Pittsburgh Base Camp?
June 24, 2011 10:59 PM Subscribe
I'll be in Pittsburgh for 5 days, with no car and a half-dozen job interviews at locations scattered throughout the city. Help me find an inexpensive but strategically placed hotel--or neighborhood containing hotels--from which I might most easily venture forth to any quarter by foot or mass-transit...
Pittsburgh is a big place, and the number of hotels in its general metropolitan area is simply staggering to a rustic like myself. I could pick one equidistant to all of the places I will need to be, but I imagine that some parts of the city more remote from its core might contain better amenities and more convenient access to other parts.
Is this notion crazy?
Where does the transit best run?
What areas are most walkable?
Which neighborhoods are might be most welcoming to someone briefly in town, but seriously considering relocation (provided the interviews go well)?
What do you locals or frequent visitors recommend?
In case it helps, the neighborhood with the greatest concentration of my destinations is East Liberty, but others lie downtown and places further distant.
Pittsburgh is a big place, and the number of hotels in its general metropolitan area is simply staggering to a rustic like myself. I could pick one equidistant to all of the places I will need to be, but I imagine that some parts of the city more remote from its core might contain better amenities and more convenient access to other parts.
Is this notion crazy?
Where does the transit best run?
What areas are most walkable?
Which neighborhoods are might be most welcoming to someone briefly in town, but seriously considering relocation (provided the interviews go well)?
What do you locals or frequent visitors recommend?
In case it helps, the neighborhood with the greatest concentration of my destinations is East Liberty, but others lie downtown and places further distant.
Is there *any* way you can rent a car? Would zipcar perhaps work? Are you going to the suburbs at all? I ask, because our bus system recently got draconian cuts. My students are regularly late or entirely missing class because full buses are passing them by. Since some buses only come once an hour any more, this is causing headaches. Then, to make it worse, there are places in the extended metro which are no longer accessible to bus at all. If you have any choice at all, try not to rely on it for something as important as interviews. Once you live here, it is possible to live without a car.
If you have to rely on bus, I'd second that girl by staying downtown close to the bus station. Those hotels are more expensive, but it'll save you hours of time. Alternately, if most of your interviews are in East Liberty, perhaps stay over in that area and just try to rent a car for the days you have interviews elsewhere? East Liberty to downtown by bus isn't too terrible.
As far as the most welcoming neighborhoods: Everyone in Pittsburgh is nice. We may not go out of our way to talk to you, but if you strike up conversation, it won't take you long before you know what we're thinking about naming the children. People in Pittsburgh generally *love* to help people, and will sometimes get disappointed if you don't need help. Just talk to people. Everyone has very strong opinions about the weather, the sports teams, and the best way to get from Point A to Point B, if you need conversational topics. Now, that said - there are some neighborhoods which, although not unfriendly to outsiders, are made up of families who have been in the same house for approaching 100 years. You're unlikely to find yourself relocating to any of those neighborhoods since the houses rarely hit the open market. Just remember that once in a while, you can wander into an enclave where everyone knows you're an outsider and that can feel weird. It's one of the charms of Pittsburgh, though, and this is one of the very few cities in the US where people tend to stay put.
Three Pittsburgh things to experience: Primantis, hot dogs, and brunch. For some reason, we love those three things. People have strong opinions on that, too, so I won't offend anyone by making comments.
Specific neighborhoods to visit include: Lawrenceville, a surprisingly fun neighborhood lately. Some odd shops, some galleries, some great restaurants (get fish tacos at the Round Corner), poke around in the cemetery. Do you have a family? Dormont's got its charms, as well as several decent brunch and hot dog places. The Strip district is a tourist district on weekend mornings, but it's also a great place to get a feel of Pittsburgh. Oakland is the university district with all that implies, which may or may not appeal to you. If you're fantasizing about buying a gigantic, gorgeous house for relatively cheap compared to other cities, poke around the east end - Squirrel hill (nice shopping district at Forbes and Murray,) Shadyside (ritzyish shopping on Walnut, although marginally less charming since the chains came in, there're still some nice shops and restaurants there), Regent Square (try Point Brugge Cafe if you like Belgian). Even East Liberty has its charm - If you find yourself near Ellsworth, it's nice to walk around in that area. Other folks might recommend you visit Station Square (bleh, tourists) or South Side (of historical interest, but the last few times I've taken out of towners there, it was a big resounding meh. It's great for bars, if you like that, and the houses are awesome on the inside.) We have more than 100 mayors in the county, so it will be impossible to visit every neighborhood.
If you can get up there, it's worth going to the West End Overlook. There are overlooks on Mount Washington (the ridge directly south of downtown) and it's tempting to try to ride the two inclines and walk between them, but you absolutely can't. Our failure to build sidewalks in random places is part of our charm. The view's better from West End, anyway. West end is the ridge southwest of downtown with a huge white farmhouse sitting in the middle of it.
Oh, will you be here for the fireworks? Don't be fooled by our smalltownyness feel. Our fireworks are better than DC's, because we have not one, but two firework families living in the area. If you're thinking "Enh, I've seen fireworks," it's still worth going to the Point or to the North Shore over.
We've had several threads on what to do when visiting Pittsburgh, so you'll easily be able to fill up five days.
Good luck, though, other than the transit system, Pittsburgh's a great place to live.
posted by arabelladragon at 5:55 AM on June 25, 2011
If you have to rely on bus, I'd second that girl by staying downtown close to the bus station. Those hotels are more expensive, but it'll save you hours of time. Alternately, if most of your interviews are in East Liberty, perhaps stay over in that area and just try to rent a car for the days you have interviews elsewhere? East Liberty to downtown by bus isn't too terrible.
As far as the most welcoming neighborhoods: Everyone in Pittsburgh is nice. We may not go out of our way to talk to you, but if you strike up conversation, it won't take you long before you know what we're thinking about naming the children. People in Pittsburgh generally *love* to help people, and will sometimes get disappointed if you don't need help. Just talk to people. Everyone has very strong opinions about the weather, the sports teams, and the best way to get from Point A to Point B, if you need conversational topics. Now, that said - there are some neighborhoods which, although not unfriendly to outsiders, are made up of families who have been in the same house for approaching 100 years. You're unlikely to find yourself relocating to any of those neighborhoods since the houses rarely hit the open market. Just remember that once in a while, you can wander into an enclave where everyone knows you're an outsider and that can feel weird. It's one of the charms of Pittsburgh, though, and this is one of the very few cities in the US where people tend to stay put.
Three Pittsburgh things to experience: Primantis, hot dogs, and brunch. For some reason, we love those three things. People have strong opinions on that, too, so I won't offend anyone by making comments.
Specific neighborhoods to visit include: Lawrenceville, a surprisingly fun neighborhood lately. Some odd shops, some galleries, some great restaurants (get fish tacos at the Round Corner), poke around in the cemetery. Do you have a family? Dormont's got its charms, as well as several decent brunch and hot dog places. The Strip district is a tourist district on weekend mornings, but it's also a great place to get a feel of Pittsburgh. Oakland is the university district with all that implies, which may or may not appeal to you. If you're fantasizing about buying a gigantic, gorgeous house for relatively cheap compared to other cities, poke around the east end - Squirrel hill (nice shopping district at Forbes and Murray,) Shadyside (ritzyish shopping on Walnut, although marginally less charming since the chains came in, there're still some nice shops and restaurants there), Regent Square (try Point Brugge Cafe if you like Belgian). Even East Liberty has its charm - If you find yourself near Ellsworth, it's nice to walk around in that area. Other folks might recommend you visit Station Square (bleh, tourists) or South Side (of historical interest, but the last few times I've taken out of towners there, it was a big resounding meh. It's great for bars, if you like that, and the houses are awesome on the inside.) We have more than 100 mayors in the county, so it will be impossible to visit every neighborhood.
If you can get up there, it's worth going to the West End Overlook. There are overlooks on Mount Washington (the ridge directly south of downtown) and it's tempting to try to ride the two inclines and walk between them, but you absolutely can't. Our failure to build sidewalks in random places is part of our charm. The view's better from West End, anyway. West end is the ridge southwest of downtown with a huge white farmhouse sitting in the middle of it.
Oh, will you be here for the fireworks? Don't be fooled by our smalltownyness feel. Our fireworks are better than DC's, because we have not one, but two firework families living in the area. If you're thinking "Enh, I've seen fireworks," it's still worth going to the Point or to the North Shore over.
We've had several threads on what to do when visiting Pittsburgh, so you'll easily be able to fill up five days.
Good luck, though, other than the transit system, Pittsburgh's a great place to live.
posted by arabelladragon at 5:55 AM on June 25, 2011
Best answer: Some thoughts:
- Without knowing exactly which neighborhoods/suburbs that you're going to, definitely Downtown is your best bet for transit. The bus system is arranged on a radial system with 90% of the lines starting or ending in the downtown area. Areas just outside of Downtown could work too: The Strip, Northshore or Station Square are within a 15 minute walk to downtown buses. Cheap may be a problem though since most of these are aimed at business travelers. The cheapest hotels are out in the burbs but you'd be stuck out there without a vehicle.
- The suburbs are harder, the transit system is designed to get commuters in from the 'burgs to the city, not the other way 'round. So most of the outbound buses run in the afternoon and a lot of them just stop at isolated park-n-ride lots.
- If you have a license, ZipCar is really handy and there are quite a few cars located downtown if you need to hit places that don't have easy bus access
- Google maps is probably the best way to figure out the bus system, it has all of PAT's routes integrated and is much easier to use than the transit system's own website.
- Yellow Cab is probably a last ditch option, they are the worst. Usually late (by hours sometimes) and sometimes they just don't show at all.
- Talk to the recruiter and/or admin at the office you're applying to, they might be some help although you might not want to mention that you're interviewing at five other places.
Feel free to MeMail me with any other questions.
posted by octothorpe at 7:08 AM on June 25, 2011
- Without knowing exactly which neighborhoods/suburbs that you're going to, definitely Downtown is your best bet for transit. The bus system is arranged on a radial system with 90% of the lines starting or ending in the downtown area. Areas just outside of Downtown could work too: The Strip, Northshore or Station Square are within a 15 minute walk to downtown buses. Cheap may be a problem though since most of these are aimed at business travelers. The cheapest hotels are out in the burbs but you'd be stuck out there without a vehicle.
- The suburbs are harder, the transit system is designed to get commuters in from the 'burgs to the city, not the other way 'round. So most of the outbound buses run in the afternoon and a lot of them just stop at isolated park-n-ride lots.
- If you have a license, ZipCar is really handy and there are quite a few cars located downtown if you need to hit places that don't have easy bus access
- Google maps is probably the best way to figure out the bus system, it has all of PAT's routes integrated and is much easier to use than the transit system's own website.
- Yellow Cab is probably a last ditch option, they are the worst. Usually late (by hours sometimes) and sometimes they just don't show at all.
- Talk to the recruiter and/or admin at the office you're applying to, they might be some help although you might not want to mention that you're interviewing at five other places.
Feel free to MeMail me with any other questions.
posted by octothorpe at 7:08 AM on June 25, 2011
Is one organization bringing you out for five days of interviews? If so, they're crazy not to provide/reimburse a rental car (or at least provide you with rides to and from your interviews).
If you're truly on your own, you need to rent a car. The buses just aren't adequate if you're going between East Liberty, downtown, and other neighborhoods.
posted by Meg_Murry at 7:45 AM on June 25, 2011
If you're truly on your own, you need to rent a car. The buses just aren't adequate if you're going between East Liberty, downtown, and other neighborhoods.
posted by Meg_Murry at 7:45 AM on June 25, 2011
Response by poster: Follow up question, inspired by octothorpe: any recommendable taxi services, if Pittsburgh Yellow Cab is unreliable?
posted by lordcorvid at 9:32 AM on June 25, 2011
posted by lordcorvid at 9:32 AM on June 25, 2011
I agree with the others that you can get from downtown to East Liberty pretty easily, but anything beyond that is going to take forever. And this was my experience before the transit cuts others have mentioned.
I just don't think the bus is going to be very good for you, so I'd rent a car. I don't know about the taxi service, but my understanding is that it's not very good.
FWIW, I lived in Squirrel Hill for a year or so, and it's a great neighborhood. Shadyside is overpriced and kind of snobby. Lawrenceville seems to be where the cool kids live these days, and there's enough local grit/culture to make life interesting there. One place to consider looking around is Wilkinsburg, which is actually a separate borough from Pbugh. Some parts of it are rough, but parts of it are really nice and it's less expensive.
posted by Fister Roboto at 12:21 PM on June 25, 2011
I just don't think the bus is going to be very good for you, so I'd rent a car. I don't know about the taxi service, but my understanding is that it's not very good.
FWIW, I lived in Squirrel Hill for a year or so, and it's a great neighborhood. Shadyside is overpriced and kind of snobby. Lawrenceville seems to be where the cool kids live these days, and there's enough local grit/culture to make life interesting there. One place to consider looking around is Wilkinsburg, which is actually a separate borough from Pbugh. Some parts of it are rough, but parts of it are really nice and it's less expensive.
posted by Fister Roboto at 12:21 PM on June 25, 2011
Rent a car. You are looking for a job. You cannot really do this using public transportation.
posted by rr at 12:31 PM on June 25, 2011
posted by rr at 12:31 PM on June 25, 2011
Could you be more specific about where the interviews will be? I love Pittsburgh like a fiend but public transportation can be ... not reliable.
posted by amicamentis at 6:30 PM on June 25, 2011
posted by amicamentis at 6:30 PM on June 25, 2011
The buses are fine if you're commuting: going from your home to downtown and back again, twice a day. But they're really not adequate for getting around town for multiple far-flung interviews: arriving at scattered locations at scheduled times, throughout the day, requires a car here.
posted by palliser at 8:04 PM on June 25, 2011
posted by palliser at 8:04 PM on June 25, 2011
I'd drop by Pittsburgh's Oldest Restaurant, downtown in Market Square.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:59 PM on June 25, 2011
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:59 PM on June 25, 2011
Taxis are universally unreliable, unless you're at one of the good hotels downtown or going to the airport. Jitneys (unlicensed cabs) are available in most of the poorer neighborhoods, especially at the grocery stores, and at the Greyhound, but carry the usual risks.
It is possible to get around the city without a car... once you know where you are and where you're going and how to get there. Unless you seriously can't rent a car or use Zipcar, it's truly not worth the effort.
there is a Marriott spinoff (Courtyard, maybe, or a Spring Hill Suites?) in a new development just east of East Liberty, but not much else. However, check out Couchsurfing.org; there's a pretty good Pittsburgh community there, and there's a good chance you'll find someone close to where you want to be....
posted by FlyingMonkey at 9:19 PM on June 25, 2011
It is possible to get around the city without a car... once you know where you are and where you're going and how to get there. Unless you seriously can't rent a car or use Zipcar, it's truly not worth the effort.
there is a Marriott spinoff (Courtyard, maybe, or a Spring Hill Suites?) in a new development just east of East Liberty, but not much else. However, check out Couchsurfing.org; there's a pretty good Pittsburgh community there, and there's a good chance you'll find someone close to where you want to be....
posted by FlyingMonkey at 9:19 PM on June 25, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice, everyone. You've convinced me to forgo attempting a bus-based adventure and rent a car. Also given me a new appreciation of the transit system that I'll be giving up. But you Pittsburghers do seem to love your city, so I suspect that it will be worth it.
posted by lordcorvid at 12:18 PM on June 26, 2011
posted by lordcorvid at 12:18 PM on June 26, 2011
Response by poster: As it happens, I ended up finding a friendly couch on which to crash in Shadyside's northern margins, and, with the helpful advice of my hosts, was able to almost entirely avoid using the car that I had rented. With a little planning, and a willingness to walk, Pittsburgh's public transit proved entirely adequate for all but the most remote destinations (admitting that I always had several hours between appointments).
posted by lordcorvid at 9:25 PM on July 9, 2011
posted by lordcorvid at 9:25 PM on July 9, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
This page has some Port Authority resources, including a map of all of the bus routes which is kind of hard to read but more the fault of the Port Authority than the maker of the map.
Your places further distant can have a big impact on where would be good to stay--if they're still east of downtown staying in Shadyside might give you reasonable access to all of the places by transit while giving you a nice area to stay in, but if they're north or south or west of downtown, it could be a hassle. It can also depend on where east of downtown they are. I would check out the map and see where you need to get and what kind of buses would get you there. And then see how often those buses run, because some (particularly the crosstowns) can run very infrequently.
posted by that girl at 1:45 AM on June 25, 2011