Cost of a one bedroom apt in 50 US cities- Pittsburgh in top 10! (York: middle-class, apartments)

[DaisyDaisy]

"Earlier this week, personal finance site GOBankingRates.com released a study on the median costs of rent for one-bedroom apartments in 50 major U.S. cities. It also includes data on factors such as the apartments' average square footage, monthly utility costs and walkability. Besides offering an interesting glimpse into how other renters live across the country, the info is helpful for those looking to make a move..."

Cheapest Cities to Rent Apartments - Cost to Rent a One-Bedroom Apartment

Top 40 to 50 in increasing order...

San Diego, California: $1,760
Honolulu, Hawaii: $1,795
Seattle, Washington: $1,795
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: $1,850
Miami, Florida: $2,000
Los Angeles, California: $2,014
Boston, Massachusetts: $2,025
Washington, D.C.: $2,172
New York, New York: $2,200
San Jose, California: $2,536
San Francisco, California: $3,600

Philly was at $1295

I've definitely seen the prices of new rentals increasing significantly but didn't realize it was this bad. Doesn't match the salaries here.

[PITairport]

Probably has much to do with Pittsburgh's small geographical footprint. An apartment 8 miles from downtown Pittsburgh would most likely not be in the City of Pittsburgh so not included in the survey. An apartment 8 miles from downtown Columbus would most likely be in the City of Columbus.

[Goinback2011]

That doesn't seem accurate.

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by DaisyDaisy

I've definitely seen the prices of new rentals increasing significantly but didn't realize it was this bad. Doesn't match the salaries here.

That's what shocks people moving here...when the old Pittsburgh apartments are more than what new ones are going for in their cities.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

That's what shocks people moving here...when the old Pittsburgh apartments are more than what new ones are going for in their cities.

I've been saying for years now that median 1-BR rental rates here in the city are rising more rapidly than the prevailing local wages, but the regulars on here disagree with me. Nice to see some validation.

I post this as I bumped into a neighbor two days ago who happens to be a cook at a Bloomfield restaurant. She is raising two children on her own and has just been gentrified out of her apartment here in Polish Hill. She marks the third working-class white household (that I'm aware of through my close network of friends) here in Polish Hill alone that has been gentrified out for yuppies in the past few years, but all you ever hear about on this sub-forum is how evil it is that rich whites are pricing out poor blacks in East Liberty. Nobody on here cares about rich whites pricing out working-class whites in Lawrenceville, Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the South Side, and many other neighborhoods now.

[Merge]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I've been saying for years now that median 1-BR rental rates here in the city are rising more rapidly than the prevailing local wages, but the regulars on here disagree with me. Nice to see some validation.

I post this as I bumped into a neighbor two days ago who happens to be a cook at a Bloomfield restaurant. She is raising two children on her own and has just been gentrified out of her apartment here in Polish Hill. She marks the third working-class white household (that I'm aware of through my close network of friends) here in Polish Hill alone that has been gentrified out for yuppies in the past few years, but all you ever hear about on this sub-forum is how evil it is that rich whites are pricing out poor blacks in East Liberty. Nobody on here cares about rich whites pricing out working-class whites in Lawrenceville, Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the South Side, and many other neighborhoods now.

I think if you had grown up here in a city neighborhood, and were being priced out, you might generate more sympathy on the board... but you are a recent transplant yourself. How long have you lived in Polish Hill? Four years? And before that you were in a suburb of DC?

The other thing is... white folks (Western Europeans, in particular) set up this system of dog-eat-dog, and poor vs. poor. It's the philosophy of Social Darwinism. Maybe you aren't related to the ones who profit most from the way society is constructed, but you're white and clearly from a Middle Class background, and thus seen as generally complicit. Whether or not that's "fair" or reflects the actual reality of your situation, I'm sure that plays into perceptions.

Anyway... something does seem out-of-whack in this list.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Merge

I think if you had grown up here in a city neighborhood, and were being priced out, you might generate more sympathy on the board... but you are a recent transplant yourself. How long have you lived in Polish Hill? Four years? And before that you were in a suburb of DC?

Two of the three working-class white households I referenced lived in this neighborhood for decades prior to gentrification forcing them out.

Also, in regards to Penn Plaza, how many of those tenants lived in that building their entire lives? Why the racial double-standard with not only people on this sub-forum but also the mayor stepping in to smooth their gentrification-related transition while working-class whites in my neighborhood and adjacent ones are being told "thems the breaks"?

Originally Posted by Merge

The other thing is... white folks (Western Europeans, in particular) set up this system of dog-eat-dog, and poor vs. poor. It's the philosophy of Social Darwinism. Maybe you aren't related to the ones who profit most from the way society is constructed, but you're white and clearly from a Middle Class background, and thus seen as generally complicit. Whether or not that's "fair" or reflects the actual reality of your situation, I'm sure that plays into perceptions.

So as a poorer working-class white person I'm somehow complicit in my own impending gentrification-related demise for not being socioeconomically advantaged as other whites? Is that honestly what you're trying to say here? As a working-class white person I'm automatically more socioeconomically advantaged than an upper-middle-class black household? Please explain to me how I'm better off as a poorer white than a wealthier black in regards to the local rental market.

Originally Posted by Merge

Anyway... something does seem out-of-whack in this list.

Sure. Anything that paints Pittsburgh in the light of anything other than "the nation's most affordable city" is dubious to those on this sub-forum who bought homes years ago and haven't been following the rapid inflation of the local rental market during that same timeframe.

You do realize it's no longer 2006, right? This city hasn't been cheap for the typical working-class renter (relative to the prevailing paltry wages of those renters who haven't seen any real wage growth in the "new and improved" economy President Obama has delivered us) for close to a decade now.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

but all you ever hear about on this sub-forum is how evil it is that rich whites are pricing out poor blacks in East Liberty. Nobody on here cares about rich whites pricing out working-class whites in Lawrenceville, Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the South Side, and many other neighborhoods now.

This sub-forum is very liberal, so the attitude here is no surprise. However, it's not just on this sub-forum - the attitude you're describing above is also very prevalent in local media too. Whenever there are local news stories about gentrification, it only focuses on the effect of gentrification on minority neighborhoods.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

You do realize it's no longer 2006, right? This city hasn't been cheap for the typical working-class renter (relative to the prevailing paltry wages of those renters who haven't seen any real wage growth in the "new and improved" economy President Obama has delivered us) for close to a decade now.

Rents in the region are crazy in general, particularly compared to the paltry and stagnating wages of this region, but they have gone absolutely insane in the City itself - as has the cost of buying a home. There are still some true bargains available on the fringes (I have a 1k ft^2 home in Etna that was move-in ready with no major issues that I bought two years ago - my mortgage/insurance/taxes are $386/month. You and I are of similar ages/backgrounds/income). Prices are only appreciating though, and it may be time for you to settle for something now and grab something in Troy Hill, Millvale, or Etna before those prices accelerate out of your reach too. Best of luck in whatever direction you decide to go!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

This sub-forum is very liberal, so the attitude here is no surprise. However, it's not just on this sub-forum - the attitude you're describing above is also very prevalent in local media too. Whenever there are local news stories about gentrification, it only focuses on the effect of gentrification on minority neighborhoods.

I don't understand this, either. Whether a couple hundred working-class African-American renters are evicted at once to make way for new development in East Liberty or several hundred working-class white renters are evicted over the course of a year in Polish Hill, Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, and many other gentrifying city neighborhoods seems to be equally disconcerting to me. I EQUALLY empathize with the plight of Penn Plaza's black tenants AND the white friends who I've seen priced out of my own neighborhood.

I don't understand why being "liberal" (which I am, by the way) means:

Rich whites pricing out poor blacks = EVIL
Rich whites pricing out poor whites = "Oh well! Them's the breaks!"

^ I'm going to be called a racist soon by a few of our favorite race-baiters for pointing that out, but I don't care. Either rich whites pricing ANYONE out is a shame, or it's acceptable. You can't say it's only detrimental if a certain race is the one that's negatively impacted in the process. It's hypocritical.

If I make $25,000/year, and an African-American peer makes $25,000/year, then I don't see why one should be viewed as being more empathized with for their sudden jolt in rent displacing them from their longtime neighborhood. It's a shame in BOTH circumstances.