General info on Pittsburgh (Penn, Atlantic: credit, university, salary)

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by hinsey86

Raises hand....Advanced degree person here who moved from Seattle with advanced degree husband who works for major corporation. ( I gave up my career two years ago to play with my dogs and apprentice on an organic farm with other advanced degrees persons). Question 1. How comes if you got it all together you are so darn miserable? Question 2. Do you have lots of cats? ( Said with my best ignorant sounding Southern drawl this gal can muster. ) Now off to say my prayers in thanks that all the engineers I know ( including Pittsburgh women) are not sticks in the mud.

Cruel. But fair

We moved here 1 year ago from Eastern WA, both with advanced degrees, no kids, no cats, a wine collection and an illegally high number of pairs of skis for 2 people. No idea what my IQ is. Not even sure I even have one?

I do love this commonly held notion on here that if you like watching football and sit in bars, you're a dumb-%&^U Yinzer. I recommend a casual wander around the corridors of some CMU buildings, and see how many Stillers, Penguins, Pirates flags/etc you see. And sports teams from other places (Go Waratahs!!). You might be surprised. The smartest and fun people I know can slip from a conversation about (eg) the deep computational complexities of real-time face recognition to abusing a bad call in Penguins game without drawing a breathe ....

[hinsey86]

Originally Posted by gortonator

Cruel. But fair

We moved here 1 year ago from Eastern WA, both with advanced degrees, no kids, no cats, a wine collection and an illegally high number of pairs of skis for 2 people. No idea what my IQ is. Not even sure I even have one?

I do love this commonly held notion on here that if you like watching football and sit in bars, you're a dumb-%&^U Yinzer. I recommend a casual wander around the corridors of some CMU buildings, and see how many Stillers, Penguins, Pirates flags/etc you see. And sports teams from other places (Go Waratahs!!). You might be surprised. The smartest and fun people I know can slip from a conversation about (eg) the deep computational complexities of real-time face recognition to abusing a bad call in Penguins game without drawing a breathe ....

Hangs head low for the cruel part but grins like Mike Tomlin after illegally stepping on the field. You have described my whole in-law family. Some of the smartest and most successful people I have ever known who love their sports and their blue collar roots. But they are also humble...something I could work on.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by zman63

Pittsburgh suffered an economic collapse in the early 1980s near equal or worse to what detroit is going through. The inner city itself has been losing population since 1960, but the 1980s were devastating to Pittsburgh and its suburbs. Only the past few years did the experts estimate that the population and job losses leveled out.

When the rest of the United States was booming from the 1990s and into the early 2000s we were losing lots of jobs and population. We never experienced the hispanic population growth because there was no opportunity here for them or anybody looking to relocate to further their career. The unfortunate thing is it left us with an older and mostly white population. There is a whole generation of people ages 25 to 45 that are literally missing. In 2004 Pittsburgh was deemed a finically distresssed municipality by Pennsylvania and was placed under Act 47. Act 47 is a nice Pennsylvania term for municipal bankruptcy receivership.

Again, the city is starting to regenerate itself. There are pockets of the inner city with new population growth, housing and apartments. The suburbs are getting poor and have a higher rate of poverty than average for most cities.

Any new suburbs have been nothing more than a population shift of those trying to escape taxes or just want a newer house/suburb.

Pittsburgh's population was 676,000 in 1950. In 2012 it was estimated to be 306,000.

Allegheny County's population peaked in 1960 at 1,625,000 and is estimated to be 1,229,000 in 2012

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WORSE THAN DETROIT? You're so right.

Pathetic. Seriously. Leave your front doorstep to get a dose of reality. Seriously.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by greenlite

weather averages look almost the same so the weather is similar? except more snow
does it get very hot/humid in the summer? here it pretty much starts in late april till october, kinda annoying

I don't agree with the whole damp dark grey winters that pghdude is claiming, but trust me, Pittsburgh has colder winters than the east coast.

EDIT: And also, our summers are nothing compared to the east coast. Temperature wise much cooler, and humidity lasts a day and then we get thunderstorms to cool it off again.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by speagles84

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA WORSE THAN DETROIT? You're so right.

Pathetic. Seriously. Leave your front doorstep to get a dose of reality. Seriously.

give the man of 63 zzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzzz's a break, please.

It's many hundreds of steps up from his dungeon to street level.

[Copanut]

Talk about making generalizations. My next door neighbors both have an MBA, both work, have 3 kids, and the grandparents are there just about every weekend. Other than being Catholic, they are good people.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by gortonator

give the man of 63 zzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzzz's a break, please.

It's many hundreds of steps up from his dungeon to street level.

I can't believe he even said that. I can't even joke about how innaccurate that is.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by speagles84

I don't agree with the whole damp dark grey winters that pghdude is claiming, but trust me, Pittsburgh has colder winters than the east coast.

Not cruel. And accurate

[EveKendall]

I am amazed by these posts that pop up every once in a while asserting that you cannot turn a circle in Pittsburgh without running into crude, uneducated, unintelligent people who can only have a conversation about the Steelers and parking chairs. My experience here has been so different from that. I have made friends who are doctors, lawyers, engineers, and academics. Some of them are from Pittsburgh, others from all over the country. I have also met plenty of people who are engaging and articulate but have no more than a (gasp!) high school diploma.
Also agree with other posters who have pointed out that an interest in sports does not make you unintelligent. People all over the world, of all levels of socioeconomic statuses, are obsessed with sports.
I am no Pollyanna but I think attitude is essential to your experiences. If you expect everyone to be a certain way that is what you are going to find. There are jerks everywhere but if you ONLY encounter jerks you need to really think about your role in things.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by EveKendall

I am amazed by these posts that pop up every once in a while asserting that you cannot turn a circle in Pittsburgh without running into crude, uneducated, unintelligent people who can only have a conversation about the Steelers and parking chairs. My experience here has been so different from that. I have made friends who are doctors, lawyers, engineers, and academics. Some of them are from Pittsburgh, others from all over the country. I have also met plenty of people who are engaging and articulate but have no more than a (gasp!) high school diploma.
Also agree with other posters who have pointed out that an interest in sports does not make you unintelligent. People all over the world, of all levels of socioeconomic statuses, are obsessed with sports.
I am no Pollyanna but I think attitude is essential to your experiences. If you expect everyone to be a certain way that is what you are going to find. There are jerks everywhere but if you ONLY encounter jerks you need to really think about your role in things.

hear hear. And thx to a FB friend of mine who is Pro VC at a major Aussie University, here's scientific justification for my life style

Do smart people drink more? Here's some science to ease your hangover

My buddy is a smart drunk who loves rubgy