Pittsburgh weather (earthquakes, living, safety)

[sealerpal]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Are you serious? Is the weather that bad? I thought the weather up north was wonderful. Short summers so you dont stay hot for long then the falls are beautiful with highs of 60s and lows of 40s, not cold enough for heat or a heavy jacket. Winters are mild with temperatures in the 20s and sometimes teens. Rarely gets bitter cold. Then spring is wonderful with temperatures a few degrees cooler than falls. Whats so bad about rain? Keeps your skin nice and soft. One reason im not really interested in the midwest, its too dry.

Then by all means, NAH come on up! Nobody's stopping you. I think I hear Oil City calling your name!!!!

[sealerpal]

NAH, if you are still in Florida and basing your interpretation of our weather here on "averages" that are available on weather websites, then you are in for a big surprise. Claremarie and I aren't trying to discourage you. We're just telling you what it's like here from a first-person perspective.

There's plenty of wonderful things about Western PA, but the weather isn't one of them. In fact, I don't know a single, solitary person who doesn't think the weather here is atrocious.

It's simply not something that archived data and averages on websites can give you a feel for. You need to spend about six months here to get the full effect.

[Need_affordable_home]

Can your weather be any worse than south Florida?

10 months of miserable heat, cant be outside for long without getting physically ill from heat exhaustion.

long periods of rainy and dry seasons. Rainy seasons can rain everyday for weeks.

Oh and you have hurricanes to deal with. Ive been thru a few of them.


I probably am alot more optimistic about your weather than you are. Your summers dont last long and rarely get to 90, thats great for me. You say your "winters" last from October to May. That does not fit my definition of winter.

But besides weather isnt everything. Your city offers alot that south Florida doesnt and you can actually get a nice house for $50k to $100k, something you need to be rich in south FL!

[madera]

Originally Posted by sealerpal

I've been reading alot of posts here about Pittsburgh and it's struggles. In Particular, making the city attractive to fresh transplants and businesses.

Lots of posts here have talked about how much Pittsburgh has cleaned itself up over the years, community re-development, different ideas like casinos, new stadiums and so on. Yet it seems like people are doing all this good and still nobody wants to come here. Is it the low-paying jobs? If so, the fact that our region's cost of living is so incredibly low should offset that problem. Then what is is?

Well perhaps it's the weather. I know we can't do anything about it, but is it so crazy to think that's what's keeping people from moving to Pittsburgh? Locals like to compare our weather to Seattle. I don't think that's right. Sure, Seattle gets alot of rain, but they don't get the drastic temp swings and pressure gradients that we get here. Let's face it, the weather here really gets to your bones. We have a brief period in the summer when it's comfortable, but aside from that the weather here is wild, constantly changing from one extreme to the next, and completely unpredictable. For almost anyone from another region this climate would be a horrendous shock to the system.

Perhaps when people seriously consider Pittsburgh, they take a look at a year's worth of weather data and say "forget that". Mabey if we tried to somehow market our wacky weather in a positive light, it would improve things. Just a thought.

The winter weather really is bleak, dreary and depressing. Spring is nice and it is very green in Pittsburgh. Having said that, the overall look of Pittsburgh is dreary and run down. Have you ever been to other cities in the US, such as San Francisco, Austin, Miami, Santa Fe, or Phoenix ? They are not grim and old looking like Pittsburgh. As for the cost of living being low, that is all relative when the salaries are also correspondingly low. It seems that people from Pittsburgh think it is terrific here, but folks from "outside" the 'Burgh (so called) have another point of view because they have seen other places and have a different take on things. Pittsburgh has lots of positives, but even today's Post Gazette ran a big section on employment in the region and overall it was not too optimistic. A casino being built will not create good paying jobs. And the transit system is busted, too. Even JetBlue is cancelling its PIT to Boston flights because there is not enough passenger traffic. And is it true that PIT is actually no longer an international airport because no carriers fly directly overseas from here ? It is hard to attract people to dreary winter weather, low salaries. There must be lots of good paying jobs and good mass transit and creative bold thinking. I don't see those things here in great supply. Too bad.

[Drover]

What determines if an aiport is an "international" airport is if there is a Customs office at the airport. A lot of airports that do not have international passenger flights are still deemed international airports because they have a Customs office there to process incoming and outgoing international freight.

[madera]

Dreary cold grey winter weather and low salaries are not going to entice people to move here. The cost of living is not low if you are making a very low salary. It's all relative. When given a choice between Pittsburgh and Santa Fe or Phoenix or Austin, I think most folks would not choose Pittsburgh.
We need lots of good paying jobs, good mass transit, upgraded infrastructure, and bold creative and visionary thinking. Don't see much of that here. Too bad.

[sealerpal]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Can your weather be any worse than south Florida?

10 months of miserable heat, cant be outside for long without getting physically ill from heat exhaustion.

long periods of rainy and dry seasons. Rainy seasons can rain everyday for weeks.

Oh and you have hurricanes to deal with. Ive been thru a few of them.


I probably am alot more optimistic about your weather than you are. Your summers dont last long and rarely get to 90, thats great for me. You say your "winters" last from October to May. That does not fit my definition of winter.

But besides weather isnt everything. Your city offers alot that south Florida doesnt and you can actually get a nice house for $50k to $100k, something you need to be rich in south FL!

NAH, South Florida SUCKS! Trust me, I'm not debating you on that one. However I'm worried you are trading one extreme for another..in more ways than one. Have you considered Northwestern SC? Mountains, low cost of living, virtually hurricane-proof, relatively mild winters with some snow but not nearly as much as PA. There are plenty of other choices. You seem very sensitive to persistent sunshine, high cost of living, and rich elitists in South Florida. You will have to contend with persistent cloud cover, low paying jobs, and poverty in Oil City. I understand your situation (work from home, etc) but
believe me certain factors will "get to you" in a big way after a while.

My cousin bought a nice home in Surfside Beach, SC for 150k. That's on the beach...I would think the piedmont and high country regions of the state would probably offer even better deals. There's alot of "good country" out there...Just don't put all your eggs in one basket!

[sealerpal]

Originally Posted by madera

Dreary cold grey winter weather and low salaries are not going to entice people to move here. The cost of living is not low if you are making a very low salary. It's all relative. When given a choice between Pittsburgh and Santa Fe or Phoenix or Austin, I think most folks would not choose Pittsburgh.
We need lots of good paying jobs, good mass transit, upgraded infrastructure, and bold creative and visionary thinking. Don't see much of that here. Too bad.

Pittsburgh is not, and will never be a jet-setting, bustling, big city. It's a small city tucked away in the mountains with a relatively small-town feel. Some people who live there like to pretend they're from New York by driving like idiots, being confrontational jerks just because they're "from the city", etc. Their numbers are few however. The city has changed...slowly, and will continue to change at the same rate, mostly in a positive direction with some exceptions. It doesn't even compare to Austin or Santa Fe. 30 minutes of online research should clear that up for anyone who can read and has finished
kindergarten. This place is old and down-home. It's divided by people who love it and will never leave, and people who want to walk away and never step foot within it's borders again. I will say this....There is no other city like Pittsburgh. In good ways as well as bad....it is truly unique. As for the weather, it's fun to complain about to out-of-towners and watch their jaws drop. That's about all you can do about it....besides write a letter to God.

[subdivisions]

Originally Posted by madera

Dreary cold grey winter weather and low salaries are not going to entice people to move here. The cost of living is not low if you are making a very low salary. It's all relative. When given a choice between Pittsburgh and Santa Fe or Phoenix or Austin, I think most folks would not choose Pittsburgh.
We need lots of good paying jobs, good mass transit, upgraded infrastructure, and bold creative and visionary thinking. Don't see much of that here. Too bad.

I think it depends on the person. Having been to all of the places you mentioned, I would actually choose Pittsburgh. Seriously.

Santa Fe (while admittedly the nicest place on your list) is expensive, touristy, and I doubt there are more jobs there than Pittsburgh. Phoenix is beset by urban sprawl, illegal immigration, bad drivers, skyrocketing home prices, and remember that 120 degrees in the summer is usually considered "bad weather" also. Austin is a nice city, but unfortunately it's in the middle of Texas.

[ontheroad]

Well, it was beautiful yesterday and is promising today in Pittsburgh. And I lived 63 miles north of Santa Fe and it did very little for me except excite my painting fingers!