{"id":27434,"date":"2025-11-07T05:51:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T05:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/27434\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T05:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T05:51:11","slug":"affordable-ish-housing-in-pittsburgh-the-old-college-try-edition-pittsburgh-city-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/27434\/","title":{"rendered":"Affordable-ish Housing in Pittsburgh: The old college try edition – Pittsburgh City Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

Q: Pittsburgh very nearly fell off the map when the steel industry died in the \u201870s and \u201880s. What kept that from happening?<\/p>\n

An especially large offensive line, anchored by Hall of Fame center Mike Webster<\/p>\n

The exploded concrete-and-rebar remnants of Three Rivers Stadium, holding the city down in a landfill somewhere<\/p>\n

The Mineo\u2019s vs. Aiello\u2019s pizza feud<\/p>\n

The weight of knowledge from Galaxy Brain Ball-Knower \u201cBort (yes, Bort) from Export,\u201d who calls into sports talk radio to utter the magic phrase \u201cFAHR TOMLIN!\u201d after every loss (also, after every victory)<\/p>\n

The colleges<\/p>\n

Yeah, it\u2019s the colleges. We basically have a tech industry because of Carnegie Mellon, and a lot of accumulated expertise in medicine because of Pitt. This wasn\u2019t inevitable, and we shouldn\u2019t take it for granted. No country in the world has the depth and range of universities that we have, and few regions have as complete a set as Pittsburgh. It attracts the best and brightest to our shores.<\/p>\n

Or, well, it did. Our federal government hates college for some reason and seems bent on throwing this advantage in the dumpster for ideological reasons. But hey, we can all go work in the coal mines again!<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say that our system of higher ed is without flaws (though there\u2019s probably not a country on earth that wouldn\u2019t trade for it in a second). However, a new report from Wallethub ranks the states by who spends the most on education, and Pennsylvania is the most expensive, with a 72.48% \u201cCost of Education as a Share of Median Annual Household Income.\u201d \u00a0We spend $55,144 per year and have a median income of $76,081. Yikes. (Utah residents spend 27.69% of their income on education, the least amount).<\/p>\n

Hey, you get what you pay for, but this is kind of ridiculous. Want to fix education? Start here.<\/p>\n

For rent: 1 Parkview St.,<\/a> Crafton, $1,250\/month.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for a nice, quiet neighborhood with historic homes that doesn\u2019t look or feel like a McMansion sprawl-burb, but is actually a suburb, then Crafton is probably for you. (Do people like this exist, or did I just make up a whole new kind of person in my head?) This is a wild color for a house in Pittsburgh \u2014 turquoise\/aquamarine \u2014 but it looks good. It\u2019s even got central AC, which is never a given in old Pittsburgh homes.<\/p>\n

\"\"1032 Haslage Ave. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For sale: 1032 Haslage Ave.,<\/a> Spring Hill, $250,000.<\/p>\n

Is this the most exquisite \u201cweird little Pittsburgh house\u201d combo: yellow brick and blue siding? There\u2019s even a strange racing stripe of gray brick in the middle of the concrete foundation, which is definitely a choice. But the inside is so bereft of color that that it seems only achievable under laboratory conditions. I learned this week that some call this \u201cMillennial Gray,\u201d which seems intended as an insult.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"1709 Fifth Ave. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For rent: 1709 Fifth Ave.,<\/a> Uptown, $1,450-$2,550\/month.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d never know it from this listing, but this is actually one of the better-looking apartment buildings constructed around here in the past few years. Because this photo \u2014 the only one in the listing \u2014 looks like someone built it on a too-steep Pittsburgh hill and all its contents slid to the back, leaving only a weirdly empty hallway to live in. No idea what\u2019s going on here. Uptown has never been able to support much useful retail, but this place has Redhawk Caf\u00e9 & Market on the ground floor, so maybe that\u2019s changing.<\/p>\n

\"\"2907 Main St. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For sale: 2907 Main St.,<\/a> Munhall, $189,800.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a sucker for eccentric d\u00e9cor and the kinds of character that send your average real estate agent screaming into the void. But it\u2019s entirely possible to make an old house look updated, yet tastefully so, without spending a ton of money \u2014 like this place in Munhall. It\u2019s even kind of greige, with cheap flooring and carpet, and still looks good. A fresh coat of paint, some art on the walls, a few plants, and furniture that looks comfortable \u2014 is that so hard? And it\u2019s all clearly staged, because where\u2019s the giant TV \u2014 THE PENS ARE ON!<\/p>\n

\"\"1738 Reed St. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For rent: The Reed,<\/a> 1738 Reed St., Hill District, $1,459\/month.<\/p>\n

I used to think the general idea with real estate listings was to show a property\u2019s good side, to get people interested. But I\u2019m starting to question that, because it looks like this was taken from the window of a speeding car (or is this a rendering?), and the second photo is of a closed elevator door. Again, there\u2019s probably nothing wrong with this place, and a lot to like about the location. But if you\u2019re going to pick a pretentious name like \u201cThe Reed\u201d at least take some decent photos.<\/p>\n

\"\"1514 Methyl St. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For rent: 1514 Methyl St.,<\/a> Beechview, $985\/month.<\/p>\n

Ever walked into your own kitchen and wondered if you were entering a chess match against the concept of hunger itself? I mean, it raises the \u201csteaks\u201d a bit (ugh, sorry). So, yeah, that chessboard flooring in the kitchen is outstanding and anything under $1,000 in this day and age is impressive, so hopefully someone snaps this place up before someone drops the greige-bomb on it and ups the rent to $1,800.<\/p>\n

This article appears in Nov. 5-11, 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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