Gay couple finally moving to PA! (Pittsburgh, New Castle: hotel, homes, amphitheatre)

[gg]

Wow, the OP's husband wants downtown Pittsburgh and some are now showing some country setting in the middle of nowhere.

The commute out of the city at the hour he is leaving won't be bad. The commute home will be hit or miss, but most of the time not bad. Why not live downtown and do the hour commute. Maybe he can work at home one day a week at some point and that would be perfect.

[eschaton]

I dunno the OP's price range, but something like this in Beaver would be quite nice. Only a few blocks from the business district, and a relatively short commute for his husband.

Here's a relatively affordable "in town" house in Sewickley. It's a wealthier area, meaning housing prices are higher. Unlike Beaver though there are apartment units down by the river, meaning you could rent there fairly easily.

Aside from the commute, the big issue I see with living in Downtown Pittsburgh is that parking does not come included in those apartment buildings - and in some cases they don't have parking at all. This makes it not a particularly good place for someone who has to drive to work on a daily basis to live.

Somewhere just outside of Downtown which is newer construction - like say Morgan at North Shore or the Glasshouse Apartments - would come with parking included however.

[Geeo]

I grew up in New Castle, and we had a neighbor on our street who commuted to Mt. Lebanon (suburb just south of Pittsburgh) every day. Once I moved to Pittsburgh, I had a co-worker who worked here in the city and lived in New Castle. So people do it. In fact, there are six commuter buses in the morning and six in the afternoon between downtown Pittsburgh and New Castle.

[Knepper3]

Yeah if you had a job in the city and wanted to commute from New Castle I'd think you were nuts but with this you are mostly going in the opposite direction of rush hour. Not saying most would want an hour commute but in many places that is pretty common. Many people in NJ easily commute over an hour each way, kinda a norm there.

[Wells5]

Look into Boardman, Ohio, which is 18 miles from New Castle.


//www.city-data.com/city/Boardman-Ohio.html

[robrobrob]

If you want downtown Pittsburgh, you probably won't be happy anywhere else.

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by gg

Wow, the OP's husband wants downtown Pittsburgh and some are now showing some country setting in the middle of nowhere.

It's not the middle of nowhere, if it's near your job! I was trying to suggest some urban-like neighborhoods near New Castle.

I might add that some people work downtown, and people recommend that they live in in Fox Chapel, Murrysville, or McCandless. Working where you live is a luxury nowadays.

I find it sad that we focus on the strengths of Pittsburgh but discourage promoting the other small cities (some of them struggling) around it. There is more to Pittsburgh than just the city and the suburbs. We also have satellite cities that could benefit from new residents, ideas, and investment. New Castle is one of them.

[Knepper3]

I get people are offering options. A town with a business strip or center is not city like or urban. People are not discouraging those areas, this OP specifically said what they wanted and some people choose to not listen. If I did that with a client I would be fired quickly.


I think the only question I have is someone who wants to be in city of Pittsburgh is what exactly they mean? A high-rise apartment in actual downtown or somewhere adjacent that is truly urban? To me if I say I am in the city, I mean I am downtown walking around our high-rise buildings. I think many people say city and just mean the urban living areas around the city like just east of the actual city and maybe right across the river in northside.

[Knepper3]

In terms of this OP, I might think they would be happy with northside assuming they dont mean a high-rise. Mexican war street areas and such, though all depends on what they are willing to spend since it also gives a quick drive north. If you go East of the city that drive will get worse since part of the drive will be fighting rush hour.

[PreservationPioneer]

The OP posed this question and I attempted to answer it:

"Soooo I guess my question is if Downtown Pittsburgh needs to be crossed off the list? IF WE GO FURTHER NORTH, WHERE WOULD BE THE BEST OPTION. Cranberry seems quite expensive, but I guess it's somewhat similar to the suburbs we have here in Houston. I personally would love to live in Downtown Pittsburgh as well, but just fear the commute will kill him. Not sure if his ability to work from home."

Bottom line is compromises will need to be made. Either you can live in a small town with a business district close to work, or you can live downtown / North Side and have a long commute. There's also Soulless Cranberry, but that's not really an option, is it?