Millennials want to buy in Pittsburgh (Millvale, Liberty: renters, buying, universities)

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Uptown kid

That being said most of these areas will continue to be safe and stable for many years to come.

I'm glad you realize this. But your it makes me wonder what point you're trying to make? Your posts sometimes seem overly alarmist to me. Many of the "declining" areas are perfectly safe for the average joe, regardless of race, and will remain so -- it's not all doom and gloom. If someone looking for a place to live in the Pittsburgh area reads your posts they would be scared away from a bunch of places that are fine.

[Merge]

Originally Posted by Philcollins3783

There is affordable housing. I just think it is in much better shape than some of the other boroughs in the south hills or those immediately bordering the city.

So what is your justification for throwing the likes of Millvale, Etna and Sharpsburg in with McKees Rocks and McKeesport? That's undermining whatever else you are saying. I understand that there is a lot of jealousy and resentment directed to the East End and its surroundings, but you just aren't dealing in any facts on this point.

[Philcollins3783]

Originally Posted by Merge

So what is your justification for throwing the likes of Millvale, Etna and Sharpsburg in with McKees Rocks and McKeesport? That's undermining whatever else you are saying. I understand that there is a lot of jealousy and resentment directed to the East End and its surroundings, but you just aren't dealing in any facts on this point.

I'm just wondering what your justification is for not mentioning them together? I have no jealousy to the east end. I'm not sure where you came up with that.

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by Philcollins3783

I do know everybody wants to sing the gentrification of lawrenceville, which they should, however ,the main reason I believed it happened was due to the new children's hospital and the jobs that came with it. The hospital opened in 2009 and around a year later lawrenceville began to gentrify. It parallels with the new hospital opening. Otherwise there is a good chance this gentrification wouldn't have happened there. It is a far reaching stretch to say millvale will follow. I don't see it, but I could be wrong. Rents in Bloomfield and polish hill ballooned due to the gentrification of Lawrenceville which was back to the hospital moving to the neighborhood.

This is really interesting, because I clearly move in really different circles. I have a lot of conversations with people about Lawrenceville, and the people I know who want to live there are attracted to the art galleries, restaurants, and general hipster vibe that is easy to mock on here. They also LOVE the architecture and the general "Williamsburg" culture. These people see the children's hospital mostly as a negative, because the architecture is so different from the cute brick row houses on Butler street. These are the people I can see appreciating Millvale -- honestly we meet a lot of these types at Grist, and there is a lot of banter about moving to Millvale precisely so they can pay half as much for twice as much space, and be just one bridge away from hanging out in Lawrenceville.

I don't think I am right and you're wrong, by the way, I think we're just hanging out with different people. I'm talking about the people who came of age with Radiohead and Coldplay, not Phil Collins, though they do listen to Peter Gabriel in a nostalgic sort of way...

[Merge]

Originally Posted by Philcollins3783

I'm just wondering what your justification is for not mentioning them together? I have no jealousy to the east end. I'm not sure where you came up with that.

Well, considering I have never seen anyone on this board (or any other, for that matter) lump Millvale, McKeesport and McKees Rocks together... I figure the burden of proof is on you. Feel free. Considering you spelled Etna as "Etta's" it is a reasonable expectation to ask you to share something you know that no one else anywhere does.

I don't know whether or not you harbor jealousy or resentment toward the East End, but I honestly can't think of any other reason you might believe that Coraopolis is going to be developed before the likes of Millvale, Etna and Sharpsburg, despite the fact that the process is already underway in those three communities.

How long have you been in Western PA?

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by Philcollins3783

I'm just wondering what your justification is for not mentioning them together?

I can't speak for Merge, but I do see Millvale, Etna, Sharpsburg as being a different situation entirely from either McKeesport or McKees Rocks. I think there are very real differences between the three rivers when it comes to talking about the old towns, and that the ones on the Allegheny are easily the most promising as far as gentrification goes.

The Ohio is interesting because you have the really affluent parts, like Sewickley, but that doesn't mean Coraopolis is going to get fancy any time soon. I'm fascinated by this, because Cory in particular has a fabulous downtown with strikingly beautiful architecture, and if I worked either downtown or in Robinson township it would strike me as a fabulous location, but still when I drive through the area seems so sleepy. McKees Rocks is smaller and grittier, but is in a similar situation.

McKeesport, and the Mon valley in general, is in a lot of trouble. The more I think about it, the congestion around the eastern suburbs combined with a general lack of jobs is a huge issue. That said, I do love Preservation Pioneer's commitment to the area, and I really hope it stays stable for now. Personally I think more and more people in the future will want to move into these pretty, old, historic towns, but it is going to take two or three generations IMHO.

[Philcollins3783]

Originally Posted by RogersParkTransplant

This is really interesting, because I clearly move in really different circles. I have a lot of conversations with people about Lawrenceville, and the people I know who want to live there are attracted to the art galleries, restaurants, and general hipster vibe that is easy to mock on here. They also LOVE the architecture and the general "Williamsburg" culture. These people see the children's hospital mostly as a negative, because the architecture is so different from the cute brick row houses on Butler street. These are the people I can see appreciating Millvale -- honestly we meet a lot of these types at Grist, and there is a lot of banter about moving to Millvale precisely so they can pay half as much for twice as much space, and be just one bridge away from hanging out in Lawrenceville.

I don't think I am right and you're wrong, by the way, I think we're just hanging out with different people. I'm talking about the people who came of age with Radiohead and Coldplay, not Phil Collins, though they do listen to Peter Gabriel in a nostalgic sort of way...

It's a good conversation to have. Lawrenceville really evolved since 2010, I just think people have pinpointed the incorrect reasons for what jump started the gentrification there. Pittsburgh is still primarily an education and medical based economy. Before the hospital opened people were gobbling up the properties over there. After the hospital opened it took off. Infusion of a few hundred jobs or more from that hospital kick started the investment. A year and half after it opened the gentrification took off and bumped rents up in Bloomfield as well as polish hill. Before 2009 they couldn't give property away over there. The new loft condos were being sold at 150 to 175k in 2007. A far cry from now. But it has evolved and the new arts galleries and hipster establishments came to be. Where the south side was the place to be pre 2009.

Millvale I think has a long way to go. There is nothing nearby to drive growth there now. People love the inner city.

You hang out with wise people btw. Excellent taste in music.

They used to close off market square in the summer for drinks and live music 10 years ago. It was called m squared. I wish they would do it again.

[Merge]

Originally Posted by Philcollins3783

It's a good conversation to have. Lawrenceville really evolved since 2010, I just think people have pinpointed the incorrect reasons for what jump started the gentrification there. Pittsburgh is still primarily an education and medical based economy. Before the hospital opened people were gobbling up the properties over there. After the hospital opened it took off. Infusion of a few hundred jobs or more from that hospital kick started the investment. A year and half after it opened the gentrification took off and bumped rents up in Bloomfield as well as polish hill. Before 2009 they couldn't give property away over there. The new loft condos were being sold at 150 to 175k in 2007. A far cry from now. But it has evolved and the new arts galleries and hipster establishments came to be. Where the south side was the place to be pre 2009.

Millvale I think has a long way to go. There is nothing nearby to drive growth there now. People love the inner city.

You hang out with wise people btw. Excellent taste in music.

They used to close off market square in the summer for drinks and live music 10 years ago. It was called m squared. I wish they would do it again.

The "hipster element" has been gone from L-Ville for years. 2009? Really? CMU must have had a pretty good idea about the trajectory of the neighborhood in 1996, when they moved into the state-of-the-art National Robotics Engineering Center down by the river. Others on this board could list the 95-05 development of L-Ville better than I could (despite the fact that rising rents/home prices drove me from the neighborhood to purchase a home outside the immediate area in 2004). I don't really have the patience, and you haven't even answered my questions about your dubious claim that Millvale somehow falls in a category with McKees Rocks and McKeesport. So whatever...

You're just way off.

[RogersParkTransplant]

Wait, what? If the hipster element has been gone from Lawrenceville for years, what do we call these fine folks?

[Merge]

Originally Posted by RogersParkTransplant

Wait, what? If the hipster element has been gone from Lawrenceville for years, what do we call these fine folks?


Attachment 163754

That's millennial style, my friend!