Who wouldn't do well in Pittsburgh?!? (Philadelphia, York: rentals, condo, how much)

[nightwishfan]

Is this city too good to be true? I've never come across a city that seems to have so much to offer with very few negative aspects (if any). I'm new to this section of the city-data boards, but it sure seems like most of you who live in Pittsburgh really adore it!

So who wouldn't do well by moving to the area? Are there any common career paths there that are nonexistent or severely depressed? I've read on the boards that there isn't a slew of racial diversity, but what about religious and general lifestyle diversity? And what's up with all these awesome looking 100+ year old homes selling for under $20,000 (I've seen quite a few for under $10,000 as well), many of which seem to only be in need of cosmetic repair rather than structural/plumbing/etc? I realize that some of them are in sketchier neighborhoods, but some of them are in nicer areas (according to threads I've seen, and google streetview).

I'm looking forward to learning more about your city. I've been wanting to move out of NM again for some time, but have had a hard time deciding on a place to move to! Pittsburgh is definitely up on my list now.

[TechieTransplant]

Originally Posted by nightwishfan

Is this city too good to be true? I've never come across a city that seems to have so much to offer with very few negative aspects (if any). I'm new to this section of the city-data boards, but it sure seems like most of you who live in Pittsburgh really adore it!

So who wouldn't do well by moving to the area?

Who wouldn't do well? People who are closed minded, and have no desire to reside in a progressive city.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by nightwishfan

So who wouldn't do well by moving to the area? Are there any common career paths there that are nonexistent or severely depressed? I've read on the boards that there isn't a slew of racial diversity, but what about religious and general lifestyle diversity? And what's up with all these awesome looking 100+ year old homes selling for under $20,000 (I've seen quite a few for under $10,000 as well), many of which seem to only be in need of cosmetic repair rather than structural/plumbing/etc? I realize that some of them are in sketchier neighborhoods, but some of them are in nicer areas (according to threads I've seen, and google streetview).

The common career paths are education and health care. There is a lot of talk about robotics but not a lot of jobs, outside of academia.

What kind of religious diversity are you looking for? The Catholic church is dominant, a lot of the protestants are Presbyterian. There is a small Jewish community. I had people ask me "What's that?" when I said I was a Lutheran, back in my youth.

The housing you would have to evaluate on a case by case basis. Of course, many of these older homes need a lot of structural repairs. That is the case in any city.

[phillytochi]

I'm also interested in Pittsburgh. I currently live in Chicago, but have always been a Steelers fan. I lived in Philly area for 3 years and loved it. One day while visiting craigslist I checked out rentals in Pittsburgh. I couldn't believe how much $600 gets you in that town!

Someone mentioned there is a lack of racial diversity? Can someone elaborate on that? Can anyone compare the cultural life here compared to Chicago or Philadelphia. I'd kinda like to get a picture of what it's like there.

[Katarina Witt]

Look up the stats on City-Data. Pgh is a very white city. Most of the suburbs are upwards of 90+% white.

[nightwishfan]

Originally Posted by Katiana

The common career paths are education and health care. There is a lot of talk about robotics but not a lot of jobs, outside of academia.

What kind of religious diversity are you looking for? The Catholic church is dominant, a lot of the protestants are Presbyterian. There is a small Jewish community. I had people ask me "What's that?" when I said I was a Lutheran, back in my youth.

The housing you would have to evaluate on a case by case basis. Of course, many of these older homes need a lot of structural repairs. That is the case in any city.

My current path career wise is elementary education, but my main goal is historical preservation, so I'll be seeking out grad school down the line. I've read on the boards that teaching jobs are pretty competitive in the area but I haven't researched elsewhere (such as the dept. of ed) so I'm not sure if that's factual or not.

As to religious diversity, personally I'm paganish. While it would certainly be nice to know people with similar views/beliefs, that's not a must, but always a good thing if people don't freak out if tarot and the like are mentioned (It's rarely me mentioning these things, most often it'll be my 6 or 7 yr old). We currently live in a very conservative (mostly baptist) community in the mountains. The people are really nice here, but there was a period of about a year where they were somewhat wary/weren't huge on the idea of their kids playing with my kids sort of thing (thanks to a former roommate blathering to the whole town about our loosely held beliefs). These are good people here though, once they get to know you they are certainly kind even if they don't understand/condone where you're coming from religion wise. A large Catholic population is usually cool, most of the Catholics I know (including many family members) are pretty open to the mystic in life, even if they don't have a personal interest. Most of the traditional protestants are pretty open minded as well. I myself spent many years with the Episcopal church and found the ideas and outlooks of it's members to be very diverse and progressive.

[claremarie]

Teaching jobs are very hard to come by in the Pittsburgh area. You can read previous threads to get more information on that point. Pittsburgh is indeed extremely white, especially in the suburbs. (There is a substantial black population in the city itself.) There are very few Asians or Hispanics, especially as compared with most major metro areas. A very large percentage of the population was born in PA, so it can be hard to find people from, say, Texas, let alone another country.
People are pretty friendly and down to earth. Although there are pockets of so-called "progressive" younger folks in certain city neighborhoods, you'll find that most suburban residents are more conservative -- they will be far more likely to be in church on Sunday morning than hanging out in a coffee shop reading the New York Times.
If you suffer from seasonal affective disorder, and need to see the sun on a regular basis, you'll be very depressed in Pittsburgh. If you have absolutely no interest in professional sports, you might find it difficult during football season. If you can't deal with rain and dampness, you will be miserable.
However, if you're really into historic preservation, you'll have lots of old buildings to look at. And maybe live in. Housing is incredibly cheap here (though property taxes are high).

[dugdogmaster]

Originally Posted by nightwishfan

As to religious diversity, personally I'm paganish. While it would certainly be nice to know people with similar views/beliefs, that's not a must, but always a good thing if people don't freak out if tarot and the like are mentioned

There's a store in the Oakland neighborhood that caters to your religion, and other alternative ones.

[wordzgirl]

Teaching jobs, especially in elementary education, are nearly impossible to land unless you've got some serious connections. My husband interviewed at one district where they were interviewing 80 people a day for two weeks for two positions. Since he wasn't interested in being a substitute for the rest of his career, we moved to SC about a year ago.

I miss Pittsburgh and the people; however, not the weather. I see the weather today in the 'burgh is going to be in the 30s. It's going to be 69 and sunny here. HOWEVER, I'm hoping the Chargers are so numb from the cold in Pittsburgh that the Steelers will trample them tomorrow.

[nightwishfan]

Oddly enough it feels wrong when it is sunny in winter months, I love rainy, overcast days. I don't think Pittsburgh gets as much snow as we do, from what I've read so far at least. We currently have about 2 1/2 feet of snow accumulated in the yard. A couple of weeks ago it dropped to a range of negative 6-15 degrees in the area, depending on location, and it was still sunny as hell. Just looked out the window, bright blue sky, and it's currently 31 degrees.

The lack of education jobs might not be too much of a deterrent as I'm still working towards my degree, so I'd probably finish it out there if I decide to move to Pittsburgh, and I'd be fine with subbing while working towards my masters in Historical Preservation (though I still have not looked to see if any of local universities offer what I need, there are only about 30 schools in the USA that do, so commuting might be needed). I currently work as an educational assistant and the school secretary at a charter school, so at least the administrative side of my job could carry over to a non-educational admin job while finishing school.

I grew up in Albuquerque which doesn't really have a ton of big time sporting events (pretty much just college basketball, baseball, and recently a hockey team), so while I don't have a ton of experience with being a sports fan I've always enjoyed going to the live games I've had the opportunity to attend. I've never enjoyed watching sports on tv, but watching in person is fun.

Racial diversity isn't much of a concern for me, It sounds like the few times people have run into what they call racism in the area is actually just ignorance from lack of exposure. I myself am white and while I've grown up in a somewhat diverse area (about one part white-non hispanic, one part white-hispanic, 1/2 a part native american, 1/4 part asian, 1/4 part black, or there abouts), there is a lot more racial tension in Albuquerque where those numbers come from, than my current mostly white community.

I wonder if the high taxes play a part in why some of these homes are being sold really cheap, when there isn't a ton of major repair needed on them. Have you heard of anyone needing to sell their home because the taxes were just getting to be too much?