Need some info about Pittsburgh (Monongahela, Denver: apartments, to rent, lofts)

[j_rode]

I'm graduating from college in about a year or so, and I'm looking for cities that I would want to live in. I pretty much like it in the northern part of the country. I like it down south, but it's way too hot year round and the bugs would drive me crazy. I live in Wisconsin right now and I enjoy it here for the most part. I want a fairly big city to live in though. I have Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Denver as my main interests right now, as well as Pittsburgh, Philly or a city like Buffalo. I really don't know much about Pittsburgh and was just looking for some more information.

My main questions are:

What kind of apartments or lofts can you find in the downtown area and are the prices reasonable? By reasonable I'm talking in the $700-$900 range, give or take.

Is there opportunity for jobs in Marketing?

How are the bugs? Specifically, what kind of spiders are in the area. Spiders just drive me crazy. I hate them, even the small ones. I don't have a problem with seeing them outside, but once they're inside, that's when I have a problem with them. Is it usually just the occasional house spider you have to worry about?

How's the weather there? I enjoy a nice summer, but I also enjoy winter. I like a mix of all seasons really.

[Maaz]

1) Downtown lofts/apartments are very limited and quite expensive at this time. They are building more but most will be out of your price range. I read an article awhile back about some lower cost apartments being built downtown but I am not sure when they will be built. You can easily find places $500-$900 outside downtown in a nearby Pittsburgh city neighborhood. A short bus ride (10 minutes) could take you downtown.

2) Yes, but jobs are still limited here. As an MBA student finishing this semester, I know of several students who have marketing jobs, but Pittsburgh's job market is much stronger in other industries such as healthcare and certain types of technology.

3) I lived in Florida for several years and can tell you that the bugs are much worse there than here in Pittsburgh. I don't generally have a bug problem indoors. There are spiders around but I don't see as many here as I have in other parts of the country.

4) Spring (end of March) can start with 50 or 60 degrees and in early spring, we occasionally have lower temperatures with a little bit of snow. April is quite rainy. In May, the hot weather starts and we have 70's and up. Today it was 85 degrees and will be for the next few days and then drop down to 75degrees. In the summer, it can get into the lower 90's sometimes and it's hot and muggy though we have the occasional day that it rains so much the temperature drops to 70. The Fall is quite nice with leaves changing color in October and then the weather turns colder. We generally don't get more than a foot of snow except for the occasional blizzard every few years. Most of the time, it's 8 inches or less in the city. There are several winter days with no snow at all as well, but it's still generally cold. 20's and 30's is common while temperatures -5 to 20 happen on occasion. In some rare occasions, it gets a little warm in the winter.

[subdivisions]

As a fellow arachnophobe, I can tell you that the spiders here aren't too bad. The ones I've seen haven't been huge or incredibly icky (unlike the spiders I used to encounter when I lived down South). Also, there aren't huge numbers of them, at least not in or around the houses I've lived in. The worst I've seen is a black widow, but those actually seem to be uncommon in PA.

[fadein2us]

You will find some EXTREMELY nice apartmens for that price. We live in the burbs and you can get something nice in the 500-600$ range easily.

[gallacus]

Housing in Pittsburgh is extremely affordable. I just did a tour of residences downtown, and contrary to Maaz's post, 700-900k will get you just about anything Downtown -- all but the penthouse suites. Most 2 bedrooms are in the 400 - 750k range.

As for neighborhoods other than right downtown, the Southside -- a hip spot just across the Monongahela river -- just boasted selling the most expensive house yet, which was a shade under $600k. I toured this house when it was on the market and it was absolutely gorgeous. I believe it was a 3 bedroom with a garage, beautiful city view, decks on every floor, and the interior was something you would expect to see in a multi-million dollar residence -- complete with exposed brick, full-house entertainment system, artistic lighting, all the luxury materials and all kinds of nifty gadgets.

In summation, 700 - 900k will get you just about anything you could possibly want in Pittsburgh.

[barneyg]

Originally Posted by gallacus

Housing in Pittsburgh is extremely affordable. I just did a tour of residences downtown, and contrary to Maaz's post, 700-900k will get you just about anything Downtown -- all but the penthouse suites. Most 2 bedrooms are in the 400 - 750k range.

As for neighborhoods other than right downtown, the Southside -- a hip spot just across the Monongahela river -- just boasted selling the most expensive house yet, which was a shade under $600k. I toured this house when it was on the market and it was absolutely gorgeous. I believe it was a 3 bedroom with a garage, beautiful city view, decks on every floor, and the interior was something you would expect to see in a multi-million dollar residence -- complete with exposed brick, full-house entertainment system, artistic lighting, all the luxury materials and all kinds of nifty gadgets.

In summation, 700 - 900k will get you just about anything you could possibly want in Pittsburgh.

My guess is the OP was talking about $700-$900/month for an apartment, I don't think too many college graduates have 700k-900k to spend on an apartment

I agree with the other posters. $700-$900 is much higher than average except for the hippest neighborhoods (Shadyside, Squirrel Hill), and you might get a great-looking apartment for that price in the Northside (with some crime issues in some areas, but your flat with have tons of character) or in Highland Park (in a converted Victorian -- the actual state of the apartment can vary from stellar to scary).

[tmorrisn]

We looked into renting downtown. This website might help you.
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership

All of the rents were above $1000 - but I think we were looking at 2 and 3 bedroom places.

[gallacus]

My guess is the OP was talking about $700-$900/month for an apartment, I don't think too many college graduates have 700k-900k to spend on an apartment

Ha Ha! Wow did I mess that one up! Ok, please ignore everything I said above

[Seattle Guy]

One of Pittsburgh's biggest problems are the small, old, and dumpy apartments within the city limits. If the bigwigs running Pittsburgh ever expect singles and worthwhile urban dwellers to live the city they need to hand out building permits to apartment builders like candy--apartments which would be priced in the 500-700 dollar range. Pittsburgh is horrible as far as getting a clean spacious apartment goes and if they do build a few new apartments or condos in the city ( other than public housing) the politicians tout it endlessly as some kind of "progress."

[Seattle Guy]

Originally Posted by j_rode

Specifically, what kind of spiders are in the area. Spiders just drive me crazy. I hate them, even the small ones. I don't have a problem with seeing them outside, but once they're inside, that's when I have a problem with them. Is it usually just the occasional house spider you have to worry about?

How's the weather there? I enjoy a nice summer, but I also enjoy winter. I like a mix of all seasons really.

Get an apartment on a upper floor and you will not get spiders unless they come in through your windows. Any place that has hot summers will have spiders but the closer you are to the ground the more you will find in your apartment especially a basement apartment. There are no brown recluses or black widows in PA but there are lots of spiders. The biggest spider I ever saw in my life that wasn't a tarantula was a spider in Allegheny National Forest in PA.