Pittsburgh a good fit for a 19 year old college student like me?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by WRC5

One of the best posts I've seen. Appreciate it.

As for everyone else. Also appreciate your input. I wouldn't move there without having things set up and figuring other things out. As for Duquesne being 30k...they give good financial aid. It would be about 17k for me a year total cost.

I just don't want you to necessarily waste more time than you need to living in a place that doesn't feel "right" for you. Different people have different personality types. Some people think you can "bloom where you are planted", meaning whether you're in Malibu, East St. Louis, Bangor, Miami, or Ottumwa, you can be as happy as YOU choose to be. I'm inclined to disagree with these people. I was a happy person, for the most part, until I made that disastrous relocation error to Northern Virginia. I corrected that with my move to Pittsburgh, and now I'm still happy again four years later.

Certain people derive a great sense of (dis)pleasure from their physical surroundings while others just shrug. For me it was imperative I lived in/near the heart of a historic city, and, for me, that is now a dream come to fruition! I've also long wanted to open my own business. If all goes well that will be happening on July 1, 2015.

I'm not encouraging you to be "reckless".

I'm a MUCH bigger risk-taker than many. Not many would have walked away from a "cushy" Federal job in what was supposed to be a "very livable" area. I did. I'm much better off for it now. You could have just the OPPOSITE experience, though. You could move to Pittsburgh jobless, carless, and education-less and find yourself prostituting yourself on East Carson Street at 2 AM to eat dinner. With that being said there are a TON of entry-level menial jobs here that pay $10/hr.+ (sometimes including tips in that figure for servers, bartenders, food delivery drivers, etc.) That sort of wage would afford you the ability to live here comfortably with (a) roommate(s) to split expenditures, coupon clipping, and being careful with your discretionary spending.

Most people who are "struggling" here are simply too lazy to pick up a second (or third) job, cut back on extraneous expenditures ("needs" like generic brand food vs. "wants" like cable), had child(ren) out of wedlock, etc. None of that is politically correct to say, of course, so I know that last sentence will get me slammed. Just look at CraigsList. Tons of jobs are being posted here everyday that would be suitable for someone with limited or no college education. Some of those "menial" jobs can warp into careers, too, long-term. I was promoted last year on my own merit when a person vacated my position to open his own business. I'll likely be leaving next year to open my own business, at which point in time that vacancy can be filled by another entry-level "delivery boy". You can start as a busboy or server's assistant at a high-end restaurant in Mt. Washington and work your way up to being a full-fledged server (with better tips) within a couple of years. A gay friend of mine in Boston and his partner purchased a home recently in that very expensive city. He makes more in tips as a server at an exclusive restaurant than most of the people on this sub-forum who belittle non-white-collar workers make annually.

If you possess a solid work ethic, an idealistic attitude, and an open mind, then you can definitely thrive here.

[sealie]

I agree with you. But if the OP wants a college degree not in a field that requires math, he better be a good analyst with great communication skills or he needs to be very lucky or he needs to be extremely focused on hard work. The success stories I know are a combination. I just don't like telling a teenager to give up on a dream, but that's my own problem.

[sealie]

Agree with theta, I mean.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by WRC5

The hope is to have roommates, I don't want to live alone. I'm sure most places would be more than $400 a month though, I was just responding to that poster that said there is some housing in Oakland? that has a strong student population with decent housing and stuff going on for around that price, which would be cool. He also mentioned I would obviously need roommates.

Problem with roommates is like I said, I know no one in PGH, so I would need to either find someone looking for roommates or something. Not sure what websites are good for that, although craigslist comes to mind.

As for what i'm going for, still a bit undecided. Gotta be something that doesn't require much math though...

Along with Craigslist, all schools of bulletin boards and community areas where you can post flyers about looking for a roommate and what kind of a roommate you would want.

I was an accounting major at Duquesne so I don't think I could give you much advice about which professors to take or avoid . But after four years there I still know the campus hah.