A Few Questions (Pittsburgh, Lebanon, Wilkinsburg: section 8, apartment, houses)

[liamscott]

I would first like to say I'm analyzing several different areas to move to. It will be at least 2 or 3 years away. I noticed the cost of living here was quite low for a major city, technically it's lower than my small city. I have a few questions in no particular order and may add more later.

1) I have brain damage and can't drive because of seizures and other issues...I also get lost easy...I either need a good public transport option or everything that's necessary needs to be in walking distance. Like if I lived in a certain section of town.

2) I live on SSI a lot of times I can't even work part-time will I be able to afford the area? I should be able to get food stamps and be able to transfer my Section 8 until they fit me into the other area? But how are the prices on things including housing, food, cost of living in general? I can work pt usually if there's occupational training,etc. in the area for disabled people.

3) I'm an FtM transgender meaning I'm in a female body but identify as male will this be an issue?

4) Will I have to worry about being bullied for being disabled and/or trans or will people be nice to me?

5. Are their areas to avoid?

I will probably settle down to a couple of places and will check them out further and then visit one before I make up my mind. TY everyone who responds. TY all for taking the time to at least read if not post.

[SteelCityRising]

Hello there, and welcome in advance (potentially) to our great city!

1.) Greater Pittsburgh offers many affordable options for those on a budget, which is a breath of fresh air from many major metropolitan areas where the walkable neighborhoods tend to also be cost-prohibitive for many. In the city proper I'd recommend Squirrel Hill to you, as the Murray Avenue/Forbes Avenue Corridors offer a grocery store, restaurants, shops, houses of worship, coffeehouses, etc. Shadyside is another consideration, as you are proximate to a Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and two Giant Eagle grocery stores, as well as a wide array of other businesses. Mass transit is pretty good in Pittsburgh. Outside the city proper you'll find Dormont and Mt. Lebanon, both of which are also relatively walkable and both of which are sited along the "T" commuter rail line into the city. I live in Polish Hill, and within a half-hour's walk I can be in the heart of Downtown, the Strip District (sidewalk vendors, seafood market, pasta warehouse, popcorn factory, baked goods, etc.), Bloomfield ("Little Italy"), Lawrenceville (gentrifying area for bohemians), or other areas. You're close to a very nice library in the Hill District, and despite the nefarious reputation of that neighborhood I've never felt threatened there during the day (Homewood is a different story, as I was "jokingly" threatened there while working the other day). Another in-town suggestion might be Friendship, a small Victorian-era neighborhood which is roughly hemmed between East Liberty (transitioning neighborhood), Bloomfield, and Shadyside.

2.) Pittsburgh's cost-of-living is very inexpensive. You can find a decent 1-BR apartment here in the $400/month range in many neighborhoods (albeit not the most sought-after ones). You won't find something that cheap in most of the neighborhoods I mentioned above; however, there may be some deals in Dormont or Friendship. Gasoline is currently around $3.15/gallon. Groceries are in-line here with the national average, in my opinion. Utility costs aren't outrageous, although we have been having a pretty chilly winter so far.

3.) Define "issue". You'll undoubtedly get a few second glances or raise a few eyebrows amongst the ignorant "yinzer" types, especially the older ones, but all in all I don't foresee you facing any hostility or outright discrimination. I'm an openly-gay male (albeit a "butch" one), and I have yet to have any issues here. I will say, though, that racism is alive and well here. When I asked my current landlady about the safety of the surrounding neighborhood she pointed up at the Hill District and said "the Africans stay up there." Today while making a delivery in Point Breeze North (or is it Homewood South?) I stopped to ask a pair of security guards where an address was within a weird-looking office complex. They asked me the name on the package. I provided them with an obviously African-American-sounding name, and they immediately pointed me towards a non-profit organization as I heard them chuckling to one another "Yeah, you can just tell that's where she is with a name like that." I'm an educated male who happens to be employed in a "grunt" job by choice so I interact with many of these blue-collar "yinzer" folks on a regular basis. I can safely say that, yes, you WILL occasionally hear a chuckle or a sneer or feel a pair of eyes upon you; however, things WILL end there. Most Pittsburghers may not "approve" of alternative lifestyles, but they have the "live and let live" philosophy. I was on a date on Christmas and held hands with someone of the same gender in a movie theater ("Tron" was great, by the way). Nobody batted an eye.

4.) Bullied for being disabled? Sheesh. I don't think you'd even have to worry about that in Jena, Louisiana or any other backwater Southern hick town. As I said you may run into some unpleasantness (yet not hostility) regarding being transgendered, though. Pittsburgh has a surprisingly MASSIVE LGBT community, so most people who DO have an "issue" with anyone in our community keep their hate behind closed doors.

5.) I'm not racist, but, sadly, just about any majority-African-American neighborhood in the city proper is one you'll want to avoid (especially Homewood, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington, the Hill District, and much of Sheraden). Some other older suburbs have some "rougher" areas (especially Wilkinsburg) and some have some distressed (yet safe) areas (i.e. McKees Rocks/Stowe Township, Sharpsburg).