Question regarding rentals: do the standard patterns around rental seasons apply? I was hoping to move this summer and looking for places, and not seeing a whole lot of rentals available for then that aren't targeting towards college kids.

In particular I'm looking for 2 and 3BRs. Seems in particular the only postings I see as far out as August are studios and 1BRs. Not sure if the market is just that slim or I'm just preparing too early.

I need to get a lot more involved in public transit activism honestly, it's been something sort of on the brain for a while I just haven't and probably will look into it after the move.

There definitely haven't been fare hikes or anything -- the opposite actually, so we can say that at least. And even the service reductions come after they've been slowly cut over time. I'd be curious to compare to what MTA or New Jersey would be doing as well.

Fuck a duck. Okay so I'm moving there later this year and saw some posts but didn't put two and two together until right now.

As of now it depends on where you live. Some neighborhoods have great access with frequent bus service. As you stray further away from those that service the universities that tapers off. I've lived close to CMU, Shadyside, and now on outskirts of the city where I don't have the same level of access. Each move has definitely seen a reduction the further away from hotspots, relying on Uber hasn't always been great. This is a car city, and not set up for biking well. Bus is the main transit mode with the T only servicing portions of the city.

I don't see SEPTA getting THIS bad (at least not for years) but it's a gradual reduction of stops over the course of years. They hack away a few stops at a time, typically choosing which they think are used the least I think and reducing stops and spacing them out or eventually eliminating them completely.

Cbus is in Southern Ohio as is Cincy (note my original comment discussion the distinction between cities closer to Lake Erie versus southern).

Granted I've only been here in Pgh for about 8 years but in that time I've never seen snow compared to what I was used to growing up in Ohio. Maybe it's just climate change, if you've lived here for a long time maybe you can attest to that? But there's definitely a difference to the dig-your-car-out snows I was used to and moving here seeing very little and only a few storms, if that each winter.

Yep it does. I've lived in both Northern and Southern Ohio. Southern the weather was more similar to here in Pgh in terms of snowfall. Northern, winters were very snowy, and I would not recommend visiting Cleveland in the winter unless you know what you're getting into.

Feeling like I'm sort of just waiting. I plan to move around primetime in August, not seeing any listings opening up then -- which is good, as I need to save up money.

I asked before where to get the most bang for my buck. Hoping to get a place that's 2BR/BR (mayyybe 3?) for under $2k as I'm a girl who tends to get lucky in finding good deals historically. I work remotely so commute isn't an issue, just looking for neighborhoods with a coffee shop I can go to once a week, walkable groceries, and close to transit.

Some of y'all gave me a few suggestions Queen's Villiage, Germantown, West Philly. I have a friend up in Port Richmond and I see listings in my price range there. But now my last question that Zillow can't answer to wrap it all up: other neighborhoods that are really queer friendly? Mt. Airy seems out of my price range with those constraints for now. Any other places I'm missing?

Having lived in Ohio I think they're talking about Ohio amounts of snow, which is generally 4+ inches whereas Pgh usually just gets dustings, or not enough to look like a "winter wonderland".

It's Inspire. Not a scam, though I think the tactics their door to door sales people and those in stores use are scummy and aggressive as they're commissions based sales people.

I signed up on my own after doing research on a wholly unrelated front into renewable energy and trying to figure out the best sources. Wind is kinda it, especially for renters, so I signed up by myself. Have never dealt with their door to door people as a result. Never any problems, my electricity is budgeted and averaged annually, and I honestly have only had only one minor outage in the last year of storms I think, maybe during one of the summer ones. Not a scam, just avoid their sales people. If you want to do good for the environment and can't shell out for solar panels etc. it's worth looking into.

I mean none of these options really. I work from home, it's great for me because I'm disabled. Eating pizza for dinner every day would fucking suck.

Fave: gallery crawls and the craft markets on summer nights pre-COVId

Cons: public transport really depends on neighborhood in terms of reliability, it's sort of a medium sizes transport system. Also the cloudiness.

Also $75. 1BR with washer/dryer, etc.

I ordered a 10 once when I was sick and I heard someone laugh in the background on the phone.

Independence Day literally has had me preparing for this possibility since 1996.

I grew up in the midwest, moved to the East Coast, then to here, so for context OP price wise I'd say Pgh is a good fit cost of living wise. I was considering California but decided against it due to exactly what you mentioned. I think price is kind of a HUGE selling point if you want to take financial stress off your backs, but if you want to live near family that's understandable too.

I'm sure some of the pros/cons you've already seen in the videos and have been mentioned here. Pros: price, kind of that small town-ish feel, we have a good healthcare system (as someone with a disability it's as good as we get in the US, often specialists don't as for a referral), culture is decent, school districts decent depending on where you're looking, sports if you're into that. Cons: pollution, lack of diversity, can feel very small town-ish (good or bad), allergy season is getting worse, weather, nightlife (depending what you or your kids are into). As you mentioned PA is a toss-up politically, flying by the seat of our purple pants each election. Noticed this pass summer also everyone's lawns were a lot more brown due to the heat :/, but you'd be able to get a yard, maybe even a garden.

Also I have to say moving here from the east coast I was NOT prepared for the weather. the cloudiness and Seasonal Affective Disorder completely demolished me my first few years, took me a while to get used to not seeing the sun. I'm used to hard winter, but not just clouds and more clouds.