Currently living in Los Angeles, want to move family. TONS of questions! (Philadelphia: rent, crime)

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by Wants2MoveNOW

I could write for DAYS how much I hate California, and Los Angeles.

Where in LA do you live?

3.) Are there any colleges/universities in Pittsburgh? (I'm going back to school to finish my degree in Nutrition)

Pitt has grad and undergrad programs:
http://www.shrs.pitt.edu/cdnbs/
http://www.shrs.pitt.edu/cmd/
They may have others. It's a big school.

5.) Right now we're paying $1,045 for a STUDIO APARTMENT in Los Angeles. On average, how much are apartments? What about housing? (looking for 2 bed, 1.5 bath)

You'll be able to find more apartment for $1,045 here. Do you have pets or any other special circumstances or needs? Most landlords here hate dogs. Also, this is an old city, and you don't often find indoor or other reserved parking here.

6.) How safe do you feel? Right now, we don't go out after the sun sets. Between people getting randomly set on fire, and shot, (only a few blocks away from our apartment,) the crime is AWFUL here.

Again, where in LA do you live? I feel safe here in Pgh. But I never felt unsafe in LA. It's a long time, however, since I lived there. The only city I've ever felt unsafe in is Phila.

I've never been to Pittsburgh. Neither has my husband. I'm thinking we should take a trip and just walk around and explore and see how the city feels to us. But I need to know those things ^ there first before making any decisions.

I've lived in LA, Portland, Seattle, NY, DC, and Pittsburgh. Of those, LA and Pgh are the only ones I've wanted to return to--alright, maybe NY, too.

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by Wants2MoveNOW

1.) Are there web design/graphic design jobs in Pittsburgh?

2.) Would he still be able to make $60K, or would his income have to decrease significantly due to the difference in cost of living out there?

3.) Are there any colleges/universities in Pittsburgh? (I'm going back to school to finish my degree in Nutrition)

4.) How long is your commute? (Living in LA, sometimes it takes us 1-2 hours to get home because of the awful traffic.)

5.) Right now we're paying $1,045 for a STUDIO APARTMENT in Los Angeles. On average, how much are apartments? What about housing? (looking for 2 bed, 1.5 bath)

6.) How safe do you feel? Right now, we don't go out after the sun sets. Between people getting randomly set on fire, and shot, (only a few blocks away from our apartment,) the crime is AWFUL here.

I've never been to Pittsburgh. Neither has my husband. I'm thinking we should take a trip and just walk around and explore and see how the city feels to us. But I need to know those things ^ there first before making any decisions.

1. yes, it is a growing industry here.

2. yes, but it depends on how talented he is. I know of 23 year old designers making more than that for small start ups.

3. yes, pitt, cmu, carlow, duquesne, chatham, and then others outside the city.

4. i think average here is 20-some minutes including that of suburbanites. I can walk to my office in 10 mins. driving takes 5.

5. i'm a landlord and all of my units are pretty decent quality. i rent a large 3 br 1 bath for 1k. a super cool and fancy 2 br 1.5 bath for $1100 and a luxury 3 br, 2 bath with a jet spa tub, huge deck and other great amenities for $1600. my nice 1 bedroom, 1 baths are $650-800.

6. which part of LA are you in? There are probably only 2 or 3 parts of the pittsburgh metro area where you would have problems like that. and you could buy a house in those areas for under 25k or rent an apartment for $350 / mo.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Wants2MoveNOW

My husband is a web designer and makes $60K a year out here in Los Angeles. I hate it out here. I could write for DAYS how much I hate California, and Los Angeles.

We're both originally from NY, and I want to move us back east so we can be closer to family. *He* wants to move to Boston (his brothers live there, and there are more jobs in his field out there) but I feel that we could have a better quality of life (we could afford to own a house, have a decent car, etc) if we lived in Pittsburgh.

I have a ton of questions. I'd greatly appreciate some insight

1.) Are there web design/graphic design jobs in Pittsburgh?

2.) Would he still be able to make $60K, or would his income have to decrease significantly due to the difference in cost of living out there?

3.) Are there any colleges/universities in Pittsburgh? (I'm going back to school to finish my degree in Nutrition)

4.) How long is your commute? (Living in LA, sometimes it takes us 1-2 hours to get home because of the awful traffic.)

5.) Right now we're paying $1,045 for a STUDIO APARTMENT in Los Angeles. On average, how much are apartments? What about housing? (looking for 2 bed, 1.5 bath)

6.) How safe do you feel? Right now, we don't go out after the sun sets. Between people getting randomly set on fire, and shot, (only a few blocks away from our apartment,) the crime is AWFUL here.

1 & 2.) Pittsburgh has it's fair share of tech jobs, thanks to the eds, meds, and banking institutions located here. Your husband should be able to find something as long as he is technically oriented, and not just on the graphic design side of things. $60K is a reasonable salary to expect in Pittsburgh. You could get by on much less though, as long as you aren't carrying a bunch of debt.

3.) All medium and larged sized metros have universities. Pittsburgh happens to have one of the highest concentrations of universities in the country (as does Boston/Cambridge). Pittsburgh has one of the most educated workforces in the country, which is both good and bad (lots of opportunities, but also lots of competition).

4.) Commutes vary wildly. It depends where you live and where you work, but it should be pretty easy to avoid an LA-style commute. Walking and biking commutes are also a lot more commont here. Public transportation also sees wide use among all classes of people (more than half the people working in downtonw Pittsburgh take public transit)

5.) You certainly could continue to pay that much, but a studio apartment in a neighborhood with bad crime problems here woudl be like $400. The biggest issue you'll have is finding that half bath. Pittsburgh's housing stock is simply older, and built before half baths were common. You might find the so-called "Pittsburgh Toilet" in the basement, but I don't think that's what you're looking for. Anyway, $800 is a pretty healthy budget for a 2 bedroom apartment with one bathroom. Though you could certainly spend much more or much less if you want.

6.) Pittsburgh is generally pretty save as a rule of thumb. The bad areas probably pale in comparison to LA ghettos, and they are out of the way. It's pretty easy to Pittsburgh's ghettos. One thing to remember is that Pittsburgh is old and is only recently beginning to bounce back economically. This means that a lot of areas will look dangerous, but there are merely run down and blighted, yet perfectly safe. Most areas of Pittsburgh have a bark that is way worse than their bite.

If your ultimate goal is to settle down and own a house, it's much easier to do that here than in Boston.

I've never been to Pittsburgh. Neither has my husband. I'm thinking we should take a trip and just walk around and explore and see how the city feels to us. But I need to know those things ^ there first before making any decisions

Making a visit first is absolutely a great idea. It's always best to find out for yourself first hand when possible.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by Wants2MoveNOW

My husband is a web designer and makes $60K a year out here in Los Angeles. I hate it out here. I could write for DAYS how much I hate California, and Los Angeles.

We're both originally from NY, and I want to move us back east so we can be closer to family. *He* wants to move to Boston (his brothers live there, and there are more jobs in his field out there) but I feel that we could have a better quality of life (we could afford to own a house, have a decent car, etc) if we lived in Pittsburgh.

I don't know about your line of work, but Pittsburgh is a great place.

I'd recommend you line up employment before you come here. Commutes here in Pittsburgh can be a tad brutal, but if you can avoid multiple bridges and tunnels, you should be able to live in a decent community regardless of where your job is. If you get a place first, before you know where you will be working, that is where you could end up with 2 tunnels and all kinds of crazy commute situations.

There is certainly a bit of crime around here, but not too many places are truly dangerous. Housing prices are low in many decent parts of Pittsburgh, but our real estate taxes are high, realize this before you commit to buying a property.

[Hopes]

I don't ever recall hearing someone being set on fire in Pittsburgh.

There are very few areas I would be afraid to walk after dark.

It's laughable Hip Priest doesn't think Pittsburgh has a low cost of living. It most certainly is a bargain compared to LA.

Since your husband would earn a similar salary here in Pittsburgh, your quality of life would be better than living in Boston. You'll need to work full time if you live in Boston. You could be a stay at home mother here in Pittsburgh.

[bradjl2009]

I've lived in Lawrenceville my whole life and my parents have only had to call the cops once over a stolen bike (which happens anywhere)

[WPANative]

Originally Posted by stburr91

You are asking if there are universities in Pittsburgh. You should really do at least some research before posting here.

Isn't that what discussion forums like this are all about?

[Tinare]

I was searching for something a few days ago and had found this thread and everything the OP in it said made me laugh because it sounded so freakin' familiar...

//www.city-data.com/forum/bosto...ver-lived.html

Trying to find that thread just now I also found this one...
//www.city-data.com/forum/bosto...t-place-i.html


I just find these funny because, of course, no place is perfect, but someone will always think that where they are is "the worst place evah!"

[WPANative]

Originally Posted by Tinare

I was searching for something a few days ago and had found this thread and everything the OP in it said made me laugh because it sounded so freakin' familiar...

//www.city-data.com/forum/bosto...ver-lived.html

Trying to find that thread just now I also found this one...
//www.city-data.com/forum/bosto...t-place-i.html


I just find these funny because, of course, no place is perfect, but someone will always think that where they are is "the worst place evah!"

I hate these posts too. Oddly enough, I'd pack up and leave for Boston in a second. Boston is often looked at and rated as one of the most rude cities in the US, and we've never been treated anything but polite there. We also travel extensively through Canada, and we often hear how rude Canadians are, and again, we've never been treated with nothing but respect in that country.

[bradjl2009]

Brentwood? Sure it's a decent borough to live in, but IMO there is definitely nicer for the same price.