what is good and bad about Pittsburgh (Butler, Dallas: property taxes, job)

[Katiana]

According to The Weather Underground, Welcome to The Weather Underground : Weather Underground,

Jan 2007: 15 days of snow, 6 days rain, 1 day rain/snow = 22 days precip

Feb: 18 days of snow, 2 days rain, 1 day mix = 21 days precip

March: 7 days of snow, 7 days of rain, 2 days of mixed snow/rain = 16 days precip

April : 6 days of snow, 9 days of rain, 2 days of mixed = 17 days precip

May: 6 days of rain

June: 9 days of rain

July: 6 days of rain

August: 11 days of rain

Sept: 4 days rain

Oct: 9 days rain

November (to Nov. 26) 8 days rain, 3 days snow, 1 day mix = 12 days

It is hard to deny that it is a wet climate. The snow/rain days are especially yucky.

[FromGA]

OK, I am the original poster from Georgia. I have to decide between moving to Atlanta,
or a family-friendly, reasonable-cost, large-city in the Northeastern states
(Pittsburgh is the one I could come up with to fit this criteria).

Thanks for all your responses. I have some questions on some of the negatives that were mentioned:

(1) Environmental quality -- anyone aware of any air quality statistics --
is Pittsburgh considered to have a lot of particulate matter in the air, especially compared to other large metros.

(2) Infrastructure -- are there any statistics on the condition of bridges in Pittsburgh?

(3) Traffic -- is bad traffic all over the metro area, or generally concentrated in some high traffic routes. Worst routes? Worst hours?

(4) State of city government -- what are some failures in terms of actual things that happened or did not? Or is it their attitude that keeps the economy from expanding? (Atleast it seems they have crime under control)

(5) Economy / jobs -- What are the top private sector employers in that area? I am in IT, so I am assuming all these companies will have an IT department. How difficult would it be to find a IT department software development job? Average IT department salaries? Any examples of new economy companies to get an idea of the vibrancy of the economy?

[Katiana]

There was some study that came out last spring that rated Pittsburgh 2nd worst in air quality in the country. Many people were upset about that. You could find that with a goole search.

[kpoeppel]

That report was based on a SINGLE monitoring site, which is located near some industries. That one site is not representative of the region as a whole.

See the following article:Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Air pollution is the least of Pittsburgh's problems, IMO.

[Katiana]

Rankings - American Lung Association site

Here is the article.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

According to The Weather Underground, Welcome to The Weather Underground : Weather Underground,

Jan 2007: 15 days of snow, 6 days rain, 1 day rain/snow = 22 days precip

Feb: 18 days of snow, 2 days rain, 1 day mix = 21 days precip

March: 7 days of snow, 7 days of rain, 2 days of mixed snow/rain = 16 days precip

April : 6 days of snow, 9 days of rain, 2 days of mixed = 17 days precip

May: 6 days of rain

June: 9 days of rain

July: 6 days of rain

August: 11 days of rain

Sept: 4 days rain

Oct: 9 days rain

November (to Nov. 26) 8 days rain, 3 days snow, 1 day mix = 12 days

It is hard to deny that it is a wet climate. The snow/rain days are especially yucky.

But the other thing is that how weather affects us is as individual as a fingerprint. Some people, like my mom, get really blue after a few months of winter, some people just love it and some poeple want to come back because I am SO sick of day in and day out of great weather. Yes -- even pretty blue skies gets old after awhile...

My five faves:

Outdoor life
Food
Family
Falls
Springs

Bads:

Politics
Family (when my sister starts going on Politics! )

I can't think of anymore -- but I haven't had my coffee.... and I'm a native, 9th generation Pennsylvanian actually, but I haven't lived there since 1984...

[subdivisions]

Originally Posted by FromGA

OK, I am the original poster from Georgia. I have to decide between moving to Atlanta,
or a family-friendly, reasonable-cost, large-city in the Northeastern states
(Pittsburgh is the one I could come up with to fit this criteria).

(5) Economy / jobs -- What are the top private sector employers in that area? I am in IT, so I am assuming all these companies will have an IT department. How difficult would it be to find a IT department software development job? Average IT department salaries? Any examples of new economy companies to get an idea of the vibrancy of the economy?

As I mentioned before, my husband is in IT. He does network administration, and is making about 50K a year. This is after a few promotions/raises, but his starting salary when we moved here was in the low 40s, which goes a long way in Pittsburgh.

He recently needed to hire two people, and had trouble finding employees qualified enough for the positions. He ended up hiring one, and leaving the other position open until a good employee can be found. He has also told me that they are constantly in need of good developers where he works. I don't know exactly how much a developer makes, but I am under the impression that those jobs pay more than network administration.

If you have a good resume and are decent at your job, I don't think you would have too much trouble finding an IT job that paid well enough to make a good living here.

[gallacus]

(1) Environmental quality -- anyone aware of any air quality statistics --
is Pittsburgh considered to have a lot of particulate matter in the air, especially compared to other large metros.

I believe this site should answer any and all questions about Pittsburgh's air quality:

Pittsburgh's Future: Cleaner Air, But Not Clean Enough

(2) Infrastructure -- are there any statistics on the condition of bridges in Pittsburgh?

Here is a page that the Tribune Review put together to detail all of the bridges in Pittsburgh:

Structurally deficient bridges in Southwestern PA - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

I don't really think bad bridges is much of a concern, though, as most of what it creates a headache for is local government trying to come up with funds to fix it. As a citizen of Pittsburgh, you can still drive across all of these bridges and get wherever you want to go pretty easily, provided you know your way around. The road surface of the bridges is mostly fine, its just the structure that needs redone on a lot of them. When this happens, it becomes a minor annoyance because the bridge is closed for a couple years for repair. The only way these bridges will create major problem, heaven forbid, is if they fall, which I don't think is that likely.

(3) Traffic -- is bad traffic all over the metro area, or generally concentrated in some high traffic routes. Worst routes? Worst hours?

Traffic really is not bad in Pittsburgh compared to other major cities. It seems bad because there are cars everywhere, but most of the time even the worst (normal) rush hour traffic will only hold you up about 30 extra minutes coming in from the eastern suburbs. The worst times are between 7am and 9am in the morning, and 4pm and 6pm in the afternoon. All routes leading in or out of town respectively will be congested between those hours. Here is a site that compares Pittsburgh with other like cities. Traffic is listed as a comparison:

PittsburghToday.org | Indicators

(5) Economy / jobs -- What are the top private sector employers in that area? I am in IT, so I am assuming all these companies will have an IT department. How difficult would it be to find a IT department software development job? Average IT department salaries? Any examples of new economy companies to get an idea of the vibrancy of the economy?

As I have been able to discern most of the economic deficiency and poor job growth has been in areas other than IT. A lot of people complain about not being able to find jobs in Journalism, Communication, Graphic Design, and things of that nature. On the other hand, the job market for engineers and IT/Information Systems people is thriving. Pretty much everyone I know that has looked for an IT/Engineering job in Pittsburgh got one pretty quick, and with a salary that pays far more (cost of living adjusted dollars) than many other cities.

[Katiana]

I would definitely have the job secured before moving. There have been posts about engineers who couldn't find jobs, either. It depends on many factors.

I also think the OP should come and take a look-see before making any commttments.

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by subdivisions

As I mentioned before, my husband is in IT. He does network administration, and is making about 50K a year. This is after a few promotions/raises, but his starting salary when we moved here was in the low 40s, which goes a long way in Pittsburgh.

Subdivisions,
Thanks for sharing this. Just so I have a frame of reference, how many years of experience in IT - and network management in particular - does your husband have?
Thanks a lot!