Frenchies moving to pitt! (Pittsburgh, Carnegie: apartment complex, rentals, health insurance)

[yabbiyou]

Hi everybody !

I am a late 20’s french guy. My wife and I will move in Pittsburgh by the beginning of 2009. Indeed, I found a 2 year position as a post doc in cmu and will begin in February. It is really a big step for us to cross the ocean and to start a brand new life in US! We are really excited by that and looking forward to come to Pit!
I have read and learned a lot about your city thanks to this nice forum. But I still have many questions concerning our arrival!
I think we would like to live in shadyside or squirell hill, do you know serious rental agency I can contact from france? Do you think it will be possible to rent something before I actually get there? Where can I find a second hand car? And last but not least, what kind of weather shall I expect in February in Pit (I am kind of worry about the answers I will get…)?Beside, If you get any kind of advices for us, it would be very nice!
Many thanks

Ps: sorry for my English…I need to practice!

[Awesomo.2000]

Walnut Capitol is a very large property owner in Pittsburgh. They own properties all over the city, and are probably easy to deal with by renting before you get here. They own 70% of the buildings in my section of S. Hill on Hempstead st.

I moved to Denver, and rented a place by faxing them my application, and putting my down payment on my debit card. The problem was, I had no idea about the neighborhood. It was 2 miles from downtown so I thought it would be cool. However, It was very suburban, next to a target, very unwalkable, etc. The apartment complex was cookie cutter and bland as all hell. (You will understand American's lust for unattractive bland cookie cutter crap when you get here).

However, any place in Shadyside or Squirrel Hill will be enjoyable. Two very walkable, beautiful urban settings.

Feburary sucks. It is grey, cold, and miserable. I like winter, but feburary I start to get sick of it. The good thing is, it only take 2 months for spring to come and things to start blooming.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by yabbiyou

Hi everybody !

I am a late 20’s french guy. My wife and I will move in Pittsburgh by the beginning of 2009. Indeed, I found a 2 year position as a post doc in cmu and will begin in February. It is really a big step for us to cross the ocean and to start a brand new life in US! We are really excited by that and looking forward to come to Pit!

First, welcome! And while I am sure it will indeed be a big transition, I hope you end up enjoying Pittsburgh. Now on to your questions:

I think we would like to live in shadyside or squirell hill, do you know serious rental agency I can contact from france? Do you think it will be possible to rent something before I actually get there?

Those are good choices for neighborhoods, particularly if you will be working at CMU and are unable to come to Pittsburgh in advance. And fortunately, there are several property management companies that you can work with from out of town. Another poster mentioned Walnut Capital, and I would also check out Forbes Management and Franklin West. Here are some links:

Walnut Capital - Pittsburgh's Best Properties
Forbes Management - Apartments in Pittsburgh's Finest Neighborhoods
Welcome to Franklin West

Note that working with companies like this tends to mean you will pay a bit more than if you were able to search for places offered by individual landlords, but doing that isn't really an option if you need to rent a place before you can visit.

Where can I find a second hand car?

There are many car dealerships offering used cars, but you can also look for cars being offered by individual owners. Good places to look for advertisements are in the local paper (the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, searchable online) and Craigslist. Again, here are links:

Post-Gazette NOW - Cars
pittsburgh cars & trucks - all classifieds - craigslist

And last but not least, what kind of weather shall I expect in February in Pit (I am kind of worry about the answers I will get…)?

February is not our greatest month. More days than not will be cloudy with highs just a few degrees above freezing during the day and lows below freezing during the night.

Beside, If you get any kind of advices for us, it would be very nice!
Many thanks

I'm sure it will be quite a transition, but Pittsburgh can be a very pleasant place. Make sure once you are settled to get out and see some other neighborhoods besides Shadyside and/or Squirrel Hill, and feel free to keep asking questions here.

Ps: sorry for my English…I need to practice!

It seems pretty good so far! For example, I understood everything you were writing, which of course is what counts.

[yabbiyou]

Thanks for the information!
Do you think it is possible to rent a townhome (I mean with small backyard) with this kind of agencies?
Furthermore, I was wondering how much shall I put in my rent each month? (I will be paid around 45000$ a year). It is difficult to estimate from france the cost of living in US!

[Mr. Mon]

Originally Posted by yabbiyou

Thanks for the information!
Do you think it is possible to rent a townhome (I mean with small backyard) with this kind of agencies?
Furthermore, I was wondering how much shall I put in my rent each month? (I will be paid around 45000$ a year). It is difficult to estimate from france the cost of living in US!

You may be hard pressed to find a townhome in either Shadyside or Squirrel Hill, especially with the budget you have. I don't know how taxes work for foriegn nationals, but plan on having approximately 20% of your gross income taken in various taxes. Then to ensure you can afford the place you're living, try to keep your rent and utilities at 1/3 of your monthly net income. This will give you enough money to buy that used car you wanted and not live like a pauper.

Don't give up on parts of Squirrel Hill and Shadyside, but other eastern neighborhoods where you may be able to find a nice townhouse, or small rowhome for $1,000 include Greenfield, Mornignside, and Regent Square.

Good luck!

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by yabbiyou

Thanks for the information!
Do you think it is possible to rent a townhome (I mean with small backyard) with this kind of agencies?
Furthermore, I was wondering how much shall I put in my rent each month? (I will be paid around 45000$ a year). It is difficult to estimate from france the cost of living in US!

I believe at least Walnut Capital and Franklin West both offer some townhouses in Shadyside or Squirrel Hill. But I agree with the other poster that you might start running into a budget issue if you only look for townhouses in those two neighborhoods. Of course there is no harm in looking, but you might need to either expand your neighborhood list or settle for something else in those neighborhoods.

On the subject of budgets, the common recommendation in the United States is to spend no more than 30% of your gross income on rent and relevant utilities. So that would be a maximum of about $1100 per month for someone with your gross income (and again don't forget to include utilities).

[fleetiebelle]

Carnegie Mellon has an International Student office: Additional Resources - Office of International Education - Student Affairs You might want to send them an email with your questions--they might even be able to get you in contact with another French student or professor who's been through what you're going through already.

[likepgh]

You may want to look for a short-term rental of 1-2 months for when you first arrive (look in the faculty newspapers of CMU and Pitt for furnished rentals by people going on sabbatical and other furnished apartments; also on Craigslist) and then look for a longer-term arrangement once you are here.

[yabbiyou]

Thanks again for the advices!
I also have with many questions concerning the health system in the US.
Is anyone could explain me using simple word the differences between PPO and HMO (advantages and drawbacks)?
Beside, except the price (), what are the differences between Highmark, UPMC and health of America?
(sorry if those questions are not really pittsburgh related...)

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by yabbiyou

Thanks again for the advices!
I also have with many questions concerning the health system in the US.
Is anyone could explain me using simple word the differences between PPO and HMO (advantages and drawbacks)?

The background fact to understand is that your health care is going to be paid for primarily by an insurance company. That means you (and possibly your employer) will have to pay regular monthly premiums to the insurance company. You may also have to pay something for services, medications, and so on yourself (called a copay).

So in an HMO, a particular collection of doctors and hospitals have contracted with an insurance company to provide care at certain prices to the insurance company. If you sign up with an HMO, you will need a primary doctor who is a member of the organization, and you will need to see that doctor before getting referrals for specialists.

The primary advantage of HMOs is they are designed to control costs, which means you will pay less in insurance premiums and copays. The primary disadvantage to HMOs is that controlling costs requires restrictions on care in various ways (for example, that is part of why you are required to see your primary doctor before seeing a specialist--they are tasked with making sure you really need the specialist).

In a PPO, again there is a collection of doctors and hospitals who have a contract with an insurance company (called a "network"), but you are less restricted in what you can do. Basically, you will just have a larger copay if you get care outside of the network, and can see specialists without referral.

Relative to an HMO, the advantage of a PPO is the fewer restrictions. But those fewer restrictions mean PPOs don't control costs as well, so they usually have higher insurance premiums and copays.

Beside, except the price (), what are the differences between Highmark, UPMC and health of America?

Those are all health insurance companies operating in the Pittsburgh area. They all offer various products, and insofar as they are offering HMOs and PPOs, basically you are just comparing different collections of doctors and hospitals.