Housing crisis in Pittsburgh? Dont think so (Highland Park, Hastings: neighborhood, price)

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by JimboPGH

Mowing a lawn, at least of a reasonable size is totally meditative. It's great to just stroll around, listening to spotify, and actually get something accomplished.

Gardens are nice. So are cookouts and throwing the baseball around and just coming home from work and deciding to flop down on the grass and stare at the clouds for an hour.

I mean, what's the point of having one's own domicile at all? There are plenty of hotels with warm beds and clean commodes out there?

Meditative for you... an annoying and pointless chore for people like Gene and I who would rather be doing something else with our time. I can listen to music while taking a vigorous walk through Allegheny Commons adjacent to my home.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012

I am curious, are there any older, established (but safe) neighborhoods with larger lots (half-acre or bigger)? Or would you HAVE to go with new construction for that?

Some Pittsburgh suburbs have large lots.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by JimboPGH

Insane hills are just a fact of life in Beechview. Fallowfield isn't even one of the more severe ones; my fiance and I looked at a place on Rutherford that was on such a steep slope, we almost felt like we were going to start tumbling head over ass walking down to it.

If one can stomach the topography, Beechview does have some gems for a great price, especially considering it's a fairly solid neighborhood with an easy T commute both to Town and much of the South Hills.

I have been tempted many times by places for sale in Beechview. I have to recover from buying and remodeling my current house before I invest in another. For now I'll just daydream.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012

Interesting. My last house's lot was 100x100 (about .23 acre), which is pretty standard, although a lot of lots were half that (50x100 -- the 50' side was the road frontage). THE biggest reason I moved to my current house was that I didn't want to hear my neighbors (I LIKE them, just don't want to be forced to listen to their music!).

I really like the housing styles in this thread, just would want a MUCH larger lot. (I too find mowing my lawn pretty relaxing and even fun ... I have a riding mower due to the size of my current lot.)

You have to get outside of the city limits to find substantially larger lots. But not all that far. The close-in burbs have decent size lots, although lot sizes vary from town to town. Essentially, the farther away from the city, the bigger the lot size. That said, you can have a home with a large lot and still be within commute distance to Pittsburgh.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012

I live in New Hampshire but subscribed to this thread because I found it so interesting! Can't believe those house prices. Wow.

Be careful! You might end up moving here. I did.

[grep]

Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012

I am curious, are there any older, established (but safe) neighborhoods with larger lots (half-acre or bigger)? Or would you HAVE to go with new construction for that?

In the city, I don't think so. Suburbs like Fox Chapel ($$$$) have larger lots and some older homes as well as some newer construction. If you look long and hard, you can find affordable properties in or close to the city with more outside space for various reasons: They're next to a vacant lot (which, if owned by the city, can be purchased by a neighboring homeowner); they're next to a wooded area such as a park, hillside, or just undeveloped land; or they were originally built as mansions for factory bosses (there's been some discussion recently about the wreckovation of 540 Doyle, West Homestead, PA).

What are you planning to do with a large property? If it's mostly playing frisbee and looking at the clouds, there are a lot of affordable homes bordering Riverview Park (Brighton Heights, Perry North), Schenley Park (Greenfield), and Frick Park (Swisshelm Park) that could be of interest, not to mention the many smaller parks scattered throughout the city.

[FreightTrainRunning]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

My house is brick with only a few windows on the sides, with most of the windows on the front and back, so I rarely hear anything from my neighbors, unless my windows are open and they are on their porches or decks listening to some music in the summer....

After a while you get used to it, at least I have, and I rarely hear anything...

My house is more than close to the next door neighbor's house, it's attached all along the right side. But four layers of brick makes a pretty good sound barrier; I've never heard a sound except when they were doing renovation next door.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by karen_in_nh_2012

I am curious, are there any older, established (but safe) neighborhoods with larger lots (half-acre or bigger)? Or would you HAVE to go with new construction for that?

Many, probably most, lots in the city of Pittsburgh are much smaller than you would imagine in even the nicest neighborhoods, e.g., Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and Highland Park in Pgh's East End.

Castleman Street is one of my favorite streets in Shadyside (Pittsburgh 15232). Look how close the houses are to each other: https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-...ed=0CCgQxB0wAA

Same with Aylesboro Avenue in Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh 15217): https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-...ed=0CCgQxB0wAA

Here's Elgin Street in Highland Park (Pittsburgh 15206) https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-...ed=0CCgQxB0wAA

Houses in the Murdoch Farms area of Squirrel Hill may (or may not) have somewhat larger front lawns, but side-to-side, the houses are still quite close to each other. https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-...ed=0CCgQxB0wAA

[JimboPGH]

Originally Posted by GeneW

We have a very nice brick patio with a grill and a two foot-wide strip of mulch that we call a garden. If I want to throw a ball, there's a huge park a block away with all the grass that you could want to sit on. I bought a house not a farm; if I wanted to raise crops I'd move to Sarver.

That's a front porch masquerading as a back yard. Bricks don't soak up sunlight and rainwater.

Also, "mow the lawn" sounds funny in a Pittsburgh... really, any PA accent. Sweep the bricks just doesn't have the same je ne sais quoi.

[JimboPGH]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Meditative for you... an annoying and pointless chore for people like Gene and I who would rather be doing something else with our time. I can listen to music while taking a vigorous walk through Allegheny Commons adjacent to my home.

Whaddya yunz, too fancy fer manual labor, n'at?

And my goodness, what could possibly be meditative about walking through THAT soul-crushing abomination?