Boylocke: Why are you leavning Pgh? (Pittsburgh, Duquesne: condo, crimes, home)

[beth ann]

Boylocke, you have got to be, hands down, Pghs #1 fan. No kidding....you cannot seem to find one single thing you don't like about the Burgh (if so, you're not sharing it w/ us....lol..)

From culture, to schools, to economy, jobs, nightlife, amenities, even taxes, and now even weather....you promote and defend Pgh at all costs

At first it seemed a little annoying (lol....), but now, your "rose-colored" view of Pgh is somewhat endearing....and intriguing.

You are so pro-Pgh, it's really quite amazing, so amazing I'm wondering why you are considering leaving? (I thought I read in one of your posts that you are moving to Seattle??)

Oh....I just thought of something....maybe you work for Pgh Convention & Visitors Bureau or Ofc of Tourism....or maybe you're an over-paid and under-worked county employee ...hmmm....that explains all the time you have to post on CD....now it's all coming together...lol....

[guylocke]

Boylocke, you have got to be, hands down, Pghs #1 fan. No kidding....you cannot seem to find one single thing you don't like about the Burgh (if so, you're not sharing it w/ us....lol..)

Hehe! Well that's not true, I know Pittsburgh has problems. I can list some of my personal dislikes of the area if you'd like. But the biggest pet peeve I have, is the old-fashioned and outdated attitude Pittsburghers have about Pittsburgh, and what's worse, are the people that left here decades ago that still go around infecting people with the same negativity, when the city they left during the steel collapse no longer exists.

I have been living downtown for six years now, attending Duquesne and getting my doctorate in Pharmacy. That is why I seem to be online so much, as a student and a pharmacist, I always have plenty of access to the internet, but that is neither here nor there!

During those several years, I have really become intimately familiar with Pittsburgh and have been helping people relocate here for a long time, way longer than I've been active on these forums. I have done intense research over the years and read the local newspapers as well as several websites every single day to stay current.

I think I have a much more accurate grasp on Pittsburgh than some of the people who post here that left ages ago or have never even been here!! I try to enlighten certain people with facts and news articles when their posts are misrepresentative of Pittsburgh - and so many are.

From culture, to schools, to economy, jobs, nightlife, amenities, even taxes, and now even weather....you promote and defend Pgh at all costs

I don't think every one of those is great here in Pittsburgh.

You are so pro-Pgh, it's really quite amazing, so amazing I'm wondering why you are considering leaving? (I thought I read in one of your posts that you are moving to Seattle??)

That's correct. I am being relocated to Seattle next year. I love Pittsburgh, but I'm young and adventurous and I want to see something different for a while. I've always thought the pacific northwest was beautiful, and I think it would be great to be along the ocean for a while and have Vancouver BC so close by! I'm not leaving for any other reason than I just don't want to spend my entire life in one spot, I would be better off staying in Pittsburgh, financially. Not everything is about money, though.

I know it might not seem so, but if you pay close attention, I can talk about things that Pittsburgh lacks and I agree with certain people and their negative attitudes. Too many people on this forum don't use that negativity constructively, though. Instead of trying to make things better or actually fixing what's broken, their posts can be summed up with "Pittsburgh Sucks" and that really doesn't help anybody.

I know you think I am bias in the opposite direction, but am I? Is what I say about Pittsburgh (NOT things about I-80 or gay-rights or hate-crimes) untrue? Are my defenses weak arguments? Maybe, but I sure seem to get a lot of personal mail telling me that I am helpful, have really good points, and that my posts are enjoyable to read, so I continue to stick around.

Pittsburgh isn't perfect, believe me, I'm not blind to the problems. But it is indisputably moving forward and not backward, and some people won't accept that. No city is perfect. There are things I dislike about Seattle, too.

I guess what gives me the most dedication is that I truly believe that for what Pittsburgh is, a cost-effective, little "big" city, it has a lot more to offer than other comparable places. Recently we were ranked one of the top 10 "cities of the future" and I really do believe that. Some of the cutting edge things that we do is astounding.

Anything else you'd like to know? lol.

[Katarina Witt]

I really think it will be good for you to live someplace else, boylocke. My kids went out of state to college, and it really opened their eyes. They tell all their friends, "It's different to live someplace else than it is just to visit". They both learned that the way things are done here are not the way they are done everywhere, there's more than one right way to do things, etc.

[guylocke]

I really think it will be good for you to live someplace else, boylocke. My kids went out of state to college, and it really opened their eyes. They tell all their friends, "It's different to live someplace else than it is just to visit". They both learned that the way things are done here are not the way they are done everywhere, there's more than one right way to do things, etc.

I agree completely.

And just to reiterate to Beth Ann, if people think I'm a nuisance here and tell me so, I can leave the forums! They are meant to be fun and informative, and I make them anything else, well then that's bad.

[beth ann]

Originally Posted by boylocke

I have been living downtown for six years now, attending Duquesne and getting my doctorate in Pharmacy.

Now, that explains your incessant optimism...you have access to drugs....lol

but I'm young and adventurous and I want to see something different for a while.

Oh to be young again.....good for you

Also, living somewhere else will give you a different perspective. Don't be surprised if you see Pgh in somewhat of a different light after living elsewhere for a while.

I know you think I am bias in the opposite direction, but am I? Is what I say about Pittsburgh untrue? Are my defenses weak arguments?

Well....you do definitly have a "pro-Pgh" slant in your posts. Maybe it's in part a reaction to the nay-sayers and maybe a little of unbridbled enthusiasm (?)

People like my who have lived somewhere else have genuine concerns about relocating to Pgh...these concerns are vallid and should not be so easily dismissed.

No city is perfect.

True. I always look for objectivity in Pgh posting.....not just listening to the cheerleaders or the mud-slingers.

All the best to you with your move

[guylocke]

Also, living somewhere else will give you a different perspective. Don't be surprised if you see Pgh in somewhat of a different light after living elsewhere for a while.

Well one of my very favorite things to do is travel. I've been to a plethora of other cities on more than one occasion, which I know isn't the same as living there, but after several trips, you can start getting a feel. I've also lived in Europe for several months, lived in Florida for four months this past summer, and spend a great deal of time in Canada, too. So I'm not exactly naive to the outside world. :P

I know you'll laugh when I say this, but after travelling around, I actually appreciate Pittsburgh more. LOL. In fact, I think most people do. I have many friends who leave Pittsburgh and come back after they realize the grass isn't always greener.

[PApisces]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

I really think it will be good for you to live someplace else, boylocke. My kids went out of state to college, and it really opened their eyes. They tell all their friends, "It's different to live someplace else than it is just to visit". They both learned that the way things are done here are not the way they are done everywhere, there's more than one right way to do things, etc.

I absolutely agree. However, I suspect that much like myself, you will long to return home to Pittsburgh eventually. There is just something about Pittsburgh that sticks with you forever. I don't know if it's the "simplicity" of the city, the attitude of the people, or what. Whatever the source, Pittsburgh has a magnetism of sorts.

[guylocke]

I absolutely agree. However, I suspect that much like myself, you will long to return home to Pittsburgh eventually. There is just something about Pittsburgh that sticks with you forever.

I don't doubt it at all! In fact, Jason and I are planning on looking into owning property once they build the Riverfront Project. I imagine that won't be completely for at least five years or so.

[PApisces]

Originally Posted by boylocke

I don't doubt it at all! In fact, Jason and I are planning on looking into owning property once they build the Riverfront Project. I imagine that won't be completely for at least five years or so.

We are looking to buy in the next couple years as well. You could buy a mansion in Pittsburgh for the price of a "shack" in Dallas.

[guylocke]

You could buy a mansion in Pittsburgh for the price of a "shack" in Dallas.

Same with Seattle. The damn Californians are escaping the oppressive prices in California and are moving north the Portland and Seattle. It has really hijacked Seattle property. Seattleites talk very badly on Californians, they claim they are ruining their city and turning it into the next California, an artificial, over-priced, congested, money pit. That makes me sad.

I want a nice, trendy, little condo in downtown Seattle. The two I liked the most were both about 900 square feet, one-bedroom, one-bathroom, and were both over half a million dollars.

*boggle*