Why you should NOT move to Pittsburgh (Washington, Butler: rent, mortgage)

[RockLobster]

Why oh Why not move to Pittsburgh. Where are you coming from? Off the top of my mind I would cite the following. Weather is very iffy if you like sunshine, High Taxes, Declining population, rather poor buisness climate, aging infrastructure, aging population, has become a increasingly 'trashy' city, very low turn out for local elections, old boy local political control, fewer and fewer flights out of it's airport, extensive bus transit system, lesser rapid or light rail development, increasing troubles with public education in finances, labor disputes, and quality of education. Perhaps at dinner my father will harp in a few more.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by RockLobster

Why oh Why not move to Pittsburgh. Where are you coming from? Off the top of my mind I would cite the following. Weather is very iffy if you like sunshine, High Taxes, Declining population, rather poor buisness climate, aging infrastructure, aging population, has become a increasingly 'trashy' city, very low turn out for local elections, old boy local political control, fewer and fewer flights out of it's airport, extensive bus transit system, lesser rapid or light rail development, increasing troubles with public education in finances, labor disputes, and quality of education. Perhaps at dinner my father will harp in a few more.

LOL! I guess we all have harping fathers! Mine (may he rest in peace) was a Pittsburgh "cheerleader". I had to move to another city to learn that it is not a unique Pittsburgh trait to have influential local families (such as the Mellons) in a city, local benefactors, etc.

[kpoeppel]

Originally Posted by Stagger Lee

they come in for work, make money, and then leave to spend it, and pay for a tax base in their outside town. What else should I expect from suburbinite-data.com though.

Yeah, but don't forget that the city has a % wage tax and "occupational privalege tax" so it's not like commuters don't pay any taxes to the city. And don't forget the parking tax, which is one of the highest in the nation.

Of course, if the city thinks commuters aren't paying their "fair share" of taxes, it could always raise these taxes. That would just mean more people finding work elsewhere to avoid the taxes, or result in businesses moving out of the city.

That's what I love about America. Anytime some entity says "give us your money or else!", people have the freedom to basically say "skrew you" and move somewhere else. That's why people are fleeing high-tax cities and states in the Northeast and West Coast, and moving to Prosperity Belt cities like Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, etc.

[Stagger Lee]

Originally Posted by RockLobster

I'm making the move to the city. I just bought a house overlooking Downtown, the Northside, Mexican War Streets, Manchester, Mt Washington and parts of Oakland. I have been living near most of my family in the Sewickley area since moving back to Pittsburgh three years ago. I'm a city type so I'm going urban. The high taxes of the city are something I'm not happy with. The new pad is not that far from some rough neighborhoods that traditionally have been the location of drug traffic and shootings in connection with this activity. The past few years have seen a decrease in crimes and the neighborhoods have been recieving more investment from the outside so there has been pressure on those criminals to move out. Recently as within the past year however there has been a upward trend in shootings. The economic situation in this section of the city is not good and I have yet to see a real plan from the mayor's office toward any economic development plans for the area. My guess is this overall area of the city will continue to decline while 'pockets' continue to improve with limited economic investment. It's a pretty piece meal outlook in my mind. With all this in mind, I bought the city pad because I'm a bachelor, enjoy the city life and I do have a million dollar view in a pretty slick house on a nice street. If the neighborhood improves then I would have a 1.5 million dollar property. Maybe in time that will be the case. One thing that really is pretty wild is the amount of deer and turkey I have passing by my Northside hill top home. A rather narrow greenway seperates my property with the street below. And every day and night I see deer and turkey there. These are true urban animals that have somehow moved into the urban environment and seem to have adapted well. In the spring I will take my back yard of grass and weeds and make it a natural landscape of native fauna and wildflower. With all this going on I figure I can have some nature right smack in the middle of the city. As a side note, I'm a member of 'Communities First' a group of people that fought the Wall Mart development in Kilbuck Township. Many of you know the long drawn out story of the landslide and the following troubles of that suburban development. All to be followed by WalMart pulling the plug on the development. A great symbol of haphazard suburban development gone wild. Also a prime example of the typical southwestern pa boro or town that struggles with big box retail development and overall land planning issues.

You and I are in the same boat. I just hope that this city will keep adding more young proffessionals then just us.

[Stagger Lee]

Originally Posted by kpoeppel

Yeah, but don't forget that the city has a % wage tax and "occupational privalege tax" so it's not like commuters don't pay any taxes to the city. And don't forget the parking tax, which is one of the highest in the nation.

Of course, if the city thinks commuters aren't paying their "fair share" of taxes, it could always raise these taxes. That would just mean more people finding work elsewhere to avoid the taxes, or result in businesses moving out of the city.

That's what I love about America. Anytime some entity says "give us your money or else!", people have the freedom to basically say "skrew you" and move somewhere else. That's why people are fleeing high-tax cities and states in the Northeast and West Coast, and moving to Prosperity Belt cities like Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, etc.

As I agree with you. Please remember those areas in the sprawl belt, not prosperity belt are not all peaches and cream eiter. I would throw money down Atlanta is going to be economically screwed (maybe even worse the Pittsburgh) in the next decade or soon.

[JoeP]

Look, vote for whomever you want to run "your" city. Looks like you guys are doing a *fine* job. (not) I'll just hang around my roomy yard outside my McMansion and shop at the nice new shiney malls in my area.....
But if I want to go to a museum or art gallery, I will most likely go to the city of Pittsburgh.
Because I happen to live in one of it's suburbs!!!!!!!

Which is why the city's problems can explained by the suburban rapists who want the city's amenities, but don't want to pay for them like city residents do.

Until the selfish suburbanites realize that consolidation is the only sustainable option, the region will suffer - not the city, but the entire region.

[rd620]

Originally Posted by fragglewaggle

How about going one better? I suggest folks leave Western Pennsylvania altogether, like I did.

Let's see: I could've stayed in the Pittsburgh area and remained unemployed, or I could've moved someplace where I don't have to beg for a job. I chose the latter.

And really, as a woman, why would I stay in a region where women earn 69 cents for every dollar a man earns?

Why would I stay in an area that talks a good game about having an educated workforce, but according to the Pennsylvania Economy League, has some of the highest college tuition costs in the nation?

Why would I stay in a supposed 'high-tech' region where the educational offerings to keep myself on top of the latest in technology are nonexistent? (Does CMU offer continuing education related to technology? Nope. How about Pitt? Nope. How about any of the other four-year colleges in our region? Nope. How about our community colleges? Ha ha ha...don't make me laugh.)

If you want to have any semblance of a successful future, I urge you to leave Western Pennsylvania. You will not regret it.

You obviously don't work in high tech because high tech people don't go back to college for the latest up to date happenings. You learn it yourself or attend training (not college courses) that teaches the "latest". By the way do you know that CMU is the #1 Computer Science school in the world?

I am not tooting the Pittsburgh horn as far as jobs go but I am tired of hearing tech people say they can't find a job here. I get at least 10 emails a week asking me to apply for jobs from recruiters and I am not even active on job boards the last two years. I work for a world renowned company that can't find a good software engineer to even apply for a job but there are hundreds or even thousands of people that sound like you do working in retail. I can't speak for other types of employment in the city but tech jobs are all over and pay very well here.

[Kish]

I have lived most of my life in the United Kingdom, and have spent a lot of time working in the USA before moving here in June. Overall, I think Pittsburgh is one of the more attractive places to live. As others have noted, it has its bad areas but the city offers all of the advantages of a city (restaurants, shops, arts, museums...) but you can still escape to nice countryside quite quickly. the cost of living is low - so long as you have a job, you can live very well.

[OutaFL]

Originally Posted by Kish

I have lived most of my life in the United Kingdom, and have spent a lot of time working in the USA before moving here in June. Overall, I think Pittsburgh is one of the more attractive places to live. As others have noted, it has its bad areas but the city offers all of the advantages of a city (restaurants, shops, arts, museums...) but you can still escape to nice countryside quite quickly. the cost of living is low - so long as you have a job, you can live very well.

Even Europeans Like Pittsburgh.
As well they should. They, unlike spoiled, unsophisticated, space/resource-wasting types - know what true quality of life is about. If you don't believe me, venture out of your gated suburban communities and plastic malls and go to Europe, or any number of great American city-regions - like Pittsburgh.

[kpoeppel]

Would spending 21% of your budget on interest debt qualify as a waste of resources? Are high taxes to support that out-of-control spending an indicator of "true quality of life"?

State Control Likely to Stay for Pittsburgh