House Hunting in Pittsburgh with Craigslist

After the demise of the United States' steel industry, the city of Pittsburgh was forced to drastically alter its economic structure to survive. It has done so admirable, shifting into fields like healthcare and technology, especially robotics. Pittsburgh continues to grow in these and other sectors, even while the population continues a steady decline. This growth, combined with a low cost of living, make Pittsburgh an eminently livable city. So much so, in fact, that it has been among the top 20 in this category for over two decades and even earned the top ranking on the recent 2007 list.

The growing economy and low cost make Pittsburgh a great city to move to, especially as so many others are moving away. This makes for a large city with low real estate prices and without the congestion and fast-paced lifestyle of more sprawling metropolitan areas. To find the best deals on homes for sale, a great place to include in the search is Craigslist Pittsburgh.

Craigslist is a network of sites for communities throughout the United States and around the globe. The Craigslist network helps connect people for things like garage sales, apartment subleases, job interviews, and even romantic encounters. A unique and novel idea at the time, it initially began as a resource for the San Francisco Bay Area in 1995. By 2006, there was a Craigslist site representing each of 450 cities worldwide. With a few exceptions, advertising on Craigslist is free, and postings can be placed in myriad sections, all organized into major categories for easy browsing and navigation.

Whether you are moving to Pittsburgh and are in search of housing, or you already live there and just looking for change in scenery, the housing section of Craigslist Pittsburgh (http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org) is an invaluable resource. The "real estate for sale" board is the place to start for those looking to buy a new home. While browsing the listings, you would do well to notice the search tool at the top of the page. This allows you to narrow down the listings based on price, keyword, or whether the listing includes images. This can be a big time saver, as it cuts down and having to manually weed through each listing title.

One of the most useful features about Craigslist is that it not only allows posters to include pics in the listings, but will also provide a link to a map of the property's location based on the address. Simply click on the "google map" or "yahoo map" near the bottom of a listing, and you can instantly see where the property is located within the city. This is especially useful if you know a few things about the geography of Pittsburgh already and can identify certain desirable (or undesirable) surroundings.

Pittsburgh is a great place to live, and with low real estate prices, a great place to own a home. Craigslist Pittsburgh makes the process of acquiring your home just that much easier-- no poring over newspapers or real estate ads, just typing and clicking.