We are wondering if choosing a home that's walking distance of the BeltLine can serve as some level of insulation since there are no good schools in or around the Westside.The main question is - will those areas actually develop as planned or can it go backwards?

No need for any overpriced education, just read books on real estate investing during your down time (I would recommend the "ABCs or Real Estate Investing" by Ken Mcelroy if you are brand new) and listen to the BP podcast when you're commuting, cleaning, cooking, etc.

It's also smack dab in the middle of the state, so it's very central for conferences, shipping, and commuting. 

Landlords manage from a distance and "assume" everything is going great because tenants pay rent on time.

Interesting that you guys wouldn't negotiate on sight distance.

I think it's not the best idea to do long-distance Airbnb in the City of Pittsburgh proper right now. 

Maybe it's a bit more LA mentality, but I don't see someone from Garner to east and up to Wake Forest stomaching a 45 minute one way daily commute to where the higher income in-office jobs are located, which I'm leaning into for greater likelihood to afford rent now and increases later.

Having a team in place is essential to long-distance investing.https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/core-four-real-estate-team

If this tenant can't afford the $100 increase, I will have to travel back and spend the time and money getting the house ready for a new tenant (paint, carpets, etc) , not to mention decide whether I will hire a company to deal with the rental and the new tenant, which could mean 10% of monthly rent or I will have to deal with it long distance myself and hope for the best. 

(which I like) so I would like someone with local experience rather than be the farthest flung property for a city-focused PM (if they'd even do it) and potentially become neglected or incur higher costs because of distance and/or unfamiliarity.A little help?