Pittsburgh seems fancy! Am I wrong? (Green Tree, Oliver: house, salary, living)

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by Burghgirl17

Have you ever heard of a little neighborhood called Bloomfield???

Have you ever eaten in a little neighborhood called Bloomfield??? What's Italian for "the worst food I've ever eaten that was called lasagne"?

Originally Posted by Burghgirl17

I have better meals in Bloomfield than I have in Little Italy, I have to say. But to be fair, I've only had a meal in Little Italy once.

It shows. Little Italy hardly exists in NY anymore, either as a concept or a neighborhood.
Moderator cut: please calm down

[Blackbeauty212]

Lets see this makes what 3 OP's in the last month looking to move out of NYC and considering the Burgh as a fit...

Interesting

[airwave09]

A bit off topic, but these endless comparisons to NYC make me crazy. Especially when people exaggerate them even futher making it appear as if we're in some podunk town with our claim to fame being that we have a cluster of chain restaurants with ample parking.

For the love of all that is holy can we stop making Pittsburgh appear like Pittsburg, Kansas in these rediculous comparisons.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by escilade18

Depending on the job, you can expect a significant paycut. I personally know someone who moved here from NYC, did housekeeping at a hospital and went from making $35,000 a year plus benefits to $20,000 a year with no benefits. That is nearly a 50% paycut but then again it depends on the job you have as well (for example if you work for the PAT you will actually make more here than you would in NYC.)

From Salary.com:

Employers in Pittsburgh, PA typically pay 18.4% less than employers in New York, NY

The cost of living in Pittsburgh, PA is 43.7% lower than in New York, NY.

These together would imply that while the salary for a given job in Pittsburgh will be less than in New York, you're amount of disposable income will be greater despite that smaller salary.

I know that it may be tempting to extrapolate personal experience into broad-based statements about a large job market, but clearly that doesn't make any sense. You can typically find very detailed salary details about a lot of jobs at Glassdoor.com.

Originally Posted by escilade18

Things that Pittsburgh lacks in comparison to NYC would be: A selection of ethnic restaurants, NYC has Little Italy, we have Olive Garden, NYC has China Town, we have Wok and Roll.

Only part of this statement is true. Obviously, Pittsburgh isn't the culinary Mecca that is New York, but it does have many indie restaurants serving a broad variety of cuisines. You can read user reviews and blogs on local restaurants on Urbanspoon Pittsburgh. I eat out for nearly every meal and have never had a shortage of places to go.

Originally Posted by escilade18

Also, there is far less diversity here than in NYC.

True.

Originally Posted by escilade18

Lately, Pittsburgh has gone through a transformation of a being a city of immigrants that it was

This isn't something that has happened "lately" at all. Pittsburgh immigration boom consisted mainly of European immigrants in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, who came to work in the mills. These immigrants (my grandparents) haven't really vanished, they've just assimilated into mainstream culture.

Originally Posted by escilade18

to now attracting little immigration.

Gone with the steel industry. Immigration in Pittsburgh today is mostly driven by the technology, healthcare, and the universities.

Originally Posted by escilade18

Public transit as it sits now isn't terrible but with the mayor continuing to cut the routes, I wouldn't give up your car.

Not that it's really relevant to the OP, but the Mayor has nothing to do with cutting routes. It's a long and convoluted story, about which some posters have written at length, but the Mayor has nothing to do with the of downsizing PAT.

Public transportation is better in some areas than others. If a transit commute is something that you value, you can choose neighborhoods where that is viable. I agree that a car is definitely helpful, even if you don't often use it.

Originally Posted by escilade18

Job opportunities: NYC of course has more opportunities of course but you are in a Metro of approximately 20 million people while Pittsburgh being about 1/10 of that size there is much less competition.

This is actually a tough call. You'd need some data that showed applications per opening or job seekers per opening to make this call. Obviously NYC has some extremely lucrative positions (advertising, high finance, etc.), but the job market can also be very competitive in Pittsburgh (as some posters have mentioned).

Originally Posted by escilade18

Also, jobs around here tend to be drawn more toward the medical field or working at one of the many universities. There are some finance opportunities but they are small when compared to wall street.

Healthcare, Education, Energy, Financial Services, and Technology are big sectors in Pittsburgh. Here's a List of Corporations in Pittsburgh, from Wikipedia.

Originally Posted by escilade18

I suggest visiting for about a week at least before moving here because it's not for everyone

I agree.

[KingKrab]

I hate when I have to read some negative person bashing Pittsburgh as if it is some chain filled podunk town with no real Italian Restaurants or Chinese restaurants and then compare it to a world class city such as NYC. Move to Reading, Pa and then try to live, and Pittsburgh seems like heaven. But I try to make the best of what I have, and still find nice restaurants to like.

I would do anything to have my options I had in Squirrel Hill. I can't even find Dim Sum here. To compare Pittsburgh to NYC is just stupid. Yet to not find and enjoy what Pittsburgh has is also just stupid. The person saying all there is are Olive Gardens must not know the actual city of Pittsburgh or be one of those whinny college kids that think nothing is good enough till they get a big boy job and move to fashionable NYC in a little 5x10 box paying 75% of their paycheck living pay to pay to be somewhere "cool".

Most of America is generica, and Generica is the last I think of when I think of Pittsburgh. If you can't see that or get that then you obviously haven't got out much.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Have you ever eaten in a little neighborhood called Bloomfield??? What's Italian for "the worst food I've ever eaten that was called lasagne"?

Who cares about the Italian food in Bloomfield? There are Italian restaurants throughout the entire metro area that would give anything in NYC a run for their money. So what if they aren't concentrated in one neighborhood, it makes it easier to get to them anyway.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by ML North

I know that it may be tempting to extrapolate personal experience into broad-based statements about a large job market, but clearly that doesn't make any sense. You can typically find very detailed salary details about a lot of jobs at Glassdoor.com.

This is why I suggested that they contact an employer about a job they're not interested in and flat out ask how much they want to pay. This is the best way to judge how you are going to be compensated because in my experience sites like salary.com and glassdoor aren't even close to reality.

If my fiance and I made 18% less than the NYC average for the jobs we're currently doing right now we'd be ballin' like rappers. Try 45% less....

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by airwave09

A bit off topic, but these endless comparisons to NYC make me crazy. Especially when people exaggerate them even futher making it appear as if we're in some podunk town with our claim to fame being that we have a cluster of chain restaurants with ample parking.

For the love of all that is holy can we stop making Pittsburgh appear like Pittsburg, Kansas in these rediculous comparisons.

So you don't like PittsburgH, PA being called podunk, but you're OK with name-calling for Pittsburg, Kansas?

The city has a rich cultural heritage from many Southern and Eastern European mine workers who settled in and around Pittsburg and Southeastern Kansas. It is situated in a once productive coal field. It now relies heavily on education and government-related employment.

Sounds a lot like PittsburgH, PA!

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by Katiana

So you don't like PittsburgH, PA being called podunk, but you're OK with name-calling for Pittsburg, Kansas?

The city has a rich cultural heritage from many Southern and Eastern European mine workers who settled in and around Pittsburg and Southeastern Kansas. It is situated in a once productive coal field. It now relies heavily on education and government-related employment.

Sounds a lot like PittsburgH, PA!

[ML North]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

This is why I suggested that they contact an employer about a job they're not interested in and flat out ask how much they want to pay.

Sure, this could be a workable solution. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it, but I'm sure some people would.

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

This is the best way to judge how you are going to be compensated because in my experience sites like salary.com and glassdoor aren't even close to reality.

If my fiance and I made 18% less than the NYC average for the jobs we're currently doing right now we'd be ballin' like rappers. Try 45% less....

And I interviewed for jobs in NY (small engineering firm) and Connecticut (General Dynamics) that offered smaller salaries than several companies in Pittsburgh. Of course that isn't at all relevant, because it doesn't make any sense to extrapolate from the personal experiences of 1, 2, or even 10 people (especially across multiple sectors), for a lot of reasons (Probability distribution, Confirmation bias, etc.).