What don't you like about Pittsburgh? (Philadelphia, Denver: credit, house, crime)

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by guylocke

I see you're back London. Yay.

I knew you'd be so excited guylocke. I was banned for arguing with someone in a PRIVATE message, with NO vulgar language. WTF???
But I expect that now, I even added to my profile that I get infractions constantly. SOMEONE has to be the piñata! LOL
I actually don't even mind, the whole thing is quite entertaining to me. I have nothing to hide, not who I am, where I'm from, nor how I feel. My life is an open book and if I get an occasional slap on the hand for being honest, then so-be-it. I am a woman of my convictions. *smile*

[Katiana]

Hey, london, glad to see you back! I was afraid you'd been banned permanently! It's amazing, you can get banned for DM's, but some of the stuff that gets left up here is probably worse, IMO.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Hey, london, glad to see you back! I was afraid you'd been banned permanently! It's amazing, you can get banned for DM's, but some of the stuff that gets left up here is probably worse, IMO.

I know, especially since the person posted a comment publicly on the forum, I responded via DM and then she deleted her post after I Dm'd her and then I was banned for saying I knew where she lived via DM... (well, I did!) LOL I mean, come on, anyone can find out IP addresses if they know how to use a computer... whatever

I'm so used to it now. I figure I'll get banned for telling why I got banned! LOL I scoot in and out of several forums so it's really no bother. I'm able to track the conversations through topix anyway. Not like I missed anything. Afterall, this is what I do for a living...

But I had to check in here just to get everyone's juices flowing again. What I find amusing is how everyone just slams Humanoid and no gets slapped.

I find it fascinating how so many people cower behind their screen names sounding all intellectual and manly (wink - wink) and I come out and just say what I feel without having to hide my identity. My life is an open book after all. I find it liberating to be able to reach out to so many people without being afraid of someone finding out who I am and how I really think.

But I'm used to being in front of the cameras so I suppose it's just normal for me.

Good lord, all anyone has to do it take one look at my profile to see who I am! But to be honest Kat, I missed you. *smile*

[By~Tor]

Welcome Home, London!- - - We NEED a few people to stir up the pot, now & again, to keep the bastages Honest!!!!!!!

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by By~Tor

Welcome Home, London!- - - We NEED a few people to stir up the pot, now & again, to keep the bastages Honest!!!!!!!

Ah - *shucks* Thanks

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by londonbarcelona

Good lord, all anyone has to do it take one look at my profile to see who I am! But to be honest Kat, I missed you. *smile*

Thanks, london, I missed you, too. I agree with By~Tor, too. We need to get this forum rockin' again!

[musicmanjrm]

Pittsburgh itself is a far better place to live than a lot of other rural areas, but when it's matched up to other major cities, it falls short. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of things that I like about living here, but they are things that can be found in a lot of other cities, such as restaurants, nightlife and just urban life in general. I feel that the negatives outweigh the positives, and that‘s why I plan on moving out. I’ll explain below. Also, I’ve lived here off and on during college and also for the past three and a half years. I always try to be objective with my observations and I try to be unbiased. I’ll do my best.

1) Lack of quality infrastructure. The roads were bad when I first came here around 2000. Since living here, I have noticed that they have started re-paving some of the roads, but in small stretches at a time. However, I do notice that when the roads are re-paved, they are done so in a haphazardly and sloppy manner so over the next several winters, there will most definitely be pot-holes. Until this city gets an outside contractor to pave the roads (anyone other than PennDot) , they will continue to have some of the worst roads in the nation. Somewhat related, here is an article showing how bad roads are in PA- rated second worst.
Keystone drama - Overdrive

One other note on the infrastructure. It’s time to rip down some of the old housing that they have here. There are some beautiful old homes here, but there are also the ones that look like they’ve been abandoned for at least a decade or two. There is potential for the city, but unfortunately the changes aren’t happening quickly enough. It seems like there’s a huge gap of time where not a lot of new housing went up, so most of your selection for homes (if you choose to live here) will be ancient. Like I said, this can be in the good way, but not always. The new houses and condos are few and will cost you more than you can earn in this area.

2) More on roads and public transportation. This city does not have a beltway. I’m not sure if it ever will. This means that most traffic is directed towards downtown, which creates an awful lot of congestion. The bad part about the public transportation is that it lacks any kind of global rail system. It has the “T” which only services the southern region, and that’s it. Just think if the rail system stretched from downtown through Oakland, Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and out to Regent Square. Think about if it stretched north towards Ross or Bellevue. Think about how much traffic that would eliminate and how it would enable Pittsburgh to actually grow as a city. Well, that won’t happen in my lifetime unfortunately. Instead, the traffic continues to build somehow, even though we are a city that has either a stagnant or declining population. How do we expect to grow, if the traffic situation is this bad right now? What would happen if the population doubled? Just some rhetorical questions for you to chew on.

3) Pollution. Yes the steel mill days are over, but the reality is, the air quality here was just ranked the worst in the nation. It’s not something you hear about on the news, they only like to boast about the “Most Livable City” ranking that they received a few years ago (more on that next). The fact is, we have had the worst quality air for years now and CMU is doing research on the subject. Apparently it’s due to the coal power plants located west of the city. It’s the same coal power plants that you hear commercials about on the radio stating that the city needs them. Not sure if you’ve heard those, but believe it or not, there is propaganda out there. You can read some of the stories about it here or google “Pittsburgh worst air quality”. ABC News: The Most Polluted U.S. Cities

4) Terrible local news. Now I know many of you would say that local news in general is just bad. Well, it’s worse here. If you just watched the local news, you would never know about anything outside of Pittsburgh. You would have not heard about the terrible disasters in China or who won the NBA finals or any other significant event outside of Allegheny county. I would say that the news is 40% weather, 40 % Steelers, Penguins, Buccos, and 20% b.s. stories mostly relating to either the weather or the sports teams. There is no room for any national or world news. Also, if you’ve read the front page of the Post-Gazette paper, that’s mainly the news that you’re going to hear on the radio and tv stations. I’m not sure why the news is this bad. It may be because they are actually that self-centered, or it may be that it is a form of control; a way to keep people dumbed down and gung-ho about Pittsburgh. More on that below.

5) Intelligence level of the locals. Once again, many locals reading this may be upset by this, but it is true. If you’re reading this, you probably have at least half a brain to get on the internet and go to this website and thread. So I am most likely not referring to you. But yes, I do feel that this is a very uneducated region in our nation. I’ve experienced it in college and now that I’m out working. The brightest people I have met are not from this area. Coincidence? Maybe. But I don’t think so. Pittsburgh is doomed because it draws people from both West Virginia and Ohio, both of which have some of the least educated workers in the country. They spoke about this during the primary elections and you can find articles on this as well through Google. Here’s one (and yes, I am considering the source- but there pages where you can find the same info) Hillary wins "Predicted" race in "Whitest", "Least Educated" State - Eyes On Obama. Here’s another The Most (and Least) Educated States - MSN Encarta.
While there are some great schools in Pittsburgh, there are more schools in the city that are awful. This leads to children being taught incorrect English like saying “The room needs cleaned”, “The car needs washed”, ect. As well as a whole Pittsburghese language using yinz, red up, and nebby. Anyways, the people here don’t seem to enjoy much other than the Steelers/ Penguins and beer. It does get tiresome. I blame the local schools and the news for this general ignorance. On a positive note, the city does have some bright people, it just needs to find a way to keep them. More on that below.

6) Jobs and career opportunities. Yes, it’s true. Jobs are hard to come by in Pittsburgh. They exist, but they are severely limited. There are plenty of opportunities if you’d like to work for $10/hr or less (this includes working for Pitt), but when it comes to trying to support yourself, there is very little. The big companies are PNC, Highmark, UPMC. There are a bunch of companies that I can’t think of that are also large. You can check out the Post Gazette for “best places to work” to get an idea for yourself. If you like working in a cubical processing checks or medical records or if you‘re a really gung-ho sales person, Pittsburgh is for you. I’d say that if you’re into health care or accounting, you’ll be fine. Otherwise, it’s tough. That’s why most college graduates get the heck out of here after graduation. I’ll be doing the same shortly.

7) Corrupt local government and lack of unity between smaller municipalities. First there was a smoking ban. Then on the day it was to be enacted, it was ruled that Allegheny county did not have the authority to make that decision. So, no smoking ban. Then we have the casino. Through various starts and stops, it is currently being constructed on the North Shore. Will it help the city? Sure, by taking money from it’s own people to fund more government projects. I sure as hell won’t be going there. Then we have the brilliant idea to extend the “T” underwater to the North Shore. Now I’m all about extending the “T” as I’ve mentioned before, but how about to a more traveled area like Oakland? Not underwater to the sports stadiums when everyone uses the bridges anyways. The cost; almost half a billion dollars! That’s a lot of money for a city that is already broke. I’d rather see that being used to repave more roads and extend lanes, shoulders, ect. Next issue: leasing out the turnpike. This lame brain idea is terrible. Leasing the turnpike will lead to nothing but problems over the next 30 years. Whoever leases it (if it happens) will surely raise the tolls in order to recoup their money. Why does the state want to do this? So they can get their money now to fix problems. It’s kind of like taking a lump sum in the lottery as opposed to getting more money over course of many years. The state will lose money by doing this, and the people will pay more for tolls. Final issue: the fragmented government municipalities. This is probably the one thing that can be changed quickly and where you would see immediate results. The county needs to unite in order to become less wasteful. Currently each separate township has it’s own police and fire department and funds its own schools through their own taxes. If Allegheny county pulled all of these townships together, we could have an Allegheny County Police Dept and Fire Dept and all roads could be snow plowed equally and schools in need would get better financing ect. I have never seen a county so divided as this one, and it shows how behind the times they are.

Anyways, that’s enough of a rant for now. I believe all of these things are linked together. In my time here, it seems like it’s always ready to turn the corner, but just won’t. Factors like the local government are out of my control, but when they are ready to make a change, it can happen. Pittsburgh has plenty of good qualities, but honestly, they are not confined to just this city. People may say it has a lot of outdoor activities, but if you look at other cities, so do they. Others say the weather is bad, but if you make sure to get out on those nice days, you can get as much sun as you would if you lived in a lot of other places. Maybe not Florida or Arizona, but you will get a decent share. I think Pittsburgh can be a great city, but it just isn’t even close right now. It would take my lifetime to change, so I’ll chose to live somewhere else.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by musicmanjrm

Pittsburgh itself is a far better place to live than a lot of other rural areas, but when it's matched up to other major cities, it falls short. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of things that I like about living here, but they are things that can be found in a lot of other cities, such as restaurants, nightlife and just urban life in general. I feel that the negatives outweigh the positives, and that‘s why I plan on moving out. I’ll explain below. Also, I’ve lived here off and on during college and also for the past three and a half years. I always try to be objective with my observations and I try to be unbiased. I’ll do my best.

1) Lack of quality infrastructure. The roads were bad when I first came here around 2000. Since living here, I have noticed that they have started re-paving some of the roads, but in small stretches at a time. However, I do notice that when the roads are re-paved, they are done so in a haphazardly and sloppy manner so over the next several winters, there will most definitely be pot-holes. Until this city gets an outside contractor to pave the roads (anyone other than PennDot) , they will continue to have some of the worst roads in the nation. Somewhat related, here is an article showing how bad roads are in PA- rated second worst.
Keystone drama - Overdrive

One other note on the infrastructure. It’s time to rip down some of the old housing that they have here. There are some beautiful old homes here, but there are also the ones that look like they’ve been abandoned for at least a decade or two. There is potential for the city, but unfortunately the changes aren’t happening quickly enough. It seems like there’s a huge gap of time where not a lot of new housing went up, so most of your selection for homes (if you choose to live here) will be ancient. Like I said, this can be in the good way, but not always. The new houses and condos are few and will cost you more than you can earn in this area.

2) More on roads and public transportation. This city does not have a beltway. I’m not sure if it ever will. This means that most traffic is directed towards downtown, which creates an awful lot of congestion. The bad part about the public transportation is that it lacks any kind of global rail system. It has the “T” which only services the southern region, and that’s it. Just think if the rail system stretched from downtown through Oakland, Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, and out to Regent Square. Think about if it stretched north towards Ross or Bellevue. Think about how much traffic that would eliminate and how it would enable Pittsburgh to actually grow as a city. Well, that won’t happen in my lifetime unfortunately. Instead, the traffic continues to build somehow, even though we are a city that has either a stagnant or declining population. How do we expect to grow, if the traffic situation is this bad right now? What would happen if the population doubled? Just some rhetorical questions for you to chew on.

3) Pollution. Yes the steel mill days are over, but the reality is, the air quality here was just ranked the worst in the nation. It’s not something you hear about on the news, they only like to boast about the “Most Livable City” ranking that they received a few years ago (more on that next). The fact is, we have had the worst quality air for years now and CMU is doing research on the subject. Apparently it’s due to the coal power plants located west of the city. It’s the same coal power plants that you hear commercials about on the radio stating that the city needs them. Not sure if you’ve heard those, but believe it or not, there is propaganda out there. You can read some of the stories about it here or google “Pittsburgh worst air quality”. ABC News: The Most Polluted U.S. Cities

4) Terrible local news. Now I know many of you would say that local news in general is just bad. Well, it’s worse here. If you just watched the local news, you would never know about anything outside of Pittsburgh. You would have not heard about the terrible disasters in China or who won the NBA finals or any other significant event outside of Allegheny county. I would say that the news is 40% weather, 40 % Steelers, Penguins, Buccos, and 20% b.s. stories mostly relating to either the weather or the sports teams. There is no room for any national or world news. Also, if you’ve read the front page of the Post-Gazette paper, that’s mainly the news that you’re going to hear on the radio and tv stations. I’m not sure why the news is this bad. It may be because they are actually that self-centered, or it may be that it is a form of control; a way to keep people dumbed down and gung-ho about Pittsburgh. More on that below.

5) Intelligence level of the locals. Once again, many locals reading this may be upset by this, but it is true. If you’re reading this, you probably have at least half a brain to get on the internet and go to this website and thread. So I am most likely not referring to you. But yes, I do feel that this is a very uneducated region in our nation. I’ve experienced it in college and now that I’m out working. The brightest people I have met are not from this area. Coincidence? Maybe. But I don’t think so. Pittsburgh is doomed because it draws people from both West Virginia and Ohio, both of which have some of the least educated workers in the country. They spoke about this during the primary elections and you can find articles on this as well through Google. Here’s one (and yes, I am considering the source- but there pages where you can find the same info) Hillary wins "Predicted" race in "Whitest", "Least Educated" State - Eyes On Obama. Here’s another The Most (and Least) Educated States - MSN Encarta.
While there are some great schools in Pittsburgh, there are more schools in the city that are awful. This leads to children being taught incorrect English like saying “The room needs cleaned”, “The car needs washed”, ect. As well as a whole Pittsburghese language using yinz, red up, and nebby. Anyways, the people here don’t seem to enjoy much other than the Steelers/ Penguins and beer. It does get tiresome. I blame the local schools and the news for this general ignorance. On a positive note, the city does have some bright people, it just needs to find a way to keep them. More on that below.

6) Jobs and career opportunities. Yes, it’s true. Jobs are hard to come by in Pittsburgh. They exist, but they are severely limited. There are plenty of opportunities if you’d like to work for $10/hr or less (this includes working for Pitt), but when it comes to trying to support yourself, there is very little. The big companies are PNC, Highmark, UPMC. There are a bunch of companies that I can’t think of that are also large. You can check out the Post Gazette for “best places to work” to get an idea for yourself. If you like working in a cubical processing checks or medical records or if you‘re a really gung-ho sales person, Pittsburgh is for you. I’d say that if you’re into health care or accounting, you’ll be fine. Otherwise, it’s tough. That’s why most college graduates get the heck out of here after graduation. I’ll be doing the same shortly.

7) Corrupt local government and lack of unity between smaller municipalities. First there was a smoking ban. Then on the day it was to be enacted, it was ruled that Allegheny county did not have the authority to make that decision. So, no smoking ban. Then we have the casino. Through various starts and stops, it is currently being constructed on the North Shore. Will it help the city? Sure, by taking money from it’s own people to fund more government projects. I sure as hell won’t be going there. Then we have the brilliant idea to extend the “T” underwater to the North Shore. Now I’m all about extending the “T” as I’ve mentioned before, but how about to a more traveled area like Oakland? Not underwater to the sports stadiums when everyone uses the bridges anyways. The cost; almost half a billion dollars! That’s a lot of money for a city that is already broke. I’d rather see that being used to repave more roads and extend lanes, shoulders, ect. Next issue: leasing out the turnpike. This lame brain idea is terrible. Leasing the turnpike will lead to nothing but problems over the next 30 years. Whoever leases it (if it happens) will surely raise the tolls in order to recoup their money. Why does the state want to do this? So they can get their money now to fix problems. It’s kind of like taking a lump sum in the lottery as opposed to getting more money over course of many years. The state will lose money by doing this, and the people will pay more for tolls. Final issue: the fragmented government municipalities. This is probably the one thing that can be changed quickly and where you would see immediate results. The county needs to unite in order to become less wasteful. Currently each separate township has it’s own police and fire department and funds its own schools through their own taxes. If Allegheny county pulled all of these townships together, we could have an Allegheny County Police Dept and Fire Dept and all roads could be snow plowed equally and schools in need would get better financing ect. I have never seen a county so divided as this one, and it shows how behind the times they are.

Anyways, that’s enough of a rant for now. I believe all of these things are linked together. In my time here, it seems like it’s always ready to turn the corner, but just won’t. Factors like the local government are out of my control, but when they are ready to make a change, it can happen. Pittsburgh has plenty of good qualities, but honestly, they are not confined to just this city. People may say it has a lot of outdoor activities, but if you look at other cities, so do they. Others say the weather is bad, but if you make sure to get out on those nice days, you can get as much sun as you would if you lived in a lot of other places. Maybe not Florida or Arizona, but you will get a decent share. I think Pittsburgh can be a great city, but it just isn’t even close right now. It would take my lifetime to change, so I’ll chose to live somewhere else.

Very well said. I agree with all you wrote, both good and bad.
Now watch me get banned again........ LOL

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by londonbarcelona

Very well said. I agree with all you wrote, both good and bad.
Now watch me get banned again........ LOL

You are SO outta here!

Anyhow -- I really wish I could say it's just Pittsburgh, but I live in Oakland CA, and trust me -- we have many of the same problems here. I've lived on my little road for over 20 years... it's not been repaved since LONG before that. I had to complain to the city about the big ruts -- LONG DEEP RUTS -- not just potholes! -- TWICE.... and they patched. Only the really bad ones!

We have ebonics out here. With all the noise about leaving off the "to be" in sentences, out here all I hear is "He be, she be, we be". Out here there's a great curse word that is a triple threat -- noun, verb and adjective....and for lots of the highly uneducated pod taught masses -- they simnply can't speak with out using that word (mother-****er) several times in a sentence. (And let me tell you -- it's actually kinda funny!)

Pod education? No money to build new schools, or fix the schools they have, so they slap up "temporary buildings" and call them pods. The jokes on them -- I've yet to see temporary buildings come down... 20 years I've lived here.

I'm not saying we should just throw our hands up -- I'm just saying that there is no Nirvana out there. I'm also not saying that people should stay in Pittsburgh and fight to make it a better place -- get real. Most people aren't cut out for that. It's far more important to find your own place and go from there.

Hey -- I know for a fact I can't live in a rural farm type setting.... I find places like that creepy. Very "Hills Have Eyes"...

And after trying the Urban Pioneer thing -- frankly -- I still can't wait till I'm back in the 'burbs.

AS for sports.... can't stand them. (Except bowling, and that's more fopr the kitsch value) And yes -- we have that out here, too. (Niner's!! Morons...) But unfortunately, as long as there are men, there will be sports. I refuse to think that women like them really -- they are just brainwashed into it so they can be with their spouses.

[Katiana]

LOL, Tallysmom! Thanks for the comic relief!

I agree with you, there is no Nirvana. Colorado, 49th (or 48, 47 whatever depending on the source) in funding for public college education, etc. I also agree that it is not necessary to stay somewhere and make it better somewhere if it isn't your cup of tea. And I will add, so what if people make some observations about Pittsburgh that are less than positive? That is done on the other boards, too. Many state formums have threads such as "Best/worst town in (insert name of state here)", and the like.

As for my commentary about sports, when my nephew moved to Pittsburgh he said he thought Denver was bad about football until he moved to Pittsburgh. There is a much higher degree of football madness in the Burgh, which makes it harder for people who aren't into it. My family is consumed with gymnastics right now. Who is going to the Olympics? Most everyone else doesn't care.