Leaving Pittsburgh!

[goodgirl49]

Wordzgirl, best of luck in SC! I guess the economy there is better than western PA. I know that a friend of my son has doubled his salary as a graphic designer by moving south. It used to be that you stayed in the north or went to CA for better paying jobs, but that seems to have changed. It will probably be hard to leave Pgh. but you have to go where everyone can make a living. Have you found a job there also?

Cathy

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by boylocke

It would be hard to compare Pittsburgh to Philadelphia as they are in different city tiers, but I do know I'd much rather live in Western PA than Eastern.

I think all of us western Pennsylvanians feel that way.

[guylocke]

I think all of us western Pennsylvanians feel that way.

Probably, but it isn't just bias, I really mean it. LOL. I am leaving for Seattle next year so my loyalties to Pittsburgh aren't as strong as you think, and Philly could have just as easily been Seattle if I fell in love with Philly (which I did not), lol.

[wordzgirl]

Originally Posted by goodgirl49

Wordzgirl, best of luck in SC! I guess the economy there is better than western PA. I know that a friend of my son has doubled his salary as a graphic designer by moving south. It used to be that you stayed in the north or went to CA for better paying jobs, but that seems to have changed. It will probably be hard to leave Pgh. but you have to go where everyone can make a living. Have you found a job there also?

Cathy

Thanks, Cathy, for the wishes! Actually, I'm the one awaiting a job offer any day now, hopefully. My husband just sent out five or six emails to different school districts in SC asking if they hire after the school year starts, and every single district told him they'd love to interview him if/when he's in the area. SO different than Pittsburgh. He's sent out hundreds of resumes here and heard nothing. We knew this was a serious possibility when he started school, but now that it's happening, we feel we have no choice but to move.

I love Pittsburgh and have lived here most of my life; but now, sadly, we're going to probably be leaving in the next couple months. It kind of makes me angry and sad. My husband is in his forties, has TONS of life experience, has two children, been a coach, a Scout leader, taught music lessons and worked with retarded people, but a 22 year old kid right out of college whose uncle is on a school board here in Pittsburgh stands a much better chance of getting a full-time teaching job here than he does. So in that respect, I sort of feel like, well, honey, let's go where people want us.

On a related note, people in Pittsburgh, in my opinion, are WAY more friendly than people in Philly. My mom is a Philly native (she refers to it as the City of Brotherly Shove), but will claim her hometown as Pittsburgh. We recently returned from a trip to the Jersey shore, and I could tell IMMEDIATELY, without hearing the accents or anything, the people who were from Philly: They were the ones speeding up through the intersections to cut off a family with kids crossing the street; the people who would push past us in a crowded restaurant without so much as an "Excuse Me", the the people who wouldn't say thanks to a cashier/waitress/stranger who waited on them. We rode bikes one morning on the boardwalk, which was crowded. We've alway staught our kids to say "passing on your left/right" when passing people, and there were actually several people who thanked our kids for the heads up.

I'm not trying to slam Philly. I tried to explain to my kids/husband that Philly is so much bigger than Pittsburgh and there are so many different people that the crowds kind of make people anonymous. Here in Pittsburgh, it's really just a big small town; most everyone has lots of extended family here and everybody kind of knows everybody. If you get in an elevator in Pittsburgh and make eye contact with someone, you say hi. If you do that in Philly, you get nervous glances from people who wonder who on earth says hello to a stranger

[goodgirl49]

Yes, I remember people in Pittsburgh being friendly and I do miss the sense of community there which is missing around Los Angeles, where I've lived for 30 years. I don't think that people are rude here though. they are rather polite, but everyone keeps to himself and it's hard to make friends. I'm lucky that I'm married with a family, otherwise I'd find it really difficult. You mentioned that your husband was originally from LA. How did he feel about the friendliness of the people out here?

Yes it's sad that nepotism has to play a role in hiring, but that's how it goes, especially when jobs are so scarce. I definitely feel that your making the right decision to leave for your husband's career. Otherwise, he'll feel like life and opportunity has passed him by. Pittsburgh is certainly nice, but there are other nice places out there.

All my best wishes,

Cathy

[guy2525]

I see how everyone says that Pittsburgh is so friendly. I want to know where all the friendly people are there. LOL I lived there from 1997-2000 and absolutely hated it. It was so backwards and people weren't nice at all. I will say though - my co-workers were awesome, had tons of fun at work. Most of my friends I made there were big "Pittsburgh cheerleaders". Funny thing is, most have moved away (the majority to Columbus, Ohio) and say they'll never move back. Even though I absolutely hated the Pittsburgh area, I'm actually moving back next month. I got a great job there. So I'm willing to give it another try.

[Katarina Witt]

I grew up there, have lived in other parts of PA and 6 other states. I would rate Pgh as "average" on the friendly scale. IMO, the friendliest place I lived was Albany, NY. I'm sure there is someone who lived in Albany and thinks it was very unfriendly, though.

[goodgirl49]

I agree with Pittnurse about the people in Pittsburgh being about average in friendliness. I think people there could tend to be a little guarded until they really knew you. Nothing wrong with that though, as friendships tended to be more long lasting. I've lived in Norfolk, VA and San Fernando Valley, CA which I would rate higher in superficial friendliness, but harder to make close friendships.