Best urban neighborhoods? (Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, Avalon: rental, townhouse, casinos)

[OutaFL]

Hi Everyone,
I am looking to escape my native South Florida. I am seeing a lot of info that indicates PGH is a real bargain and very livable city. I am well traveled (US/Europe) so I feel I have a good perspsective on places, especially cities. I have extensive experience as an urban pioneer, fixing up properties in sketchy areas that became much more valuable. I am attracted to the Mexican War streets or other quality architecture in very urban neighborhoods, in walking distance to many ammenities. I know its cloudy in PGH, but I have had enough sunshine and palm trees for several lifetimes by now. Looking for more artsy, intellectual urban culture that's affordable, which SoFla will never have in either regard. Any suggestions? Many thanks in advance.

[VALT]

Great question -

There are plans announced yesterday for a Casino in the Northside of Pittsburgh. If you have a little guts, it might make mexican war streets or the streets in front of the retail strip that runs east of allegheny hospital super valuable in a few years. Also, there are plans for the subway to run through those areas as well.

Others are betting on Lawerenceville because there is a new hospital going into that area.

[OutaFL]

Thanks VALT,
Yes I was reading about the casino. Seems to be getting mixed feelings? Sounds like a good thing to me...PGH has so many things going for it. With Americans moving away from overpriced and/or coastal areas, it seems to me that PGH must benefit from that trend as well.

[ontheroad]

Park Place (small) and adjacent to Point Breeze is experiencing something of a change with affordable housing, small shopping district and young, energetic neighbours. More trees, sidewalks and very little commercial property. I know they have a newsletter but wasn't able to find it on google.

http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/neigh...int_breeze.htm

[armchair]

Have you ever been to Atlantic City? Casinos are extremely efficient at creating massive ghettos.

[OutaFL]

I have no experience with the effect of gambling facilites on neighborhoods or economies really. Never even been to Las Vegas, don't care for it. Just seems like another way to draw tourism though.

[JacksPgh]

I moved here from Miami. I was raised here. If you really dont know what to expect here, it will be nothing like Florida. It is changing quickly now, but not like Florida has in the past decade. For me this is a good thing. It is a comfortable, affordable place to live. Not a huge party town but enough going on to satisfy. It has much more cultural activity than I found in Florida. It has a very robust art scene for a city of this size. It is old and the infrastructure is in need of redevelopment, but compared to when I was growing up here it has made huge strides. It seems to be attracting alot of attention nationwide, and I believe rightfully so. I can compare it to what it was and say wow. You might compare it to something else and say eh. But it has progressed in a phenomenal way. It has survived 3 decades of absolute abandonement and depression. It seems to have moved past that now and has really become a place of interest and beauty. I believe it will be a good investment

[OutaFL]

Thanks JacksPgh,
You have provided so much inspiring info. I actually was in Pgh a few days 14 years ago, drawing plans of a gutted Victorian townhouse near the Warhol museum for my employer at the time. I liked Pgh then, a lot. I'm looking for the oppposite of Florida: culture, architecture, arts, urbanity, topography, seasons, big trees, etc. Sunshine and palm trees can only satisfy so much, unless you are on vacation. I think Pgh is on the verge of significant migration by people like myself - coming from overpriced coastal areas, seeing the value that Pittsburgh provides in abundance. I am an urban pioneer and an investor, been so for 20 years. Even if property values dont appreciate, I still will have beautiful buildings that make rental money because they cost so amazingly little, and I will be able to walk to authentic city vitality. Taxes? People should see my taxes in Florida! From my perspective, one of the main propblems in Pgh is the unfortunate souls who cannot see the beauty and potential that is right in front of them. I also have a background in urban planning and design, and I can say as an "expert" that Pgh has in abundance what I, as part of a team of urban planners used to go around the country and tell people how to achieve. It often takes outsiders to see in clarity what locals do not, in all due respect to locals.

[rd620]

It appears that you like the character some of the older areas provide and there are some real nice fixer-uppers out there. I am not a fan of the North Side (Manchester and The Mexican Was Street are among them) but it has shown signs of getting better and offers a lot things that may be important to you such as the victorian architecture. You may want to look into Lawrenceville. It was at one time one of the worst sections of Pittsburgh and really is about 5 - 10 years at it's current rate from being a nice area but would probably be a good investment. If you want to be in an area that is not in the middle of "redevelopment" you may want to look into Regent Square. It borders Wilkinsburg and has some houses with potential mixed in with places that have been restored. Wilkinsburg itself may be a place to look but it doesn't appear to be on the road to recovery anytime soon and may be a bad investment. You should also look into the towns on the Ohio River that border Pittsburgh. Avalon, Bellvue are two of them. They have some nice old homes and are minutes from the city.

[OutaFL]

Thanks RD620! I really appreciate your input. There are quite a few opinions about the "best" neighborhoods.