Pittsburgh seems fancy! Am I wrong? (Smithfield, Oakland: homes, construction, live)

[Rodeno]

Lots of hillbillies, hipsters, but also a lot of really good people. The city isn't fancy by any means, but has some great qualities. Small enough (especially to you) that you won't feel overwhelmed, but feels bigger than it truly is. If you are into outdoor activities, there is no shortage of those. The one thing I have liked so far about living in Pittsburgh is that when you want to leave, it isn't to far from many places.

[raynist]

Originally Posted by KingKrab

Some people are very high maintenance, and they need to have access to Peruvian cuisine, Mongolian Cuisine, Malaysian Curry, argentina cuisine, and African Bushmeat to feel important.

They even use the word American Cuisine to describe burgers.

There are several peruvian restaurants around (Strip and oakland)

[ex-burgher]

There is also a Nicaraguan restaurant on the South Side:
Rivas Nicaraguan Restaurant - South Side - Pittsburgh | Urbanspoon

[NotSoCreativeUsername]

Haha wow umm...I hope everyone realizes that I wasn't trying to create a NYC V. Pittsburgh thread. I wouldn't compare NYC to Pittsburgh. NYC has things Pittsburgh doesn't have, and Pittsburgh has things NYC will never have. No matter how hard some people try to keep glorifying NYC, it isn't the "best" place in the country or world aside from the 24/7 public transit!

Anyway, I guess I learned a lot more than I had expected to by posting this.

Also, Little Italy doesn't really exist. I personally think it's a joke, and if you want the real Little Italy you'll leave Manhattan and explore Brooklyn. NYC has plenty, and I mean PLENTY of chain restaurants. I don't think any city is immune to it, and every city has its great and bad restaurants. If Oklahoma City has decent restaurants, I'm pretty sure Pittsburgh has some great places!

I'm also a very modest person when it comes to money; I'm really just looking for a change, and Pittsburgh seems like a nice place. I'll definitely visit at least twice before anything.

Also, by fancy I don't really mean glamorous or anything like that. Sorry, I just throw that word around to describe anything positively.

Thanks for all of your responses!

[Uptown kid]

[quote]Lots of hillbillies, hipsters, but also a lot of really good people. The city isn't fancy by any means, but has some great qualities. [quote]
Yea and there are differnt levels of fanciness for certain neighborhoods... I don't find anything fancy about certain urban areas in the city like: Northview Heights, the Charles St Valley section of Perry South, the "Snapville" area of Perry South, Upper Manchester, Cali-Kirk, East Dutchtown, parts of Sheraden, what's left of Fairywood, most the Hill Districk, most of South Oakland, Hazelwood, Glen Hazel, Homewood, most of the East Hills, Larimer, most of G-field, Lincoln, Beltzhoover, Upper Knoxville, Allentown, Arlington, what's left of Arlington Heights, most of Carrick, Mt Oliver and Upper Larwanceville.
There are also blighted/run down areas like: Esplen, Spring Garden, and the residential areas of the Southside and Lower/Central Larwanceville which aren't too fancy either...

[jay5835]

I had one of the nicest meals in a long time tonight at Tessaro's in Bloomfield (not Italian, btw). Great burger, cooked perfectly medium rare, and the service could not have been any better. It was like eating at someone's house who's really good at entertaining. 30% tip. Everyone should eat here.

[BrianTH]

Random thoughts:

(1) Mexico City is our favorite Mexican restaurant.

(2) Of course the salary statistics are just averages--results in specific industries and jobs will vary either way, and I agree you should do some investigation in your specific areas.

(3) Pittsburgh and NYC obviously do offer different value propositions (which could go either way depending on your preferences). Still, I do think there are some resemblances such that a person who liked some aspects of NYC but not others could see Pittsburgh as an interesting possibility. And for what is worth, the NY Post has described Pittsburgh as a mini-NYC:

Pitt stop - NYPOST.com

[Bong477]

Pittsburgh most certainly isn't a fancy city, but that being said there are plenty of high brow fancy things to do (fine dining, black tie benefits, orchestra, theater) if you are so inclined.

For me, I estimate that Pittsburgh has 75% of what I like about New York with only about 10% of what I hate about New York at about 50% of the cost. In my line of work, I probably make the same or more here than I would in New York but that will vary heavily by what you do.

While you can get by without a car if you choose where you live and work appropriately, I'd consider learning how to drive. Its not very hard.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Mexico City is our favorite Mexican restaurant.

It's mine, too, but more than once I've had a problem with the food not being hot enough. I hoped maybe someone knew of a more consistent Mexican restaurant in the city. My second favorite is El Campesino, but they only exist in the suburbs. There used to be a decent place in the 600 block of Smithfield Street, but it's been gone for a few years now. I don't like the place on Murray Avenue at all.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Random thoughts:

(1) Mexico City is our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Mexico City is my favorite too, particularly the Smithfield St location. That said, I'm surprised that you don't take issue with their dubious "opt-out" guacamole policy.