Moving to Pitt - Couple Questions (Pittsburgh, Etna: home search, luxury, restaurants)

[xdv8]

Originally Posted by mattolson

Resale potential is very important as we would be selling in two to three years.

Maybe it’s back to Lawrenceville. Thought I found a gem haha.

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

According to the bank appraisal for my refinance that was completed last month, my house appreciated 100% in 8 years in Brookline. Is that the standard for the area, no, but Zillow pegs Brookline at 18% over the past 12 months. The issue with Brookline is, it has to be the right house. The bigger older houses with character near the Blvd do much better than the smaller houses from the 2nd wave of growth in the neighborhood.


As for living convenience, there is tons to walk to in Brookline, but there is no sit down restaurants or bars you would want to go to, but everyday needs...bakeries, banks, liquor store, drug stores, etc are abundant.

Brookline, while perfectly pleasant, is very sleepy and doesn't align with the urban lifestyle I imagined from reading their post. I get that people want to promote their own neighborhoods on here but it isn't always very helpful.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Agree with everything you said, but would like to point out that google estimates travel from Brookline to Ross Park Mall at 7 am to be anywhere from 22-45 mins, which is not horrible compared to most places. You really have one obstacle, the Liberty Tubes, and then it is smooth sailing.

Why deal with that if they don't have to? Why live on the other side of the tunnel (the worst one) and have to cross BOTH rivers - deal with the congestion of the south hills, the tunnel, the Liberty Bridge (that is still under construction - yes?), Crosstown Boulevard, the 'joy' of the 579/279 merge/bottleneck, the construction on 279, and THEN McKnight Road on top of that??? Are you trying to drive someone to suicide? Because that commute sure sounds like a good way to accomplish that objective...

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by xdv8

Brookline, while perfectly pleasant, is very sleepy and doesn't align with the urban lifestyle I imagined from reading their post. I get that people want to promote their own neighborhoods on here but it isn't always very helpful.

Exactly, if the urban, city living criteria wasn't there, I would have recommended Bellevue or West View. They're perfectly fine areas, but not quite what the OP was describing.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by xdv8

Brookline, while perfectly pleasant, is very sleepy and doesn't align with the urban lifestyle I imagined from reading their post. I get that people want to promote their own neighborhoods on here but it isn't always very helpful.

I said from the start I didn't think they would want Brookline, but then they said they were adding a hilltop house in Etna to their list, kept mentioning room for dogs, wanting a return in 2-3 years, and said they were willing to look at anything.


I have long given up on ever promoting Brookline to newcomers but when people post abandoned homes to people as a good choice for a two year situation, sometimes you have to offer something else. Who would have thought a house that was livable versus houses with no walls was considered being unhelpful.

[mattolson]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I said from the start I didn't think they would want Brookline, but then they said they were adding a hilltop house in Etna to their list, kept mentioning room for dogs, wanting a return in 2-3 years, and said they were willing to look at anything.

I have long given up on ever promoting Brookline to newcomers but when people post abandoned homes to people as a good choice for a two year situation, sometimes you have to offer something else. Who would have thought a house that was livable versus houses with no walls was considered being unhelpful.

For the record, the only reason we'd consider that house (the one on Liverpool) is because we could live on the property while it's being renovated. And Manchester seems to be a very good area for what we would be looking for. I feel like the biggest thing for us is the return in a few years. We are willing to invest in remodeling/renovating a place if there is a clear sign that when we put it on the market it will attract buyers.

Also, maybe I need to be more clear. A backyard would be a luxury but a nice one. I know the bulldog and beagle would enjoy it. They toughed out a Miami high rise for a year so anything is a luxury for them.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by mattolson

For the record, the only reason we'd consider that house (the one on Liverpool) is because we could live on the property while it's being renovated. And Manchester seems to be a very good area for what we would be looking for. I feel like the biggest thing for us is the return in a few years. We are willing to invest in remodeling/renovating a place if there is a clear sign that when we put it on the market it will attract buyers.

Also, maybe I need to be more clear. A backyard would be a luxury but a nice one. I know the bulldog and beagle would enjoy it. They toughed out a Miami high rise for a year so anything is a luxury for them.

Are you renting a car in Pgh? If so I recommend driving all around the city, parking it, getting out and walking around at various times of the day.

[mattolson]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Are you renting a car in Pgh? If so I recommend driving all around the city, parking it, getting out and walking around at various times of the day.

Yes, we will have a rental car for all three days we are there.

That was sort of our plan. Drive to each potential location and spend an hour exploring our neighborhood.

Right now the list is as follows:

Manchester
Deutschtown
Strip
Lawrenceville
Shadyside
Garfield
Bloomfield - haven't found anything in the area yet
Etna

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by mattolson

Yes, we will have a rental car for all three days we are there.

That was sort of our plan. Drive to each potential location and spend an hour exploring our neighborhood.

Right now the list is as follows:

Manchester
Deutschtown
Strip
Lawrenceville
Shadyside
Garfield
Bloomfield - haven't found anything in the area yet
Etna

I would add South Side to your list, some of the back streets down past 21st street are very pleasant.

[mattolson]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I would add South Side to your list, some of the back streets down past 21st street are very pleasant.

Is that South Side Flats?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

From the beginning of his posts, I never wanted to recommend Brookline as it is not the vibe they were hoping for. But if they are only here for two years, that is two years in an easy to live in neighborhood where housing is only going up in value, with room for dogs, is safe, and is mainly walkable to a solid business district. If they were staying put for longer I would say rent for a year and then decide where to live.

That house also has a great location, because it's not only close to Brookline Boulevard, but also not far from Pioneer Street and from there Dormont's business district (about a 12 minute walk).