Post Gazette Essay on a Transplant's Frustrating Home Search (Pittsburgh: neighborhoods, buyer)

[CaptainPittsburgh]

The article made me chuckle a few times, especially the line about not being able to get a straight answer on Allegheny County Taxes .

I think I looked at more houses than the author, but I was also looking for bargain bin prices, haha. I definitely shared her experiences of hills and hills and stairs and hills and retaining walls everywhere, but I found it charming. I like our weird little city.

I think anyone who has bought a house anywhere will have plenty of stories about the quirks and pitfalls they encountered once diving into that local market. It's fun to talk about, though, and pretty fun to read about too, for me at least.

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

For the first time in my life it feels like home, too.

Awww, me too! Now I'm all warm and fuzzy inside.

[sealie]

Originally Posted by jay5835

You may put French fries on salads. I sure don't. And I don't think I've ever seen anyone else do it, either.

Seen it in bars, older bars of the "bar and grill" variety. They call it a Pittsburgh Salad. Sometimes with steak strips. I don't think any new place does unless they're being ironic.

Anyway, as charming as the steep steps may be, they lose a lot of their appeal in icy weather when someone is toting four bags of groceries. I'd bet a house with steep steps takes longer to sell. I know if I were a Pittsburgh moving company I'd be charging a premium for them. I don't care that much about the attached garage though - just look for a house built after 1955 or so, easy to filter the MLS, no big.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by sealie

Thank you. I was wondering on the thread about the recent NYT article how people could possibly be upset about a stranger saying that the Mon Valley was troubled compared to the city. I spent enough time in the South, which people casually accuse of racism and ignorance and incest and illiteracy and gun-worship and a lot of other stuff without thinking about it or meaning anything by it, that I guess I can't be bothered by much of anything anybody I don't know says about a city. But come to think of it, this happens with some regularity - The Weather Channel had some article on the best city skylines in the world, and their comments section was overrun with members of the Pittsburgh Diaspora freaking out at the omission of the Burgh. Now that you've pointed this out as a quirk I can just shrug and move on.

I understand your point and think that a lot of what you're saying is true, but I seem to remember that article saying something like "...if you think Pittsburgh has made a recovery, take a look at Braddock...". And for obvious reasons, a lot of people thought that was a flimsy argument.

[sealie]

Originally Posted by ML North

People negate the health benefits of lettuce and tomatoes all over the US by eating them in a pool of that disgusting ranch dressing.

No, no. Deep fried chicken strips is what makes it special, and of course croutons and piles of cheese are standard. Or a taco salad, with the pile of chili beef and grated cheese and tortilla chips and topped with sour cream, sold at Wendy's. None of which is my cup of tea but people eat them.

[sealie]

Originally Posted by ML North

I understand your point and think that a lot of what you're saying is true, but I seem to remember that article saying something like "...if you think Pittsburgh has made a recovery, take a look at Braddock...". And for obvious reasons, a lot of people thought that was a flimsy argument.

Oh, you're probably right, I'm probably oversimplifying. But years of regional conditioning had me speed-reading through the comments section and going "Yeah, yeah, whatever..." For that matter, the writer could have already read about a dozen "Come to Pittsburgh! You can buy a house for $50k, it's the new (Portland/Austin) and is rising like a phoenix from the ashes of the steel crash with fabulous restaurants opening nightly and friendly people everywhere and you'll think you're in freakin' Disney World. Also, quirky!" articles and had had enough. That makes anybody irrational.

[gg]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

If the OP wants a large modern ranch on a relatively flat, decent sized lot, she would be well advised to look into Butler County where the hills aren't quite as steep.

There are plenty of flat lots in our region. There is a modern ranch on a flat lot on North Pasadena in FC. I didn't read the whole article as I found it boring, so I don't know her price range. The Pasadena home is probably too high for her I suspect.

[trackstar13]

The lady in this article reminds me of many of the potential buyers who were looking at my house in Minneapolis. Everyone loved it, but they complained that we had 3 stairs in the front and 3 in the back. We eventually sold the house and did pretty well, but it was crazy that the main feedback we got was too many stairs when we only had 6 total. I can only imagine if one of these people moved to the Burgh. I don't mind the stairs in general, but some people can just be complainers when looking at houses. I remember our agent telling me about a client that had looked at 200 houses without one offer and people in her office were betting on when or if she would finally make and offer. During the past few times we bought, we looked at around 50 houses or so and I felt really bad for the agent, but we did this in a matter of about a month and purchased.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Then apparently you don't get out much. The "Pittsburgh Salad" at Church Brew Works comes with French Fries on it, as did a salad I delivered for Lucci's yesterday. Pittsburgh is the only place I've ever been where people negate the health benefits of lettuce and tomatoes by putting French Fries atop them!

I don't drink, and no one has ever raved about the food at Church Brew Works, so I've never gone.

Is Lucci's the pizza place at Murray & Bartlett (at first I thought you said Lucca)? They'll do anything to make a buck, however crapulent it tastes. They even screw up making spaghetti. They should stick to pizza. A step above McDonalds, not a culinary reference point.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Pittsburgh is indeed a very unique place to call home. I happen to love it here, even despite the "parking chairs" that have caused me many heated run-ins with yinzers during my deliveries; however, I am well aware that living in the Steel City requires a similarly unique personality. We put French Fries on salads. We say "pop" instead of "soda" (just heard this again last night in Squirrel Hill). There are some roads here that are literally too steep for my zero-horsepower hybrid to make it up without just helplessly rolling backwards. People will wear Steelers pajama pants to go grocery shopping in July. We love fireworks---a lot!

One thing I love most about living here is the abundant civic pride. Someone from NE Ohio commented on a recent article that they admired us because while people from Springdale, Sewickley, or the South Hills alike would proudly say "I'm from Pittsburgh" people in Cleveland make many efforts to dissociate themselves from that city by focusing on their particular suburbs. I grew up near Scranton, a city where people had ZERO civic pride (just check out the Scranton-related threads here on City-Data). It's so refreshing to now live in a city where you can feel proud to call home. For the first time in my life it feels like home, too.

While people certainly identify with "Pittsburgh" here, they also strongly identify with their own area. People live in Squirrel Hill or Bloomfield, or the Northside or West End. I can't tell you how many times people tell me they live in the "North Hills" or "South Hills", as non-specific as that is.

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by track2514

The lady in this article reminds me of many of the potential buyers who were looking at my house in Minneapolis. Everyone loved it, but they complained that we had 3 stairs in the front and 3 in the back. We eventually sold the house and did pretty well, but it was crazy that the main feedback we got was too many stairs when we only had 6 total. I can only imagine if one of these people moved to the Burgh. I don't mind the stairs in general, but some people can just be complainers when looking at houses. I remember our agent telling me about a client that had looked at 200 houses without one offer and people in her office were betting on when or if she would finally make and offer. During the past few times we bought, we looked at around 50 houses or so and I felt really bad for the agent, but we did this in a matter of about a month and purchased.

People are lazy and always want everything to be perfect. People are gross.