Relocating to Pittsburgh? ...A word of Caution (Reading, York: appointed, house)

[outaPA]

Originally Posted by chinenjim

I never said I like Pittsburgh. Keep in mind that I live over 30 miles east of the city, however people here are pretty much the same as they are near the city. The actual city is only part of the Pittsburgh expierence. As for downtown, I HATE IT. It is dirty, the people are bizzare and socially retarded as a whole, too many meathead jock college a**holes, the barscene is a football-fan co*k party as well. The Pittsburgh night life is a black hole of misery. For a guy, It's difficult to avoid a confrontation or an all-out fistfight. As I said before, most Pittsburghers are socially retarded. When I was single and utilizing the bar scene, it was a common occurence for me and my friends to wind up in fights down there. It was however very uncommon for us to meet women who had any reddeming social value or intellectiual depth. Pittsburgh women are crass, abrasive, tastless, classless, tactless, rude, full of themselves and obnoxious as a whole. Perhaps this is why pittsburgh is the worst city for singles in the USA. Tampa is second worse, but I've been there and at least they have pretty girls who wear something other than Penguins and Steeler jerseys when they go out on the town.

Living in the Pittsburgh area has some unique advantages, but it also has MAJOR DRAWBACKS. That will be the title of my next post. MAJOR DRAWBACKS OF LIVING IN PITTSBURGH. I'm sure it will be a hit with outapa among the other Pittsburgh haters here as well.

Well Chinenjim, you certainly hit the nail on the head with your descriptions ( especially the crass, abrasive, crude, full of themselves part - but that goes for males and females). I may have thought those things but I guess I didn't want to get too many tempers flared at me. The thing I want to add to those comments to out-of-towners thinking of coming here, is, this is not some guy on some absurd rant. He is actually quite accurate. You'd actually have to live here and see all this with your own two eyes. These people here are REALLY WEIRD. When I mentioned before about seeing a personal ad from a California native looking to form a support group, I wasn't joking.

Most of the natives who like it here, have never lived anywhere else, and basically, don't know any better. However, I concur there are some who try to overlook all the negatives and get by. But why live in a culture like this, when there are so many "normal" places to live?

[mrswoogie]

I have been to Pittsburgh city in the winter and summer for a visit, but I am not looking to move to the city, I am interested in a place called Bear rocks in Bullskin twp. Have you ever been there and can you tell me about it? I have never been there but We got 5 years to check it out, It has elevation. I used to spend summers in a place called Central city in Somerset co, and I always visit Breezewood, so I kind of know how the country is up there. I am also interested in Donegal and Mt pleasant. I check out houses on realtor sites, terraserver and all. It is getting warmer isn't it? People are walking around in shorts down here on Christmas. The Shutdown happens here for me too, due to the nature of my job, I am a member of IUPAT.
People? We don't want to know anyone. We don't want to live where we can see anyone. I guess does that make us weird and not normal? Nightlife, your kidding? right? We are so done with that. Nightlife for me is sleep. We want to be in the woods up in the mountians, We are interested in raising our child, gardenening, greenhouses, orchards, animals like goats and chickens, and such. We have a studio for recording music, a full library of books, and a couple of high powered telescopes. I think we will be fine. I am interested, I thought the coal mining was done, do people still use it to heat houses up there? I am so sick of BG&E raping me every month. What is a triaxle? I am waiting to read the major drawbacks.

[VALT]

Hi Out a PA -

In terms of city living, what place(s) are better?

VALT

PS We justed started a family and are looking for the BEST mix of culture, resturants, housing options, jobs, wi-fi, recreation, beauty, community, churches, etc

[chinenjim]

As soon as the holidays are over around here (usually around Janurary 15th), and yinzers return to their cubes and surf the innernet I'm more than sure the hateful responses to my last post will start. That's how it goes around here. Just wait Outapa....It's gonna be fun. n'nat.

[chinenjim]

If I were you, I would look more eastern than Donegal. While that area is alot nicer than Pittsburgh, it is still considered "coal country" and the triaxles mess stuff up there pretty bad. By the way, a tri-axle is a common type of dump truck with three axles under the bed. Coal trucks usually have aluminum dump bodies as well. The coal trucks are responsible for the coal dust that is in the air and seems to stick to everything and turn the snow black in the winter.

Somerset is OK, but there are alot of stupid hicks up there. While they are much less abrasive than Pittsburghers, they are still pretty wierd. The weather sucks there just as bad as Pittsburgh's, if not worse. The Somerset / Donegal area sits atop the Chestnut Ridge. That piece of mountain range is where weather systems stall out all the time. A storm system can sit there for weeks in the summer and cause overcast conditions. So telescopes there would be a rare treat.

Don't worry, there is hope. South Central Pennsylvaina is a completely different story. Check out the Carlisle area which is about 15 miles south of Harrisburg. It is awesome. Beautiful, clean country as far as the eye can see. Mountains, solitude, friendly people, etc. I've been all over this state and Carlisle is about the best place I've been. If you like nature, you will love it. Also that area averages around 10 degrees warmer in the winter than Pixburgh..yet they still get snow and probably more of it! The summers are much better there too. The sky is actually blue most of the time! Please check it out or visit it. If I do stay in PA, that is where I want to move.

[chinenjim]

Originally Posted by outaPA

Well Chinenjim, you certainly hit the nail on the head with your descriptions ( especially the crass, abrasive, crude, full of themselves part - but that goes for males and females). I may have thought those things but I guess I didn't want to get too many tempers flared at me. The thing I want to add to those comments to out-of-towners thinking of coming here, is, this is not some guy on some absurd rant. He is actually quite accurate. You'd actually have to live here and see all this with your own two eyes. These people here are REALLY WEIRD. When I mentioned before about seeing a personal ad from a California native looking to form a support group, I wasn't joking.

Most of the natives who like it here, have never lived anywhere else, and basically, don't know any better. However, I concur there are some who try to overlook all the negatives and get by. But why live in a culture like this, when there are so many "normal" places to live?

Outapa, there are alot of "abnormal" places in this country. That's one of Pittsburgh's selling points. You see, Pittsburgh hides behind the "most liveable city" tag to recruit transplants from crime-infested he!!holes like LA and Chicago. I have also met an alarmingly high number of jaded transplants here from Florida cities such as Tampa, Jacksonville and Orlando. Sure Pittsburgh's crime and housing costs pale in comparison to these other cities, but it comes with a high cost which is only visible once someone has already bitten the bullet and moved here.

It's such a crying shame too. Western PA is a unique place in terms of it's geography. I've stated here before that this is some of the most beautiful country east of the Mississippi River. However, Pittsburgh is a great big scar on the area and gives it a bad name. They can try to rebuild the city with sports stadiums and bike paths until they are blue in the face. It still won't change the fact that Pittsburgh's citizens are a$$-backwards and make the city an uncomfortable place to live.

[claremarie]

It's pretty simple -- Pittsburgh has low housing costs because, for various reasons, not that many people want to live there. A city that cannot retain its EDUCATED young people is going to have great difficulties attracting educated people from other cities (or countries), which makes economic growth difficult.

[outaPA]

Originally Posted by OutaFL

Question: Why do Pittsburgh haters live in Pittsburgh?
I have learned that some people enjoy hating and complaining more than anything else. I suppose its easier than doing something about it.

I sure don't take time out of my busy day to make posts here because I enjoy "hating and complaining more than anything else." I have put the time into these posts to help someone make an informed decision about living in this area. It sure would be a shame if someone went to all the trouble and expense of moving here to find out after the fact, that this type of "culture" was not for them. That is the PURPOSE of these Forums. People are all basically asking each other "Hey, what's it like to live there?" They are going to get varying opinions obviously, but they will gather all the information and weigh it to their own needs. Actually, some of the posts from locals have actually proven my point indirectly by how they express themselves.

And as far as "doing something about it," you can't change people, or even a city's character. So on living here, you either learn to accept it for what it is, tune it all out, or you leave. I plan on taking option #3.

[OutaFL]

The problem with this forum, is that some people present opinions as if they were facts. Someone says, "what is it like?" and someone else says "it sucks."

One cannot got to the real info on this site and see that Pittsburgh is 89% "suckier" than some other city - but you can get REAL statistics. If you want real info, then read real scientifically/demographically gathered data, and then go see it personally for yourself.

Depending on some unseen strangers opinions to make a decision about moving is absurd. I have been to Pittsburgh, I like it, it works for me and I will move there. By the way, I am an investor, urban pioneer and former urban planner. I have been to many cities in the US Canada and Europe - AND FOR ME, Pittsburgh is great. As a matter of fact, the most important urban planning firm in the US, if not the world is based in PGH (UDA). People like that (urban planners) do not want to live in as horrible a city as some would like to portray that Pittsburgh is, as they are way to sensitive about their surroundings, and are able to compare to many other locations.

I only hope that people do their research in a variety of websites and not just this one.

[chinenjim]

Good for you. You Like Pittsburgh. Great.