anyone know what division of google is located at bakery sq? (Pittsburgh: houses, employment)

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by EveKendall

Actually, in your post it seemed you were implying that everyone wants a 'three car garage and a closet as big as a bedroom' once they have kids. This is definitely not true, just like it isn't true that there are no good schools in the city. When people think about what is important to them, many of us would rather live in dense, walkable areas, with amenities close by than have a big house. I actually think a lot of young, educated people feel the way I do. 'White flight' is also a non-issue for many of us as I (and my friends) would prefer my children go to schools and spend time in communities where they see people who look different from them.

Will you please stop taking the words from beneath my fingertips??

I'm sure the Cranberry et al garagemahals are very fine. Just not for us.

[BarqCider]

i honestly dont know how we went from talking about google to cranberry lol

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by BarqCider

I asked because my degree is in information sciences network security emphasis. I would love to intern but who knows my luck lol.

Really. What if you ended up with Anti-Smoking Girl as your boss?

Originally Posted by BarqCider

i honestly dont know how we went from talking about google to cranberry lol

Ask zip.

[eschaton]

Let me just say, as one final thought in the whole Cranberry/Squirrel Hill thing, that if demand for the two was equal, they would be priced the same. That people pay far more more per square foot to live in Squirrel Hill shows that the Pittsburgh market really needs at least another couple Squirrel Hills to have the market equalized.

Basically, while more middle-class people still prefer the suburbs over the city, prices indicate there are still a substantive number of people who want to stay in the city, but cannot win the bidding war for the few highly desirable areas.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Let me just say, as one final thought in the whole Cranberry/Squirrel Hill thing, that if demand for the two was equal, they would be priced the same. That people pay far more more per square foot to live in Squirrel Hill shows that the Pittsburgh market really needs at least another couple Squirrel Hills to have the market equalized.

Basically, while more middle-class people still prefer the suburbs over the city, prices indicate there are still a substantive number of people who want to stay in the city, but cannot win the bidding war for the few highly desirable areas.

I couldn't have put it better myself. It's the same for 'desirable inner city' neighborhoods the world over.

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Let me just say, as one final thought in the whole Cranberry/Squirrel Hill thing, that if demand for the two was equal, they would be priced the same. That people pay far more more per square foot to live in Squirrel Hill shows that the Pittsburgh market really needs at least another couple Squirrel Hills to have the market equalized.

Basically, while more middle-class people still prefer the suburbs over the city, prices indicate there are still a substantive number of people who want to stay in the city, but cannot win the bidding war for the few highly desirable areas.

This is basically how I feel, but you did leave land out of the equation. There are many people who prefer to have a larger yard for a variety of activities from gardening to a basketball court or even an ice rink. In other words, it is not just about the square footage of the house and there is a segment of people who will never be happy in the city surrounded by others at relatively close distances. Some people might be fine paying the per square foot going rate in Squirrel Hill or Shadyside, but they are not okay with the lot sizes. There are custom built homes in certain suburbs that can go for just as much if not more per square foot than the city homes, but they usually have more land associated with the purchase.

This is why I don't really have a problem with the burbs, because people have different hobbies, interests, needs, etc. The only time I am bothered by the burbs is when land is wasted and there are relatively new (10 years old or less) subdivisions with tons of foreclosures, short sales, and price reductions when they are building the next subdivision down the street and people are flocking to it. My wife's parents were victims to this situation in the eastern Pittsburgh suburbs when they sold. There were so many houses available in their development and builders were building so many new houses down the street that they ended up selling for less than they paid to build the house, which was a very nice custom brick house built in the late 90s. Some of their neighbors who were also trying to sell their houses could not reduce enough and compete with builder incentives so they went into foreclosure or rented the properties.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by BarqCider

i honestly dont know how we went from talking about google to cranberry lol

Cranberry is a very polarizing word around here. Essentially it is a boom-burb of 30,000+ that sprang up nearly overnight to house people who wanted to take advantage of all that Allegheny County offers in terms of employment opportunities, recreation, culture, diversity, higher education, festivals, infrastructure, etc. without having to pay for any of it in terms of taxation. I could say the same for Peters Twp. and Murrysville, which border the county line at Washington County and Westmoreland County, respectively. I'd have a MUCH better opinion of Cranberry personally if it was within the county line, but then again it wouldn't be so successful as a relocation destination amongst the tax-evading carpetbaggers moving there if it was. People moving to Cranberry want to have their cake and eat it too, and the fact that the next "T" extension is apparently going up to Cranberry to subsidize easier commutes for MORE carpetbaggers while useful mass transit avoids the increasingly congested East End still makes me irate.

There's a reason why I don't have such disdain towards South Fayette Township, Robinson Township, or Fox Chapel. They're all within the county. People there enjoy Allegheny County AND help to pay their fair share, just like those of us here in the city proper. If people in Cranberry paid a "commuter tax", then I wouldn't care so much. I don't appreciate that the roads in and around the city suck partially because people from outside the county are tearing them up daily with their large SUVs and pick-up trucks while not paying to help repave them.

Can Allegheny County just annex Cranberry Township? My hatred for that community would nearly evaporate.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by trackstar13

The only time I am bothered by the burbs is when land is wasted and there are relatively new (10 years old or less) subdivisions with tons of foreclosures, short sales, and price reductions when they are building the next subdivision down the street and people are flocking to it.

Plenty of vacant homes in perfectly-livable city and inner suburban neighborhoods are awaiting new families to love them while more trees are coming down daily in the 'burbs for new subdivisions. Explain how this isn't "wasteful" to me.

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Plenty of vacant homes in perfectly-livable city and inner suburban neighborhoods are awaiting new families to love them while more trees are coming down daily in the 'burbs for new subdivisions. Explain how this isn't "wasteful" to me.

This is easy to explain, here is an example:

Lets say someone has a $550,000 housing budget and they have 5 kids along with 3 cars, 1 boat and 2 big dogs (English Mastiffs). The father works in Cranberry and the mother is a stay at home mom.

They could buy this place in Squirrel Hill, which would definitely be big enough inside the house and within the budget. However, where do they put the cars and boat? Additionally, the kids play hockey and the parents would like to put an ice rink in the back yard. Where does that go?

Squirrel Hill Real Estate - 1356 Denniston, Squirrel Hill, PA, 15217

For a little bit less and with enough land/garage space to do what they want/are looking for they can buy this place in Cranberry. If they moved a little more north they could get even more land.

Cranberry Twp Real Estate - 405 Shannon Road, Cranberry Twp, PA, 16066

Heck they could even buy this place, which has over 28 acres of land and be only a little north of Cranberry and still be in the same school district. They could even get some of the character you would expect in the city because it appears to be an old farmhouse.

Jackson Twp - BUT Real Estate - 240 Log House Lane, Jackson Twp - BUT, PA, 16063

This example can also apply to buyers with a lower budget or different wants/needs, if you pick a cheaper suburban area and area of the city to compare. The point is that not everyone has the same land requirements as one another. Regardless of price range it is hard to find houses with multiple acres in many cities across the country. I am always one of those people who lives in the "city" area of wherever I live, but I can understand why some people need to live in the suburbs.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by trackstar13

This is easy to explain, here is an example:

Lets say someone has a $550,000 housing budget and they have 5 kids along with 3 cars, 1 boat and 2 big dogs (English Mastiffs). The father works in Cranberry and the mother is a stay at home mom.

what if the mom is an eminent professor at Pitt and the father works part-time in a bar downtown just for fun?