for those who moved to pittsburgh... (Canonsburg, Youngstown: 2013, student loans, new house)

[BarqCider]

I figured we should get a thread in here to see why some of you chose to move here besides "cheap".

I'd like to thank the san diego forum for this btw:

1) when did you move here?

2) what brought you here?

3) how long did you plan originally to live here? how long have you been here?

4) what's keeping you here or making you want to move away?

As for me:

1) august 2013
2) school at pitt and the potential of practicing my field in a city that's cheaper to live than the dc area while paying the student loans.

3)planned to stay here for the 2 years to finish school.

4)goal was: graduate from college in my IT field and then work in the greater Pittsburgh area, but my field isn't in demand here and the classes for my field are quite limited at school, so I decided to go back to DC area where im from.

[cheezit34141988]

1) October 2011
2) Left Detroit after being brought here by a recruiter who specializes in my narrow field.
3) 3-5 years was the original plan. Just took a new job with a new company, and got engaged last year so I'll probably be here 5-10 minimum.
4) See #3. I have no real ties here other than my job and her family. We've both agreed we want to move south sometime in the near future but we're ok with staying here for a bit.

[TheYO]

1) June 2012

2) My girlfriend and I were graduating college. I was offered a job at a company where I previously interned, and she was offered an AmeriCorps position.

3) One year. We planned on moving to a bigger city once her AmeriCorps service term was completed. I knew I wasn't really going to like my job (I was right), but we realized how fortunate we were to both have something lined up in our fields before graduating that we couldn't pass up the opportunity

She actually did move to a different city for a fellowship last summer, and I was interviewing for jobs there. During that time I was commuting to the city every day from Youngstown. I was pretty close to being offered a position in the new city, but before it could happen, she was offered a too-good-to-pass-up job here that she interviewed for before she moved. We moved back into the city last September.

4) After months of looking for something new here, I finally found a job that I absolutely love. We both get free tuition at our new positions, so we plan on being here at least a few years while we take advantage of those. Ideally, I'd still like to move to a bigger or at least warmer city at some point in the future. Chicago was my first love after interning out there for a summer in college, and I could easily see myself moving out there at some point.

[Caladium]

drtdgger13--congrats on getting engaged!!!

[cheezit34141988]

Originally Posted by Caladium

drtdgger13--congrats on getting engaged!!!

Thanks...happened in June of last year. Our first date was actually a restaurant Hopes recommended if I recall. I'll have to check.

But...they say if you marry a Pittsburgh girl you're stuck here forever because they dont leave so I have that going eh? Haha.

[PghYinzer]

1) June 2003

2) Graduated college with no real job, or idea what I wanted to do, so moved to Pittsburgh to slug it out

3) This June marks 11 years, and I had no real plan on how long I was going to stay. While working my first job out of college, which was horrible (but paid well due to excessive overtime), I planned/considered moving to DC, Boston, and Charlotte. All of my contacts in those three cities have since moved to Pittsburgh or San Fran.

4) Life is keeping me here. I am on my 3rd job at my 2nd company, and each position gets better. My family is close, my brother moved to Pittsburgh 3 years ago, I own a house, and I have too many friends and activities here to consider moving. Pittsburgh is the farthest south I would ever live, so maybe Chicago/Philly/Boston someday, but at this point I have no reason to leave. My company has offices in Philly and Chicago, so I could techinically transfer and either WFH or set up shop in one of those locations. However I love my job, and my life so I see no need to move. I can't think of one thing that I want that I don't have here. Well maybe doner kebabs, I would like a decent doner kebab.

[UKyank]

1) when did you move here?
2007

2) what brought you here?
Moved from London - position at the firm I was at opened up at a branch here so I took it as I had been wanting to move stateside

3) how long did you plan originally to live here? how long have you been here?
had no set plan either way

4) what's keeping you here or making you want to move away?
not without some complaints, but overall like the city alot & everything it has to offer & it's much lower cost of living. Oh, and a girl too

[eschaton]

1. February 2005

2. I had lost my last "real job" a few months prior, and was just sort of bumming around New Haven, Connecticut, living off savings and doing part-time archival work. A job opened up in my field with an organization I had great respect for. I applied with some trepidation, given I knew nothing about Pittsburgh and was moving away from all of my friends.

3. I think I went into this with the understanding it would last indefinitely. Been here nine years now.

4. Two things keep me here. One is loyalty to my job. There was some scuttlebutt a few years ago about us moving to Chicago, which didn't pan out, but I would have gladly moved there. Also, if the organization proves financially unsustainable (which is a real concern) I'll have to cast my net pretty wide. The second reason, though, is I married a local woman. While she isn't keen on staying in Pittsburgh her whole life (given she grew up here and all) she feels a responsibility to stay here due to her parents, given her brother has cut off ties with the family, she'd feel guilty about taking the grandkids away, and as they enter their 70s, they will need help sooner or later.

I do have a natural sense of wanderlust however, and I like to be doing new things every few years, else I get real antsy. It's one reason I've been pushing my wife that we need to move to a new house. I hope one way or another I don't spend the rest of my life in Pittsburgh, as much as I like seeing the city it's becoming.

[ferraris]

1) when did you move here?
2005

2) what brought you here?
College

3) how long did you plan originally to live here? how long have you been here?
I was 18, I had no plans. I've been here for 9 years

4) what's keeping you here or making you want to move away?
First 4 years I was in school. Then 1.5 years of working. Followed by 2 more years of school. And finally now my girlfriend is back in school again. So to sum it up: school.

[shadowfax]

1) when did you move here? The first time. May 2 1991. Second time September 1999. I grew up in NE CT Went to equestrian college i WV and came here from there. Moved back to CT/MA for a few years with my late husband because he wanted to move. Otherwise I never would have left. Relocated from Canonsburg to Greenfield in February.

2) what brought you here? First time work. I took a job as a trainer/manager at a horse breeding farm. The second time. To honor the request of my late husband that if anything happened to him I would come back here and be with his parents so that I could help them and they could help me. Remaining there with my own family would have been a very healthy choice. He died in March 1999.

3) how long did you plan originally to live here? how long have you been here? Been here for almost 15 years. No plans to move out of the area.

4) what's keeping you here or making you want to move away? I love living here. Moving is not even a question in my mind.