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Are you okay with a roommate? $500 with rent AND utilities is difficult to find period, and virtually unheard of in areas that meet your other criteria.
Yeah, I'm okay with a roommate.
I only pull down 6-8k a year. But there are truly no US cities that have what I need that are affordable. So I guess I'd rather be on the verge of homelessness and deep in poverty in a decent city that has most of what I need than someplace with none of those things, but still on the verge of homelessness and deep in poverty.
If I have to drop my entire yearly salary into just rent & utilities and groceries so be it. Options aren't incredibly abundant in today's world. And job hunting for 7 years have turned up bupkis because of my experience, which shrinks the older I get. So I'm afraid there's not much hope on that front either.
Note: this is NOT a sob story. These are facts. They are all I have to work with right now and I must deal with them accordingly. Suggestions of moving to a "more affordable" city will only yield results that aren't actually cheaper because they present larger challenges to me getting what I need and so I must pay more to overcome them. So I don't need snark or "tough love" or whatever else. I need to know what I can do in this city with what I have. And if it doesn't work I'll move on to look at my other two options and spread out from there.
I only pull down 6-8k a year. But there are truly no US cities that have what I need that are affordable. So I guess I'd rather be on the verge of homelessness and deep in poverty in a decent city that has most of what I need than someplace with none of those things, but still on the verge of homelessness and deep in poverty.
If I have to drop my entire yearly salary into just rent & utilities and groceries so be it. Options aren't incredibly abundant in today's world. And job hunting for 7 years have turned up bupkis because of my experience, which shrinks the older I get. So I'm afraid there's not much hope on that front either.
Note: this is NOT a sob story. These are facts. They are all I have to work with right now and I must deal with them accordingly. Suggestions of moving to a "more affordable" city will only yield results that aren't actually cheaper because they present larger challenges to me getting what I need and so I must pay more to overcome them. So I don't need snark or "tough love" or whatever else. I need to know what I can do in this city with what I have. And if it doesn't work I'll move on to look at my other two options and spread out from there.
Thank you for your time.
I'm sorry to hear about your situation. My own gross income is much higher than yours at about $3,500/month; however, I still feel "the pinch" sometimes when I see how little I have left once I'm done paying for rent, utilities, gasoline, taxes, insurance, groceries, student loans, my car loan, car maintenance, medical bills, etc. I just drained my savings this morning to pay $4,000 in taxes to Uncle Sam, the Commonwealth of PA, and local jurisdictions, and that was AFTER claiming pretty much every work-related deduction I could. I would have loved to have had that $4,000 as a stepping stone towards a down payment on my first home, but, alas, it's now gone.
Pittsburgh is an affordable city for renters IF you have a roommate. It's increasingly expensive if you choose to go it alone due to a rental shortage. As I said earlier there isn't much of a pricing premium even in the newer "posh" complexes from 1-BR to 2-BR units, which means splitting a 2-BR unit and the utilities with a roommate will almost ALWAYS be better for your budget than forging it alone in a 1-BR and paying 100% of the utilities, too. My partner and I only pay $350/month EACH for rent on a $700/month 1-BR, and if it wasn't for expensive gas heat in the winter and our own expensive decision to have premium FiOS with high-speed and high-definition everything we'd have dirt cheap utilities, too.
I'll stick to my prior assertion. Find a 2-BR in Friendship for $700/month-$800/month (preferably including heat). Find a roommate. You'll be in a leafy neighborhood that is walkable; safe; and convenient to many areas and amenities without a car. You'll be near the growing arts/creative community along Penn Avenue in Garfield along with a well-established LGBT community in Friendship and nearby Shadyside.
I would ALSO recommend going onto CraigsList, creating an account, and posting an ad under "Housing Wanted" detailing your situation and your desire to find a bedroom within a 2-BR apartment or a small rooming house situation in the Friendship, Garfield, Bloomfield areas. You should also look for existing ads for those seeking roommates.
For example, this place would be perfect. $440/month + 1/3 of heat & electric, which should bump your total monthly obligation to JUST over $500/month:
A LOT of ads say "females only", which I thought was discriminatory and against CraigsList's terms of services, but I'd still reach out to some of them and explain that you're a middle-aged gay male. A 22-year-old woman may just be jittery about having a straight 24-year-old drunk/abusive straight "dude" living with them but may have no qualms about sharing living space with someone who would not be remotely romantically-interested in them.
I'm sorry to hear about your situation. My own gross income is much higher than yours at about $3,500/month; however, I still feel "the pinch" sometimes when I see how little I have left once I'm done paying for rent, utilities, gasoline, taxes, insurance, groceries, student loans, my car loan, car maintenance, medical bills, etc. I just drained my savings this morning to pay $4,000 in taxes to Uncle Sam, the Commonwealth of PA, and local jurisdictions, and that was AFTER claiming pretty much every work-related deduction I could. I would have loved to have had that $4,000 as a stepping stone towards a down payment on my first home, but, alas, it's now gone.
Pittsburgh is an affordable city for renters IF you have a roommate. It's increasingly expensive if you choose to go it alone due to a rental shortage. As I said earlier there isn't much of a pricing premium even in the newer "posh" complexes from 1-BR to 2-BR units, which means splitting a 2-BR unit and the utilities with a roommate will almost ALWAYS be better for your budget than forging it alone in a 1-BR and paying 100% of the utilities, too. My partner and I only pay $350/month EACH for rent on a $700/month 1-BR, and if it wasn't for expensive gas heat in the winter and our own expensive decision to have premium FiOS with high-speed and high-definition everything we'd have dirt cheap utilities, too.
I'll stick to my prior assertion. Find a 2-BR in Friendship for $700/month-$800/month (preferably including heat). Find a roommate. You'll be in a leafy neighborhood that is walkable; safe; and convenient to many areas and amenities without a car. You'll be near the growing arts/creative community along Penn Avenue in Garfield along with a well-established LGBT community in Friendship and nearby Shadyside.
I would ALSO recommend going onto CraigsList, creating an account, and posting an ad under "Housing Wanted" detailing your situation and your desire to find a bedroom within a 2-BR apartment or a small rooming house situation in the Friendship, Garfield, Bloomfield areas. You should also look for existing ads for those seeking roommates.
For example, this place would be perfect. $440/month + 1/3 of heat & electric, which should bump your total monthly obligation to JUST over $500/month:
A LOT of ads say "females only", which I thought was discriminatory and against CraigsList's terms of services, but I'd still reach out to some of them and explain that you're a middle-aged gay male. A 22-year-old woman may just be jittery about having a straight 24-year-old drunk/abusive straight "dude" living with them but may have no qualms about sharing living space with someone who would not be remotely romantically-interested in them.
Oh no. I'm not a middle-aged gay man. I'm a 28 year old asexual non-binary who was assigned male at birth. That sounds like a mouthful and slightly "Special Snowflake" but I assure you it's true. I wouldn't make things harder for myself like that. I'm already poor AND black. Applying more labels to seem special/different would be asinine from that position.
But thank you for your help! I will probably stay away from "females only" listings. They seem like they'd complicate things more than they wouldn't.
I know people from PGH but they're not up on everything going on there. Many of them no longer live there but are looking to return very soon. Perhaps I can ask them to put out a few lines to see if anyone may be looking for a roommate. That was how I was able to move to Sarasota.
You've been very understanding and helpful, so I really appreciate this. I would much rather make it in Pittsburgh than my other two options atm.
You can absolutely increase you income here if you want to. Even minimum wage jobs would double your income, and you can probably get a decent bit more than minimum wage in some positions. But if destitute living is something you're okay with in order to concentrate on other things in your life that's fine; you're free to make your own choices after all.
I agree that Friendship/Garfield is the ideal location, but finances still may force you to other neighborhoods. A lot of the north side would be worth a look -- a bit less in the way of arts, but still not far from stuff and has good transit. You'd save a significant amount of money compared to Friendship. Troy Hill, Marshall-Shadeland (aka Brightwood), Brighton Heights, and East Deutschtown probably have places in your price range and are workable without a car, even if not ideal.
You can absolutely increase you income here if you want to. Even minimum wage jobs would double your income, and you can probably get a decent bit more than minimum wage in some positions. But if destitute living is something you're okay with in order to concentrate on other things in your life that's fine; you're free to make your own choices after all.
The job thing is really really really complicated. It's not that I'm into living in poverty it's that if I take on a job at all I will lose a portion of the money I'm already making. So it wouldn't double, if the hours aren't enough I could end up losing money. Also full transition into a minimum wage job means I lose all of the money I'm currently making and health insurance as well. And I'd still have to find a position that would okay with hiring someone who hasn't been in a workplace since 2007.
So this isn't some weird self-imposed exile situation where I'm not trying hard enough. It's that I have tried a lot and the whole thing is tricky to navigate without potentially making my financial situation much worse off.
The job thing is really really really complicated. It's not that I'm into living in poverty it's that if I take on a job at all I will lose a portion of the money I'm already making. So it wouldn't double, if the hours aren't enough I could end up losing money. Also full transition into a minimum wage job means I lose all of the money I'm currently making and health insurance as well. And I'd still have to find a position that would okay with hiring someone who hasn't been in a workplace since 2007.
So this isn't some weird self-imposed exile situation where I'm not trying hard enough. It's that I have tried a lot and the whole thing is tricky to navigate without potentially making my financial situation much worse off.
I'm confused. You have not worked since 2007, but could take a pay cut by moving to Pittsburgh?
I'm confused. You have not worked since 2007, but could take a pay cut by moving to Pittsburgh?
No, I could take a pay cut getting a job anywhere. For clarification I'm on SSI & SSDI. I have a fixed income. Transitioning into the workforce is not something they make especially easy. There are a series of byzantine laws and by-laws and a labyrinthine web of sub-contractor agencies of various levels of quality and support that make going out and getting a job while not losing money and benefits very difficult. So everything must be done very carefully. Even moving to the wrong state could see me making far less than I do now with or without finding a job.
I'd suggest that if you don't want to be poor and dependent your entire life, you need to start working as soon as possible. Don't worry about the fact that you might lose some welfare benefit. After you get back into the workforce you can determine if you want to increase your possibilities further by getting specific training and or education. That said, Pittsburgh is a pretty good place to do that considering your other requirements.
I'd suggest that if you don't want to be poor and dependent your entire life, you need to start working as soon as possible. Don't worry about the fact that you might lose some welfare benefit. After you get back into the workforce you can determine if you want to increase your possibilities further by getting specific training and or education.
It's not just some welfare benefit. If I lose health insurance, which I would once I fully transitioned into the workforce, I'd lose a lot of the things that keep me stable enough to be able to have a job in the first place. This isn't me being lazy and/or complacent. It's me being stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to determining a financial future that doesn't screw me over in the near or long term.
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