What's Pittsburgh really like? (people, atmosphere, etc...) (Philadelphia, Oakland: best city, real estate)

[BrianTH]

By the way, here is a nice review on the overall unemployment situation in Pittsburgh as compared to the rest of the country:

Null Space: Up is down

A brief excerpt:

7.9% unemployment. Not great. But a far cry from 10.0 nationally. . . . By my count this now makes it 38 continuous months that the Pittsburgh region's unemployment rate has been below the nations. . . . Over the previous 12 months, the local unemployment rate has averaged 1.7 percentage points below the nation.

There is more analysis, including an explanation of how inflows of job-seekers are likely making Pittsburgh's job numbers look a little worse--and despite that they remain a lot better than the nation as a whole.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

bethany12 really has to stop going to the unemployment office to try to meet people.

You owe me a keyboard. Mine is covered with coffee. I tried to rep you, but it tells me I have to spread it around. Thanks for the laugh!

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

bethany12 really has to stop going to the unemployment office to try to meet people.

Originally Posted by Tinare

You owe me a keyboard. Mine is covered with coffee. I tried to rep you, but it tells me I have to spread it around. Thanks for the laugh!

I burst out laughing too! Bethany must hang with the wrong crowd. I don't know anyone who is unemployed.

[sahara_gem]

Hello everyone! Thank you for your responses.



We've lived before in Philadelphia for a few years and know the state a little.
As for jobs, we're looking for something in the medical field. How is the job market for Surgical Technologists, if anyone else happens to be in that field? I know that Pittsburgh has a good number of hospitals.


Thanks
Ruth & Jen

[AaronPGH]

Medical is probably the best career you could have if you want to live in Pittsburgh. UPMC controls this city.

[LeavingFL4Seasons]

Seconded...this is a great place for someone with those skills, sahara. Medical and technology drive the city's economy at this point. My mother is a nurse. She makes the same amount of money she did down South, but we have a much lower cost of living.

We have big city amenities without horrendous traffic and high violent crime.

I moved to Pittsburgh in Jan 09'. I lived in Nashville for 9 months before moving. I am from Sarasota, Florida...where I lived 24 of my 26 years.

I absolutely love Pittsburgh. I live in the Southside Flats. This is the most beautiful city I've seen, and I have been to Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington DC, NYC, Nashville, Asheville, New Orleans...

I live 3 miles from the center of Downtown, and yet feel safe enough that I leave my door unlocked when I walk to bar for beer or the gas station for snacks.

I am the only unemployed person I know, and it is due to health issues.

It's true that there are a lot of born-and-bred people here, but there are also a lot of transplants. The city is very diverse economically, there are poor, middle-class, and wealthy residents. The quality of living for the poor is much higher here than in Nashville or Florida. And the middle-class is much bigger than in Florida. I know of at least 8 people who had had houses foreclosed on as we were moving out of FL. I never plan on going back to the Southeast.

Nashville is generic sprawl, the people have character but the city does not. And in Central-to-Southern FL you are pretty much either wealthy or poor. Pittsburgh has more character and culture than anywhere I've seen, other than New York City and Seattle, and I certainly can't afford either of those cities...and even if I could, I love the compact nature and beautiful Victorian architecture here in Pittsburgh.

Also, the people here are extremely friendly. If one is outgoing and friendly themselves, they will find the locals extremely receptive, in my experience. Quite different from Florida, where people find overt friendliness odd and suspicious.

The seasons are full and beautiful. Despite the reputation, the winters here are not extreme. Our average January highs are in the mid 30s with lows in the low 20s - very common temps for the Northeast. We get cold snaps and snow more often than NYC, but I find the snow beautiful...and it doesn't pile up the way it does in much of the upper Midwest. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Michigan, Chicago, Upstate New York, and New England are all colder than Pittsburgh. The summer weather is very warm, but not intensely hot by any means. I chuckle when the locals complain that it's "SO HOT" - and it's 84 degrees. To me 92 degrees with a heat index of 115 and a UV of 11+ was the norm in Nashville and FL in summer. Spring and Autumn are gorgeous here. I find it very inspiring.

If you live in the city, nothing is very far away. The road system is a bit confusing, due to the fact that the city has such steep topography, and that it was founded long before motor vehicles existed. But at least the roads are in decent shape. Some may not think so, but compared to Nashville they sure are. The city is accustomed to handling snowfall and ice, and so all the main roads are kept well-salted during the heart of winter.

There are spectacular views everywhere, vistas of valleys and hills covered in Victorian buildings. It looks like an old European city. Many artists have fallen in love with the city for that reason. I would say Pittsburgh is certainly an "artsy" town. There is also a lot of local music of all types...especially hard rock bands, and high-culture symphony/classical venues. There are a lot of museums. There are some good local high schools, and some bad, I don't know a lot about that as I am 26 and have no kids. But I do know that a couple of the suburban public high schools are among the best in the nation.

There are murals on walls of beautiful old buildings all over certain neighborhoods, like here in the South Side. Also sculptures, parks, bike paths next to the rivers. In fact, we were voted one of the best biking and walking cities in the US. I think this is a great place to live for people of all ages and creeds. Single people, families, young, middle-aged, and elderly...all can find a niche here. We are also consistently voted as one of the most livable cities in the United States, we were number 1 for Forbes list last year, and that was not the first time.

One of the most unfortunate things is that there is still a pervasive negative attitude among many locals. The Steel Collapse effected the city's morale deeply, and it is still recovering. Our reputation is also very slowly recovering. I get infuriated when I hear people trash talk our city. And when if/when you move here, don't be surprised if many locals give you a shocked look and ask "WHY??!" Unfortunately, many people who have lived their entire lives here simply do not realize the good things they have. I know several natives who moved to the Sun-Belt, and have now moved back. They have told me they thought poorly of Pittsburgh, because all they ever heard was that almost anywhere else is better...and that they didn't realize until they moved away what a great place Pittsburgh really is.

The transplants are some of Pittsburgh's best cheerleaders. We are the one's who realize what an amazing gem this city is. Come visit, learn about the history of this fair little metropolis, take in it's beauty. I hope you like it and decide to move! With a career in medicine, you could enjoy some of the very best of the city.

Shadyside, Squirrell Hill, Oakland, Friendship, Southside Flats, Lawrenceville, Bridgeville, these are all areas I think you may enjoy...

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Chichappens

living here 2 yrs and know a lot of people and so does my Boyfriend and his family........ I know not one person who has been laid off but, know many who have left jobs and found better in the recession......... fact statistics and Obama both say,Pittsburgh out shined every sate during the recession in both the job market and real estate market...

Just wondering do you live in Pittsburgh, Pa or in Pittsburg, Ca...I know the economy in Cali is BAD!

Well, I know a person who has been laid off in Pittsburgh, my brother. In fact, a huge number of people in his company were laid off over a period of several months. And guess what business he was in? He worked for a human resources consulting agency. In other words, the company he worked for did HR for other businesses. So the people doing the hiring have been laid off b/c there's not enough people looking to hire.

Pittsburgh does not have the best job market in the country statistically, Bismark, ND does.

Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas

[szug-bot]

i moved back here to take advantage of cheaper living (with MORE SPACE - AHHHH, the freedom to move without knocking over stuff!) from a much more expensive metro area. i have been unemployed/underemployed for months.

what have i done!??! there is nothing here in my field - nothing.*

i cant do labor anymore - it kills my back and frankly, im too old (early 40s), but come march, that might be my only alternative (unemployment expires in may!).

i cant even get a dinky job delivering baked goods. i interviewed this week for it. did i have 'sweet tooth/chocolate addict' written on my face????

* edit - it occurred to me that THAT is why i left 10 years ago!!!! yea, i aint too smart, lol. (well, family's all here)

[sahara_gem]

Thank you so much LeavingFL4Seasons! I loved your post; it's exactly what I wanted to know.
We're actually planning to visit Pittsburgh in early February.
It might not be in the most ideal conditions for a road trip, but we really wanted to know how the winter weather is.
Looking at a lot of photos of the city, it truly does have a gritty, yet charming look about it.
Very excited to see this in person, as it reminds me of Philly.
Hopefully, there are a lot of dog parks! Once again, thanks for the reply.








Yes, I love smiley-faces.

[BrianTH]

LeavingFL4Seasons,

I also want to thank you for a great post (and I agree we transplants can have a useful perspective on exactly what a great city this can be).