confluence of people and things. You could live here and enjoy it but I think there are quieter and safer places for you to be bad.

Honestly check out Bellevue and Brighton Heights. Fairly close to North Shore and it will alleviate many of your concerns about noise/safety and you’ll have a lower cost of living.

Don’t

I'd say you want to look more in Bellevue, Avalon, Brighton Heights. Much safer areas and still close to the north shore and city.

That area of the Northside you speak of isn't the nicest or safest...

I'll question this... lived here for 5 years and you never get used to the helicopters. On days when windows are open I generally have to pause the TV multiple times per evening to let choppers fly past. I live in Allegheny Commons and don't always feel safe here. I wouldn't live over by E Ohio and most who are about to downvote don't really live here to know the truth

lived on Cedar (closer to the fountain, near the top) for years and loved Deutschtown.

Fridays there’s a farmers market across the street, tons of restaurants (including a Rite-Aid) on E Ohio, full size grocery store at the bottom of Cedar, and a fairly safe park across the street.

City living, but using common sense no more dangerous than most cities. I say do it.

I go down to East Ohio fairly often. My son goes to ATA, I have done lots of work at NOVA place. When I hit East Ohio, I like to go to ACB and then walk down to the Elks. Sometimes I go to the Government Center for shows or walk up to Penn Brew. I've closed Verdetto's (or Regrettos as it is known) more times than I like to admit (the East St shooting was literally beside Verdettos). I know the area well. It's not as wild down there as people make it out to be. Yes, there is crime and that shooting at the Sunoco was horrific. Yes, it has a high homeless population and you see some weird shit at times. I saw a guy smashing jars of pickles outside the GE a few weeks ago. Not sure what his deal was.

Would I want to walk my dog in the commons late at night by myself given your circumstances? Probably not. As a middle age man I've never felt particularly uncomfortable. I anticipate the area will get cracked down on a bit given the recent bit of crime and new development that is currently being done. But people have been saying that for years...

I lived there recently on Avery Street. We moved because we bought a house close to family. We felt generally safe, but we had a townhome and took our dog to the bathroom in the back courtyard at night. Below East Ohio Street to the Giant Eagle is significantly more sketchy than the area from East Ohio to the hospital. Walking your dog around the fountain should cause no issues. It all depends on where the place is located.

You will hear sirens, helicopters, fireworks from Pirates games and every other event, and other city noises. The benefits were the proximity to so much of the city and also a cool little neighborhood that hasn't completely caught on yet.

I love living on the north side but I’m more by allegheny west / Manchester and it’s been my favorite place in the city to live.

My husband and I lived close to where you will for 5 years. I also came from Frienship! We LOVED it. We're now in the suburbs and miss it a lot. We never felt unsafe.

I have a friend who lives in the Schoolhouse Apartments, so I have visited many times on the weekends and have never really felt uncomfortable walking in the immediate couple of blocks around his place. I will say though once I drive down to East Ohio, I definitely see characters who I would understand why people would not feel comfortable walking by at night.

I think you should maybe look at Bellevue or Avalon. Both are much quieter, are a fairly quick drive to most places you'd want to go, offer decent public transit if you happen to end up working in Downtown, and have a lower wage tax than in the city.

A helicopter flies to Allegheny General quite often

DM me if you want. I’ve lived in the building you’re looking to move into for 5 years and I’m leaving this July for good reason.

I’ll save you from having to DM me lol.

The North Side is great overall. I moved here for the convenience. It’s nice being able to walk or bike places when the weather is nice. The farmers market is amazing in the summer. First Fridays are a good time. I love banjo night and I dearly miss Park House, but have fallen in love with ACB.

When I first moved here in 2017 I knew what I was getting into, I thought. It was kind of sketch, but if you have common sense you’ll be fine. For the first 3/4 years of me living here that assessment was generally correct. There were nuisance issues, all of my packages would get stolen, so I had to either mail them to my office, or an Amazon locker. People loitering outside of my building, sometimes being threatening but usually just annoying. People screaming and fighting at the bus stop outside my windows at all hours of the night. Rampant drug use in the park and on Cedar between East Ohio and the GE. All in all the kinds of things I thought I should expect as regular occurrences. I was generally unbothered and the benefits absolutely outweighed the negatives.

Things started to change in 2020. I just kind of noticed a mood shift which was definitely due to the pandemic, so not necessarily surprising, but jarring none the less. That was the summer the fireworks never ended. Just non stop every night for months there were people lighting fireworks. Then came the roving gang of dirt bikes and quads. I also felt like I got harassed more by strangers after 2020 - and peoples attitudes became more mean and slightly violent. In December of 2021 there was a shooting directly in front of my bedroom windows on Cedar Ave, broad daylight, was working from home. Shit was terrifying. Fortunately nobody was hurt - but it rattled me a bit.

Fast forward to spring of 2022. I had been away for the weekend visiting my parents out of town, and I drove back Sunday afternoon, probably around 3/4pm - nice sunny spring day. Parked my truck on Cedar and was walking to my passenger side door to unload my vehicle and then bang bang bang - what looks like a 12 year old is in the middle of Cedar about a block and half away with a hand gun the size of his forearm just shooting wildly into the GE parking lot. It was at this point that I started to seriously reconsider living here. I can deal with the crack heads and other shit - but I don’t want to hear, see, or worst case become a victim of a shooting.

Summer of 2022 was violent here. Many shootings within ear shot - many don’t make the news due to a lack of victims. But then the Sunoco shooting happened and that sealed the deal for me. I’ve been looking into where I’m going to move to since then. I had just resigned my lease before the shooting happened - so I’m stuck here for several more months.

Last weekend on Sunday morning around 11:30am I walked out to my vehicle to head to the gym. I get in - get situated and start my vehicle when I notice movement in my rear view, there’s three guys, two hanging back and one charging up to my driver door - I quickly locked the door like 2 seconds before this dudes hand hits my handle. He feels it’s locked and then runs away with his crackhead buddies. These dudes were going to jump me, a 6ft pretty big dude - at 11:30am on a Sunday. Sigh.

It’s really sad - because I do love this neighborhood. But after 5 years going on 6 of living here - I’ve been able to fully make the assessment that it’s just not worth the benefits. Of course, this is just my opinion. But I’m being honest when I say that if anyone I loved or deeply cared about lived where I do, I would worry about them. The chances of becoming a victim in this specific little section of the North Side are high enough to worry about it.

Hope this helps a little.

That part of Deutschtown is gonna be a little sketchy at night.

I don’t know what you’re used or what your comfort level is, but you might want to look elsewhere

I'll be honest with you, I hated North Side. Lived there for 3 years after being in Bloomfield for a while. The character of the neighborhood is just so different from the East End. And I never really felt safe living there.

As others have said, you might want to look at Brighton Heights instead if you're considering that part of the city.

If you want a safe and quiet (by city standards) place to live I would also suggest Brighton Heights or Bellevue. My wife and I have been in Brighton Heights for 3 years and enjoy it. Nice homes, nice sense of community, and it's close enough to the North Shore to enjoy all the amenities. For context- to get from here to where you were looking at staying it's a ~10 minute bus ride or 20 minute bike ride (less if you're fast). Or an easy Uber ride if you'd rather do that.

Bellevue is also very nice and has its own little "main street" area with lots of amenities (it's also very close to Brighton Heights, which opens up your options if you choose to live in BH). But it's a bit further from the city. Not much further, but if you're trying to get there without a car for a night of drinking or whatever it does make a slight difference.

I am looking at places in that general area and what sellers want is bonkers, especially considering that interest rates are up massively. Nearly a half million for an 1100 square foot townhouse that has a roof from the 1980s? No thanks.
 
The talk about housing prices going down in cities during the pandemic was all bullshit. Everything's up massively since 2020.

Let me put it this way ...I have to be cognizant of what I'm wearing when I have errands to run on East Ohio Street. Catcalling there is fairly rampant. Your girlfriend would feel safer in another neighborhood.

If you're looking for a safe area, this is not the place.

There’s some lovely parts of North Side that are a bit safer.

The spot you are looking at is about the closest you can get to the worst of the North Side crime in that area

Lol not BH... it's still under PPD and is highly ignored by them. Has everyone just forgotten about the church shooting at the funeral of another shooting? Gang violence seeping into the neighborhood comstantly. At least Bellvue is safer and has its own PD

It looks further on a map - that shooting happened about a 2 minute walk from the front of your dream apartment building, with a direct line of sight to where it occurred.

Your car won’t get “broken” into most likely - but never leave it unlocked. When you step out of for breathe of fresh air, chances are at least one person is going to bug you for money or something between your walk from the building and across the street and up towards the fountain part of the park. I mention the fountain part of the park because the part of the park closest to your building is a drug market.

You won’t like this part of the neighborhood, I can tell from your comments. Your partner has PTSD from an assault when they were younger, and they would likely get triggered weekly here. I highly suggest you look in the area around ACB, Max’s, and the Schoolhouse apartments if you want to be in Deutschtown. Or look at the Mexican War Streets and Allegheny West if you just want to be in the North Side.

Thank you for sharing!

North Side is the best side of the city. Unless you're wealthy then go to shadyside but even then shadyside is stuck up and meh.

Crime isn't any worse than the rest of the city. The commons make the park iffy at times but even in broad daylight. For the most part theyre just junkies, not much of a threat. If you're used to city living you're gonna be fine and you're gonna enjoy the Northside more than any other hood in the city. From Manchester to deutschtown it's the most community driven area. Love over here long enough and you're gonna know a lot of people. You'll also find most people on this side of town don't really bother with the rest of the city. We're close to all the good stuff. Tons of fairs, festivals, music, some of the best restaurants, bars and pubs in the city are hidden over here.

People will always be the bigger problem. Keep your head up and be aware and you'll likely never have problems. If your dog is even a small medium sized dog most problem people will probably not choose you as a potential target.

Sorry to hear that. I agree that the vibe has changed on East Ohio from moderately chaotic to a more menacing feel during that time frame.

In regards to this topic, Brighton Heights isn’t one place.

Go to Zillow and look at Brighton heights recently sold properties. It’s pretty obvious what I’m talking about.

Second this. It’s a fantastic neighborhood over here

I would 100% not feel safe on East Ohio St.

Love the area, wouldn’t live anywhere near that giant eagle

Would you say where the farmers market is is too close? (5min walk away, I think)

On cedar? I’d probably avoid all of cedar but that’s me. It seems to have gotten a bit better since they cleared out the homeless camp (it’s a sad reality) but east Ohio and cedar are not places I go near at night. If you can find something closer to the Mexican war streets or Allegheny west, go for it. It’s an awesome area but that immediate area is rough. Seen way too many junkies overdosing in the road over there

I live in Allegheny West, the other side of Allegheny Commons Park, and love it here. You can walk to different things easily, pup loves walking around the aviary and chasing bunnies, husband can walk to work downtown. I (F33) have never felt unsafe in our area but the other side of the park is a bit sketchy seeming on occasion and there is noise from game days, sirens, and construction often.

If you still have time to look around and want to live on the north side I’d recommend looking closer to the Allegheny west area! Feel free to DM with questions

Move to the Mexican War Streets if you can. It’s the best area in the north side.

I lived there for 5 years. I was only hassled once or twice, but I'm a big guy. I never quite got used to the helicopters or light pollution (I didn't have to turn on lights to go to the bathroom at night). What used to be REALLY bad was the backup beepers on the equipment at/by AGH. Just constant high pitched beeping from 8am to 4pm.

> grocery store at the bottom of Cedar

this is the giant eagle the other posters are mentioning.

I rented a house in the war streets from 2018-2020 and this is incredibly accurate. It was great and then shit got weird in 2020. More of a nuisance, but it was a turning point. Can’t believe how it got worse

Lived at an apartment complex in that area. It was fine, wouldn’t ship at giant eagle, didn’t go out much after dark. Some shootings close by.

Thank you! May I ask how close you were from AGH for reference? Obviously don’t need to give exact location, just want to scope out how far

Observatory Hill. The best of the Northside of PGH IMO

The North Side is one of the more historic and quiet communities in the city. There are sketchy parts, like any part of a city, you just have to keep your wits about you.

You grew up in friendship? If you were shook walking on the Garfield side of Penn back then maybe cedar ain't for you, if you felt comfortable there you'll be good. East Ohio will be unrecognizable in the next couple years full of all new restaurants.

Can I ask what city you’re coming from?

I was in Allegheny center, Parkview facing AGH. In general, I liked it. Fenced parking lot was nice for sure.

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I’ve heard Brighton Heights has some sketchy areas

Might I suggest joining us up on Troy Hill? Directly adjacent to deutschtown, much quieter and lower-key. Slower pace of life while still next to all the city has to offer.

We moved to the northside right before the pandemic and we love it! Everyone is so nice and friendly. And there are so many people truly invested in the area and are working really hard to make it better. It definitely has it's problems but there's a certain vibe that it has that I think is hard to find elsewhere. We moved from out of state and had no ties to the area but we were definitely drawn in.

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I've lived on east Ohio st. since this past spring. It is definitely occasionally rowdy, but I have never felt directly unsafe or threatened. Keep your wits about you, don't go to the ATM at 3 in the morning, and this is a really lovely neighborhood.

I’ve lived on Cedar since 2017, and I am leaving the end of this month. This response is hauntingly accurate. There are multiple helicopter landings a day, and they are loud. They’ve woken me up from dead sleep countess times. Yes the farmers market across the street/local events are lovely, until you have to illegally park 10 blocks away from your home because all of your street parking is being used for people outside the neighborhood. The trees in the park are pruned so thin there’s a direct eyeline of people hanging out in them. The mental health/addiction crisis is evident everyday.

Thank you!!

>Thank you!!

You're welcome!

Definitely not a safe area. The Commons, Giant eagle, cedar Ave have a high violent crime rate.

What’s the character of the neighborhood?

I lived a little further down on Buena Vista for a year or two near the park, also in Manchester next to the baseball field. The neighborhood around Buena Vista is fine and I’ve always felt safe walking around there at night. Towards the hospital and the Giant Eagle where you’re talking about, definitely not. My roommate at the time witnessed a drive by a block from the hospital. The guy was just sitting in his car parked in front of that church across from the park and sadly didn’t make it. The helicopter is also super disruptive. I couldn’t imagine living right there.

I think the neighborhood is going to change a lot over the next 10 years, same with Manchester. A lot of businesses moving in, new apartment buildings, rent prices going up, etc.

It’s the qualities that separate each neighborhood. I’m assuming some examples would be cleanliness, presentation, upkeep, renters vs owners, residents’ friendliness, etc and things of that nature..

Sounds like a dog whistle

Why did you move?

We wanted to buy and it was just too expensive.

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When you say "partner" are you guys lgbtq? Cause that's not the best area for you then. Even without it getting a little shady crime wise.

The East End is where you want to be. I'd recommend Lawrenceville which is where I'd live if I could.

We’re hetero-presenting non-black POC, if that helps

Okay so reading between the lines there (I'm FTM BTW) you should be good but just keep in mind we do have some very traditional pockets of people around from our large religious population.

If you're all set-up legally name wise and everything I can't imagine how anyone would ever find out though.

Are there any other decent grocery stores in the area besides that giant Eagle?

Pre pandemic deutschtown was pretty great. E Ohio was a little seedy but some good spots.

Since then drug dealing and use has gotten bad near the Sue Murray pool, and more trouble makers on East Ohio.

But, things are rapidly changing to make e Ohio a vibrant business district. Subba Asian and EYV restaurant just opened. Siempre Argo and Fig Ash are great. Allegheny City Brewing is cool and is building a new tap room on East Ohio. Fig & Ash owners are opening a bar/rest/music venue called fat cat. Park house is renovating. James st pub will be opening later this year. A bike repair shop is about to open. Government Center bar/coffee shop/record store/music venue is open. Wagsburgh pet supply store is really nice. Spak Brothers just bought a building on the street. Plus more in the works.

Federal Galley is fun. The community garden is great to hang out at on Thursday nights. The elks club has banjo night. Farmers market in the park is nice. Lots of live music around.

There are so many reasons to love the north side and all Of this development is great - really hope things calm down on E O after all of these shops go in and things actually get enforced , cleaned up. I can’t believe how busy those places are when there are piles of trash lining the streets - they deserve better - fingers crossed , im optimistic

So I'm curious as to why you picked that spot in the first place. Full disclosure, I grew up in Shaler where fortunately the crime was minimal in general. Aside from the random domestic incidents which really only ended in murder like 1% of the time, the rest of the crime could probably be attributed to the same morons I went to high-school with. Really all petty stuff. I was also frequenting other areas down that way for whatever reason. North side, Brighton Heights, Spring Garden, Millvale & Etna of course, so I did often venture out of my safe space.

Never in my life did I once consider anything south of Reserve Township as a place I'd want to live. I once worked with someone who came in from Westmorland County growing up in one of those cookie cutter housing developments off the highway. She told me they bought a house in the Mex. War Streets for like Half a million dollars. This was probably 15 years ago. I was astonished. Not only that but listening to her complain about really just general city living type stuff but also the crime and petty stuff like ppl smoking weed on the street and public urination etc. Like what do you expect?

I guess my suburban thought is, why the fuck would you choose to live there when you can spend the same amount and live in a suburb that maybe adds 20 min to your commute but alleviates dealing with all that bullshit?

I chose to live here because at the time I was 27, I wanted to live IN the city, and I found a nice apartment that checked all the boxes here.

I also grew up in urban areas, and I used to skateboard all over the city as a teen in the early 00’s. Suffice it to say, normal city issues don’t really bother me that much at all, and are worth the conveniences of living in a dense urban area.

I can’t stress enough how much value walkability adds to my life. I fucking hate driving, and avoid it as much as possible. I love being able to walk basically everywhere I need to go for life’s necessities in 10 mins or less.

I like the parks, I like the river trails, I like living in a central location, I like being close to friends, I like having the city at my fingertips.

I just don’t like the odd chance that a bullet might hit me or one of my neighbors, and for that reason I’m leaving. I understand why people like the burbs, but that’s just not me. When I leave the city in a year or so, it’ll be to my farm in the middle of nowhere.

Don’t do it if you don’t have to. 2 moms were murdered down the block from there last year just waiting for the bus.