Houses on Sale for $20,000? (Pittsburgh, Millvale: tenants, new construction, subdivision)

[_Buster]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

bike share - oh, thats really gonna happen? not sure how i feel about that because its public money, and also because most people apt to actually bike....OWN THEIR OWN BIKES! similar programs in NYC and Toronto have been money pits.

fun thread...

I think bike shares cater more to tourists -- I can't imagine many people who use a bike even a few times a year, not just buying their own. Even a cheap basic bike is much better and more usable than those dorky looking bikeshare things.

[Stijl Council]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

i know i will catch hell on this board, but my favorite type of home is the typical 1960's - era ranch style home that you see usually in the outer neighborhoods. one sold for $145,000 in upper greenfield on Montclair Street this year.

We had a 1950s ranch before we moved here and I loved that house to bits. Even the ugly bathrooms.

[grep]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Can you ride a bike or walk to the city from there safely? Can you get on the West End Bridge somehow from there on a bike without killing yourself? Oddly, I have been all over that area around the West End Bridge, but never rode my bike to that little area you speak of and don't know how you could do it. If you can do it on foot or bike, that area would have quite a good chance at some point. What a great view of the city on the way to work while you are walking or riding a bike. Also it would be a flat commute by Pittsburgh standards.

Yes. Safely, but it's awkward and not that fast. From the West End:

- Take S Main St towards town. There is a shoulder that you can bike on, or if you're new/inconfident you can take the sidewalk in front of the police station (almost no one ever walks there)

- At Artifacts, turn left onto a short trail piece that will take you under Short St

- Follow that, coming back along side S Main St until you get to West Carson. Hit the crosswalk button and wait to cross both these crosswalks

- Proceed on the sidwalk across the West End bridge. Beware: at the far end of the bridge, the sidewalk SUDDENLY TURNS TO STAIRS without warning. Don't go too fast

- From the bottom of the stairs you can get on Belmont St to connect with the trail and head downtown.

Originally Posted by szug-bot

biking or walking from West ENd Valley - makes sense...i always forget there is a sidewalk on the Fort Pitt Bridge. its too narrow when its heavily used in the summer, with peds and bikes and minor chaos (mostly because people just dont move or slide over so you can ride by and get your bike out of the way...).
thanks for those reminders.....but down in that area, i would guess you have to be VERY careful on a bike, simply because they are so rare there.

Yeah, the problem with the Ft Pitt Bridge and the West End Bridge is that the sidewalks are very narrow. Many people don't bike because we've designed so much of our infrastructure for cars first, second, and third.

Originally Posted by szug-bot

bike share - oh, thats really gonna happen? not sure how i feel about that because its public money, and also because most people apt to actually bike....OWN THEIR OWN BIKES! similar programs in NYC and Toronto have been money pits.

fun thread...

Hmmm I don't know about the financials but to me anything that gets more people biking is good. I'll be getting a membership and I have two bikes!

[grep]

Originally Posted by _Buster

I think bike shares cater more to tourists -- I can't imagine many people who use a bike even a few times a year, not just buying their own. Even a cheap basic bike is much better and more usable than those dorky looking bikeshare things.

That's one big target audience. A few more:

- Lunchtime people on a schedule who could now hop on a bike and get to a new restaurant that used to be too far away
- People who have a "missing link" in their commute. e.g. the bus takes them from their house to 1.5 miles from their destination, but they don't want to walk that far. But now they could hop on a bikeshare bike and cover that distance in just a few minutes. This strengthens the public transportation network and allows more trips to be made without cars.
- People who need a quick boost if they're in a hurry: for instance, I just got off the T, and I'm running late! How about I grab a bike and zip over to the office?

[shadowfax]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Nothing wrong with preferring 1 level living- no climbing of stairs, its a real good idea for folks with heart conditions, orthopaedic conditions or perhaps in a wheelchair.

No stairs was on my top ten list of wants when I was apartment hunting. If I were to look for another house I would want the same. My knees and I just don't do steps so well anymore. Especially if there is carrying involved.

Id sell ya my house for under 20k but trust me you don't want it. It needs to go to someone who wants either a major project or to just level it and build new. Personally I would like to set it on fire and roast marshmallows. But the neighbors might not like that...

[Catia]

Just want to give another tidbit about Oakwood for everybody--yes-it does have the houses like what is in the link--it also has some deep hollows/nooks that are very private, not a lot goes for sale in the hollows areas, so it's one you gotta watch/wait. You can bike all around there, bike to Crafton busway-park your bike or load it onto the bus...

Also, has easy access to Crafton Park which has nice events regularly & fireworks, though you cannot take a dog there...

There is also Ridgemont area, which is at the beginning of Greentree Rd-this is also city of PGH, completely safe area.

West End Valley is easily accessible, but I don't bike, so not sure if I would, but while sitting in traffic at the bottom of Greentree Rd at Woodville ave in the morning, there was usually 1 guy, sometimes 2 who passed the traffic on their bikes, dunno which way they were headed though.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Catia

Just want to give another tidbit about Oakwood for everybody--yes-it does have the houses like what is in the link--it also has some deep hollows/nooks that are very private, not a lot goes for sale in the hollows areas, so it's one you gotta watch/wait. You can bike all around there, bike to Crafton busway-park your bike or load it onto the bus.

Oakwood has it all really regarding housing stock, except for rowhouses. Big late Victorians, bungalows, Squirrel Hill like early suburban streets, total suburbia, and backwoods nooks as you mention. All these spots are within a mile of each other, and oddly enough the way the neighborhood is set up, for the most part the different housing ages are separated.

One thing I don't understand about Oakwood is the relatively large number of vacant lots in the neighborhood. My understanding its along with Westwood it has been considered the crown jewel of the greater West End for some time. Yet the number of clearly missing houses in the core suggests the neighborhood fell on hard times at some point in time.

[szug-bot]

grep - wow, thanks for the map. im quasi-retarded at times, so it took me a while to figure it out. the "circle" of course looks totally different from the air than what i would have expected. it took me a bit to get my bearings. so, its do-able,m but possibly harrowing - drivers usually dont care about the official cross-walks and have no use for the 'stop bar' - the thick painted bar that precededs the actual cross-walk.

for bike - share - in case some dont know, a user is NOT required to return the bike, unlike Zip car (that would be great if that were the case for Zip car). there is an annual membership fee. i might do it because i can ride from lame ass uptown to shadyside and/or squirrel hill for groceries, then take a bus back. that way, i get in some exercise while running an errand.

Catia mentioned deep hollows/nooks in Oakwood. with the risk of sounding like a hated 'cheerleader', Pittsburgh has a lot of these everywhere. Greenfield has a number of them. there is this hidden street in Bloomfield i stumbled onto one time while driving. i found on it ONE HOME - this brand new, ultra-modern house. when i moved back here in 2010 i tried to find it...i have no idea where it is!

a lot of the houses in various nooks are of course old and usually need work, but it seems on this message board you are in good company if you see something MORE than just a run-down old house. i fantasize about a property in the edges of Duquesne Heights where i'd have chickens, an apalca, and maybe even a shetland pony. there was a property for sale there in 2013 - the lot was heavily wooded, i believe in Greenleaf Street.

from 579 north, to the left, you see some homes perched on a hill (City View?). i can only imagine that up there you might get a feeling of remoteness and some peace and quiet. that would be a great way to live, yet still be in the city with a great view of the north shore and downtown.

i doubt a lot of cities in North America have so many of these 'nooks' and remote corners. im thinking Seattle, maybe , because its so hilly. ive never been there, though.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by eschaton

One thing I don't understand about Oakwood is the relatively large number of vacant lots in the neighborhood. My understanding its along with Westwood it has been considered the crown jewel of the greater West End for some time. Yet the number of clearly missing houses in the core suggests the neighborhood fell on hard times at some point in time.

Where at in Oakwood are there lots of vacant lots? There is some open space in the middle of the community where Oakwood School was before it was razed a number of years ago, but I don't see many vacant residential lots at all- maybe a few just down on Baldwick Rd and Pensdale in that hollow but not in the core of the community.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Where at in Oakwood are there lots of vacant lots? There is some open space in the middle of the community where Oakwood School was before it was razed a number of years ago, but I don't see many vacant residential lots at all- maybe a few just down on Baldwick Rd and Pensdale in that hollow but not in the core of the community.

There's a lot of gaps on Cannon street where it seems like houses used to be. Oakwood has a few too. Ditto for Grassmere, but admittedly on the downslope side many of the plots were probably never built upon. There's even some gaps on Craftmont, though I suppose in those cases it may be when people built their houses they bought out the side lots before they were ever built upon.

Originally Posted by szug-bot

Catia mentioned deep hollows/nooks in Oakwood. with the risk of sounding like a hated 'cheerleader', Pittsburgh has a lot of these everywhere. Greenfield has a number of them. there is this hidden street in Bloomfield i stumbled onto one time while driving. i found on it ONE HOME - this brand new, ultra-modern house. when i moved back here in 2010 i tried to find it...i have no idea where it is!

a lot of the houses in various nooks are of course old and usually need work, but it seems on this message board you are in good company if you see something MORE than just a run-down old house. i fantasize about a property in the edges of Duquesne Heights where i'd have chickens, an apalca, and maybe even a shetland pony. there was a property for sale there in 2013 - the lot was heavily wooded, i believe in Greenleaf Street.

from 579 north, to the left, you see some homes perched on a hill (City View?). i can only imagine that up there you might get a feeling of remoteness and some peace and quiet. that would be a great way to live, yet still be in the city with a great view of the north shore and downtown.

i doubt a lot of cities in North America have so many of these 'nooks' and remote corners. im thinking Seattle, maybe , because its so hilly. ive never been there, though.

In Bloomfield, I'm pretty sure this is where you mean.

I agree though, Pittsburgh has dozens of these, including groups of nooks which make up semi-recognized neighborhoods (Duck Hollow, Four Mile Run, arguably Panther Hollow, etc). I know of streets like this in Stanton Heights, Polish Hill, Upper Lawrenceville, Morningside, Hazelwood, and all over the North Side. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.