In how many years will Pittsburgh top it's peak population? (Butler: live, shops)

[doo dah]

I know this will be difficult, but it is just possible that for the most part, the businesses and stores are there for the residents of Bloomfield, not tourists from other areas.

[sealie]

I think cleaning up Bloomfield is going to jack the commercial rents to the point where the region can't support three bookstores, one of them anarchist. Dreaming Ant is already gone.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

If anyone thinks that Bloomfield's business district is sad they must not leave the East End ever.

Also if my memory serves me correctly SCR is the first person to complain about "yoga studio/poodle washing/artisanal whatever" business districts, yet here he's advocating for just that.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by doo dah

I know this will be difficult, but it is just possible that for the most part, the businesses and stores are there for the residents of Bloomfield, not tourists from other areas.

Polish Hill has 1,300 people who utilize Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, and the Strip District for most of our needs because we don't have many businesses. I don't consider myself to be a "tourist" to Bloomfield when I live within walking distance of it and am there almost daily.

Originally Posted by sealie

I think cleaning up Bloomfield is going to jack the commercial rents to the point where the region can't support three bookstores, one of them anarchist. Dreaming Ant is already gone.

Anarchist bookstore = Good.
Starbucks = Bad.

I'm just trying to learn what the perfect East Ender is to people on City-Data. So they should be anarchist, but they should only drink coffee if it's locally-sourced? Is that correct? Not being snarky. I've just been confused about what the "proper" East Ender SHOULD be since moving here in 2010 because it seems like that definition continues to be shifting.

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

If anyone thinks that Bloomfield's business district is sad they must not leave the East End ever.

Also if my memory serves me correctly SCR is the first person to complain about "yoga studio/poodle washing/artisanal whatever" business districts, yet here he's advocating for just that.

I never said Bloomfield's business district is sad or a dump. I said it has room for improvement. Those low-class "CASH 4 GOLD"; "Cash Advance/Payday Loan"; "Vape" shops; etc. need not be replaced by a place with yoga-loving clerks on unicycles selling fair-trade tofu sandwiches to Siamese kittens to benefit Darfur. You don't need to replace trashy and low-brow with vapid and pretentious. Isn't there a "middle-ground" anymore in this country, or is it all "ghetto" or "yuppie"? I shop at TJ Maxx. Does that make me a bad yuppie or a good hipster? I'm so confused by all of these East End labels anymore.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

According to City Data (not the forums) Pittsburgh's poverty rate is much higher than the state average. Having check cashing/gold trading places in abundance should not come to a surprise. The small pockets of wealth we have in the city are actually eclipsed by those who are far less fortunate.

Also vape shops shouldn't be considered trashy in my opinion. It's a hot ticket item and people are opening businesses in highly populated areas to sell it with large profits. That's pretty much capitalism 101.

Seriously, get out of the East End for awhile dude.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Polish Hill has 1,300 people who utilize Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, and the Strip District for most of our needs because we don't have many businesses. I don't consider myself to be a "tourist" to Bloomfield when I live within walking distance of it and am there almost daily.

Anarchist bookstore = Good.
Starbucks = Bad.

I'm just trying to learn what the perfect East Ender is to people on City-Data. So they should be anarchist, but they should only drink coffee if it's locally-sourced? Is that correct? Not being snarky. I've just been confused about what the "proper" East Ender SHOULD be since moving here in 2010 because it seems like that definition continues to be shifting.

Why does everyone need a label put on them? I doubt people wake up in the morning and say to themselves, "time to put my East Ender clothes on and head out and do East Ender type things."

Also, if people only drank locally sourced coffee, they wouldn't be drinking much coffee. The coffee a proper East Ender drinks is Fair-Trade (maybe, however I dont really know since I am a backwoods Brookliner). Stereotypes and labels are not cool, and I would assume you would know that by now.

Back to the topic, Bloomfield's business district....I like it for what it has. Granted there could be some upgrades to the actual infrastructure, but that is pretty much true for anywhere. As for Bloomfield itself, I am not a fan of that area. It just feels way too crowded for me, and the housing is way too haphazard for my liking. DF/DS though, and in general I would say it is a pretty solid area that most city neighborhoods would gladly have.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

I lol'd at "locally sourced coffee". Coffee doesn't grow anywhere in the mainland United States:

[sealie]

Would you accept locally roasted coffee and locally made sweets, ATC?

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by sealie

Would you accept locally roasted coffee and locally made sweets, ATC?

Sure! But only if replace tobacco related stores around the city. Nicotine is trashy and caffeine is classy.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Also vape shops shouldn't be considered trashy in my opinion. It's a hot ticket item and people are opening businesses in highly populated areas to sell it with large profits. That's pretty much capitalism 101.

Nothing says trashy things can't be lucrative. In fact, they quite often are.