I need some input on moving to Pittsburgh (Erie, York: real estate market, apartments)

[gsrfamily]

Hello,

I am looking to get some input on Pittsburgh. We have already done a lot of research on the area including rent, employment, etc. We are a young diverse family and looking for a place to live that fits us, currently we reside in Arkansas. I am looking to get some input on the below mention things. Thanks in advance.

1. How is the transit system, primarily the rail? Are there apts near those rail locations?

2. How is the food?

3. What is your favorite things about Pittsburgh?

4. What is one thing you wish someone told you about Pittsburgh before moving there?

5. Are the winters any harsher than other places?

6. I see a 7.2% unemployment rate, does that reflect the job climate that you see?

7. What should we prepare ourselves for?

8. If given the opportunity to move away would you or do you love Pittsburgh?

[CaptainPittsburgh]

I can't answer all of the questions, but I'll give a shot at some:

1. Pretty troubled, presently. Our Port Authority is in a real quagmire, and bus service is seeing drastic reductions right now. Hopefully, a solution is in the near future, but there isn't one right now. Rail service is operating fine, but I'll leave the description of that piece to someone better acquainted with the suburbs (which is what the rail serves, primarily).

2. Yummy. There are lots and lots of great restaurants. I mean lots, and new places are opening like crazy right now, too. It's a good town for food.

3. There's a lot to do and most of it is decidedly cheaper to do here than in other major cities.

4. I don't have anything for this one. I moved out here to go to school and liked it enough that I made some sacrifices to stick around.

5. Yeah, if those other places are Hawaii and California. Nope, if those other places are New York and Michigan. People might tell you otherwise, but Pittsburgh has a very typical 4 season climate. We have winter, but it's pretty middle-of-the-road.

6. I'm not a great person to answer that one.

7. Uh, I don't know, haha. Fun?

8. I'll stick around. I like it here a lot, and the city is really developing right now, so it's great fun to see all the changes taking place. I'm really excited to see what this town will look like in ten years.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by gsrfamily

1. How is the transit system, primarily the rail? Are there apts near those rail locations?

Transit overall is pretty good for a city of this size, but it has legacy cost problems and its funding is under attack at the state level. I'm hopeful there will at least be a short term fix, and in the long term the political situation at the state level may improve. I might note that our rail system is fairly modest, and mostly does not go in areas with a lot of apartments (some, but not all that many). But we also have some Busways (bus-only highways) that provide excellent service, including in some denser rental areas.

2. How is the food?

Way, way better than it was 15, 10, or even 5 years ago. We now have an entrepreneurial group of chefs who are opening up lots of new places all the time. Variety and creativity has increased greatly. I think it is going to get even better, but there are now many places that we want to try and haven't got around to, so it is officially more than enough for us.

3. What is your favorite things about Pittsburgh?

We could afford a very family-friendly, convenient, semi-urban lifestyle without killing ourselves at work.

4. What is one thing you wish someone told you about Pittsburgh before moving there?

It was a long time ago now I moved here (1993), and I was at a very different stage of life (a single grad student). But I guess I would have told my younger self to get out and explore more neighborhoods, and in fact I still feel like there is much I don't know.

5. Are the winters any harsher than other places?

I grew up in the Detroit area, and by my standards the winters are milder. In fact, I wish it was a bit colder and snowier.

6. I see a 7.2% unemployment rate, does that reflect the job climate that you see?

It varies by field, but if anything that is misleadingly high. We are actually at all-time highs in employment (well past the pre-recession peak) and adding jobs at a relatively rapid pace, but we are also getting job-seeking migrants which is keeping up the unemployment rate. But since the unemployment rate is drifting down, it implies job creation is outpacing the in-migration.

That said, you may need to be a little patient when finding a job, or be willing to accept a non-ideal job at first. We are still not 100% accustomed to hiring from outside the region.

7. What should we prepare ourselves for?

Pittsburgh can be a quirky and confusing city (in more ways than one) for new arrivals. I'd just be patient and open to experiencing a lot of different stuff, and over time you will get a better understanding of the area and how it works.

8. If given the opportunity to move away would you or do you love Pittsburgh?

From around 2006 to 2008, we were open to moving elsewhere (I was actually working in DC, and had not lived full-time/full-year in Pittsburgh since 2002, when I started law school). At the end of the day, we couldn't identify a city we both liked as much and that would be as good for us in terms of affording our preferred lifestyle. So I came back from DC, we bought our dream house, and we have no intention of moving.

[Garvdog]

1) Not sure, I rarely use public transportation. The light rail from the south suburbs thru the city seems to run well and it is clean.

2) Food is dismal in most of the suburbs, better in the city. Some good independent places moving in, but less national chains than most U.S. cities. Beware the old mom and pop restaurants that have stuck around for ages, most of them rely on the 70-plus crowd to keep them running and get by on serving awful food. Ethnic food is less prominent than in most places, because Pittsburgh is not very ethnically diverse.

3) Affordability, a stable economy and real estate market, and very good public schools if you pick the right suburb. Four distinct seasons.

4) Wish I knew about Allegheny County's arcane, complicated, and arbitrary property taxation and assessment system. Before buying a home and setting a budget make sure you understand how property taxes work here. That home price tag may be much higher than you think if you are used to owning property somewhere else.

5) Depends on what "other places" you're referring to. It's not Minnesota weather , but it's not California either. It can be very overcast during winter and early spring (think Seattle levels of cloudiness).

6) Economy seems to be doing well here at the moment, much better than most of the country. Pittsburgh hardly noticed the recession.

7) Pittsburgh is almost like another country- a small one that doesn't get many tourists. It's got it's own accent, culture, traditions, and the lifelong natives (which describes most of the residents) can be a bit odd. Until recently the area didn't get a lot of people migrating in from other areas, so expect New England levels of quirkiness in many parts of town.

8) Hard to say yet. I moved back a year ago after living in CA for many years, but I was born here. There are pros and cons.

[ladybug-fairy]

Hi, here's my take. Welcome to Pittsburgh!

1. Unfortunately, it's terrible. It used to be good, but PAT hasn't been able to maintain a budget and they keep cutting routes and raising fares. I live on a bus line and took the bus to work in downtown Pittsburgh for 11 years, but about 2 1/2 years ago I took a job closer to home for a number of reasons, but transportation was a consideration (partly because of the time it took me to get to my kids in the middle of the day if they were sick).

2. There are a lot of great food options, for pretty much anything you like.

3. I love that we're a town with a blue-collar mentality. We aren't afraid to do what it takes and we don't think we're too high and mighty. There's always something new to try and do and lots of great places. There are little communities for everything, both geographicaly and by interests.

4. I was raised here, but the one thing that I recently found out is that people consider us to be Mid Western, when I thought we were East Coast.

5. They're not as bad as Erie and eastern New York, or in the mountains just east of us.

6. We've been fairly well spared from the economic downturn, partly because we never experienced a big housing bubble, but the economy isn't great anywhere, here included. However, there are certainly places hiring.

7. We have our own little culture, food and language all our own. We're very friendly and welcoming, and love showing people our city. Also, be prepared to be a Steelers fan. Preferably Penguins and Pirates as well.

8. That's tough, because I would love to live somewhere warmer and beachier, but Pittsburgh is my home. I was born and raised here, my family is here, and I would miss it terribly.

[okaydorothy]

We just moved here a week ago. So far, so good. Anyone that we have spoken to have said that we choose a great place to move to. People here are super friendly and helpful.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

1. Our light rail transit is amazing.... but it only services the South of the city. Our bus system is horrible. Fairs are extremely high, certain routes are packed wall to wall, buses often do not come, you have to go downtown first to get anywhere, and we're on the verge of a meltdown with cutting even more routes.

2. The food here is great. You're not going to get the selection you'll get in Boston/Chicago/LA etc. obviously, but there is nearly everything you could want here. I should note that it will take a lot more digging than other cities as well to find the gems.

3. Small town feel in a big city, love that part.

4. Our infrastructure here is total sh*t.

5. Depends where "other places" are. Winters here can be freezing, but lately they've been slushy and icy (with the exception of this year).

6. Economy here is actually better than the majority of the country. However, no one wants to talk about wage suppression here which is a very real problem. Additionally you may be competing (depending on the field) with many people from outside of the country who will do your job much cheaper. Overall I wouldn't worry about the unemployment figure much.

7. Bad roads, getting lost, run down looking areas, corrupt political climate, football fanaticism and general weirdness. Pittsburgh is so unique that it might take some time getting used to the local culture, both good and bad.

8. I love this city, especially these days. But if I had a better opportunity elsewhere I'd pack my bags and leave tomorrow.

[XRiteMA98]

Originally Posted by gsrfamily

Hello,

I am looking to get some input on Pittsburgh. We have already done a lot of research on the area including rent, employment, etc. We are a young diverse family and looking for a place to live that fits us, currently we reside in Arkansas. I am looking to get some input on the below mention things. Thanks in advance.

1. How is the transit system, primarily the rail? Are there apts near those rail locations?

2. How is the food?

3. What is your favorite things about Pittsburgh?

4. What is one thing you wish someone told you about Pittsburgh before moving there?

5. Are the winters any harsher than other places?

6. I see a 7.2% unemployment rate, does that reflect the job climate that you see?

7. What should we prepare ourselves for?

8. If given the opportunity to move away would you or do you love Pittsburgh?

1. pat transit made lots of cuts but there are still busses around and the trai still works. Sure, there are places to rent close to the stations.

2. great. you can find everything here.

3. cost of living

4. summers are hot and humid. You come from the south, this won;t be a problem for u.

5. define other places. they are milder than in my native country. sure they are harsher than Florida

6. i'd say no.

7. this is an open question. since I don;t know you personally don;t know your education or the type of work you are looking for nor your interests nor life style have no idea what to tell you.

8. If that opportunity is europe I'll jump on it. Otherwise no.

[gallacus]

Some quick answers:

1. Light rail service is great, albeit limited to the South Hills.

2. Tasty, but there are few healthy California-style eateries.

3. Character, quality of life, cost of living

4. That it is much nicer than most people expect.

5. No, they're fine.

6. In certain industries, jobs are aplenty. In others, not so much. In mine (Information Systems Management) I'd say it feels like there never was a recession.

7. An overall lack of appreciation for the amazing things Pittsburgh has to offer. Many people, because of the image Pittsburgh has, think anywhere else must be better than Pittsburgh. When people leave, they often want to return because they find that they were wrong all along.

8. I wouldn't leave Pittsburgh unless there was an opportunity that allowed me to elevate my financial status. If someone handed me a penthouse apartment on the Upper West Side, call me a New Yorker. Otherwise, I'm not willing to slum it up in a ****ty shotgun apartment for 3 times what I pay here, I love Pittsburgh and what it has to offer.

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by gsrfamily

4. What is one thing you wish someone told you about Pittsburgh before moving there?

I wish someone told me that most natives are not so accepting of change, and wish that someone had told me that many natives drive as if it's their first time on the road.