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I live in the Research Triangle and Pittsburgh has consistently been an interest of mine.
I keep getting recommended Philly over it though.
The biggest con I see of the area is the weather. I'd have to lean to adjust.
For IT, are there good job options? I heard there had been layoffs recently in the city which was a concern.
I have 3 years experience and will have a CCNA cert next year. I know it wont have as many jobs as Philly, but results only still show many jobs.
Seems like the best CoL city I've almost every seen. Must be because the more people are dieing there then being born or moving there. Which makes me wonder why? the weather?
How is biking? I've been told its terrible and dangerous. Are there good places to gravel, road, and mtb?
Im guessing its not a "bike yourself to work" city though. Not like Philly where you can live without a car.
does the city have a political leaning? Do more progressive people feel welcome? someone one some online subreddit said there was a bunch of racists, but I assume they ran into the wrong person?
Okay the weather. That has to put a damper on biking? What do people do during the winter? I hear its just clouds for months.
So to say what I am looking in a city. I have been considering Denver as an option. Pgh interests me because of the CoL. The city really seems to have a uniqueness to it as well. I hear the people are nice and down to earth?
I guess it comes down to if Im willing to pay up for being out west or if I prefer to live somewhere like Pgh and take trips during the winter.
I mostly spend time outdoors. I also like triva an beer of course haha. I do like a bit of snow. I also like access to mountains, but I know PA mountains are defintiley different then CO. Im not a huge skiier or snow boarder, but I also hear its not that great in PA
So it really comes down to CoL and also liking a smaller "big" city feel.
Seems like the best CoL city I've almost every seen. Must be because the more people are dieing there then being born or moving there. Which makes me wonder why? the weather?
How is biking? I've been told its terrible and dangerous. Are there good places to gravel, road, and mtb?
Im guessing its not a "bike yourself to work" city though. Not like Philly where you can live without a car.
does the city have a political leaning? Do more progressive people feel welcome? someone one some online subreddit said there was a bunch of racists, but I assume they ran into the wrong person?
Okay the weather. That has to put a damper on biking? What do people do during the winter? I hear its just clouds for months.
30 years of population loss will make a real estate market cheaper than places with 30 years of growth.
Great Allegheny Passage. Bike lanes throughout the city. Look at Bike Pittsburgh, they will have bike maps available.
The city hasnt elected a Republican as mayor since the 30s and there are no Republicans on City Council. Democrats have a majority on County Council, have the County Executive's office, and the County Controller's office. The East End neigborhoods are the Peoples Republic of Pittsburgh - theyre overwhelmingly progressive.
Yes, its notoriously cloudy here. In winter people binge drink, watch football, and complain about how terribly the city plows the streets.
I was in Durham before I moved here, but that's now too long ago for me to compare the two areas except that I like Pittsburgh weather better. The winters aren't bad here and I was miserable in North Carolina during spring (pollen) and summer (heat, humidity). I walk a lot in the winter because it's better than getting all sweaty walking in the summer.
I don't know anything about IT jobs, but I really like living in the East End. Lots of people do bike around this part of town. There is some infrastructure for it, but it looks too exposed for me.
I live in the Research Triangle and Pittsburgh has consistently been an interest of mine.
I keep getting recommended Philly over it though.
The biggest con I see of the area is the weather. I'd have to lean to adjust.
For IT, are there good job options? I heard there had been layoffs recently in the city which was a concern.
I have 3 years experience and will have a CCNA cert next year. I know it wont have as many jobs as Philly, but results only still show many jobs.
Seems like the best CoL city I've almost every seen. Must be because the more people are dieing there then being born or moving there. Which makes me wonder why? the weather?
How is biking? I've been told its terrible and dangerous. Are there good places to gravel, road, and mtb?
Im guessing its not a "bike yourself to work" city though. Not like Philly where you can live without a car.
does the city have a political leaning? Do more progressive people feel welcome? someone one some online subreddit said there was a bunch of racists, but I assume they ran into the wrong person?
Okay the weather. That has to put a damper on biking? What do people do during the winter? I hear its just clouds for months.
So to say what I am looking in a city. I have been considering Denver as an option. Pgh interests me because of the CoL. The city really seems to have a uniqueness to it as well. I hear the people are nice and down to earth?
I guess it comes down to if Im willing to pay up for being out west or if I prefer to live somewhere like Pgh and take trips during the winter.
I mostly spend time outdoors. I also like triva an beer of course haha. I do like a bit of snow. I also like access to mountains, but I know PA mountains are defintiley different then CO. Im not a huge skiier or snow boarder, but I also hear its not that great in PA
So it really comes down to CoL and also liking a smaller "big" city feel.
Cycling is pretty good in Pittsburgh once you figure out good bike routes. I can get around safely all over this city, but I have been riding around here since the 80's.
The best skiing in our area is Seven Springs. Not a lot of vertical, but they do a lot with the mountain they have. This is opening weekend and they have plenty of snow for it. Many people drive from DC to ski Seven Springs, so it isn't horrible.
Winters aren't a big deal in Pittsburgh. When it snows it is usually gone in a few days as it rains a lot here. Commuting on a bike is nice however for the most part. Just need to have proper clothing.
I wouldn't put any stock in the other forum. They hate everyone that doesn't think like them and are truly horrible people over there. You can't get much uglier unless you run across a clansmen, but to be honest, they might be worse because they try to hide their hate. At least with a clansman you can see the hate.
Philly is a much larger city with a lot more crime and super bad areas compared to little Pittsburgh. The food would be superior in Philly by a lot, but you learn to cook here. I would say Philly is more aggressive than here, but it is just a much larger city, so that kind of goes hand in hand. The weather is better in Philly overall. I prefer Pittsburgh, but there are parts of Philly that are nicer than anything we have. Pittsburgh was nicer about 7 years ago, but it is still pretty good. Just not as vibrant and safe as it was then. If you live and work in the East End and make pretty good money your life would probably be quite good here however. Downtown Pittsburgh isn't too great now with the homeless and so many druggies roaming around. It sort of lost it professional feel 7 years ago when people went nuts in most cities. Pittsburgh isn't recovering from that very well, but that is because we are smaller and the East End is a pretty big tech hub.
Oh one can certainly live car-free here. I'm thinking Squirrel Hill or the Southside. Heck, even in Dormont or Beechview. You need strong legs though. There are hills everywhere but that's what makes this city one of the best.
Seems like the best CoL city I've almost every seen. Must be because the more people are dieing there then being born or moving there. Which makes me wonder why? the weather?
CoL is still relatively low, but a lot, lot higher when I first moved here. It used to be possible to find a habitable house in the city 15 years ago in the range of $35,000. My first home was only a bit over $50,000. Now around $100,000 is about the cheapest you can get something that isn't a gut job, and those houses come with various tradeoffs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brenton93
How is biking? I've been told its terrible and dangerous. Are there good places to gravel, road, and mtb?
Im guessing its not a "bike yourself to work" city though. Not like Philly where you can live without a car.
I've been mostly a bike commuter the entire time I have lived in Pittsburgh. The warm months at least - take the bus when the weather is bad or in the winter. I'm not really that hardcore.
Pittsburgh has decent bike infrastructure now, and it's constantly getting better. The real issue comes down to the topography.
To broadly simplify, there are two mostly flat areas in Pittsburgh. One is the neighborhoods along the rivers (Downtown, Strip District, Lawrenceville, lower North Side, South Side Flats, etc. One is the plateau most of the East End is on (Bloomfield, Friendship, East Liberty, Highland Park, Shadyside, Oakland, etc. Biking is a breeze if you stick to one of these two areas, but if you have to commute say from the East End to Downtown you're going to have to deal with a pretty substantial hill on the way back home. I've been dealing with a commute like this since 2014, and it's rough. Though if you mountain bike and the like, you'd probably like the exercise.
I don't do off-road biking much. There are a number of riverfront trails though, including a very convenient one on the north bank of the Allegheny which goes right into Downtown. Frick Park has a number of mountain bike trails as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brenton93
does the city have a political leaning? Do more progressive people feel welcome? someone one some online subreddit said there was a bunch of racists, but I assume they ran into the wrong person?
Pittsburgh is heavily left-leaning within the city proper, outside of a handful of suburban-style neighborhoods in the south of the city, which are more politically mixed. I live in one of the more conservative parts of the East End, and only about a third of the people in my neighborhood are Trumpers.
I will say, having grown up in New England, open in-your-face racism is far more common here, especially among old-timers. I've absolutely had people say things to me which made my hair curl. That said, there's this weird dynamic with it in the city. Like I remember when I first moved here, I was in a laundromat, listening to a contractor complain to his friend that a black employee called him racist for calling him the "n word" - but his defense was that his son was half-black so he was allowed to use it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brenton93
Okay the weather. That has to put a damper on biking? What do people do during the winter? I hear its just clouds for months.
Pretty much. Pittsburgh winters are pretty piddly I think. The average winter highs are in the high 30s, so we don't really ever get continuous snow pack. It's also very rare that we get big accumulations of snow. The norm is maybe it snows 1-3 inches 1-3 times a week, and then it all melts pretty quickly. Since 2010, it's only snowed more than six inches four times. Warm-ish spells in the 40s (or even 50s) and rain are pretty common in the winter as well. And it's pretty constantly overcast, unless we have a cold snap in the 20s or something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brenton93
I hear the people are nice and down to earth?
Friendlier than along the Eastern Seaboard, but not like Midwesterners who will just strike up casual conversations with you without asking.
People from Pittsburgh tend to be loud talkers, and very blunt. There's no artifice, which is refreshing, but can lead to them accidentally saying some offensive things at times. Though chances are if you're in the tech industry 90% of the people you interact with will be other transplants.
I will say, having grown up in New England, open in-your-face racism is far more common here, especially among old-timers. I've absolutely had people say things to me which made my hair curl.
Would you concede that you, perhaps, have a skewed perspective on this because (I am led to believe) your New England experience was more bougie / suburban, whereas your Pittsburgh experience is more urban. For example, I am given to understand, at least from popular culture, that "white working class" Boston is quite racist?
Would you concede that you, perhaps, have a skewed perspective on this because (I am led to believe) your New England experience was more bougie / suburban, whereas your Pittsburgh experience is more urban. For example, I am given to understand, at least from popular culture, that "white working class" Boston is quite racist?
Maybe? I mean, my family is only a generation from working class, and from the Philadelphia area, and I do have to say that I really didn't hear that sort of stuff from them growing up either.
But yeah, talking about race in the New England suburbs was much more euphemistic...lots of discussion about "those people." Open racism was frowned upon. Like my hometown was pretty Republican at the time, but our mayor lost re-election because he openly said he didn't want affordable housing "because the Puerto Ricans will move in."
Social segregation though, 100%. Whereas as I intimated, in Pittsburgh it seems that the more openly racist things you say, the less likely you are to live in a socially segregated manner.
does the city have a political leaning? Do more progressive people feel welcome? someone one some online subreddit said there was a bunch of racists, but I assume they ran into the wrong person?
Quote:
Originally Posted by tyovan4
The East End neigborhoods are the Peoples Republic of Pittsburgh
That answer your question about racists?
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