Looking for a house near University of Pittsburgh (Lebanon, Oakland: low income, student loan)

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by eschaton

This is really far down Beechwood, in the nigh-unwalkable part of Squirrel Hill, but I like the look of it.

From there it is a very few steps to a liquor store, the Giant Eagle, and the bus (61c, 61d, 64, 53, 53, 53L, 52L). Crossing Beechwood is a pain at that point, but they are installing new lights on those intersections now.

Also, that's in Greenfield technically. I'm going to stop making that point now, but I thought it relevant here. Part of the reason people think Greenfield isn't as nice is that everybody thinks the nicer parts of Greenfield are Squirrel Hill.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I do have to say, if I lived there, I don't know if I'd feel comfortable using the Homewood bus station however, despite it being convenient. I'd have to feel it out.

I lived in South Point Breeze for a bit. When I lived there I would sometimes take the busway. My station was the Homewood Station I think. It was not a walk that I enjoyed. Too far for starters. Walking home at night home was not fun. From memory, you have to go under the busway to get to the station. What made it so bad is that it was empty. My walk was almost a run.

[Sideblinded]

Originally Posted by eschaton

This is really far down Beechwood, in the nigh-unwalkable part of Squirrel Hill, but I like the look of it.

It has been on the market for awhile. I drive past it quite a bit. I could not imagine backing out of the driveway everyday, it is on a busy intersection.

[sealie]

Originally Posted by Sideblinded

It has been on the market for awhile. I drive past it quite a bit. I could not imagine backing out of the driveway everyday, it is on a busy intersection.

Well, what listing is out right now that hasn't been on the market for awhile? This is about the worst time to be looking for a house; all the listings are stale, which means they're overpriced or have something wrong with them. Looks like it was listed for 310k almost three years ago.

[Hopes]

For the past year, I've been following an over priced house that has been on the market for 3 years.

One day the owner will cave and accept my offer. I'm very patient.

[Sideblinded]

Originally Posted by sealie

Well, what listing is out right now that hasn't been on the market for awhile? This is about the worst time to be looking for a house; all the listings are stale, which means they're overpriced or have something wrong with them. Looks like it was listed for 310k almost three years ago.

Not my house!

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

For the past year, I've been following an over priced house that has been on the market for 3 years.

One day the owner will cave and accept my offer. I'm very patient.

Heh, there's a house I drive by daily that's been on the market about 3 years. I always wondered what the point was. They're hoping for some sucker to pay more than it's worth? I suppose that is possible, but not so likely in what I assume is this one's price range. (More likely to overpay with cheaper houses methinks.) Oddly I can't find it in listings though so maybe it did just sell after all. Who knows.

[icantthinkofanick]

Originally Posted by Sideblinded

Personally I think the "recommender's" need to shake it up a bit and think outside the box. I don't live in Greenfield, but seriously am confused why it isn't more highly recommended. I live in Squirrel Hill, I don't think I am "better" than Greenfield. Neighborhood, Schmeighborhood! Mike McCarthy's (Packer coach) parents still live on Greenfield ave!

Put it in perspective, Regent Square in "Pittsburgh" is a tiny, tiny sliver. The Regent Square theater, Square Cafe etc, are not even in the city of Pittsburgh! Point Breeze has a very tiny business section. Most of Squirrel Hill's business section falls in Sq Hill south closer to Greenfield! South side of Forbes.

Get over the labels, live where you want.

Agreed!!


I live in greenfield and thoroughly enjoy it.. Well except the hills

I lived in north point breeze while renting and fell in love with the east end. I looked for a house around here for a year (north point breeze, regent square, edgewood, swissvale, morningside), and Greenfield was by far the best combination of location and value that I came across. I really wanted a house in regent square, but when I saw what 200K got me in one vs the other, it was a no brainer for me at least. The greenfield house I eventually ended up with was move in condition and updated all in the inside, it takes me 15-20 minutes to get to oakland / downtown by bus as opposed to the 40 minutes it took on penn avenue with the packed buses. I can get to most places quicker by car like southside and the waterfront in 5-10, and the parkway is 2-3 minutes away. I take frequent walks to the park and squirrel hill / murray (it's not that far of a walk from SOME parts of greenfield, geez). The best part IMO? It's quiet and relaxed. I get the best of both worlds, close to a lot of great neighborhoods, but no crazy congestion around or fighting over things like parking spaces.

Honestly if "ugly" and "not much going on" are it's worst features, I think it sounds just fine. That being said, each east end neighborhood I visited had some unique features that made it a hard choice. Sometimes its all about the house buying timing. I would advise hitting up a bunch of open houses, they can be a nice eye opener sometimes of what to expect for a price point in a particular neighborhood (unless they've been sitting on the market for many years).

[seraphita]

OP, you can get a bigger house for less money in an inner ring suburb. With the money you save, you can buy a car for your husband to commute.

I heard that parking passes at Pitt are expensive. Is that the case?

Also, the real estate listings posted for Highland Park look beautiful, and from what I've seen on Google Street View, the area seems like a good balance of "residential" and "walkable." But it sounds like there's some debate over the quality of the schools there? For the record, we're Hispanic and would like to send our kids either to a ethnically diverse public school, or to an affordable Catholic school.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by seraphita

I heard that parking passes at Pitt are expensive. Is that the case?

Pitt parking isn't horribly expensive. $92/month for a garage space for faculty/staff. The problem is that it takes months on waiting lists to get to a space in a reasonably close lot. If you have to park above the Peterson Events Center (the OC lot), you'll be walking up and down the hill for so much time that the bus could start to seem fast.

Originally Posted by seraphita

For the record, we're Hispanic and would like to send our kids either to a ethnically diverse public school, or to an affordable Catholic school.

St. Rosalia, in Greenfield, has a Catholic school that is affordable by most standards.

St. Rosalia Academy > Home

St. Regis is in Oakland, the the area someone suggested several pages ago as being a good place for you to look. It doesn't have a school, but it may be a good place for you to contact if you are both Hispanic and Catholic.

http://www.stregisparish.org/