The 10,000 Post thread V3

[Muck308 55]

1261

 

Toledo is the only big city in OH I've never been to. I have only driven through Dayton but alas, I was there.

[Larks2242 251]

1262.

 

Been to Toledo, Akron, Cincinnati and Cleveland.

 

I'm probably the only one that goes out of my way to see the good and bad parts.

[Duke87 1,070]

(1263)

 

If we're talking about big Ohio cities where I've actually gotten off the highway and poked around town, I can say that about Cincinnati and Cleveland... and kinda sorta Canton. Dayton I've been to the air force museum but nowhere else. Toledo, Columbus, Akron, and Youngstown I've driven through, but not seen anything you can't see from the highway.

[Muck308 55]

1264

 

Youngstown is crap. I rather like Cincinnati. Columbus I spent very little time in as I was passing through and only stopped to visit an old friend. I should also mention I have to never been to Akron. I always forget about that city.

[B.C builder 291]

1265
Did you know that the "Hundred Years' War", which was mainly a french-english conflict, lasted 116 years and not 100 years ? 

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

1266: Yes I did.

One of the worst places I've been to is probably greater western Sydney. Sometimes I think it could give the Bronx a run for its money

[Larks2242 251]

1267.

 

 

1264

 

 I should also mention I have to never been to Akron. I always forget about that city.

 

Home of King James man, I went by his chldhood home.

[Muck308 55]

1268

 

I've been to my childhood home. My parents still live there and stuff.

[Duke87 1,070]

(1269)

 

My parents still live in the house I lived in from 9 years old until I moved out. The places we lived before that all still exist but are no longer in the family.

[Larks2242 251]

1270.

 

I moved a lot when I was younger so no old homes for me.

[Mr Saturn64 742]

1271

Since I'm in high school, I live with my parents in the "houses built after World War II" section of the suburbs. I'm much more of an urbanite though.

[Duke87 1,070]

(1272)

 

The building I live in now may or may not date from after World War II. Based on the architecture I estimate it's from no later than the 1940s but it could also be a bit older.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

1273: I've actually been living in the same house for almost 19 years now. I have never moved.

[GeometryMath Algebra 614]

1274

These are what I call "UDI in Real Life" videos because they use SimCity 4 music...

P.S. I didn't create these videos, so I'd give credit to the original creator.

[Duke87 1,070]

(1275)

 

Dude, that is not how you make a roadgeek video. Keep your camera pointed directly at the road in front of you and don't cut bits out!

[Larks2242 251]

1276.

 

I've made a few road videos with my blackberry, fun times.

[Muck308 55]

1277

 

If you guys are curious when your building was built you can ballpark it with some of the info at city-data.com. There is a lot of stuff there to keep folks like us busy.

[Duke87 1,070]

(1278)

 

Yeah, that pretty much confirms my estimate. 50-60% of the buildings in my block were built 1939 or earlier, 20-30% of them were built 1940-1949.

[Larks2242 251]

1279.

 

I don't think many buildings here are that old, most housing areas at least are 1970 or later.

[Muck308 55]

1280

 

Do houses typically have basements in Florida, Larks? I would imagine they do not.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

1281: In Queensland, a lot of people build their houses elevated, such as this:



I guess the first floor serves as a kind of basement?

[Duke87 1,070]

(1282)

 

Miami I would not expect to have many old buildings because it is one of those places that while it is a major city today, 100 years ago it was barely a dot on the map. Florida in general wasn't home to nearly as many people until air conditioning became a commercially viable technology.

 

In New York City there is a huge glut of buildings from the 1910-1940 era, since those are the years when the subway system was expanding rapidly, opening huge swaths land that were previously farm fields up to dense urban development. As a demonstration of how dramatic and fast the shifts were, here is a picture of Queens Boulevard and 33rd Street in Queens in 1917, when this section of what's now the 7 train had just opened:

 

Here is the same spot only 20 years later, in 1937:

[Larks2242 251]

1283.

 

 

1280

 

Do houses typically have basements in Florida, Larks? I would imagine they do not.

 

No, they aren't up to code, not to mention that half the state would have flooding issues.

 

Although there are things called "Crawl spaces" That can be used for housing wiring and stuff.

[B.C builder 291]

1284

(1282)

 

Miami I would not expect to have many old buildings because it is one of those places that while it is a major city today, 100 years ago it was barely a dot on the map. Florida in general wasn't home to nearly as many people until air conditioning became a commercially viable technology.

 

In New York City there is a huge glut of buildings from the 1910-1940 era, since those are the years when the subway system was expanding rapidly, opening huge swaths land that were previously farm fields up to dense urban development. As a demonstration of how dramatic and fast the shifts were, here is a picture of Queens Boulevard and 33rd Street in Queens in 1917, when this section of what's now the 7 train had just opened:

 

Here is the same spot only 20 years later, in 1937:

Amazing change in only 20 years ! It remembers me a bit Dubai, which knows the same expansion since the 90's

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

1285

 

Since we firebombed the living crap out of Japan during WWII almost all of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima (duh), Nagasaki (duh again) have had to be completely rebuilt from the ground up.  Factor in the massive earthquakes that occur from time to time, and you've got a recipe for new sets of buildings in every city ever 40 or 60 years or so.  Probably slightly different these days with the improvements in civil engineering and building materials, but still.

 

Speaking of Toledo way up there, when we were in Tokyo we made our first visit to the Ueno Zoo.  It was nice, but for those of you back Stateside who can't make it out this way, the Toledo Zoo acquits itself very well, and I think it is every bit as good as the flagship zoo of one of the biggest cities in the world that serves as the capital of the second most prosperous nation on the planet.  Not bad for a dying manufacturing city in the middle of the rust belt.  Yay, Toledo.  There's good stuff in every city if you're willing to look a little bit.

[Muck308 55]

1286

 

That there is, Spidey. I went to my old neighborhood of Bellevue last night (I actually lived just over the border in Avalon) and was impressed to see some new shops and others that had been updated. Now I'd like to go back in the daytime and poke around a bit. If you don't get out there and look around, you'll miss out for sure!

[Larks2242 251]

1287.

 

Why does that sound familiar? 

[Mr Saturn64 742]

1288

Urban renewal is always a good thing when it comes to updating with newer roads and buildings. Nowadays it's good to have Eco-friendly buildings.

[Duke87 1,070]

(1289)

 

I like living in an older building. New buildings tend to be considerably more expensive, both because they are fancier and have more amenities, and because the rents are not regulated so the owners can charge whatever they want. If I lived in a comparable apartment in a new building I'd be paying several hundred dollars a month more for it.

 

New York has a law that any building built before 1974 is rent-stabilized: that is to say, the owner is never allowed to raise rents an average of more than 5% per year. Since property values have shot through the roof in many neighborhoods in recent years, this regulation has kept older buildings rents effectively below market. Which is the idea - the law exists to prevent longtime residents of a neighborhood from being priced out of it.

Even with the law, though, there have still been plenty of stories of people being born and raised in a neighborhood, still living in the same neighborhood as adults... and then being forced to move elsewhere because gentrification has caused them to no longer be able to afford to live there.

[Muck308 55]

1290

 

I hate to hear about people being driven from their home.

 

As far as prices go, around Pittsburgh things are quite reasonable but even still the market has experienced a noticeable amount of price increase. The building I live in is slightly atypical. Mine is in a neighborhood composed predominantly of single family homes in a neighborhood where a large portion of single family homes have been converted to 2 or 3 unit apartment houses. Even still, my immediate area is predominantly single family homes that have avoided this neighborhood trend over the years. My building has been in possession of my landlord for ~30 years. The tenants on the ground floor (each side of the building, of which there are two) have lived here even longer than that. The upstairs of each side, was converted from one unit into two, one of which I live in. This makes it a six unit building. One unit on each side of the ground floor and two units above on each side.

 

After jumping around the area into several different apartments over the years, some of which had truly unique and personable qualities, I have felt the most at home where I currently reside. It is a very basic building but also fairly old and therefore, solid. I don't like disturbing my neighbors any more than I am willing to  tolerate their disturbing me and an old building is good at sound muffling. Also, this is the first time I haven't lived with either my parents, a roommate, or a girlfriend. It's all mine and that's a huge part of the appeal. Even still, I prefer this nondescript apartment over previous ones. A common thread among Pittsburgh houses is unique stained glass windows on the side. These windows are commonplace in several parts of the US but regardless, they retain a great deal of appeal. When I lived in Avalon I had an enormous apartment with two such windows, as well as a basement and a driveway with garage. The driveway was exclusively utilized by my roommate and I, which we paid extra for.

 

In 2005, that apartment cost us $633.00. Great price. Now I live in a space less than half the size and pay $600. Granted, I must pay 50/month to keep my cat, but clearly the prices have gone up.

 

But that's no reason to complain because compared to other cities, the prices are just fine. And the piece of mind I get from living in a solidly built, older building is worth paying for.