"walkable" neighborhoods are more desireable.
Plug in your address at Walkscore.com.
I tried it out with some places I know and I wouldn't say it's exactly right but it's in the neighborhood.
This is the issue my wife and I are dealing with shopping for a new house. Do we spend less, and get more where we can't walk anywhere or do we spend more and get less where we can walk places. We love our house now, 15 minute walk to Regent Square, 5 minute bike ride, but we are out-growing it.
Thanks for the link.
My score was an 86, a house we thought would be nice and not too far detached got a 54.
As a reformed suburbanite I can tell you I vastly underestimated the benefits of being able to walk/bike/bus places. The car (and the big house) is a tempting mistress but I couldn't be happier about being back in the city.
For comparison, my house out here in the suburbs got a mediocre 55.
Benefits: North Allegheny School District, several small businesses within a moderate walk (including the only pharmacy anywhere around here with a full-service lunch counter), decent bus service into town, and CCAC North is < 1/2 mile away.
Drawbacks: No sidewalks, not much to recommend walking along any road, a car is needed to do any shopping or school trips, and bikes are a rarity on local roads.
You really have to be a believer NOT to own three cars out here.
My current house scores a 98- in the city on a dead end street, 7 minutes to buy bagels and back- I have timed it! Our car just sits most of the time.
Haha Stu, I guess it's just a matter of perspective - my much maligned house in the burbs had to be pretty close to you (Breezewood). BTW, I saw you mentioned Arona Rd. in an earlier post so I guess we were almost neighbors twice - I grew up out that way.
This housing stuff is for the birds. I feel like renting again.
Walkscore is awesome. It doesn't account for elevation change / rivers tho.
Oakland, southside, bloomfield, and downtown all score really well.
This housing stuff is for the birds. I feel like renting again.
I rent.
I'm thinking of buying, because houses in Pittsburgh are relatively inexpensive compared with other cities. If gas goes way up, city houses will be expensive to buy. And suburb houses will be pricey to live in.
I don't see how gas can stay inexpensive. (and I don't see why some folks want to drill for potentially valuable Alaskan oil while gas is so cheap that people actually burn it. It won't stay that cheap.)
Mick
My parents house in Monroeville scored 16.
My place in S. Oakland scored a 69.
Mick, it's the taxes that kill me. Some of the places we have liked have taxes per month as much as our mortgage is currently.
Interesting that Morningside gets a 57. I suspect the lack of a full service grocery drags us down. Besides that, however, we have a corner market, a pharmacy, a pizza joint, a bank, and a coffeehouse within a few blocks.
If you're going to put down roots in the city, it's hard not to buy. Our mortgage (including taxes and insurance) is several hundred dollars less than when we rented in Shadyside or Point Breeze. I know a lot of people complain about the city's relatively high income tax, but compared to what you pay in property taxes in other areas, it all balances out.
As homeowners in the city, we pay relatively high taxes. But we have one car, and we fill the gas tank once every 3-4 weeks.
For comparison, I tried a couple former addresses.
My New Stanton house got a 3. No wonder: At the time I owned four cars, and I got the bike out maybe 3 times in 8 years.
My Monroeville apartment (Deauville Park on Northern Pike) got a 49, but they count places on US22 and PA48, and I guarantee you, you can't walk there. At all.
For salty's benefit, I tried a random house on his McCandless street, and got an 11.
I briefly lived at the corner of Filmore and South Neville in Oakland. That scored an 89.
I'll stand by my 55. I do walk all over, even w/o sidewalks. As to taxes, mine are triple what they were in New Stanton, but that's more than made up for by having one car, not four.
south side slopes gets an 85! I'm sure that has a deduction of 10 points if your steps are broken in the path of your travels.
hi all,
I just signed up to the site yesterday but enjoy reading all of the post and feel the need to reply to ALL of them. The house thing is tough. I live in lower Greenfield and it breaks down like this: price-very cheap/ walkable-depends on what you want; Schenely park is at your doorstep and there are 2 bars(Big Jims)./ big yards-no/ safe-very/ As far as driving goes, quick to anywhere in the city. Ultimately, it's secluded but not. You can't walk to all the attraction like Murray ave would give. But a 4 min bike has you in southside or Oakland. And you tell me where you can buy a house for less than 75k that's not in an undesirable hood. Besides, I want good neighbors; bike people.
Marc
