What brought you back to Pittsburgh? (Philadelphia, York: crime rate, attorneys, home)

[BrianTH]

I don't know if I count, since I didn't grow up in Pittsburgh. And although for the last six years I had been living elsewhere part time while we flirted with moving, my wife and now son stayed in Pittsburgh during that time.

But for what it is worth, we recently decided to settle in Pittsburgh permanently. Basically that was because my wife was doing great in her job, and we found a dream house in a neighborhood we love (Regent Square)--a house we couldn't come close to affording anywhere else we were thinking about. In general, it feels to us like Pittsburgh (at least our parts of Pittsburgh) are really on the rise, and we are excited to be a part of that.

[pghcleak]

I think it counts even more that you didn't grow up in Pittsburgh.

I get that feeling that a lot of Pittsburgh is really on the rise as well. It has it's fair share of problems, of course, but nothing that other cities (especially in this part of the country) aren't experiencing.

[veejayy]

Originally Posted by vdecapio

Although I can't speak for SC, here is what I can say about Jacksonville, FL and why I will eventually move back to the northeast to either Pittsburgh, NJ, or Toronto. Keep in mind, Jacksonville is the part of Florida that has a southern feel....almost like South Georgia.

1. Education. Too much fun and sun growing up leaves little time for these people to pick up a book. There is about 15% of the population that has held a fishing pole more than a book.

2. The southern accent. They don't like my Pittsburgh-Jersey mixed accent and I don't like their southern one so at least were even.

3. So slow. So slow.

4. Food sucks. Good italian food and bakeries are non-existent. And the thing is living in their little bubble, the people here don't even know that the food selection sucks.

5. Old School ultra conservative mentality. The municipal government acts like its the 19th century and they seem to like it that way.

6. Spring and Fall. These don't really happen so you miss the beauty of fall and spring.

7. Public Transportation. Most southern cities haven't caught the wave that not everyone wants to get into a car for everything. This also is a complaint I have with Pittsburgh for that matter, but at least there are some neighborhoods where I would only need a car to go to work in the Burgh. Here even the somewhat walkable neighborhoods don't have grocery stores in them.

8. History and Ethnicity. In Jacksonville there are only a few neighborhoods where the homes are historical. Everything else is in a gated community and built in the last 15 years. NO character. And no one seems to keep their ethnic heritage. In the Burgh, if you're Italian everybody knows. If you're polish everybody knows. And you're proud of it. Here I don't meet anybody who has pride in who they are.

So, I can't speak for the rest of the south.....but I am not going to even go near another city that is even somewhat southern. Like I said, from here it is either central or south Florida or back to the northeast.

I am not a native of Pgh. but lived there for 5 years. I loved its beauty and the community feel of being a small city (compared to the big east coast cities) and the great natural beauty surrounding it. You found out Fla is not the answer and I agree.

The best of both worlds would be Fla or Pheonix for 4 months during the winter. Pgh in the spring, summer and fall is hard to beat.

I live in the great state of New Jersey now but do go back a couple times a year to ride the incline, go to the strip, Permantis and get that killer view when you come through the Ft. Pitt tunnels!

You have a gem of a city there.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by italianbluesboy

You call Carolinians stupid, but your post is full of grammer such as, "there is ghettos" and "to dumb", as well as terrible punctuation. This is probably a poor (and ironic) presentation when calling another state "stupid."

Yo, Spell-Boy, it's grammAr.

[Katarina Witt]

And no one seems to keep their ethnic heritage. In the Burgh, if you're Italian everybody knows. If you're polish everybody knows. And you're proud of it. Here I don't meet anybody who has pride in who they are.

That's the way it is here in CO, too, to a point. I actually find it refreshing to not have to constantly have this conversation of "what nationality (sic) are you?" I am old enough to remember parents not wanting their kids to date people of certain ethnic groups and I don't think that was positive. There is another thread on this Pittsburgh forum about Italians and just how "mixed" can you be before you are no longer Italian. So it's not like it used to be in Pgh, either.

[vdecapio]

Originally Posted by Katiana

That's the way it is here in CO, too, to a point. I actually find it refreshing to not have to constantly have this conversation of "what nationality (sic) are you?" I am old enough to remember parents not wanting their kids to date people of certain ethnic groups and I don't think that was positive. There is another thread on this Pittsburgh forum about Italians and just how "mixed" can you be before you are no longer Italian. So it's not like it used to be in Pgh, either.

Yeah, its not good if your parents force you to only marry Italians or to have Italian friends.......but I do like how traditions are passed on through the families be they filipino, italian, brazilian, polish whatever. Its better than the blandness of a non-ethnicized america.

I do agree that the ethnicities should be visible and mixed. Italians should marry Puerto Ricans.....Brazilians should marry Filipinos and the traditions of both families should be brought together....but not forgotten.

[vdecapio]

Originally Posted by veejayy

I am not a native of Pgh. but lived there for 5 years. I loved its beauty and the community feel of being a small city (compared to the big east coast cities) and the great natural beauty surrounding it. You found out Fla is not the answer and I agree.

The best of both worlds would be Fla or Pheonix for 4 months during the winter. Pgh in the spring, summer and fall is hard to beat.

I live in the great state of New Jersey now but do go back a couple times a year to ride the incline, go to the strip, Permantis and get that killer view when you come through the Ft. Pitt tunnels!

You have a gem of a city there.

Wouldn't it be great if there were Snowbird companies. These companies would have offices in the north from May-September and in Florida from October-April. That way you wouldn't have to be retired to be a snowbird.

[pitt_transplant]

I came here to try diff schools. And as soon as I am done with that..Im out of here. Pittsburgh is ok...But not great.

[Wantingtostartover]

Originally Posted by steelers01055

Well, i moved from pittsburgh about a year ago.. im comming back in june. I moved to south carolina, outside of charleston. I cant wait to get back to pennsylvania. I never really appriciated home much untill i moved, and since i moved i understand why pittsburgh really is a great place. The reasons i am moving back is well i dont like south carolina at all, theres not really one thing good i can say about it. People down here are slow, and very stupid.. not to be rude but sc ranked 49th out of 50 for education. It is a very poor state, there is a lot of crime.. and crime down here is everywere not just in bad parts of the city, driving is a nightmare down here... i think they would give a dog a drivers license in south carolina. Nobody uses turn signals, people dont yeild when getting on the highways, people get in the fast lane and crawl, theres at least 10 accidents a day, wages are very low down here, cost of living is higher than it is in pa, taxes are sky high down here, there is ghettos everywere here, have to be carefull not to make a wrong turn... and thats anywere not just close to the city, People still live in shacks down here, there is no social divides... you will have a 2 million dollar mansion, and a 20 thousand dollar trailer sitting right next to eachother. The reason i moved here was for the warm weather, beaches, and palm trees. The weather is nice, but i will take the snow over all the problems down here anyday. Every friend i have down here is from somewere up north..either pa, oh, indiana, iowa, ect ect... I talk to a few people that are from here, but most of them are just to dumb and it drives me crazy. also there is no sence of community down here. Moving out of pa was the biggest mistake of my life, and i cant wait to come home.

Wow i hope I don't feel the same way you do once I leave pgh. but a lot of your gripes sound pretty bad i wish you well

[DoulaKaren]

I went to Pitt for undergrad and then to Boston for grad school and worked for 5 years thereafter. My husband, also a Pitt alum, and I couldn't stand Boston because it was a very difficult place to settle in as a transplant, it's taking your life in your hands to drive there, the Patriots/Sox fans are about the worst of the worst, and the cost of living was entirely too high. As soon as I became pregnant in 2004 we made plans to return to Pennsylvania. We did not want to set down further roots somewhere we didn't like, and as a born-and-bred Pennsylvanian, I wanted my kids born in PA!