Moving from San Diego to Pittsburgh - where to live?

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Pittsburgh is the most pet-unfriendly rental city I've lived in

While I don't disagree that Pgh. is extraordinarily pet-unfriendly, I ended up in literally the dumpiest apartment I ever lived in in Portland, OR, where I was evicted from my nice place because I had a cat.

[gcrepe]

You guys have been super helpful!!!!!! THANK YOU!!

I'll have to start researching some of those areas and googling rentals like mad! I know it's hard to find just the right combination of cool neighborhood, space, eclectic "hip" sensibility etc... I know this usually means city life, but some "burbs" can offer little pockets of this. We shall see.

I know our 4 mutts will pretty much dictate where we HAVE TO end up as far as a rental. It sounds like it's going to be a huge challenge. I predict I will be needing to jump through some major hoops as far as rental time frame, big deposits and such to even get someone to agree to us. Being a couple with no children, our dogs are our kids -- we can't leave / move without them.

Buying a home straight away would be another way to go, but we did this several years back when we moved to Baltimore -- bought a home with a job move and ended up moving back to California in 2 years time when the job didn't work out. Lost money etc.... So we figure renting for a couple of years to make sure this time!!!!!

Thanks again for all the great suggestions of areas! I will be busy researching now....

[sparrowmint]

Originally Posted by jay5835

While I don't disagree that Pgh. is extraordinarily pet-unfriendly, I ended up in literally the dumpiest apartment I ever lived in in Portland, OR, where I was evicted from my nice place because I had a cat.

Did you knowingly break a no pet's policy or something? In relatively recent times, didn't really have a problem finding many affordable places there (by Portland standards) that accepted multiple cats (had 3; still have two of them, though one has since passed on). Dogs though, that's an issue there, same as here. My mother in law had to live in some real trashy dumps to be able to keep her lab. Glad to be a homeowner now, since I otherwise greatly miss Ontario's province-wide law that no pets policies are invalid and unenforceable [except for specific reasons that can evict you after the fact like existing damage, excessive and uncontrolled barking, dangerous animals, etc].

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by sparrowmint

Ontario's province-wide law that no pets policies are invalid and unenforceable [except for specific reasons that can evict you after the fact like existing damage, excessive and uncontrolled barking, dangerous animals, etc].

I wonder if that law decreased the number of pets abandoned at shelters.

[Bong477]

Its more being persistent, having some luck, and realizing places that meet your needs are not in high supply so you probably need to jump on a place that meets your needs even if it isn't perfect.

While buying would solve some problems, I would try to stick with the renting plan until you get settled and figure out if you are going to be here long term.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by sparrowmint

Did you knowingly break a no pet's policy or something?

No. I simply didn't know there was such a thing.

In relatively recent times, didn't really have a problem finding many affordable places there (by Portland standards) that accepted multiple cats (had 3; still have two of them, though one has since passed on).

You may recall that I lived in Portland a generation ago. At that time, there was nearly total cat hatred on the part of Portland landlords.

[sparrowmint]

Originally Posted by jay5835

No. I simply didn't know there was such a thing.

You may recall that I lived in Portland a generation ago. At that time, there was nearly total cat hatred on the part of Portland landlords.

Fair enough. I imagine that wasn't unique to Portland, honestly, I think society has gotten more liberal over time in terms of pets and the value of them, and certainly about the acceptability of them being primarily indoor animals. At least that's my experience, that amongst older people, a notably higher percentage of them still see cats and dogs as outdoor animals and as "just animals."

[sparrowmint]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I wonder if that law decreased the number of pets abandoned at shelters.

I'm sure (large urban Ontario shelters sometimes pull animals from as far away as the US because they sometimes have the room to bring in animals), though a lot of people aren't necessarily aware of those pet owner rights existing, so it still happens. I've seen plenty of ads up there on Craigslist or whatever with people saying they're moving and the new landlord won't accept pets so they have to get rid of their animals, but so many pet owners are careless about their animals that it's hard to know whether they don't know their rights or if it's just an excuse to throw their animals away.

It's a relatively recent law, from a court case in the 1990s if I remember right. There was some nasty case where someone was evicted over an animal, that led to a big trend over evicting pet owners and an increase in animal abandonment, so the tenant laws were re-written to prohibit no pets clause, though eviction can still happen if the animal proves to be a problem (damage, annoying or harming other tenants or the landlord herself/himself, etc). Apparently similar laws exist nationwide in France and Belgium because they believe that no pets clauses infringe on a tenant's right to privacy.

It does take some subterfuge because landlords aren't necessarily "prohibited" from publishing that they have a no pets policy, so if you're open and honest about it ahead of time, they're not going to rent to you. This is a problem with independent landlords especially. But if you hide the fact that you have the animal and move them in, there's nothing the landlord can do, though I'm sure it sometimes makes for an acrimonious relationshop. Big companies with apartment complexes or who manage a lot of properties, you'll never see them publish that they have a no pets policy because they know better. I rented a few different places up there before I moved down to the US, all with big companies, and they never dared to ask about any pets. It's been the same for my brother, who has rented from four different companies, they never ask about pets or put anything in the lease about it.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by sparrowmint

Fair enough. I imagine that wasn't unique to Portland, honestly, I think society has gotten more liberal over time in terms of pets and the value of them, and certainly about the acceptability of them being primarily indoor animals. At least that's my experience, that amongst older people, a notably higher percentage of them still see cats and dogs as outdoor animals and as "just animals."

Pets were okay in NY and LA (where my cat was born) at that time.