Any one move to Pitts from So.Cali? (Pittsburgh, Upper St. Clair: neighborhoods, school districts)

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by SoCalZone

I'm pretty sure the "top ten" lists take into account the viability of the city and what it has to offer- especially families.

Agree with all of your post except the above. These "top ten" lists use whatever criteria they feel like. I have studied statistics and read "how to lie with statistics". We don't even know who made up this particular top ten list. The criteria have to do with their agenda, whatever it is.

[RachelleP]

I really appreciate all the opinions I am getting.I do realize that my family will have a tough transitional period no matter where we end up.We love our current city,it is safe community oriented and beautiful.The only thing forcing us out is the home prices.So we are really hoping to find a place that is very comparable minus the horrific real state prices.Another big concern of our is restarting our small business in Pittsburgh.We are in the custom window covering business and work with interior designers.Also,I did discover Pittsburgh from the"list"but I have put hours and hours of research into many cities but for some reason,I keep coming back to Pittsburgh....maybe it is meant to be :-)Thanks again for the info....the more the better :-)

[claremarie]

I don't think people stay in Pittsburgh generation after generation, because there's nowhere else to go.

Pittsburgh has a strange tendency to produce generation after generation who stay there because it's all they know, even though the job market has been stagnant for decades and the weather is gloomy. I agree with the poster who connected this bizarre passive inertia to the city's blue-collar roots. Too many folks are waiting for Someone Else -- the government, the unions, the diocese, whatever -- to fix what is broken.
Those who keep touting Pittsburgh's "affordability" should keep in mind that there is a reason for the low housing costs.

[JoeP]

I think that this needs to be put into perspective. When industry was thriving, the region was thriving and people literally came from all over the world to work in the mills etc in and around Pittsburgh. This last for generations. It only collapsed a generation ago. Most who were affected were well beyond training for other jobs in traditional terms. These people were in their 40s and 50s.

But it's done and buried. Sure the region is skewed older because of it, but the effects of it were significant (think Katrina in impact). The 35-45 years olds that left in 85 also took their children (or children that they would have eventually have had in Pittsburgh).


So now the region appears to be more stagnant than it is because of a reverse birth-death ratio. Most other cities (except for the really booming ones) grow due to births and immigration, not domestic migration.

In domestic migration Pittsburgh is likely no worse than more Northeastern cities including Boston, Philly or even NYC.

[claremarie]

In domestic migration Pittsburgh is likely no worse than more Northeastern cities including Boston, Philly or even NYC.

I think you're mistaken there. Very few people move to Pittsburgh from other cities, which is why Pgh has one of the highest percentages of "people living here who were born here" and why Pgh has consistently failed to reverse its downward population trend. As an example, there were nearly 800 students in my North Hills HS class in the late 1970s -- today there are about 400. By contrast, Boston, Philadelphia and NYC have thriving economies and manage to attract plenty of newcomers, particularly those who graduated from one of the local universities and decided to stay. Those cities also have much higher rates of immigration from other countries.
People haven't come from "all over the world" to Pittsburgh for at least 50 years. When I was a child, many of my friends had grandparents from "the old country" who spoke with accents, but that trend had long ended by my parents' generation.

[guylocke]

I would like to add my two cents. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and have visited a lot of other cities.

To raise children, Pittsburgh is WONDERFUL. The schools in Pennsylvania are top quality and gangs etc that you see in SoCal, well to be honest, they simply don't exist here except for some majorly isolated areas.

In fact here is a funny story.

A large mall I live near called Pittsburgh Mills opened about two years ago and a new place to Pittsburgh came called "Luckystrike Lanes"

My boyfriend and I went out for the opening just to check it out and read the rules and dress code etc.

Everything made sense except one rule was "no blue or red color schemes"

My boyfriend and I looked at each other and were completely dumbfounded. "What does THIS mean????"

We asked the manager and he laughed. He said, "this is a company from California, ignore that rule, trust me, you don't have to worry about it!"

Isn't that funny? Gang colors I guess.

A little bit more to defend the city. It has had a really hard transition from large industy, like steel, to a more service oriented city like healthcare and acadamia, but its finally paying off. For two years straight now Pittsburgh has had a respectable surplus and the city is DEFINITELY moving in a very positive direction after being on the rocks for a decade or so. It's clean, safe, and colorful and you won't regret bringing a family here. I have lived downtown for five years as I go to school at Duquesne and would be happy to recommend some great school districts. We are one of (if not the ONLY) place in the country where there is not a teacher draught because everyone wants to teach here!

Also, it's a wild misconception that Pittsburgh is losing all this population and the last one left turn out the lights. It's population is actually fairly stable right now, the job market is softening, and it's not much different than any other northeast cities (most losing population or remaining stable). Pennsylvania itself had population growth last year and the perception that "hoardes" of young people are leaving simply isn't true anymore, I can tell you from personal experience. It WAS true a decade ago, but it's just not true anymore. The southside and strip district are absolutely THRIVING. I have friends who go out every night and would rather be dead than leave Pittsburgh. Our new mayor has really pushed a lot of new things to keep the youth.

I've also read statistics that our older generation is dying off (there are a lot of older people here too) but the population remains fairly stable, losing less and less each year. Well if more and more old people are dying, why isn't the population still declining sharply? Well it's because of people like you and me. People like you coming here to promote family and young kids like me staying

[JoeP]

Net domestic migration in 2005:

Boston: -50,025

Philly: -14,926

NYC: -264,770

Pgh: -11,544

DC: -24,872

By the way, this isn't a one year dip for these cities.

People haven't come from "all over the world" to Pittsburgh for at least 50 years. When I was a child, many of my friends had grandparents from "the old country" who spoke with accents, but that trend had long ended by my parents' generation.

...I said that it was in the past.....

[guylocke]

btw, in 2006 Pittsburgh loss less than 10,000 people. And "people coming from all over the world" simply isn't that true ANYWHERE now.

People were escaping a fractured Europe and even Asia at that time. For the most part, those days are over. Europeans and Asians aren't flocking to American for being suppressed, or killed, or because there are far more opportunities here.

Europe and Asia are doing pretty good now, ya know? LOL.

So those days are in the past, PERIOD, not just Pittsburgh.

[claremarie]

And "people coming from all over the world" simply isn't that true ANYWHERE now.

People were escaping a fractured Europe and even Asia at that time. For the most part, those days are over. Europeans and Asians aren't flocking to American for being suppressed, or killed, or because there are far more opportunities here.

Europe and Asia are doing pretty good now, ya know? LOL.

So those days are in the past, PERIOD, not just Pittsburgh.

You need to get out more. Ever been to the DC area? Immigration, both legal and illegal, is a fact of life here. There is a shopping center in Falls Church with 150+ stores and restaurants, ALL Vietnamese. There are huge sections of Annandale with Korean stores, restaurants, and businesses. Nearly every construction and landscape worker is Hispanic here. Cabdrivers are from Pakistan and Africa. Dry cleaners are Korean. Indians run hotels and convenience stores. The children at our neighborhood bus stop come from China, India, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan. Students in Fairfax county schools speak dozens of languages.

In fact, Pittsburgh is the only reasonably large city we've ever visited in which most low-skilled and entry level jobs are overwhelmingly held by native-born whites and blacks.

[guylocke]

most of those immigrants are asian. It's not the same as a European background like Pittsburgh. And it has nothing to do with discrimination. Asian culture is extremely hard to be assimilated into. In Pittsburgh there are clearly German, Polish, Italian, etc cities in which everything oozes its respective culture.

To be honest, most Americans would have no idea how to distinquish a Chinese neighborhood from a Taiwanese neighborhood from a Korean one. We relate to our closer relatives, Europeans. And those European immigration flocks are over. But now this convo is off track for our lovely visitor needing advice. haha