There yet? Good.
E & I live in a very spacious 1,100 sq-ft apartment in Squirrel Hill. It is two bedrooms and an office, one bathroom, a huge living room, enormous (unused) dining room, a sun room, and a relatively small kitchen. We are slightly spoiled by the plethora of windows in our common areas, the new carpet and the logical space plan.
Based on the space we are used to having, our budget and what is generally available in our target areas, here are our musts:- At least three nice-sized bedrooms. Dens/Offices disguised as bedrooms where even a toddler bed would be tough to fit do not qualify.
- A spacious living room.
- A separate dining room.
- Nice large windows in common areas. In other words, none of those small window slits prevalent in a lot of mid-century homes.
- A relatively medium to large yard. A good yard to us is at least 1/4 of an acre.
- A driveway and garage, bonus points if the driveway can fit two cars side by side.
- A nice street and neighborhood (i.e.: if the house is less than a block away from a major avenue, a commercial district, or a highway, it is disqualified).
Because we are realistic, we decided we could make certain compromises. These are the things we would love to have, but are not deal-breakers:
- At least 1.5 bathrooms, preferably 2 full baths.
- Integral garage.
- Finished basement.
- Nice size closets.
- Room for a home office, either in the basement or an extra bedroom or den.
Our target areas (in order) are:
- Mount Lebanon
- Bethel Park
- Scott Township
We will also consider:
- Ross
- North Fayette
We have chosen our target areas for both the neighborhood feel, as well as the schools. However, from driving around, it seems like there are good and bad neighborhoods within these areas, which limits our search even more, so we decided to add a few extra areas to our search.
Hopefully more on our search will come this weekend!
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