Are people still leaving Pittsburgh? (Penn: sales, property taxes, move to)

[Katiana]

Sorry. I like to crunch numbers. I used to do it to relieve boredom at my daughters' gymnastics meets. I'd fiddle around with the scores. Wierd, no?

[Cory045]

Pittsburgh is still in transition. Allegheny County has the oldest average age for a county in the United States. As companies that are devoted to engineering, technology, medical, and finance move in the manufacturing blue collar jobs are going. Pittsburgh has great upside in that it has two great universities in Duquesne and Pitt. Pitt is one of the best med schools in the country. The problem with being any kind of doctor is that malpractice insurance is through the roof because there is no cap on the amount of money one can sue for. The transition will probably take at least ten more years. Housing prices are a lot cheaper than in cities comparable to Pittsburgh. When I refer to Pittsburgh I am in general talking about Allegheny County. Most likely you will live in the suburbs which is great considering there are great ones in Upper Saint Clair, North Hills, Bethel Park, as well as Mount Lebanon. Fox Chapel would be the richest town around Pittsburgh (in terms of average salary per capita). I am pretty sure it ranked as the 73rd wealthiest town in the country. Upper Saint Clair is not far behind with houses just as nice. Almost all of these houses are newly built as housing plans went up left and right. If one commutes to the city be advised that Pittsburgh is the HARDEST city to get used to in terms of traveling. There is a lot of congestion and construction projects begin just as others are completed. Because of the natural terrain of Pittsburgh it will be confusing and be sure that you will get lost without a GPS. The actual city is finally seeing itself being revitalized by new sports new arenas going up that bring restaurants and shopping with it. The new arena for the penguins will be completed soon and the project is not just the arena itself but also to revitalize the community around it. As for education, if one lives in the city of Pittsburgh I would recommend a private school such as Central Catholic for High School. There are prepatory schools for those who can afford those outside of the city, most notably Shadyside Academy and Kiski Prep. If one lives in one of the suburbs listed above though, those schools are excellent as they have a lot of money to spend on the schools. Overall Pittsburgh is still in transition but in ten years it will be climbing its way up.

[LiveinPA]

The new arena for the penguins will be completed soon and the project is not just the arena itself but also to revitalize the community around it.

Just like the other new arenas revitalized those areas? -_-

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by LiveinPA

Just like the other new arenas revitalized those areas? -_-

I think you can say that PNC Park has helped a lot of businesses in the immediate area. Look at all the new bars/restaurants/hotels that have gone up in recent years. If only the team was a winner, it would be great.

Development around the Civic Arena never happened, hard to say if it will happen now.

[LiveinPA]

How much would a new $225 million arena for the Penguins contribute to Pittsburgh's economy?

Experts say the answer is next to nothing. "The benefits are minuscule, if they exist at all," said Rob Baade, an economics professor at Lake Forest College in Illinois, who specializes in the business of professional sports.

"Relying on sport as an economic development tool doesn't work. New stadiums and arenas are for the benefit of owners and players, and fans who want to keep the team in the city."

Arena seen as unlikely benefit

I think a lot of people are fans of the teams so they want a new stadium/arena, that's fine. But the idea that it will create some sort of economic revival is not realistic and should not be pursued at taxpayer expense.

[scrapp]

Originally Posted by Cory045

Pittsburgh has great upside in that it has two great universities in Duquesne and Pitt.

CMU. You forgot CMU.

[Hotlanta2]

Originally Posted by scrapp

CMU. You forgot CMU.

Carnegie Mellon University is rated number 22 on US News & World Reports list. That's something this city needs to tout more. For a Tier 1 school, 22 is very high.

[simetime]

Originally Posted by highway29south

Pittsburgh has some of the oldest population in the country. I know because my husband works for the Dept of Aging and it's his job to know those kinds of stats. We are only slightly behind Florida and it's argued that in summer, we surpass Florida in elderly population. If you want to confirm this and not just take my word for it, contact the Allegheny County Dept of Aging.

you are absolutely correct! Allegheny has the nations oldest population next to Dade county in Florida.

[simetime]

Hopes, it is not that strange. If you talk to some people who have left for whatever reason and than return mainly b/c of family matters and not b/c they really wanted to come back on their own accord

[simetime]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

But I don't think this is correct as a statement of fact. On the first part, it is true we currently have a disproportionate number of elderly people, but it doesn't carry through all down the distribution: it is a bump specifically in a certain age range dating back to the pre-steel bust days. On the second part, younger families are no longer leaving Pittsburgh at a disproportionate rate. That is definitely something that happened in the past, but not so much anymore.



I just covered population, and "generally unpleasant weather" is a statement of opinion, not fact. As for air pollution, the air quality is actually average or better in most parts of the area, but much worse than average in a couple parts of the area. With respect to taxes, it depends on your definitions: property tax rates are relatively high, but the property tax basis is relatively low. Overall, when you look at total state and local taxes as a percentage of income, Pittsburgh ends up being about average.

Generally, I have no problem with distinguishing facts from opinions. But I think all sides of all these debates are sometimes a little less than careful about the facts.

The people who look at the taxes as being too high are not making enough and the people who don't worry about them do