[speaker001:] What part of the country are you in?
[speaker002:] [Barking] Uh, Pennsylvania. Yeah.
[speaker001:] Oh, you are? East or west, I'm from Pittsburgh. *listen
[speaker002:] Oh, are you really?
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] What part of Pittsburgh?
[speaker001:] Um, the South Hills area, Beaver County, well originally Beaver County.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And, uh, where are you from?
[speaker002:] Uh, Clarion County.
[speaker001:] Oh, okay, I know where that is.
[speaker002:] I li-, we live out in the country.
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's pretty out there. What, well,
[speaker002:] Yeah, we have, we have two children that live in Pittsburgh [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Oh, okay, yeah, I got my brother and my whole family there. I'm, I'm talking to you from Dallas right now.
[speaker002:] Oh, oh, you are?
[speaker001:] Uh-huh [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Do you work, do you work for Texas Instruments then?
[speaker001:] No, my husband does.
[speaker002:] Oh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And who, how about you?
[speaker002:] No, I'm just, my son works for a c-, a computer,
[speaker001:] place that, that needed this. *listennot sure who's saying what
[speaker002:] Uh, federal company, you know, so, yeah.
[speaker001:] Well that's okay. I guess it's an easy thing to do. So you're f-, you have a big, do you have a rural house or what do you have?
[speaker002:] Uh, we have a big old farmhouse that we've
[speaker001:] Oh, that's a,
[speaker002:] you know, remodeled.
[speaker001:] Those are beautiful.
[speaker002:] It had been, you know, of course, a farm.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] It's a farm community, and we.
[speaker001:] Yeah, is it a, is it a working farm or is it?
[speaker002:] Ours is not a working farm [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] More, more, I can understand that, that's probably what I would, uh,
[speaker002:] Yeah, I have a garden but you know, we have a garden.
[speaker001:] Yeah
[speaker002:] But we don't farm.
[speaker001:] I can hear the accent now I hear the [LAUGHTER],
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] I hear the Western Pennsylvania, um.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] We live, uh, we lived in Minneapolis for about five years.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] We, we originally lived in Dallas and we met and got married
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and then, um, actually married in Pittsburgh, and that's, that's not what they want to hear on this call, uh
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] at any rate we came back here with, my husband was transferred around, uh, up to Minnesota and now back to Texas with T I
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and we're leasing a, uh, two story town home in a section of Dallas they call North Dallas.
[speaker002:] Oh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And it's, uh, near a little town called Plano, well, it's not little any more.
[speaker002:] Uh, Grapevine, do you know Grapevine?
[speaker001:] Uh, yes, that's out near the airport. That's about forty-five miles from us.
[speaker002:] Yeah, my brother has a home there he's trying to sell. He, he's living now up, uh, in, in Maryland but, uh, he,
[speaker001:] It's, yeah,
[speaker002:] [Static] li-, lived in Grapevine for a long time.
[speaker001:] That's why we not sure, we, we're not sure we want to, uh, buy down here, because we actually, we lived up north long enough to appreciate the, um, *listenone utt? Minneapolis-Saint Paul is very clean
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] you know, in terms of, *listen; with previous slash unit? and in terms of housing down here, um, you really have your pick but it's just everything's overpriced for the economy.
[speaker002:] Oh, it's terrible. I,
[speaker001:] It really is, I mean we're, we're in a leased town home, and it's, {F uh, you're probably, your teeth will probably fall out figuratively speaking, } it's nine hundred a month.
[speaker002:] Oh, I'm not surprised.
[speaker001:] But, you know what, if you, if you get anything under five hundred you get into what they call high density living
[speaker002:] Uh, right, right.
[speaker001:] you know, the big apartment complexes
[speaker002:] Right, right.
[speaker001:] and, and I just have no tolerance for that.
[speaker002:] Yeah, yeah, it's not good [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] No. I pre-, *slash error
[speaker002:] And the people think the income is really great in some of those areas but when they sit down and look at what it costs to live
[speaker001:] That's right. *slash error
[speaker002:] and, uh, [static] of course, most of the homes are, you know, fairly nice, they're, uh, done up fairly nice, uh,
[speaker001:] Yeah but like the town home we're in. I don't know how, I mean, we, *2 utts? this is, it's like a duplex, like a two by two they call it like in Pittsburgh.
[speaker002:] Right, uh-huh, right. *slash error
[speaker001:] And it's nice but it's, I mean, the girl bought it for a hundred and ten,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and now she can't sell it. And our neighbors,
[speaker002:] Well, prices have come down on the homes, the duplexes.
[speaker001:] Yeah, I mean, we'll, our neighbors, the attached on the other side, they're very nice, thank God,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] they paid fifty-eight for it.
[speaker002:] Oh, my heaven.
[speaker001:] That's how bad it, I know.
[speaker002:] Well, I know up in Connecticut the same thing happened, and, uh, it's *prob. slash unit?
[speaker001:] That's right.
[speaker002:] people are devastated because they paid so much for their home.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, yeah. I have some friends that live in Westport and it's really, really bad. I mean you,
[speaker002:] But we like our area. It, like I said, it's, it's an old house and everything
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] but, uh,
[speaker001:] How far, where is Clarion County in relation to, actually, because we're considering moving to Pennsylvania [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Well, we're about a hundred miles from Pittsburgh
[speaker001:] That's not too bad.
[speaker002:] north.
[speaker001:] That's north.
[speaker002:] And yeah, and it's, it's really not, you know, not that far.
[speaker001:] Are you going up toward, uh, uh, I'm trying to think of the name of that town that starts with an M, Bradford, no that's too far north.
[speaker002:] Bradford's north of us.
[speaker001:] So you're, you're not that far north then, okay.
[speaker002:] No, no.
[speaker001:] Well, you're really not too bad. Yeah.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, was it a home that you've had for quite a f-, few years, or that you've,
[speaker002:] Well, we've been here since sixty-six.
[speaker001:] Oh, then you have, yeah. Do you have a lot of land or,
[speaker002:] Uh, we have fifty acres.
[speaker001:] Oh, my, well, then.
[speaker002:] Oh, pardon me, we have forty, we gave ten to one of our children [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] There you go. Did you have a hard time getting used to, do you feel like you live in an isolated area or,
[speaker002:] No, not really, and, and towns keep creeping closer and closer, you know.
[speaker001:] Yeah, I think that that's, um, I can remember in Pittsburgh when, this has to do with homes, uh, indirectly but I can remember when Upper Saint Clair was out in the, you know,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] the rural end of Washington, and now it's [static] it's a terrible connection.
[speaker002:] Yeah, it's ours up here. We have, our rural connections are real bad [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Oh, well that's okay, um,
[speaker002:] But we, but we live about ten miles from probably three or four, not large towns but, you know, reasonable.
[speaker001:] But, but, sub-, yeah, substantially, you know. Um, do you like living in an older home and restoring it like that?
[speaker002:] Uh, yeah, we're tired of doing it though. We, we don't want to do too much more [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] How big is it? How many square feet do you have?
[speaker002:] Uh, oh, golly, I really.
[speaker001:] Well how many rooms do you think, yeah?
[speaker002:] We have, uh, uh, four rooms downstairs, and a pantry
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and upstairs we have a bath, a bath, oh we, have a half bath downstairs, too.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] We have a bath upstairs, and one, two, three, four bedrooms and a sewing room and a junk room [LAUGHTER]. And, uh,
[speaker001:] A junk room, yeah I understand, we have that too. That's, that's large if your children aren't at home any more.
[speaker002:] Pardon?
[speaker001:] That's large if your kids aren't at home any more.
[speaker002:] Well, it really isn't too big yet. We, we li-, a lot of people say that but, um,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] it's, we just like it real well and, *slash error
[speaker001:] It's enough space for two people [LAUGHTER]. Yeah.
[speaker002:] Yeah, we had five children, so
[speaker001:] Oh, okay.
[speaker002:] and they've all moved [LAUGHTER], you know, on. They're all out on their own now.
[speaker001:] Yeah, right. That's okay. Well, we've got, um, th-, this town house is pretty big. It's about eighteen hundred square feet. It's got three bedrooms, two and a half baths
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] um, it's really nice.
[speaker002:] Well, it sounds like a good buy.
[speaker001:] Yeah, it is, I mean, I would never buy it but leasing it is fine.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, but, it's just again, the, the privacy, you know. Um, we had a house in Minneapolis that was on three acres, and my husband was raised, um, on a working farm near Dayt-,
[speaker002:] Oh, that makes a big difference.
[speaker001:] right, near Dayton, Ohio, and he said, you know, he's, he's slowly getting me to, um, not feel isolated if we move t-, to where there's more land.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. You really aren't isolated because it's, the advantages, your home is far enough away that you're not bothered by being too close to people,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] but yet you can have your friends, uh, you can have them in, you can go out.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] You have more of a choice, you're not pressed upon as bad.
[speaker001:] That's kind of what, like his parents have, uh, land that they retired to, um, about a hundred miles out of Atlanta
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, in Georgia, and it is too far south for me,
[speaker002:] Uh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] but, um, um, but I mean, they have one of the, um, when they said log cabin, I just laughed, that they retired to, but they built one of these. I mean, it's just beautiful.
[speaker002:] Uh. *slash error
[speaker001:] It's like a custom, you know
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] it's not like what I would think of when I think of old log cabins. [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] You know, I mean, it's modern it's,
[speaker002:] More luxury. Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Right, right, it's modern, it's beautiful, it's country
[speaker002:] Right, yeah.
[speaker001:] it's you know, um, but, uh, I don't, what else about housing except it's, uh, well, Pittsburgh's housing economy, i-, i-, I think it's holding it's own.
[speaker002:] Uh, they're, yeah, I suppose they are now. We, both of our children who live there have just bought a home. Now, *slash error
[speaker001:] What part, what sections are they in?
[speaker002:] Uh, in the Mount Lebanon area.
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's nice.
[speaker002:] And, uh, the one, the one boy, the house they bought is completely livable. They didn't have to do much to it.
[speaker001:] Great.
[speaker002:] The other one is, uh, uh, has, you know, needs more work done. It's twenty years old, I think.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And, but they have two children, too, and they, they
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] bought what they could afford.
[speaker001:] That's, yeah, a really good friend of mine lives in Penn Hills, and they've been in their house, oh, probably about twelve years now
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, um, it's, it's, you know, they're s-, going to start to see their return
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] on their investment very soon. Um, but it's a beautiful home and,
[speaker002:] They are beautiful homes.
[speaker001:] I mean, my brother lives, is it called Baldwin or Bebble?
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] I mean, he lives all in that same area going from Mount Lebanon, um, it's real pretty up there. It's just,
[speaker002:] It is, it's real nice.
[speaker001:] And the neighborhoods are stable
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] you know. It's, uh, when you come to this part of the country, we've been away from Dallas long enough that you see the difference in housing.
[speaker002:] Oh, my you wou-, you do when you mo-. When we first got married, uh, my husband works for the state, and we moved once a year usually [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Oh, my goodness.
[speaker002:] And then after they had to start paying to move us,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] that suddenly wasn't necessary any more [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] That's what it is here, yeah, that's why we're at a point now we've, uh, we're adopting and we have been married ten plus years and what happens is, uh, you just realize that once you get to a certain age the next house that you get [beep] [high pitch] we'll be staying in [LAUGHTER]. So. *slash error
[speaker002:] Right, yeah, you have to stop some place, yeah.
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's kind of like
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] where we're, so we're considering Pennsylvania, and we're just kind of, you know, toying with what exactly, where we want to be, you know.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] A lot of people say it doesn't matter where they live if they have a nice house and,
[speaker002:] Well, *slash error
[speaker001:] but I disagree with that, I.
[speaker002:] I do too, I've heard too many people say, I hate it here.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] You know, they buy a place and they just hate the area.
[speaker001:] I know, and it, and the economy here in Dallas, I mean, it, it's steady, but it's still not going up.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And I, um, I just refuse to buy it, um, if I know I'm not going to be there for at least
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] five years, uh, you, you know.
[speaker002:] Yeah, well, my brother, they're having trouble selling their home, see.
[speaker001:] Oh, I'm sure, yeah, there, I mean, you can go down a street, and here, he told you this, every other house, you know, if it's been foreclosed on
[speaker002:] Right, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] or, you know, even big executives
[speaker002:] Oh, yeah, yeah.
[speaker001:] um, it's really, I mean, a-, and, and it's hard to sell the properties. People from J C Penney's from New York, came here about a couple of years ago.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And they thought they were getting a great deal, um, because they could get a five hundred thousand dollar home with, they call it, zero lot lines, no property, Jean. *slash errors; why is the name isolated?
[speaker002:] Oh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And it would make you ill to see this.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I mean it would probably be like your house on, uh, you know, a half a city block in Pittsburgh or something.
[speaker002:] I, I couldn't handle that [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Yeah, I know, and that's, you know, like I can look outside right now and look into the next unit.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] You know, it's across the way, and it's landscaped and all that with azaleas,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] but it's still, it's still not that private.
[speaker002:] I get tired, uh, sometimes, mowing, [LAUGHTER] because we mow, you know, a good bit of ground around the house area.
[speaker001:] Yeah but you have a rider.
[speaker002:] And I do get tired of that but, uh, I don't know, I don't think I'd want to change it.
[speaker001:] No, and your kids have, to tell you the truth, um, I think that if you can keep that, that way, you know, kind of like a homestead,