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That is a bit of a strawman argument, zman. I don't think anybody is claiming that Pittsburgh is the cheapest place to live. Just that it's fairly affordable, and considering what you get, it's a good bang for your buck.
That is you have a city with ~300 sq miles like Charlotte, or a city with inflated wages from being near DC (i.e. Baltimore) you will have higher incomes in the city. If Pittsburgh had the square miles of Charlotte or Columbus, we would have places such as Fox Chapel and Mt. Lebanon in the city limits thereby making wages higher and crime significantly lower.
Is this nonsense about Pittsburgh's size never going to end? For a while, I thought it had quieted down, but Groundhog Day is here, I guess! No one knows what Pittsburgh would be like it it were larger.
The views are breathtaking and the geography is beautiful, but the weather is absolutely atrocious! Seriously. Pack a good umbrella and some Prozac for the long 6 month dreary winter.
he's back .... haven't you moved yet?
Of course umbrellas are not needed in Seattle as the wind destroys them in seconds. Seattle folks can spot out-of-towners by umbrella usage. Hipster waterproofs are all the rage
If you ski, pick Denver pick Denver or Seattle ....
Of course umbrellas are not needed in Seattle as the wind destroys them in seconds. Seattle folks can spot out-of-towners by umbrella usage. Hipster waterproofs are all the rage
If you ski, pick Denver pick Denver or Seattle ....
I'm sorry to offend others by stating facts backed up by the National Weather Service that Pittsburgh is in last place for sunshine and just about the winner in dreariness. Of course the OP is aware that there's winter here and it gets cold and snowy... But how about the perpetual overcast? The freezing rain? I'll comment on the economy.... It's so-so. The government.... Corrupt and extremely slow to change. The infrastructure..... Probably better roads in a 3rd world country. The locals..... Beer and football. Born here and die here. Despite all these quirks Pittsburgh has an interesting charm. It's hard to describe. It ain't no world class city. Many neighborhoods look like shantytowns. I think chemistry is what attracts someone to X city or town. I happen to have that chemistry with pittsburgh but I know it's time to leave. Maybe the OP will find this a charming place. He might actually like the unsafe bridges and constant gray clouds blocking the sun.
I'm sorry to offend others by stating facts backed up by the National Weather Service that Pittsburgh is in last place for sunshine and just about the winner in dreariness.
I'm sorry to offend others by stating facts backed up by the National Weather Service that Pittsburgh is in last place for sunshine and just about the winner in dreariness. Of course the OP is aware that there's winter here and it gets cold and snowy... But how about the perpetual overcast? The freezing rain? I'll comment on the economy.... It's so-so. The government.... Corrupt and extremely slow to change. The infrastructure..... Probably better roads in a 3rd world country. The locals..... Beer and football. Born here and die here. Despite all these quirks Pittsburgh has an interesting charm. It's hard to describe. It ain't no world class city. Many neighborhoods look like shantytowns. I think chemistry is what attracts someone to X city or town. I happen to have that chemistry with pittsburgh but I know it's time to leave. Maybe the OP will find this a charming place. He might actually like the unsafe bridges and constant gray clouds blocking the sun.
Just so the OP knows, pghdude28 is thought to actually be a CMU artificial intelligence research program aiming at generating natural language that shows severe negative sentiment and affectations. They use information on Pittsburgh as a test knowledge base - I reckon it's pretty impressive
I don't think anybody is claiming that Pittsburgh is the cheapest place to live. Just that it's fairly affordable, and considering what you get, it's a good bang for your buck.
This summarizes my thoughts on Pittsburgh quite well. I'm on pace to net an average of ~$40,000 annually with my current "under"employed position. That's as much as I'd presently be taking home annually utilizing my Bachelor's Degree in suburban Washington, DC, where I moved here from (including the mandatory furlough my Federal counterparts are enduring due to sequestration). The difference? I can truly live in Pittsburgh while I was merely "surviving" in Northern Virginia. My rent for a rat-infested 1-BR apartment in an undesirable suburb in Fairfax County was well over $1,000/month. My partner and I split two floors of an old (yet charming) rowhouse in a convenient urban neighborhood of Pittsburgh for $700/month ($350/month each). My discretionary income here has permitted me to pay down debt, buy a brand new car, improve my credit score (it was damaged living off credit to "keep up appearances" in NoVA), dine out and/or order in twice per week, and take the occasional day-trip to Erie or the Laurel Highlands whenever I'd like. I'd have to use a credit card to pay for gas for my car to take a road-trip an hour into the mountains to Winchester, VA to maintain my sanity on the weekends back in NoVA.
Although I DO worry about the ever-depleting list of walkable neighborhoods in the city proper that are affordable to entry-level home-buyers I am confident I'll be able to buy in Spring 2015, and I'll be able to buy in East Deutschtown, which is my neighborhood of choice. A tiny (yet cozy) alley rowhouse my partner and I both loved in that same neighborhood sold not long ago for just $30,000 before I could save up enough to cover the closing costs in order to purchase it. In 2015 when we buy there we'll be able to walk to Penn Brewery, Max's Allegheny Tavern, my partner's office, Giant Eagle, the Strip District, the North Shore Trail (for running), Downtown, the National Aviary (I'm a member), and much more. We'll be a quick drive from McKnight(mare) Road, where we do a lot of our shopping at places like Gabriel Brothers and the Ross Park Mall, and my commute to Squirrel Hill won't be much lengthier than it currently is (potentially quicker once I can easily take a revamped Route 28 to the Highland Park Bridge to Washington Boulevard to Fifth Avenue to Beechwood Boulevard).
Overall Pittsburgh has been very good to me. I've made some great friends here (including some on this sub-forum). I love my job. I've been with my partner, whom I met here, for 2.5 years. My health is great, and there are many wonderful places to run, hike, and kayak! Most people are friendly, although I've encountered some white-collars here who act superior towards me due to having limited respect for my profession (like a flashback to NoVA). Traffic congestion is minimal. The architecture is stunning. The skyline views are breathtaking---easily rivaling cities much larger, such as Seattle, Atlanta, or Denver in terms of beauty.
Things I don't like?
We feel rather geographically isolated. Erie and the Laurel Highlands are our two "go-to" places for day-trips, but otherwise anything of interest (Buffalo/Niagara Falls, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, Finger Lakes, NYC, Detroit, Jersey Shore, etc.) is far enough away that we feel as if we need at least an overnighter (if not an extended weekend) to make it worthwhile. The drive to see my family in the opposite corner of the state is a grueling 4.5-hour one through boring wilderness. Considering I don't have paid vacation time, and my partner receives very little, it is a drag that everything else around us that can be day-tripped is largely severely underwhelming (Weirton? Wheeling? Du Bois? Youngstown? Akron? Zanesville?)
There is still too much of an "urban redneck" aura here for my own personal tastes, and I don't really care if this paragraph makes me sound like a typical East End elitist. Recently Kenny Chesney had a concert on the North Shore, and the huge mess (including homemade redneck toilets) that the tens of thousands of revelers left behind disgusted me. People here wear Steelers pajama pants anywhere they can. It seems like more people here smoke than don't smoke, which makes me concerned that not many care about their health. People will put lawn chairs out on the street to "claim" their own on-street public parking spaces and will try to fist-fight you if you dare move them to park your vehicle (this HAS happened to me on MORE than one occasion in the supposedly trendy South Side Flats while I just wanted to make a quick food delivery to a neighbor). I see more pick-up trucks here with Confederate flags painted somewhere on them or otherwise adorning them than anywhere else I've lived. I don't like country music, smoking, or football, and while I don't feel uncomfortable living here I sometimes wonder if I'd fit in better if I did.
Our secret is out. When I first moved here in 2010 there was still hope I could buy into certain neighborhoods I now am priced out of just a few years later in 2013. I worry that by the time I am prepared to buy in 2015 that my ideal neighborhood may have also risen out of my budget. My rent has risen by 1/3 from 2010 to 2013 and may soon be rising again. Many people who once thought Pittsburgh was just a "dying steel town" now think we're the next Portland, Austin, Boulder, or Asheville, and that has brought us much more positive national publicity. I'm glad to see the city I love so much being reborn with old homes being lovingly restored and new businesses flourishing. I just really feel that the "hype" will elevate housing costs more rapidly than working-class wages can keep pace with in the coming years. No, those who dislike me and mock me on here, this isn't an "I can't afford Shadyside. WAHHHHH!!!" rant. This is an "I fear in a decade MOST of the non-ghetto city proper will be unattainable for the working-class" rant. As I said if the number of neighborhoods within my budget (and the budget of many other entry-level homebuyers) shrunk from 2010 to 2013, then how much further will that list shrink by 2020? Why am I mocked for being concerned about this for the next generation of prospective home-buyers who will face a Pittsburgh with rising housing prices and stagnant wages?
Recently Kenny Chesney had a concert on the North Shore, and the huge mess (including homemade redneck toilets) that the tens of thousands of revelers left behind disgusted me.
Because only people from the city of Pittsburgh or Allegheny County are permitted to attend concerts in Pittsburgh.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising
People here wear Steelers pajama pants anywhere they can.
It seems like more people here smoke than don't smoke, which makes me concerned that not many care about their health.
It's their bodies; they can do whatever they want with them. Or does this only apply to women who want an abortion?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising
People will put lawn chairs out on the street to "claim" their own on-street public parking spaces and will try to fist-fight you if you dare move them to park your vehicle (this HAS happened to me on MORE than one occasion in the supposedly trendy South Side Flats while I just wanted to make a quick food delivery to a neighbor).
I see more pick-up trucks here with Confederate flags painted somewhere on them or otherwise adorning them than anywhere else I've lived.
So do I -- but I don't live in Pittsburgh anymore.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising
I don't like country music, smoking, or football, and while I don't feel uncomfortable living here I sometimes wonder if I'd fit in better if I did.
I've never smoked; I'm neutral to country music, and I didn't start watching football until about two years before I moved away, but that never prevented me from making friends or finding things to do.
By the way, I compiled a list of combined Arbitron ratings for all country stations in a given radio market last summer to show exactly where Pittsburgh's affinity for country music stands compared to other major metropolitan areas. Here's the list again:
15.8 - Indianapolis
15.7 - Charlotte
15.1 - Nashville
15.0 - Kansas City
13.8 - San Antonio
13.2 - Columbus
13.0 - St. Louis
12.9 - Cincinnati
12.2 - Minneapolis/St. Paul
11.2 - Portland
10.9 - Tampa/St. Petersburg
9.7 - Salt Lake City
9.6 - Houston
9.5 - Providence
9.0 - Dallas/Fort Worth
9.0 - Virginia Beach/Norfolk
8.7 - Seattle
8.5 - Austin
8.3 - Sacramento
8.2 - Milwaukee
8.1 - Hartford
8.1 - New Orleans
7.8 - Cleveland
7.6 - Detroit
7.5 - Phoenix 7.3 - Pittsburgh
7.1 - Atlanta
7.1 - Las Vegas
7.1 - Raleigh
6.7 - Memphis
6.6 - Baltimore
6.2 - Boston
6.2 - San Diego
6.0 - Denver
5.9 - Orlando
5.7 - Jacksonville
5.3 - Washington DC
5.1 - Philadelphia
4.1 - San Jose
4.4 - Chicago
3.4 - Riverside/San Bernardino
3.0 - Miami
2.8 - Los Angeles
0.5 - New York
The cities with a real affinity for country music are those near the top of the list, not the middle. Ratings fluctuations are minor over an extended period of time.
I don't see many vehicles with Confederate flags around Pittsburgh???
I must be missing all of them.
The again, I did see many more in Cincinnati when I spent a couple years living there. But, I'll bet the OP sees quite a few more than both cities combined in Texas. I doubt he'll be bothered by the few he might get a glimpse of in the Burgh.
I'm also not surprised that a lot of yahoos drove hours to see Kenny Chesney either. Guess what....a lot of tie-died burnouts used to drive hours to see The Grateful Dead in Pittsburgh too!
And having a strong major league sports fan base in three major sports I never considered a bad thing. Heck.....I'm a diehard fan of all the teams in Pittsburgh myself. I even stuck by my Bucs when they were losing!
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