What's this city coming to? (homes, buy, live)

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by UKyank

I had to google Sazerac

and now you should go have one. They are quite tasty.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Friday night was a Brookline/Beechview resident party at my house and we had the exact same conversation. Although I believe it is still the truth when discussing it the next day, although a half dozen sazeracs really helped get the conversation flowing....

Not sure what Sazerac is, but sounds like it was a worthy conversation lubricant. I was enjoying spiked eggnog myself. Party was less than a block away so no worries about driving.

[Goodjules]

Just googled it. Sounds yummy.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by Goodjules

Western neighborhoods rock! Just attended our neighborhood Christmas party where we all commended each other on our brilliance in buying awesome houses for about half what you'd pay in the trendy eastern 'hoods. Alcohol was involved.

Color me interested! Which neighborhood? I am very interested, as I've stated over the last couple years, in Westwood, Chartiers City, etc. because I like houses that look like ones you'd find there.

Even Sheraden has such attractive streets, although thuggery seems to be growing there annually.

But - I do like proximity and biking and walking and numerous bus options like here in the Uptown area. Just too much car dependency required out past the point. :-/

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

Color me interested! Which neighborhood? I am very interested, as I've stated over the last couple years, in Westwood, Chartiers City, etc. because I like houses that look like ones you'd find there.

Even Sheraden has such attractive streets, although thuggery seems to be growing there annually.

But - I do like proximity and biking and walking and numerous bus options like here in the Uptown area. Just too much car dependency required out past the point. :-/

I am such a newcomer that I am fairly unfamiliar with most neighborhoods other than my own. I live in Crafton and I love it. Housing here is cheap compared to the east side and absolutely incomprehensible compared to SF where I'm from. But, homes tend to be large with prices from roughly $125,000 - $300,000. The low end houses will need work and the high end will either be perfect with lots of modern upgrades or a huge mansion that probably needs work. Most homes fall somewhere in the middle. From what I hear there are safe parts of Sheraden, but the parts that are bad are still declining. Homes are cheap there. There are others on the forum who can give you more details and there are threads specifically about Sheraden. There's also McKees Rocks with cheap houses and some safe areas. Basically this seems to be true for most of the very cheap towns on this side.

I don't think they are considered west side, but Brookline and Beechview have very reasonably priced homes and Brookline overall is quite safe. I think Beechview is too, but has some sketchier parts. Again, I'm an ignorant newbie. There's Dormont which is quite nice. Carnegie is good. Again, there are other threads with more detail and I'm sure more knowledgable people will chime in.

It's not considered west side, but Mt. Washington is very close and easy to get to from where I live.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by jea6321

the rental price in s side will always remain strong due to the proximity of both pitt and duquesne. Lots of students live in the houses you mention. Or lower income young adults that want to live in the area.

for sales prices I absolutely agree with you. Lawrenceville will become more expensive and I think it will pass by s side in more like 2-3 years.

Don't forget that most young professionals working in oil and gas work either west or south of the city. I lived on Mt Washington before moving to the southside. I think there is plenty of moneyed individuals willing to live in the southside because it's more convenient than lawrencville. I wouldn't worry about the decline of southside to brosville. Already the worst bars have shut down (levelz, district 3, margaritaville) and several vintage clothing shops have opened up. It's only a matter of time before the bros are pushed back into Oakland or elsewhere.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

Don't forget that most young professionals working in oil and gas work either west or south of the city. I lived on Mt Washington before moving to the southside. I think there is plenty of moneyed individuals willing to live in the southside because it's more convenient than lawrencville. I wouldn't worry about the decline of southside to brosville. Already the worst bars have shut down (levelz, district 3, margaritaville) and several vintage clothing shops have opened up. It's only a matter of time before the bros are pushed back into Oakland or elsewhere.

I dunno what he was arguing, but speaking for myself, I have never thought the South Side was in decline per se. It's just that it gentrified in the 90s and early 2000s, when nothing else (at least in terms of highly walkable city neighborhoods) was turning around. Now it has competition all over the place, which means I think in the longer run it will be second fiddle to everything going on in the East End. It might have a comfortable landing, but it's going to transition to being mature and largely plateaued once the last bits of South Side Works (and any other potential riverfront) development wind up.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I dunno what he was arguing, but speaking for myself, I have never thought the South Side was in decline per se. It's just that it gentrified in the 90s and early 2000s, when nothing else (at least in terms of highly walkable city neighborhoods) was turning around. Now it has competition all over the place, which means I think in the longer run it will be second fiddle to everything going on in the East End. It might have a comfortable landing, but it's going to transition to being mature and largely plateaued once the last bits of South Side Works (and any other potential riverfront) development wind up.

I think ones preference has a lot to do with where you work; as someone that works downtown I rule out most of the east end for my housing consideration as its much more convenient to get to work from the southside (and likewise why the Northside is in consideration for my next moving foray). If I worked elsewhere in the city im sure my preference would be different, but as it stands I value a quick commute & don't see it as sacrificing anything not living in the east end

I likewise agree with Lost in Translation that luckily I can only think of one Bro friendly place thats opened up in the SS over the last couple of years whereas everything else has either been retail or targeting an older crowd so hopefully that portends a trend in that more positive direction.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

Color me interested! Which neighborhood? I am very interested, as I've stated over the last couple years, in Westwood, Chartiers City, etc. because I like houses that look like ones you'd find there.

Even Sheraden has such attractive streets, although thuggery seems to be growing there annually.

But - I do like proximity and biking and walking and numerous bus options like here in the Uptown area. Just too much car dependency required out past the point. :-/

My mum lives in Westwood, and its more walkable than its given credit for. Shop n Save is a reasonable walk from a large portion of the neighborhood, you have a number of restaurants at the Noble Manor Shops, a bread store, the Dairy Queen and Antney's competing for the ice cream trade.

Many of the houses aren't that terribly old, few from before the early 20th Century, the ranch houses like the one I grew up in have maintained in good condition.

Convenient for going south on 79 to the oil fields, the racetracks and other development in Washington County.

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

My mum lives in Westwood, and its more walkable than its given credit for...

Convenient for going south on 79 to the oil fields, the racetracks and other development in Washington County.

Thanks for the info....yea, but it's not convenient to the Golden Triangle and East End