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Old 02-04-2010, 08:37 AM
 
20,273 posts, read 33,018,179 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
When are you going to cook Mexican for us?
You know I didn't want to be pushy, but . . . where is my Downtown food cart!?!
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Old 02-04-2010, 06:07 PM
 
78 posts, read 140,814 times
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Well Hopes and Brian, I will happily cook for two of the most helpful people I have ever come across anytime! As for the cart . . . um . . . uh . . . unpacking took a while (try and shove two stand-up mixers, two oversize food processors, two blenders, innumerable pots, pans and dutch ovens (etc., etc., etc.) into a 5 x 8 space (or if I say 8 x 5, does it sound bigger? :-)) with no drawers and only two small overhead cabinets! I admit I have almost broken my arm patting myself on the back that it is even remotely serviceable, but hey! It took a while! Too, we also added a puppy to our family, and that's a major pain. He's cute though . . . the Rescue League says he's Lab-something; I say they have no clue. (Oh! And there's another huge savings difference between here and Boston Metro! The Humane Societies there charge $350 for an adult dog, $400 for a pup under six months. And they don't microchip, and they don't send you on your way with a free bag of Science Diet! GOD I love this place!)

But I digress . . .

As for checking out Sewickley and Mt. Lebanon, I wanted to see what was in Mt. Lebanon because of everything I had heard about the schools. And, as asinine as this sounds, I went out to Sewickley because of my husband. A million years ago, he went to a private school in Michigan (Cranbrook) and while there he played lacrosse. His lacrosse team came out to play Sewickley Academy and he stayed with a family there for a few days. Though his mind is going , he has fond memories of his time there 30 years ago. So I went. Saw lovely houses in both places, but the property taxes in Mt. Lebanon absolutely stunned me! We'll probably stay in the City. My realtor has already pegged me as "an East End Girl" and I'm hoping that's not a horrendous insult to which I am not yet privy!

Whatever happens, it has to happen sooner rather than later. The dog (whatever it turns out to be) is going to grow, and the house will continue to get smaller as he does. And if my kitchen gets any smaller in the process, I will be found one morning (as I have jokingly told my husband), hanging by the neck from my baker's rack!

Finally, about my earlier kudos to the bus drivers, I guess I just don't know what I don't know. And I suppose it's kind of why I also don't complain about the weather in Pittsburgh. I'm coming here from Boston -- it's friggin' freezing there (and the "T" -- the public transportation system -- has just reported $6 billion dollars of needed repairs it ain't gonna get.) It's all relative, right?
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Old 02-04-2010, 06:19 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
12,526 posts, read 17,546,779 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by newhope321 View Post
Saw lovely houses in both places, but the property taxes in Mt. Lebanon absolutely stunned me! We'll probably stay in the City. My realtor has already pegged me as "an East End Girl" and I'm hoping that's not a horrendous insult to which I am not yet privy!
OK, do the math on a property aseseed for 100k.

In Mt. Lebo the tax is 3347, in the City 2941. Guess what, for 400 bucks I's much rather live in Lebo. You get a great bang for your buck. Plus, in the city, you pay a 3% income tax, only 1% in Lebo.

Good luck!


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Old 02-04-2010, 07:51 PM
 
294 posts, read 659,369 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
Sewickley has a nice town too, although look around and it has a bit more snob appeal than Mt Lebo.

Can you clarify what you mean exactly by "snob appeal"? Sewickley is not any more snobby than other nicer areas in the county. Just because the town looks nice and quaint with some high-end shops does not mean that everyone who lives there is a snob.
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Old 02-04-2010, 08:04 PM
 
43,011 posts, read 108,049,575 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by newhope321 View Post
Well Hopes and Brian, I will happily cook for two of the most helpful people I have ever come across anytime! As for the cart . . . um . . . uh . . .
I'm looking forward to tasting good Mexican food! I have no idea what it tastes like! And I'm trusting you to win me over!

Quote:
Originally Posted by newhope321 View Post
We'll probably stay in the City. My realtor has already pegged me as "an East End Girl" and I'm hoping that's not a horrendous insult to which I am not yet privy!
Doubt it's an insult. It's probably a compliment because you have such a positive attitude about the area. I get the feeling that you're an East Ender myself. If you're going to have a food oriented business, you'll want to be close to the Strip. You're not going to want a 30 to 45 minute commute to the Strip to buy your supplies on a regular basis. I would imagine that you'd need to buy food more than once a week if you start a food cart business. And, honestly, what ARE the chances that you'd start a food cart business in the city if you lived in the suburbs? I think you're going to become too accustom to the conveniences of the East End to leave the area.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SewickleyPA View Post
Can you clarify what you mean exactly by "snob appeal"? Sewickley is not any more snobby than other nicer areas in the county. Just because the town looks nice and quaint with some high-end shops does not mean that everyone who lives there is a snob.
The actual town of Sewickley isn't much to write home about. I've been in many of those houses, and they're not all in great shape. It's cute. I'll give it that.
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Old 02-04-2010, 08:21 PM
 
20,273 posts, read 33,018,179 times
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As someone who has lived in the East End my entire time in Pittsburgh, I can assure you there is no higher praise!
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Old 02-04-2010, 09:37 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,657,658 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Copanut View Post
OK, do the math on a property aseseed for 100k.

In Mt. Lebo the tax is 3347, in the City 2941. Guess what, for 400 bucks I's much rather live in Lebo. You get a great bang for your buck. Plus, in the city, you pay a 3% income tax, only 1% in Lebo.
I don't necessarily share the sentiment about where I'd rather live (I might, I like both places), but yeah, I meant to bring that up earlier too, about property tax. Although when you double or triple or whatever the price of the house it's going to look a little more dramatic (how about $1200, or $1600?) the property taxes being super high aren't specific to Mt Lebo in the county, and the city does get you for 3x as much on income vs everywhere else.

Work that math a bit more and you'd probably find the higher income tax vs the higher property tax is a wash. If combined income is $100k, say, then that's $2000 more in income, vs only $1200 more property tax on a $300k house. So this actually makes the higher income tax worse. I'm not sure one could really afford a $300k house on $100k income anyway, so that tilts it even more in favor of the higher property tax vs higher income tax.

Live in the city if that's what you want! Absolutely. But don't blame it all on the property tax.
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Old 02-04-2010, 10:09 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh area
9,912 posts, read 24,657,658 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SewickleyPA View Post
Can you clarify what you mean exactly by "snob appeal"? Sewickley is not any more snobby than other nicer areas in the county. Just because the town looks nice and quaint with some high-end shops does not mean that everyone who lives there is a snob.
I meant it strictly straight up. It has more snob appeal, as in appeal to snobs, in addition to its appeal to many others. It's funny because I remember thinking at the time I posted that earlier something like "Oh, am I just going to end the post there?" but not really getting further than that and just pressing send. If instead I had pondered a bit longer I might have thought to add that I don't think that means it's completely full of only snooty folks or that those of us with less means should feel uncomfortable going there or anything of the sort. We head over there occasionally, more often in the summer when the farmer's market is on.

But compared to Mt Lebo, there feels like more snob appeal. Hey, for some people that's not a bad thing either. I don't mean it good or bad, just as an observation. I see it in the business mix, I see it in the attitudes of some people who live in these places or attitudes of those who operate the businesses. I suspect it's actually a small percentage of people in any place who really come off as stereotypical snobs (which is generally seen as negative by a decent chunk of the rest of the population), but that small portion can mean big business for those like-minded or patient enough to cater to them. Hence, yes, snob appeal.

But what appeals to snobs also appeals to a lot of other people! Kind of like this computer I'm using, which sometimes is derided for its snob appeal....
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Old 02-04-2010, 11:38 PM
 
294 posts, read 659,369 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greg42 View Post
I meant it strictly straight up. It has more snob appeal, as in appeal to snobs, in addition to its appeal to many others. It's funny because I remember thinking at the time I posted that earlier something like "Oh, am I just going to end the post there?" but not really getting further than that and just pressing send. If instead I had pondered a bit longer I might have thought to add that I don't think that means it's completely full of only snooty folks or that those of us with less means should feel uncomfortable going there or anything of the sort. We head over there occasionally, more often in the summer when the farmer's market is on.

But compared to Mt Lebo, there feels like more snob appeal. Hey, for some people that's not a bad thing either. I don't mean it good or bad, just as an observation. I see it in the business mix, I see it in the attitudes of some people who live in these places or attitudes of those who operate the businesses. I suspect it's actually a small percentage of people in any place who really come off as stereotypical snobs (which is generally seen as negative by a decent chunk of the rest of the population), but that small portion can mean big business for those like-minded or patient enough to cater to them. Hence, yes, snob appeal.

But what appeals to snobs also appeals to a lot of other people! Kind of like this computer I'm using, which sometimes is derided for its snob appeal....

Great post... I agree completely.
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Old 02-05-2010, 06:39 AM
 
78 posts, read 140,814 times
Reputation: 29
Okay, as long as we are all agreed that I'm not personally involved in the Mt. Lebanon/Sewickley/City disagreement here! I'm loving it all! But as for the taxes, let me give you a "for instance." I saw a house yesterday in Mt. Lebanon that was listed for $299,900. Nice place, really (except for the ridiculous slant on the driveway). Five bedrooms, three baths, all brick and stone, not much yard, but a reasonable kitchen. Little dark for me and I'm holding out for a Wolfe Stove, but the thing is, the taxes on that 300K home were $9,133! That's about $750 a month in property taxes! Conversely, I saw a magnificently rehabbed house on Callowhill in Highland Park listed for $329,900 (also five bedrooms, three baths, a kitchen a little too small (or, rather, poorly configured, but top notch in the update department), with a fenced yard and a two-car garage, and the taxes for that home were $3,100 a year. Huge difference, obviously. And I DO understand taxes are based, in part, on "market value," but even though I am a licensed real estate agent and actually sold real estate for about 15 minutes ten years ago, I have yet to understand what that market value is based on!

As for "snob appeal," I'm British, and I think we have a reputation as being notoriously (and inherently) "snobby!" (Probably deserved!) But what I want is really the most space I can afford, the best schools for my boy, and a kitchen with actual drawers.) I've also realized that I need to find a place with a family room on the first floor that can eventually be converted into a master bedroom as my husband's mobility since the amputation is decreasing almost daily. And you know what? I realize as I was writing that that I AM a snob. Because of COURSE I want more! My husband can say (and has) that he just wants space and for me to be happy, and he means it. He is completely genuine. The rest is irrelevant to him. But me? Hell, I want a fenced yard, a two car garage, a finished basement, top end EVERYTHING, accompanied by a much higher shopping budget! (I guess that means I need to confine my search to Fox Chapel, right? :-)

Well, next Wednesday the search is the East End. Highland Park, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill. We'll see. Wherever we end up, it's all good.
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