Winter Outside of Your Pittsburgh Apartment: It’s Not Just a Polar Vortex

When you rent a Pittsburgh apartment, you may not know what to expect. It’s an eclectic city known for football, steel mills, and zombies. And, yes, it gets cold here. But, if you brave these chilly winter squalls, you’ll discover the city outside of your Pittsburgh apartment is an adventure any time of year.

Once you figure out how to navigate those winding, one-way streets and that interesting public transportation system, you’ll find so many attractions and activities when you venture out of your Pittsburgh apartment.

South Side’s Annual Soup Contest

On Saturday, February 22, South Siders and those who enjoy the South Side will take part in a different kind of crawl. A soup one. This year marks the tenth annual event. South Side eateries and local host businesses open their doors and warm the chilly crawlers with inventive soups. It’s then your civic duty to vote for the best.

Ice Skate in Schenley Park

Set in the trees of the park is a full hockey rink for skating. Skating. Not checking your buddies into the boards. Not even during adults-only Friday night public skates.

Penguins Hockey

The Pens are good. There’s a whole bunch of them heading to Sochi this year. They score a lot of goals. They acquire scoring titles and MVP trophies like a college student acquires road signs. They’re fun to watch. Students, take advantage of their Student Rush specials that enable those with a valid student ID to get into the always-sold-out arena for $25. Or, just walk out the door of your Pittsburgh apartment. Whether you’re in Shadyside, South Side, or Dormont, there’s a bar nearby with a Pens game special.

Museums

Cold weather is a perfect excuse to stay indoors. When you have three rivers filled with kayaks, several neighborhoods of gallery crawls, and new outdoor dining options popping up all the time, it’s hard to justify checking out a museum when the weather’s nice. Let winter be the excuse. Pittsburgh’s art museums — including the Mattress Factory, Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Museum or Art, and the Frick Art & Historical Center — are world renowned. Then there are those niche exhibits that may prove just as memorable as their mainstream counterparts. The Photo Antiquities Museum of Photographic History on the North Side features a room of cameras and photos of Pittsburgh taken during the Great Depression. The Cultural District’s Toonseum is a celebration of comic books and otherwise cartoon art. And, if you’re in the mood for a mini road trip, the Living Dead Museum in Evans City, located right next to the cemetery from Night of the Living Dead, is an homage to another Western Pennsylvania pop cultural contribution — zombies.

When you rent a Pittsburgh apartment, you’re becoming a citizen of a dynamic city with opportunities for entertainment year-round. Yes, even on the cusp of a polar vortex.

Pittsburgh Restaurant Week

Sure, the best-known regional dish involves French fries on a sandwich, but Pittsburgh Restaurant Week is on a mission to prove that the Steel City’s collective palate is more sophisticated than that.

The semi-annual event begins with a kick-off party at Bill Chisnell Productions on Penn Ave in the Strip District at 6 PM on January 9, during which the participating restaurants entice potential diners with free samples of their dishes. The official week of the restaurant starts on January 13 and lasts until the 19^th.

During those seven days of gastrological delight, Pittsburghers can reserve their tables at participating restaurants for three-course prix fixe meals or $20.14 specials. It’s an opportunity for local eateries to showcase their specialties and for diners to experience them at a discounted price.

Restaurant locations range from Monroeville to Cranberry, but most are located in the city. Many are even within walking distance of Nexus Real Estate apartments.

In Shadyside:

^∧up modern italian

Avenue B

Mercurio’s

In South Side:

Bridge Ten Brasserie

Ibiza Tapas and Wine Bar

Mallorca

McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant

In Oakland:

The Porch at Schenley

Learn more at pittsburghrestaurantweek.com.

Learn more about renting Pittsburgh apartments in Shadyside, South Side, and Oakland from Nexus Real Estate at pghnexus.com.

Renting in Pittsburgh: South Side Apartments

A recent study just found that Pittsburgh has the most bars and pizza shops per capita of any city in the United States. A major contributor to this somewhat dubious distinction (well, at least to health-conscious teetotalers) is the South Side. Running alongside the Monongahela River, this flourishing entertainment district has become a magnet area for students and young professionals. South Side apartments are hot commodities that don't stay on the market long, as lifelong Pittsburghers and recent transplants continue to flock to this bustling area.

It’s not just the bars and nightlife that make the area attractive to the city’s younger residents. The South Side is just a drive (or walk, with the recent addition of a pedestrian area) over the awesomely named and arachnid-like Hot Metal Bridge to Oakland, where the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Carlow College are located. For Duquesne University and Point Park University students, with downtown campuses that are not conducive to student living, the South Side apartments are popular choices. The neighborhood is just a quick walk over the 10^th Street Bridge to downtown.

The South Side is made up of two areas — the Slopes and the Flats, which are exactly what they sound like. The Flats are on a grid and, with the exception of some inexplicable one-way streets, are easy to navigate. The Slopes, on the other hand, are not for the Pittsburgh neophytes or those with a fear of heights or who like their neighborhoods planned in a logical fashion. However, if you can manage the narrow roads, some truly great South Side apartments are available for affordable prices in the Slopes.

The South Side has seen major revitalization in the past decade. True, it was always vibrant — the streets were crowded with late-night revelers — but the area has become more diverse in its options. The South Side Works opened in the mid-2000s with shopping, dining, and a movie theater. It’s since expanded to include a wine bar, hotels, and a German beer hall. The South Side Riverfront Park is an even more recent addition to the area that offers a great view of the Mon and links to the river trail for jogging and biking.

If you only pass through the South Side every couple months, it may seem that it is constantly changing. There’s always something new. A new restaurant, a new store, a new coffee shop, and, of course, a new bar. The South Side is fun. It’s walkable. It’s vibrant.

One major trend in the area has been the renovation of older houses into multifamily properties. Most of the homes in the area are like others in Pittsburgh — old. The new demographics of the area are dictating a change. No longer do South Side residents require an entire house. Younger people without children are willing to live in smaller quarters. So, property managers and investors are renovating properties and turning them into high-end apartments in the trendy neighborhood. This style of South Side apartments started in the Flats and is moving up to the Slopes.