"Tiny" Houses in Greater Pittsburgh (Liberty, Bloomfield: apartments, to rent)

[Hopes]

Here's a tiny house for you. 43 square feet.

The story behind, and within, the world

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Here's a tiny house for you. 43 square feet.

The story behind, and within, the world

Wow that actually exists! And it's about 4 feet wide in front and only about 2 feet wide in back. LOL. A bit tight I think, not really an efficient setup but an interesting exercise.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Here's a tiny house for you. 43 square feet.

The story behind, and within, the world

Sort of like those demo apts at IKEA. I wonder if they really live like that in Sweden?

Re: 900 sf houses-For two people that is actually 450 sf per person, about what we had when four of us were living in ~2000 sf.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Re: 900 sf houses-For two people that is actually 450 sf per person, about what we had when four of us were living in ~2000 sf.

That calculation isn't an accurate comparison to what it's like to live in a small space.

A 2000 sf house will have more common spaces than a 900 sf house regardless of how many people live in it.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Hopes

That calculation isn't an accurate comparison to what it's like to live in a small space.

A 2000 sf house will have more common spaces than a 900 sf house regardless of how many people live in it.

With the possible exception of a family room, no. A 2000 sf house generally has more bedrooms. The kitchen and living room will be approx the same size.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Katiana

With the possible exception of a family room, no. A 2000 sf house generally has more bedrooms. The kitchen and living room will be approx the same size.

A family room makes a HUGE difference because it allows people to get away from each other without having to go to a bedroom where there is nowhere comfortable to sit. There's probably an additional half bath or a bath as opposed to one bathroom in a 900 sf house and a dining room in addition to the family room. 900 sf house has 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room and a kitchen. That's it. A 2k sf house usually has 3 bedrooms, that extra bedroom isn't taking up 1000 square feet. Even if the bedrooms are 15 x 15 (and we know they're often smaller than that), that's only 250 sf per bedroom. So there is an additional 750 sf of common space. Having extra common rooms is nice, but just having an extra toilet is a BIG DEAL! LOL

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Here's a tiny house for you. 43 square feet.

The story behind, and within, the world

I absolutely LOVE this, but I can guarantee something like this would go for $300,000+ here in the East End because it would be "progressive", "hip", and "ahead of the curve". Those of us who just want to start out in a small 1-BR/1-BA home in a non-ghetto walkable neighborhood and who are having difficulty securing financing thanks to banks tightening their belts in the aftermath of our Great Recession are completely out of luck now in Pittsburgh. I've already decided we'll rent long-term in Polish Hill, and then when we want to purchase a home we'll move to another city where housing is more affordable relative to the salaries paid.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I absolutely LOVE this, but I can guarantee something like this would go for $300,000+ here in the East End because it would be "progressive", "hip", and "ahead of the curve". Those of us who just want to start out in a small 1-BR/1-BA home in a non-ghetto walkable neighborhood and who are having difficulty securing financing thanks to banks tightening their belts in the aftermath of our Great Recession are completely out of luck now in Pittsburgh. I've already decided we'll rent long-term in Polish Hill, and then when we want to purchase a home we'll move to another city where housing is more affordable relative to the salaries paid.

Are you interested in condos at all? Your price range would work with some of the buildings in North Oakland.

Unfortunately, I don't think any city in the US is going to have much in the way of $50,000 homes in the safe parts of a walkable urban core. Maybe some small towns would fit the bill? Any mid-to-large size city with affordable housing in its core walkable zone is either going to either have serious safety issues or be in serious economic decline, meaning that there wouldn't be much in the way of jobs or stuff to walk to. Pittsburgh is one of the few places where $50,000 can still land you in a safe, decently walkable area....just not in the East End. From reading your posts I'd think you could find a house in your price range in places like Beechview, Troy Hill, Brighton Heights, Millvale, Etna, Sharpsburg, Carnegie, Bellevue, Stowe, and others. You could even try to stick in the East End with a house in Upper Lawrenceville, The Run, parts of Wilkinsburg, or take a gamble on Garfield or Hazelwood and the LTV site.

[Hopes]

Small cities and towns in the counties north of Pittsburgh have houses under 50k in safe neighborhoods. SCR could probably transfer to one of the PNC's in those towns and make the same money he's making now. The question is if the SO can find employment in one of those small towns.

BUT if he is going to move to another city simply because he can't find a house in his price range in his favorite Pittsburgh neighborhood, it's totally illogical that he doesn't simply move to a neighborhood within THIS city where there are houses in his price range.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

I live in a small house. 1000 square feet, no basement. There are tricks to living in a small space. Keeping things picked up is one. For everything you bring in, take something out is another.

And the biggest? Do not buy furniture that sits low on the floor. Buy things with elevated legs. When I had a sofa that had a one inch clearance I had to move it to vacuum under it. But my house is so small, that I had to move the coffee table, which meant I had to move the ottoman, which meant I had to move the chair, which went into the dining room.

Which is also my quilting area. And the library. And the exercise room. And the mail room where hubs packs up his ebay sales. Get my drift?

So I ended up vacuuming under the sofa every six months because it was SUCH an ordeal. Swear -- I thought I was going to find Jimmy Hoffa.

And everything goes under the sofa, especially when the cats are knocking things under. My new w lounger chairs are way lighter, and I can easily get a dust mop under them to clean.

The other thing about having your furniture higher on legs? Because you can SEE the floor, it gives an illusion you have more space.

The other thing about small houses and small rooms? There is often only ONE logical way to arrange the furniture. I know people that would drive CRAZY.

I'm not a shopper, and I don't have tons of stuff -- I'm sort of a minimalist. Frankly, the glass and pottery I'd love to collect and show off wouldn't last 10 minutes between living in earthquake country and owning some rather active cats who are all over the place.

But I couldn't live in 700 square feet. My next house will be in 1500 range. And a bedroom for a quilting studio.

I lived in a 950sf house for 20 years, but it had a garage which, needless to say, never housed a car. It was a big storage room. There were four of us there. Myself, my husband, and our two kids. It's doable. It's how most of the world lives, but I am ready for my big house in Pittsburgh now.