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When choosing my home a long time ago, it seemed really important that I could walk to good places to eat and drink, a great record store, a decent coffee shop, and a movie theater.
Now, I want to be able to walk to a grocery store, and a commute that doesn’t involve tunnels. Oh, and neighbors who don’t cook meth and throw trash in the street.
See the overlap there? It’s pretty thin, and you have to squint a bit — but it’s walkability. Otherwise, younger-me and current-me don’t really want too many of same things. Luckily, I found a place that met the former criteria and somehow meets the latter as well. The point is that making long-term decisions like buying a house is kind of absurd, and basically just a guess. You could try to imagine what middle-aged-you (or elderly you) wants in a place, but that’s probably not going to work.
Picking an apartment that’s close to work is a good idea. But I wouldn’t buy a house based on that. Minimizing your commute is good, but when you’re thinking in terms of decades, you probably won’t stay at that job (or any job) nearly as long. That goes the same for individual businesses. Luckily, the record store I love is still there, but one of the movie theaters and ALL of the bars and restaurants except one or two are gone.
Sometimes, I will recommend a house because I like something nearby, like a grocery store. But mostly, it’s because I get bored talking about carpet colors and backsplashes. More than once, I’ve extolled the virtues of Salem’s Market in the Hill District, which I think is the best grocery store in Pittsburgh. Or it was. Now, who knows? It only lasted about a year, and it’s still unknown if it will come back.
Your neighborhood is going to change, and change again, and then change some more, whether you want it to or not. Some of those changes you’re going to hate. Some will be OK, and a few might even be for the better. So, just pick a place that gets the job done right now and worry about the future when it arrives.
For sale: 5850 Centre Ave., Shadyside, $265,000.
When his place was built in 1890 (!), the word “condo” didn’t exist, and each room probably housed a family of 12, a baseball team, a chimney sweep guild, and a horse or two. So, I’m going to reserve judgment on the dated cabinetry, the bathroom tile, and basically any of the tiny details. Pretty much the only constant is that Shadyside is still a good place to live, with 100% more grad students and 100% fewer robber barons, live-in maids, and butlers.
For rent: 308 Saline St., Greenfield, $890/month.
Four Mile Run is one of my favorite weird sub-neighborhoods of one of my favorite neighborhoods, Greenfield. You’re in a valley, with steep ravines on several sides, and a bridge looming above— yet you’re a short walk along the trail from the heart of Oakland. Of course, routine walks will probably seem like Everest expeditions until you get used to the hills. And it’s not just cardio — you’ll be lifting heavy weights up those hills too (i.e. yourself, after eating at Big Jim’s in the Run).
For sale: 1620 Concordia St., Carrick, $132,000.
This house, built in 1903, has seen some things. (That’s why it’s kind of squinting at you with windows of mismatched shapes). Back then, Pittsburgh had zero cars, airports, and Super Bowl victories — because none of those things existed yet. And yet, this sturdy little house has somehow stood the test of time and doesn’t look worse for wear. In fact, it’s probably thrilled to not have corrosive, industrial-grade soot dumped on it every day from the steel mills, now long gone. I see you, little white house in Carrick. You did good.
For rent: 5525 Covode St., Squirrel Hill, $995-1,325/month.
Two pictures, two colors of brick (red and cream); is this the same building? I can’t tell from the street, and certainly there are weirder iterations of this issue all over Pittsburgh. Does it matter? Probably not. The cobblestoned streets in Squirrel Hill look great, but are hell on your car, but the brick streets like this one seem to be a happy medium between the two.
For sale: 515 N. Beatty St., East Liberty, $267,100.
The price cuts have even come for East Liberty, including an $8,000 drop here. For years, the trend towards skyrocketing prices would continue to the point where only tech oligarchs and first-round draft picks could buy in. See how hard it is to predict the future? However, this house is way closer to the exception than the rule, and any drops in price are probably more of a temporary blip than a long-term trend. Multiple queasy shades of green trim probably don’t help, though.
For rent: Ruth Gardens, 5726 Beacon St., Squirrel Hill, $1,250-1,325/month.
Ruth Gardens looks like it belongs on some leafy East Coast college that is terrible at football, but that’s not a bad thing. Sure, the radiator probably makes a weird noise and there’s a non-zero chance your upstairs neighbor has kids who love to roller-skate on those beautiful hardwood floors, but that kind of charm would cost you extra in many cities.
This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2025.
