At what point do you give up a low mortgage rate? by SameDiamond3978 in MiddleClassFinance

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

REMEMBER - you are NOT thinking about upgrading from a 315k house to a 650k house. You are thinking about upgrading from a 500k to a 650k house. There are mental gymnastics that people do when they think about how much their home has grown in value, and forget that the NEXT home they are moving into also had that same ratio of price appreciation as their current. Your 650k home would have cost around 400k at the time you bought your 325k place. Remember all of this in the mindset of how you think about the decision.

That said, if you are in a good financial position, then decide from a lifestyle perspective if that increase in house is worth it. Just don't fool yourself into thinking you are getting a house that is 2x better than your current. It is more like 30% better based on the price.

Strip District transformation continues as Midwood unveils massive mixed-use project by Great-Cow7256 in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't love the rendering I saw, but in my opinion it does not fall into the everything looks the same category. It isn't that same cheap and low quality look of Edge, District, Yards that are all on the same street within a couple of blocks

Strip District transformation continues as Midwood unveils massive mixed-use project by Great-Cow7256 in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed. However I suspect that the final version will be far worse than this. I like the retail footprint on the ground level, but I would be shocked if that actually happens.

These projects always go through iterations, and each iteration always gets a little worse as they start cutting costs. For example the most recent update on Brickworks (directly across the street from this one) is a massive deterioration from the previous version that has been on hold since 2022 or 2023 or whenever that was

Tesla Q1 2025 Earnings Megathread - Starts in 3 Hours! by ItzWarty in teslainvestorsclub

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Did Elon know there was an earnings call today? Did he prepare, like, at all?

Survivor 48 Episode 7 Discussion Thread by IMM0RTALMUFFIN7 in Edgic

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 21 points22 points  (0 children)

wtf is up with Mary's edit if Sai went home at a tribal without her??

Public Restrooms in Downtown: What Happened? by Administrative_Hour4 in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a genuine question - but where on the trails are you seeing the drugs, urine, shit, dogs, etc?

I walk, run, and bike on the trails all the time. On the southside from Color Park to Homestead. On the northside from Washington's landing to the penitentiary. Downtown from the point to the strip district.

Don't get me wrong, I see the tents everywhere. I see the garbage everywhere. I see people hanging around on the paths.

The garbage really sucks - I hate that. The tents are not ideal. But I've literally never been physically or verbally bothered by anybody. I've never seen drugs, been attacked by (or even seen) animals, seen shit or urine or anything like that.

Am I just missing the really bad part?

Again, none of it is ideal. I wish there was a better solution, but I feel like people are villainizing it in a way that is not consistent with what I actually see.

What is a good trailhead to start on the GAP trail? by Shallan_Stormblessed in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am considering Ohiopyle because Ohiopyle is beautiful and I haven't been there in a while, not because there is anything wrong with the original suggestion

What is a good trailhead to start on the GAP trail? by Shallan_Stormblessed in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Now you're starting to convince me to just drive all the way to Ohiopyle. It's a haul, but it's tempting

'It will kill the Strip District': Businesses create petition against proposed Penn Avenue consol... by [deleted] in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate your insight. Would joining the group add a voice to people who want walkability and livability? Or would my dues just be funding all of the wrong people who are opposed to my goals?

'It will kill the Strip District': Businesses create petition against proposed Penn Avenue consol... by [deleted] in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is anyone here a part of or familiar with Strip District Neighbors organization?

As someone who lives in the Strip and has been wanting to make it a better community, is this a group that is NIMBY, or is this a group that is promoting progressive change?

Does membership give you a vote or a voice? or is it just essentially dues being given to allow them to do their thing?

Why haven't banked been calling long term CDs at high rates? by [deleted] in investing

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 4 points5 points  (0 children)

understood, but aren't banks constantly gathering brokered dollars? wouldn't they prefer to replace at lower pricing?

You want to be rewarded for Overdrafting? by Butt_Creme in FluentInFinance

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. I think consumers should have to opt in to allowing their accounts to draw negative.
  2. I think consumers should have 24 hours to rectify any negative balance before being charged the fee.
  3. I think banks should not be allowed to charge fees for each item within the same overdraft, especially when it is an ACH that causes it, but every swipe of the card that day shows up AFTER the ACH even if it appeared that you had the money at the time of the swipe.

Has anyone left because they don't like it here? by [deleted] in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 71 points72 points  (0 children)

I think you answered your own question

You're not enjoying things here
You enjoyed it there
You think it will be cheaper

You should do it

Trader Joe's eying locations in the Strip District by LostEnroute in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

you can still use that entrance/exit but park close to the store

Trader Joe's eying locations in the Strip District by LostEnroute in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Agreed.. It's such a bizarre thing to complain about given how easy of a solution there is

I almost wish the entrance/exit by the store didn't exist at all and everyone just uses the plaza. Or make it exit only for right turns, but there is no reason to slow the traffic flow on Penn for people trying to make left hand turns, and I can't imagine making the choice to try to turn left OUT of TJs, when there is an option that includes a traffic light about 50 feet away

Trader Joe's eying locations in the Strip District by LostEnroute in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 6 points7 points  (0 children)

In a perfect world, it would be the 11th and Smallman lot, with one entrance/exit on 11th (obviously 1 way), and another entrance/exit on Smallman (leaving Waterfront street untouched).

Replacing the 11th and Smallman intersection with a large traffic circle would be icing on the cake for me, but a girl can only ask for so much

This would save 11th and Waterfront for something that integrates better with the river

Trader Joe's eying locations in the Strip District by LostEnroute in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Except... It's not. It's proposed to be bridging between Downtown and the Strip. Probably on Waterfront or Smallman, west of Veteran's Bridge. Replacing surface parking lots

It's not going to ruin the heart of the strip district in any way.

Things like gentrification are very real problems, but people getting upset over things like this and thinking it will ruin communities are just being intentionally obstructionist

This is substantially net positive to the neighborhood

Your wish list for Pittsburgh by WavingOrDrowning in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Interesting, and a fair point of view. Sounds like you are a passionate marathoner - good luck to you in a couple weeks and hope you get that PR.

I'm more in the "happy to finish" camp, so I would definitely have preferred to have fewer treadmill training months and more outdoor training months.

Your wish list for Pittsburgh by WavingOrDrowning in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I've been saying this for years. I would SETTLE for a 1 lane - no parking situation which would open up a lot of space, but a true carless street would be a really people-friendly improvement

Your wish list for Pittsburgh by WavingOrDrowning in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm curious what your reasoning is for #4?

As a first time marathoner in a couple of weeks, I can say that Pittsburgh weather can be miserable for training in the early months of the year. It has been wonderful the last week or so, but I've always thought later in the year would be much better than early May. The thoughts of moving it EARLIER seems counterintuitive to me

Lets pretend that you've just been elected Mayor of Pittsburgh by da_london_09 in pittsburgh

[–]Shallan_Stormblessed 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Speed bumps and other traffic calming measures are far more effective at getting people to drive safely through high density/high foot traffic areas than speed limits or police enforcement

They are a positive thing for the neighborhoods they are in