For those who left PGH looking for greener pastures... (Pittsburgh: rental, chapel)

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by Hopes

It really depends on each family's specific financial situation and career. I quickly researched Seattle and discovered that the average for my husband's profession is only 10k higher there. He makes significantly more than our average here. No idea how much he would make out there.

The biggest hindrance is the housing costs. Our house is paid off here. If we sold it to buy there, we'd need a mortgage even if we put all of the money we got for our house as a down payment. So we'd be taking on a mortgage without a significant enough salary increase to justify the mortgage payment. On the flip side, my small business would be more in demand and more profitable in Seattle than Pittsburgh, simply because there's a larger denser population that enjoys independent businesses more than here in Pittsburgh.

It's very unlikely that we will move to the PNW because real estate is just super expensive. You can't compare the houses people are buying on TV to your house in a top school district. Those houses aren't necessarily in a top district. If you're considering the Carolinas, the school system is crap compared to here, especially compared to Fox Chapel.

Off the top of my head, Pittsburgh is probably more expensive than its peer cities, Cincy, Cleveland, Columbus and Detroit. Not sure of Indy, Buffalo or Louisville. Seattle and Portland are probably a step up (not sure what I mean by that but most people probably think they are a little bigger/nicer than the burgh) from the burgh. So, I understand the housing being more expensive.

When comparing new/newer construction with Pittsburgh the difference is huge. In other cities, mainly Southern, you can get a house that is pretty nice with granite counters for around 200,000. Here that house is probably 450,000. I have no idea about schools.

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by Hopes

If you're considering the Carolinas, the school system is crap compared to here, especially compared to Fox Chapel.

This is dead wrong and at best the education system in PA is about average or middle of the pack when compared to other states. North Carolina is very comparable to PA in terms of education quality and most of the state by state rankings I have seen show the two states to be very comparable. Pittsburgh is not the only place with good schools in the U.S. and the public schools in Cary (a suburb of Raleigh) compare very well with Fox Chapel. I know the U.S. News and World Report list is controversial, but it at least provides something for comparison. I have included a link to the list below and on the list they PA 25 and NC 26 respectively when compared to the other states.

How States Compare in the 2013 Best High Schools Rankings - US News and World Report

[captainmidnight]

I am 28 and was born and raised in Pittsburgh. My wife was born in Georgia and lived there until she was five. Her parents are from Western PA and moved down there due to job situations and then they moved back to this area.

I have never lived anywhere else. But I have visited every state on the eastern coast and Toronto/Niagara Falls and Dominican Republic. I haven't traveled over the Atlantic or further west than Sandusky Ohio

My wife has traveled more, including some midwest states, California, Texas, Mexico and Hawaii.

We have a family with young children so we are not traveling much now. A big trip for us right now is to Erie. However when the kids are older and have moved on, I am hoping my wife and I can see more of the USA. I am itching to go out West. Hopefully I'll be retired by then

[goodgirl49]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

At age 28 I've done more travel than almost every person I know. I don't know why some people don't want to experience the world (be it the "yinzer bubble" or another reason) but I agree that insular attitudes are not unique to this area. So many people are comfortable in their bubbles while others are filled with wanderlust, that's just the way we humans are I guess.

Anyway, I want to move out of Pittsburgh and I've been getting some things set in motion to do so. The cost of living I currently have is amazing, but that comes at its own price since I don't feel safe leaving my house on foot at night. I realize that I can afford any trendy East End neighborhood now, but then I would barely have any money in my pocket so there's no real point. Right now the only other places I have lived are Beaver County (barely a change) and Ireland (huge change). I want to live out of the country again and since I don't plan on having kids now is the time to do it.

I hear Pittsburgh is great for settling down, but since I have been very much against that "2.5 kids, dog, white picket fence" crap it doesn't have much for me in the long term.

Then you owe it to yourself to leave and find the best place for you! Not everyone wants a traditional, conventional lifestyle.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

I visit DC about once a year and it's fun as hell. Much more to see and do in comparison to Pittsburgh (that's sacrilegious to say on this forum but I think it's true). Of course, if you limit yourself to just hanging around the United States of Applebees you're gonna have a bad time.

Going to Applebee's every day is a great life for some. Everyone is different. Maybe a group of people meet there weekly or even daily and have a nice time. Whatever.

Of course DC has more to do to a point. How many times are you going to the "Mall"? How many times are you going to certain museums? At some point it is like living at the beach. You just stop going because you have been there so many times it loses its appeal. Yes, that is generally speaking, some people live for the beach and they will never tire of it, but for many including myself, it got old. Visiting NYC is a blast for me, but living there wouldn't be that great. For some there is no other place to live.

Pittsburgh has a ton to offer, but maybe not for everyone. You can live in the woods a few minutes out of the city. You can live in a very urban place that is busy with all kinds of crowds. We have great museums for a city of this size. Point Park is really great and lots of fun. Cycling has gotten better, but still tough. They downtown is much cleaner now, but there is one heck of a lot of blight and horrible areas that bleed into other better parts of the city, so that is a big minus. Litter is a big problem in places like East Liberty and areas around the crap parts of the city because certain people just throw trash around like one big dump. That is different than a place like DC's touristy areas, or any touristy places. No matter where you live it will probably end up being about the people, not the attractions, unless we are talking about a passion to do something, like skiing, surfing and those kind of activities that require a location to do those things. Most people don't need that.

Anyway, everyone is different. You are down and out in Pittsburgh and should move as soon as you can do it.

[goodgirl49]

Originally Posted by bmantz65

I am 28 and was born and raised in Pittsburgh. My wife was born in Georgia and lived there until she was five. Her parents are from Western PA and moved down there due to job situations and then they moved back to this area.

I have never lived anywhere else. But I have visited every state on the eastern coast and Toronto/Niagara Falls and Dominican Republic. I haven't traveled over the Atlantic or further west than Sandusky Ohio

My wife has traveled more, including some midwest states, California, Texas, Mexico and Hawaii.

We have a family with young children so we are not traveling much now. A big trip for us right now is to Erie. However when the kids are older and have moved on, I am hoping my wife and I can see more of the USA. I am itching to go out West. Hopefully I'll be retired by then

If you haven't been farther west than Sandusky, there is lots you are missing out on!

[gg]

Originally Posted by goodgirl49

Then you owe it to yourself to leave and find the best place for you! Not everyone wants a traditional, conventional lifestyle.

Tons of people in Pittsburgh don't live a traditional lifestyle. Many have no car, no yard and whatever. It is all here, you just have to know where to look. To say everyone wants picket fences and kids is pretty laughable. Do you think the person living on top of Jack's Bar in the South Side is living a conventional lifestyle? Hardly.

[goodgirl49]

Originally Posted by hinsey86

I suppose I can answer for my husband who is the Pittsburgh native. He left at 18 to go to college in Michigan and ended up leaving early to join the Navy. He literally lived all over the world over the next 26 years..picking me up along the way in Virginia. He always talked lovingly and highly of Pittsburgh but did not make plans to return. We visited as much as possible and I liked it too. I was the one who actually suggested settling here after his retirement from the military. We literally could have gone nearly anywhere but family was more important. We came back here 7 years ago and have no regrets. He was worried about it not having a large military community to draw from for employment but he excelled in his second career without it.

People often talk about the wages here and I must say we have had very very good economic growth in a relatively short time. My salary was actually just a bit more than it was in Seattle but I have since stopped working...which was a result of dh doubling his salary in just a few years.

I don't miss the Southern weather at all but I do get excited when I hear someone with a Southern drawl. I am sure he would love to get up and go diving on a whim like he did in Guam but he is just as joyous over biking the hills of Western PA. All of the areas he and I lived had their charm but overall we made a great choice. We recently moved out of Allegheny county to Beaver county and have loved it.

Where in Beaver County did you move to? I lived in Aliquippa until 1974.

[goodgirl49]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Tons of people in Pittsburgh don't live a traditional lifestyle. Many have no car, no yard and whatever. It is all here, you just have to know where to look. To say everyone wants picket fences and kids is pretty laughable. Do you think the person living on top of Jack's Bar in the South Side is living a conventional lifestyle? Hardly.

I know that but that's what the poster seemed to imply. I think he just wants to leave and experience other places, and he should since he has nothing holding him back.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Off the top of my head, Pittsburgh is probably more expensive than its peer cities, Cincy, Cleveland, Columbus and Detroit. Not sure of Indy, Buffalo or Louisville. Seattle and Portland are probably a step up (not sure what I mean by that but most people probably think they are a little bigger/nicer than the burgh) from the burgh. So, I understand the housing being more expensive.

When comparing new/newer construction with Pittsburgh the difference is huge. In other cities, mainly Southern, you can get a house that is pretty nice with granite counters for around 200,000. Here that house is probably 450,000. I have no idea about schools.

The southern states have always had lower cost of living and more affordable housing. I don't consider those climates more desirable though. They're way too humid for me. My ideal climate is the Pacific Northwest. It has the same climate as Costa Rica, which is where we want to retire. The housing costs are crazy expensive compared to here.

That 200k and 450k house you describe is probably well over a million dollars there. New construction would probably be way more than that. The housing prices increased dramatically as people fled California for Oregon and Washington. (People in Oregon and Washington GLARED at my rental car's California plates! They hate Californians for raising their cost of living.) It's insanely expensive there compared to here.

If the weather of the Carolinas is your thing, I can understand your quandary. Being near grandparents and not relocating children will likely win out. Maybe you'll move there once your children go to college. Many of my friends have retired to the Carolinas.