Pittsburgh sounds like a dream come true... (Denver, Ashland: apartment, rent)

[Internet Superman]

If you really didn't understand how the state works, about the only thing I will say is that Pennsylvania is a Commonwealth State.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_(U.S._state)

Our government is ran by the people in Harrisburgh, by people that we elect to represent us in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The next step down is the county level, which the courts are ran by the county and the judge is elected by the residents of the county and we have a board of commissioners who are elected that represents us at that level.

We have a Sheriff, but all he does is runs the jail and transports prisoners.
They do not do highway patrol or law enforcement other then to serve papers and eviction notices.

The police is ran by the PA State Police and the local municipalities has their own city and boro police.

The towns and cities are ran by mayors and boards - who are usually corrupt and do things to benefit themselves and other rich people more than to benefit the local citizens. Middle class Americans. Everybody around Pittsburgh thinks that they are middle class - no matter how poor they are.

As far as jobs and work goes, your best bet is to live as close to your work as possible, or you might find that you will be traveling many hours per a day just to get to and from work - even though you might only be 10 or 20 miles away from your job.

We have something called Sales TAX, Allegheny County is 7% and most other places is 6% and that is on everything you buy except food and clothes. You even pay tax of fast food - so even that is not a accurate description of how the taxes works.

Your mortgage is only one small part of your entire budget. Most times a larger part of the budget is taken up by sewage and garbage rates, the rate for water, local taxes, property taxes, school taxes, maintenance and upkeep. You might spend several thousand dollars a year just to cut your grass and keep your yard and house looking nice, only to find out that you have to pay a couple hundred more to plow your driveway and keep your sidewalks clear of snow and ice in the wintertime.

Wanting to live in the best neighborhoods, means that you will have to have a income of around $400,000 a year to live in Sewickley Heights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewickl...,_Pennsylvania

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 981 people, 336 households, and 273 families residing in the borough. The population density was 133.9 people per square mile (51.7/km²). There were 355 housing units at an average density of 48.5/sq mi (18.7/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.35% White, 0.92% African American, 0.61% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.31% of the population.
There were 336 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.0% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.87.


Even then, you will be a new comer and will be looked down upon for many years until you prove to your neighbors that you can maintain the standard of living and the standards for your house and yard before they will accept you.

I live in the boonies and my nearest neighbor at one time was there for 20 years and was still considered the new guy on the block.

With your level of income and the amount of money you have saved, your best bet is to find something affordable and start from there. If you make a go of it and find that you wish to move to a better neighborhood and can afford it - then by all means go for it.

There is very few homeless people wandering the streets of Pittsburgh - for the simple reason it is too damn cold in the wintertime for anyone to be living out of doors. When the thermometer dips below freezing, even our pets have to be taken indoors - out of the cold.

Homeless people lives more easily in cities in the south and west where they can sleep where they may and not have to worry about freezing to death. As more and more jobs are lost, more and more people will find themselves homeless as they will not be able to pay their rent or mortgage and will find themselves out on the streets to fend for themselves.

Usually the public assistance will step in and find them affordable housing and give them assistance for food and living allowances. So the only real homeless people you will find is dope addicts who just don't care and doesn't mind not having a place to live - as long as they can get high.

[ctoocheck]

If you don't plan to become a diehard Steelers fan, don't bother moving to Pittsburgh. As others will tell you, this is no joke.

And other non-crazed-Steelers-fans will tell you they have lived in Pgh for years without having been beaten due to lack of team loyalty.

Let it be proclaimed! You do NOT have to be a die-hard Steelers fan to live in Pittsburgh.

Although it couldn't hurt ;-) It might be easier to find things to do, for example, if you are.

You just shouldn't think of coming here and remaining a Browns fan. Although I did read in the PG a bit ago about a group of Browns fans in Pgh who meet in a bar to cheer on their team in shameful secrecy.

[Tiger Beer]

As an original Michigan person...I have absolutely no problem renouncing any Detroit Lions ties!

I'd like to keep the Tiger and Pistons though (easy to keep I'm sure)...no BBALL in PGH, and Pirates aren't that great.

The Red Wings...hope I wouldn't have to give them up, particularly knowing the Penguins are popular.

Taking the Steelers over the Lions...no problem, I'd do that yesterday! (The Lions just suck THAT badly, and have forever!)

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by Internet Superman

If you really didn't understand how the state works, about the only thing I will say is that Pennsylvania is a Commonwealth State.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_(U.S._state)

Our government is ran by the people in Harrisburgh, by people that we elect to represent us in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The next step down is the county level, which the courts are ran by the county and the judge is elected by the residents of the county and we have a board of commissioners who are elected that represents us at that level.

We have a Sheriff, but all he does is runs the jail and transports prisoners.
They do not do highway patrol or law enforcement other then to serve papers and eviction notices.

The police is ran by the PA State Police and the local municipalities has their own city and boro police.

The towns and cities are ran by mayors and boards - who are usually corrupt and do things to benefit themselves and other rich people more than to benefit the local citizens. Middle class Americans. Everybody around Pittsburgh thinks that they are middle class - no matter how poor they are.

As far as jobs and work goes, your best bet is to live as close to your work as possible, or you might find that you will be traveling many hours per a day just to get to and from work - even though you might only be 10 or 20 miles away from your job.

We have something called Sales TAX, Allegheny County is 7% and most other places is 6% and that is on everything you buy except food and clothes. You even pay tax of fast food - so even that is not a accurate description of how the taxes works.

Your mortgage is only one small part of your entire budget. Most times a larger part of the budget is taken up by sewage and garbage rates, the rate for water, local taxes, property taxes, school taxes, maintenance and upkeep. You might spend several thousand dollars a year just to cut your grass and keep your yard and house looking nice, only to find out that you have to pay a couple hundred more to plow your driveway and keep your sidewalks clear of snow and ice in the wintertime.

Wanting to live in the best neighborhoods, means that you will have to have a income of around $400,000 a year to live in Sewickley Heights.

Sewickley Heights, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 981 people, 336 households, and 273 families residing in the borough. The population density was 133.9 people per square mile (51.7/km²). There were 355 housing units at an average density of 48.5/sq mi (18.7/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.35% White, 0.92% African American, 0.61% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.31% of the population.
There were 336 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.0% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.5% were non-families. 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.87.


Even then, you will be a new comer and will be looked down upon for many years until you prove to your neighbors that you can maintain the standard of living and the standards for your house and yard before they will accept you.

I live in the boonies and my nearest neighbor at one time was there for 20 years and was still considered the new guy on the block.

With your level of income and the amount of money you have saved, your best bet is to find something affordable and start from there. If you make a go of it and find that you wish to move to a better neighborhood and can afford it - then by all means go for it.

There is very few homeless people wandering the streets of Pittsburgh - for the simple reason it is too damn cold in the wintertime for anyone to be living out of doors. When the thermometer dips below freezing, even our pets have to be taken indoors - out of the cold.

Homeless people lives more easily in cities in the south and west where they can sleep where they may and not have to worry about freezing to death. As more and more jobs are lost, more and more people will find themselves homeless as they will not be able to pay their rent or mortgage and will find themselves out on the streets to fend for themselves.

Usually the public assistance will step in and find them affordable housing and give them assistance for food and living allowances. So the only real homeless people you will find is dope addicts who just don't care and doesn't mind not having a place to live - as long as they can get high.

While I'm pretty sick of combating the ignorance and misinformation around this forum, I've decided to dedicate my time here to wading through your awful grammar and questionable syntax and refuting as much of your B.S. as possible. I owe it to the people.


I'll start with the state government. ALL states is ran [sic] from their state capitals. It really doesn't matter that this is technically a commonwealth, as for all intents and purposes, it's the same as a state. Most states have sales tax. We're at least lucky enough not to have to pay taxes on groceries (food) or clothes. You don't need an income of 400k a year to live in a nice neighborhood here, probably not even in Sewickley Heights.


That's all I can handle for now. I'm sure there's more, but I just can't deal with it.

[ctoocheck]

Originally Posted by creepsinc

While I'm pretty sick of combating the ignorance and misinformation around this forum, I've decided to dedicate my time here to wading through your awful grammar and questionable syntax and refuting as much of your B.S. as possible. I owe it to the people.

A brave undertaking. You are to be commended.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by ctoocheck

A brave undertaking. You are to be commended.

Yes. I second this. I just skip right over any post by the author in question. My head starts to hurt too badly after a sentence or two, so my thanks for taking one for the team.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Any place that sounds like a "dream come true", any place at all, will be a disappointment to you if you actually move there and have to get into the "eat, work, sleep" routine.

First of all I want to say that I too am thinking about Pittsburgh for relocation and your answers to this OP along with my thread have been great for me as well.

Having said that I have to emphasize how true Katiana's statement is. I live in Portland OR. Right now it is a very popular place in which to move. People post on the Portland/Oregon forum talking about it being their "dream location." They ask for the moon as far as living conditions and expect it to exist. Some have visited here and have become enamoured of the beautiful scenery. They think this is their dream come true. But scenery does not pay the bills.

Portland has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Schools in the city are sub-par. Housing is expensive. Homeless people are everywhere. It takes money to live here comfortably. Some people move here and are successful; many are not. There is a steady stream of people moving away after finding that this was not the place they thought it would be.

There is a definite downside to every place. Anyone moving anywhere should visit first with their eyes wide open and shouldn't expect Nirvana no matter where they move.

[hinsey86]

Originally Posted by ctoocheck

And other non-crazed-Steelers-fans will tell you they have lived in Pgh for years without having been beaten due to lack of team loyalty.

Let it be proclaimed! You do NOT have to be a die-hard Steelers fan to live in Pittsburgh.

Although it couldn't hurt ;-) It might be easier to find things to do, for example, if you are.

You just shouldn't think of coming here and remaining a Browns fan. Although I did read in the PG a bit ago about a group of Browns fans in Pgh who meet in a bar to cheer on their team in shameful secrecy.

Well I am a Ravens fan who wears my Ravens garb and displays my Ravens license plate proudly. I have been accepted and loved here. (But my coworkers did present me with a "sympathy" cake following last years AFC championships game. )

I have grown to love the area--more than I ever thought.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by Minervah

First of all I want to say that I too am thinking about Pittsburgh for relocation and your answers to this OP along with my thread have been great for me as well.

Having said that I have to emphasize how true Katiana's statement is. I live in Portland OR. Right now it is a very popular place in which to move. People post on the Portland/Oregon forum talking about it being their "dream location." They ask for the moon as far as living conditions and expect it to exists. Some have visited here and have become enamoured of the beautiful scenery. They think this is their dream come true. But scenery does not pay the bills.

But Portland has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Schools in the city are sub-par. Housing is expensive. Homeless people are everywhere. It takes money to live here comfortably. Some people move here and are successful; many are not. There is a steady stream of people moving away after finding that this was not the place they thought it would be.

There is a definite downside to every place. Anyone moving anywhere should visit first with their eyes wide open and shouldn't expect Nirvana no matter where they move.

Thank you for saying that. On the Denver forum, lots of people are looking for their "dream location" as well. They are often surprised to hear that Denver has some of the same problems as their present location. I must say, the Denver people tend to be more upfront about it than on this Pittsburgh forum. Someone will post that they want a "slower pace of life", as if we are all hippies out there, and we set them straight right away. People are all the time wanting to live "off the grid". Ain't gonna happen! That kind of thing.

[jimmyev]

Originally Posted by llawrence

1. Property taxes. Houses aren't as cheap as they appear. Taxes are very high and tend to vary a lot. Before thinking about an area, investigate the property taxes. This page is a big help. It links to property taxes in all areas.
Allegheny County Municipality Map

You still need to do research. For example, Mt. Lebanon is poised for a massive property tax increase in the next few years.

If you're moving from Texas, you might want to compare the cost of property tax and homeowner's insurance - property tax is higher in PA but insurance is significantly less. For example, my insurance in Texas was 2.1% of the value of my home; in PA it's 0.6%. This generally offset the difference in property tax (2.1% in Texas versus 3.4% in PA).