Working Class can’t afford the American Dream in Pittsburgh (McKeesport: tenant, incomes)

[Marv95]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

What state do you live in now Marv95?

PA, Pottstown if you heard about it. I'm finding rent for a 1BR in the Pittsburgh area(with heat/hw) can be about the same as what I'm paying for a studio near the hood. Think I'm being hosed.

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by Marv95

PA, Pottstown if you heard about it. I'm finding rent for a 1BR in the Pittsburgh area(with heat/hw) can be about the same as what I'm paying for a studio near the hood. Think I'm being hosed.

Nice 1 bedrooms in most popular neighborhoods around Pittsburgh start around 900 and can go up substantially. If what you are looking at is way cheaper than that, its probably either dated/dumpy or in a not popular neighborhood.

[Goinback2011]

Originally Posted by Marv95

PA, Pottstown if you heard about it. I'm finding rent for a 1BR in the Pittsburgh area(with heat/hw) can be about the same as what I'm paying for a studio near the hood. Think I'm being hosed.

You need to find a job here before moving.

https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/se...labilityMode=0

[okaydorothy]

I have been looking for a job for a few months now ; yes, I did turn down two jobs for specific reasons. However, looking at indeed, linkedin and craigslist ; nobody wants to pay more than $15 an hour. For someone with almost 30 years experience of working, it is down right depressing.
The companies want to pay as little as possible, but want dependable, trustworthy people who will actually work and do their job. I saw it first hand in my old job ; people playing internet games, shopping and looking at Match.com while they are supposed to be working.
I just cannot afford to take a job for $10 an hour at this stage of my life. Cost of living in Pittsburgh can be low for the high end items like houses, but groceries and clothes are the same as any big city. Even Target for groceries is cheaper than the local Giant Eagle.

[beasley106]

Originally Posted by Marv95

As a working class dude in his 30s, I'd be skeptical in buying any home in the Northern US considering a)my dumbass went to college over a decade ago and I'm literally paying the price for it every month and b) the weather, taxes, utilities, etc. don't help. But looking at these homes online in the area I gotta say, 20K and under(auctions or not) in areas not in the hood(from my research) are interesting.

Also the fact that you don't necessarily need a car in these areas is also a plus, despite paying nearly $100/month for a 1-zone trip. But that's another story lol.

The Southern US isn't that much better honestly (unless weather is your primary motivation). If you look at Florida and Texas for example they not only have high property taxes, high utility rates, and high homeowner insurance rates but as more and more relocate to those states, wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living in the more popular areas (ie Miami, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin, etc). Not to mention flood insurance if you live along the coast or in very flood prone areas like Houston or much of Louisiana. Granted rural areas might be not as affected as much by this but then there are also fewer employment opportunities as well (not that much different than Pennsylvania or any other state).

[SteelCityRising]

I have yet to dive into this thread, but I suppose there is no better time than the present.

I suppose I'm "working-class". My $28,000/year salary means I'm probably one of the lowest-paid on here (by far). That's okay. My only material aspirations are a tiny older house, a sunflower garden, and a personal masseur named Taylor Lautner!

I believe the title of this thread is misleading. PARTS of Pittsburgh have gone from being working-class-friendly to bourgeois in a hurry (my own beloved Polish Hill included). That doesn't mean the city at-large caters only to poor blacks and rich whites "for votes". Poor whites can live in Brightwood/Woods Run, Perry North/Observatory Hill, Carrick, Beechview, Arlington, Esplen, Elliott, and a few other neighborhoods comfortably and affordably. I'm on Facebook constantly. The page "NextPittsburgh" has been hyping up Carrick as "the next big thing" lately, likely in an effort to assuage the apprehensions incoming socioeconomic refugees from gentrifying parts of the city may have about its reputation.

As much as I love Polish Hill I love the city at-large more. If me staying in Polish Hill as a poor white person with a low IQ isn't commensurate with the long-range vision of the neighborhood, then I'll move to another city neighborhood so an Apple or UBER or Argo AI employee can live within walking distance of their Strip offices.

We're not (yet) at the point where Pittsburgh is unaffordable for the working-class to attain the American Dream, but we are certainly trending in that direction. Oh, and by Pittsburgh I mean the city proper. Some of us with residency requirements can't just move to Etna or McKeesport or Coraopolis for cheaper rent and a better life on a <$30,000 salary. In the coming years salaries for city employees will need to rise, though, if city rents are also continuing to rise, OR residency requirements will have to be abolished. Do San Francisco's low-salaried city employees need to live in the city? If so, then how?

[erieguy]

Hazelwood is "the next big thing".

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Do San Francisco's low-salaried city employees need to live in the city? If so, then how?

This is far from a complete answer, but it's worth noting that San Francisco and Seattle have both raised the minimum wage in the city. There are still lots of debates about the overall impact of this on local economies, but it's interesting watching it unfold. Meanwhile I would prefer to see a residency requirement that included the inner ring suburbs, but that's a longer debate too.

[guy2073]

Originally Posted by erieguy

Hazelwood is "the next big thing".

There is no reason for Hazelwood to be the next big thing, if the development picks up steam it could revitalize the area, but they have been trying to get a tenant since 1999 when sun coke company wanted to build on the property Sun coke plant sets a shining example

The only other way I see Hazelwood coming around is if it could offer a direct shuttle to Oakland, either a lrv, monorail or a dedicated bus line. I have been considering putting some investment money into Hazelwood real estate but I don't see enough progress yet.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by guy2073

There is no reason for Hazelwood to be the next big thing, if the development picks up steam it could revitalize the area, but they have been trying to get a tenant since 1999 when sun coke company wanted to build on the property Sun coke plant sets a shining example

The only other way I see Hazelwood coming around is if it could offer a direct shuttle to Oakland, either a lrv, monorail or a dedicated bus line. I have been considering putting some investment money into Hazelwood real estate but I don't see enough progress yet.

I would put that investment money into it and wait for it to happen, because it will.