Moving to Pittsburgh with Zero Credit (from Europe) (Penn Hills, Bethel Park: for rent, lofts)

[theta_sigma]

I really think, coming from Europe, you are going to be much happier in the city than way out on the suburbs. Especially with a job downtown and you possibly not working until you get your own visa sorted out. I'd hate for you to come all this way only to get stuck in Forest Hills.

My neighborhood, Stanton Heights, has several affordable rentals (detached homes or duplexes with large yards) listed on craigslist right now. Here you're only a mile or two to areas with a lot of ethnic restaurants and cultural activities and there's a bus line that goes right downtown. It's ideal for people with dogs and/or kids who need a little extra space but who don't want to leave the city. And for now it's still affordable because it's still a bit undiscovered. East Liberty's housing stock may look less than awesome, but it's one of the hottest areas on town right now. It's where the local Google office is and is part of the tech corridor that has formed in the past 5 or so years. Morningside and Highland Park are close by that area as well and have lots of detached homes.

We do have ethnic food here. Plenty. Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Turkish, Korean,Middle Eastern. The neighborhoods with the most ethnic restaurants are Squirrel Hill, Bloomfield, the Strip District and Oakland but there's usually Chinese, Thai and Indian in most parts of town. There are at least 5 Thai places within two miles of where I'm sitting on my porch right now.

[Goinback2011]

The closer you are to downtown, the older the homes, the smaller the lots and the shorter the commute.

That's the tradeoff.

[Merge]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

The closer you are to downtown, the older the homes, the smaller the lots and the shorter the commute.

That's the tradeoff.

Tell that to all the satisfied young people occupying the newly constructed condos and lofts of the Strip District.

PS: People who move to the city have better things to do with their lives than worrying about maintaining "big lots".

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

The closer you are to downtown, the older the homes, the smaller the lots and the shorter the commute.

That's the tradeoff.

Exactly.

Lots are very small and homes are indeed old...and unless you buy one already done or hire someone to restore/make repairs, plan to do some work on a more than regular basis.

[Goinback2011]

Originally Posted by Merge

Tell that to all the satisfied young people occupying the newly constructed condos and lofts of the Strip District.

PS: People who move to the city have better things to do with their lives than worrying about maintaining "big lots".

How many of them are there, 100?

I live in the burbs and don't maintain a 'lot'. But the OP expressed a desire for green space, not concrete.

[Xammy]

Originally Posted by theta_sigma

I really think, coming from Europe, you are going to be much happier in the city than way out on the suburbs. Especially with a job downtown and you possibly not working until you get your own visa sorted out. I'd hate for you to come all this way only to get stuck in Forest Hills.

My neighborhood, Stanton Heights, has several affordable rentals (detached homes or duplexes with large yards) listed on craigslist right now. Here you're only a mile or two to areas with a lot of ethnic restaurants and cultural activities and there's a bus line that goes right downtown. It's ideal for people with dogs and/or kids who need a little extra space but who don't want to leave the city. And for now it's still affordable because it's still a bit undiscovered. East Liberty's housing stock may look less than awesome, but it's one of the hottest areas on town right now. It's where the local Google office is and is part of the tech corridor that has formed in the past 5 or so years. Morningside and Highland Park are close by that area as well and have lots of detached homes.

We do have ethnic food here. Plenty. Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Turkish, Korean,Middle Eastern. The neighborhoods with the most ethnic restaurants are Squirrel Hill, Bloomfield, the Strip District and Oakland but there's usually Chinese, Thai and Indian in most parts of town. There are at least 5 Thai places within two miles of where I'm sitting on my porch right now.

Great news on the food! Our favourite is African / Ethiopian, if we can find that we'd be happy (although, we'd understand if we didn't).

As for the city, well... I'm Canadian and I come from a small island (Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia) on the east coast of Canada. My husband is Dutch but he grew up in Ireland. We have lived in a 70m2 flat in the middle of Rotterdam (a big port city about 40 mins from Amsterdam) for the past 16 years with three flights of stairs and only two small balconies. The convenience is great, of course, we are very near anything we need... but we crave space. Even a large patio / deck or a small yard. Somewhere we can sit outside with our dogs without 200 senior citizens from the building across overlooking us while our knees scrape the bricks on the front of the balcony. haha We've done city life the entire time we've been together and now we both really crave breathing space. If we had a small house, big enough for us and a room for guests (as both our families live in other countries) and an outdoor area that isn't overlooked, where we could get to the conveniences within 15-20 mins? We'd be thrilled!

[Xammy]

Btw, I've decided Pittsburgh is completely backwards in my brain! I look at Penn Hills and it looks totally pleasant, and it's apparently to be avoided... I look at East Liberty and think "NO WAY: DANGER!" and hear it's the new hot spot! haha Does not compute! :P

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

How many of them are there, 100?

I live in the burbs and don't maintain a 'lot'. But the OP expressed a desire for green space, not concrete.

Soon there will be several thousand units in the Strip.

The Cork Factory Lofts, Strip Lofts, 31st Street Lofts, Lot 24, and the Otto Milk Building are well-established. A new condo building with interior parking and seven-figure price tags across from Wigle Whiskey and Apple's new office will be hitting the market soon. Work is finishing up on The Yards at Three Crossings project. Buncher is working on their massive project along the riverfront from the Seagate Building northeast to what I think is 28th Street. They are building something that looks like more apartments right next-door to Wigle Whiskey, too.

This is just the Strip District. Look at Bloomfield. Hundreds of units in the Morrow Park City Apartments project with more going in catty-cornered across Liberty.

Baumhaus is well underway along Baum @ South Graham just blocks away in Friendship. There were (are?) plans to build another mid-rise mixed-use building across Baum Boulevard from ALDI.

East Liberty has the Walnut on Highland, The Penn at Walnut on Highland, EastSide Bond, and the continued evolution of the Bakery Square 2.0 campus with high-end micro-lofts and townhouses (technically considered to be Shadyside).

Lawrenceville? How about The Fletch, Doughboy Square, Locomotive Lofts, Catalyst Lofts, Starr Lofts, Cargo Lofts, McCleary School Condos, Blackbird Lofts, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton more?

I can continue about the thousands of more lofts under development. The city's population is only in decline because the non-trendy neighborhoods like Brookline, Beechview, Brighton Heights, Perry South, etc. are all sharting the bed more rapidly than the booming urban core neighborhoods can make up for. The mayor's office has recently begun a publicity campaign to entice Millennials being priced out of the trendy neighborhoods to move to Allentown, Knoxville, Arlington, Mt. Oliver, Mt. Washington, and Beltzhoover to make them trendy, too.

[Xammy]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Soon there will be several thousand units in the Strip.

The Cork Factory Lofts, Strip Lofts, 31st Street Lofts, Lot 24, and the Otto Milk Building are well-established. A new condo building with interior parking and seven-figure price tags across from Wigle Whiskey and Apple's new office will be hitting the market soon. Work is finishing up on The Yards at Three Crossings project. Buncher is working on their massive project along the riverfront from the Seagate Building northeast to what I think is 28th Street. They are building something that looks like more apartments right next-door to Wigle Whiskey, too.

This is just the Strip District. Look at Bloomfield. Hundreds of units in the Morrow Park City Apartments project with more going in catty-cornered across Liberty.

Baumhaus is well underway along Baum @ South Graham just blocks away in Friendship. There were (are?) plans to build another mid-rise mixed-use building across Baum Boulevard from ALDI.

East Liberty has the Walnut on Highland, The Penn at Walnut on Highland, EastSide Bond, and the continued evolution of the Bakery Square 2.0 campus with high-end micro-lofts and townhouses (technically considered to be Shadyside).

Lawrenceville? How about The Fletch, Doughboy Square, Locomotive Lofts, Catalyst Lofts, Starr Lofts, Cargo Lofts, McCleary School Condos, Blackbird Lofts, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton more?

I can continue about the thousands of more lofts under development. The city's population is only in decline because the non-trendy neighborhoods like Brookline, Beechview, Brighton Heights, Perry South, etc. are all sharting the bed more rapidly than the booming urban core neighborhoods can make up for. The mayor's office has recently begun a publicity campaign to entice Millennials being priced out of the trendy neighborhoods to move to Allentown, Knoxville, Arlington, Mt. Oliver, Mt. Washington, and Beltzhoover to make them trendy, too.

There goes my next two hours to Google :P We could do a loft if it had some sort of outdoor area of our own (again, with at least some privacy) and an elevator. On top of it all we have one dog that needs to be carried up / down any stairs after shoulder surgery, and the other is getting old. We've been carrying them up and down three flights of stairs for every walk and have had just about enough of that! :P

[Xammy]

Lofts generally don't have outdoor space, though, do they?