My Visit to the Burgh (Pittsburgh, Butler: crime, house, neighborhood) - Pennsylvania (PA) - City-Data Forum

cryschap · 11-15-2007, 04:25 PM

Ok so I've read the ups and downs and everything in between in here. Well folks I went to Pittsburgh for my interview and such and now here's what I think.......

Oakland is a hectic crowded mess!!! But hey, its a college area so I guess thats expected.

Downtown has the most fabulously awesome architecure I've ever seen! The Churches are GORGEOUS!!

But while I'm on downtown.. good luck finding a place to park! Its free at Macys with a $50 purchase.... Just in case anyone needs a new Coach bag lol. Access in and out of downtown is CRAZY! I spent an hour driving circles because my GPS was utterly confused.

Squirrel Hill was pretty, but once again congested and no parking.

My house is in Ben Avon, my only real complaint is the roads are narrow and shoulderless, I guess that takes some getting used to.

In my honest opinion, this city and its burbs have tons of potential! If someone got some get up and go and fixed up the run down areas, it would be beautiful. The people I met were quite friendly, even if half of them say you'uns (I'm from the south its YA'LL folks!!) And when they say they take the Steelers seriously there, you better believe em! Even the "homeboys" with their gangsta wear were sportin Steelers apparel. And I did not see a single other team represented like you do elsewhere. (uh-oh I'm a hard coore Packer fan!)
And real quick let me touch on crime, I watched the news the 2 days I was there and all I heard about was a 14 year old that got shot in the face in Butler co (I believe) and it was an accident. When I watch my local news in the Orlando area, there is always I mean ALWAYS something from murders to burglaries and usually more than one a day. When I lived in STL it was similar and in Charlotte NC, lets just say it was so bad the thugs were shooting at preschool buses. Pittsburgh really isn't as crime ridden as some of the folks let on. There are areas that look rough but as I said before a can of paint can work wonders!

All in all, it wasn't bad... I'm anxious to see what else it has to offer when my move in official next month.

RockLobster · 11-15-2007, 04:58 PM

Cryschap I think you really got the city pegged despite your limited time here. It's very frustrating from my eyes that the city really does have potential, but we just don't have the local political leadership and strategic mind set to get the city out of it's downward trend. Although more folks like yourself would help in that manner. Welcome to the city..

Stagger Lee · 11-15-2007, 05:20 PM

You would have to get use to the parking and congestion. Most northern cities are much more tight and dense then southern ones. When I moved back, I forgot that there weren't parking lots in our downtown area.

Rocklobster, we do have potential, and there is plenty there. Our political leadership and strategic mind set is not just a character of Pittsburgh, it is a character of a lot of northern cities, excluding N.Y. N.Y. use to have those problems also though. I moved back and am staying here. I love this city, and though I see it's problems, I want to stay and see them get fixed. Every city has it's problems though, even though they are not the same as ours.

kpoeppel · 11-15-2007, 07:31 PM

I agree that Pittsburgh's crime is pretty benign compared to most other American cities. It seems to me that people who think Pittsburgh has bad crime haven't lived in other cities like St. Louis, Chicago, D.C., etc. Pittsburgh's high-crime areas also tend to occur in "pockets", perhaps due to the neighborhood-isolating effects of the hilly terrain.

OutaFL · 11-16-2007, 06:32 AM

Cryshap - congrats on your move to Pittsburgh from Florida! Your observations match my perspective, guess that's because I made the same move. I don't know what Pittsburgh bashers are going to do when more and more people move from overrated, over priced, over-sprawled parts of the U.S. and talk about the quality, value, character and historic merits of Pittsburgh...

cryschap · 11-16-2007, 12:36 PM

I think if the people that are so miserable would just leave already that might help with congestion and then those that truly believe in the city can make it better. I forgot to add its hilly there... phew! I got my workout!! Not used to that as FL is flat and straight!! We should also come up with a universal way to understand each other when my move is official. I honest to god was lookin at this guy like.. huh?!!? And I know he probally thought where did she find these words!?! Like ustacould.. means I used to be able to. And of course ya'll... I'll do my best to say you all, hopefully I can get my future co-workers to do the same. All the time I spend in NC had a huge impact on my ability to pronounce things lol. In STL they thought "Ah how cute..." In some ways thats ok, but I want respected and I just can't say you'uns and I can't help but giggle when I hear it. Are there other words I need to be prepared for and what do they mean??

OutaFL · 11-16-2007, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cryschap

Are there other words I need to be prepared for and what do they mean??

go here to learn the local dialect:
PITTSBURGHESE .com

It's a delightful accent, but unfortunately it is not really that prevalent anymore it seems. I am not hearing it too often anyway. I might hear 2 yinz's a week, max!

cryschap · 11-16-2007, 07:11 PM

Thanks! The guy that I heard it most from happens to be one of the supervisors at Presby where I'll be working so I'll hear plenty of it! My mom's generation in WV says things like Purdy(pretty), Farre (fire), Warsh (wash) to name a few. I grew up around that and still think it funny. I made a special point to annunciate (did I spell that right??) better than mom.

Stagger Lee · 11-16-2007, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cryschap

Thanks! The guy that I heard it most from happens to be one of the supervisors at Presby where I'll be working so I'll hear plenty of it! My mom's generation in WV says things like Purdy(pretty), Farre (fire), Warsh (wash) to name a few. I grew up around that and still think it funny. I made a special point to annunciate (did I spell that right??) better than mom.

Make sure you go up on Mt. Worshington next time your in town.

chloride1 · 11-24-2007, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cryschap

Ok so I've read the ups and downs and everything in between in here. Well folks I went to Pittsburgh for my interview and such and now here's what I think.......

Oakland is a hectic crowded mess!!! But hey, its a college area so I guess thats expected.

Downtown has the most fabulously awesome architecure I've ever seen! The Churches are GORGEOUS!!

But while I'm on downtown.. good luck finding a place to park! Its free at Macys with a $50 purchase.... Just in case anyone needs a new Coach bag lol. Access in and out of downtown is CRAZY! I spent an hour driving circles because my GPS was utterly confused.

Squirrel Hill was pretty, but once again congested and no parking.

My house is in Ben Avon, my only real complaint is the roads are narrow and shoulderless, I guess that takes some getting used to.

In my honest opinion, this city and its burbs have tons of potential! If someone got some get up and go and fixed up the run down areas, it would be beautiful. The people I met were quite friendly, even if half of them say you'uns (I'm from the south its YA'LL folks!!) And when they say they take the Steelers seriously there, you better believe em! Even the "homeboys" with their gangsta wear were sportin Steelers apparel. And I did not see a single other team represented like you do elsewhere. (uh-oh I'm a hard coore Packer fan!)
And real quick let me touch on crime, I watched the news the 2 days I was there and all I heard about was a 14 year old that got shot in the face in Butler co (I believe) and it was an accident. When I watch my local news in the Orlando area, there is always I mean ALWAYS something from murders to burglaries and usually more than one a day. When I lived in STL it was similar and in Charlotte NC, lets just say it was so bad the thugs were shooting at preschool buses. Pittsburgh really isn't as crime ridden as some of the folks let on. There are areas that look rough but as I said before a can of paint can work wonders!

All in all, it wasn't bad... I'm anxious to see what else it has to offer when my move in official next month.

Welcome to Pittsburgh! I moved here in 2000 and love the city.

It's probably best to take public transportation when you visit downtown during the day. It will be easy to visit it from work, as Presby is in Oakland, and several buses connect Oakland to downtown. Ok, Oakland to dawntawn.

When I've gone downtown in the evening, it was to the cultural district for entertainment, music, etc. There are parking garages near the theaters. We've never had trouble finding parking for those events.

For Steelers games (if you are so inclined), a fun way to travel is to park at Station Square, and then take a boat over to the stadium.

Squirrel Hill actually isn't that bad for parking. We visit various friends there and always find parking on side streets. Also, there are some parking lots tucked here and there you may not have seen. We lived there when we first moved to Pittsburgh, and never had trouble with parking on the side streets. Also, Squirrel Hill will be easy to reach from work, since it is connected to Oakland (the 61's). I like to go there for shopping, walking, eating, etc. Actually, a walk through the park is a nice way to get between Squirrel Hill and Oakland.