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With the asinine rental rates of Seattle (Go on Craigslist and check it out. Not for the faint of heart). I've entertained the thought of moving to Pittsburgh. Ive visited the city for a couple of days last year sightseeing (Big George A. Romero Fan so I went to the Monroeville Mall and Evans City) and I liked what I've seen. Spent some time in Downtown Pittsburgh and liked it down there too. It has a lot of green which I like, and I got a good vibe of the city. People seemed friendly enough. I also checked out the rental rates and they are crazy cheap for their size and location. $700 gets you 150 sq ft in Seattle if you're lucky.
I currently work in IT as a Help Desk Analyst and completed my AAS degree in Computer Networking and Security and possess a CompTIA A+ certification (Will pursue other certs in the future). I want to hear from other people who moved from the West Coast (or Pittsburgh natives) on how the quality of life is there vs somewhere like Seattle and do you regret moving here or not? How is the job market in the Tech sector? Naturally I would try to find a job and a place before moving as well as saving for the trip and settling down.
I moved here from Seattle. Originally lived in the city of Pittsburgh and worked there as well. I then worked my way out and now live in semi rural area. DH was from the city which is what brought us back here. The biggest adjustment was going from a fairly pristine area to the rust belt. I was a put off at first. But then I began to appreciate the beauty of old and now I think I would find buildings in Seattle much more boring. Of course it is much colder here in Winters and hotter in Summers. I like Fall here better because of the beauty of the leaves which we didn't get to the extent we do here. People wise...I found both area fine...people complain about people in both but I didn't have any issues.
It's harder to learn your way around here to me. Of course the beauty of the mountains will always be missed but there is a lot about Pittsburgh that reminds me of Seattle will the hills.
People in general aren't as environmentally conscious here as Seattle. You are not going to find the variety of restaurants but there are some great ones here. And when I lived in Seattle people didn't jaywalk and cars were mindful of pedestrians and bike riders. Not near as orderly here. I miss the order. . A part of me will always miss Seattle but we have settled in nicely here. The only reason we are not closer to the city is we found a very old farmhouse with a few acres to buy.
Pittsburgh is behind Seattle is gentrification and all that goes along with that, so there are still cheaper neighborhoods, but the areas where many transplants want to live are not cheap and there are fewer of them. Keep in mind that salaries here are less, and sometimes much less for the same position in a truly thriving area like Seattle, because the cost of living is lower and employers certainly know this. Unless you are fortunate enough to have a job where you get paid the same regardless of your location, then the grass is not as green for many people.
For me personally, if my wife was ok with being further away from her family, then the pacific northwest is likely were we would live.
I want to hear from other people who moved from the West Coast (or Pittsburgh natives) on how the quality of life is there vs somewhere like Seattle and do you regret moving here or not? How is the job market in the Tech sector? Naturally I would try to find a job and a place before moving as well as saving for the trip and settling down.
Well I've spent time in Seattle, lived in Portland, and also lived in Pittsburgh so I can give you an idea.
Pittsburgh and Seattle are closely matched when it comes to amenities, however this is what it comes down to:
1. Winter. How do you deal with the snow/cold? It's not exactly Chicago, but then again it's not Seattle either. I'm originally from the Midwest so it didn't bother me, but I prefer the PacNW.
Disclosure: I'm living where I'm living now, in part, because I got tired of having a full winter.
2. Tolerance and diversity (especially if you're a minority). All my friends who were either from parts of the Midwest or Pittsburgh and moved to the PacNW (Portland, Seattle, and Olympia mainly) said how it was a breath of fresh air. Many of them still live in the PacNW and none of those who moved on to other cities have returned to Pittsburgh. Even with the politically correct BS you get in that area of the country I'd still say it's better than Pittsburgh in this respect.
However, the directness and (northern) friendliness of Pittsburgh people is much more to my liking.
3. Food. People rave about Pittsburgh being a foodie town these days. It's not. Mostly mediocre and limited in types of of cuisine offered, but you can find decent pizza. It always bothered me how difficult it was to find good pizza despite having good food in other areas in the PacNW. Things like micro-brews and beer selection isn't bad in Pittsburgh, but far behind the PacNW. For example Fat Heads is generally listed as one of the good places to go in Pittsburgh for selection. I think they have something like 40 beers to select from.
4. Dating and Nightlife. Pittsburgh is lacking in a young professionals scene (or post 30's scene) so you're mostly stuck with bringing along your own family or dating in the 18-27 range. Most of the nightlife caters to the college aged kids too. Oddly Pittsburgh lacks good nightclubs, high end, and fashion. It's more of a dressed down, dive bar going sort of vibe. Nerdy stuff is more accepted in Seattle if that's your thing.
5. Jobs. This is the big one. Pittsburgh really isn't big enough to keep you in a great job unless you're in some niche or a top person in your field (outside of college professors or the medical field). It is also known for going through up and down (layoff) cycles. As a result, myself included, you might end up losing your job after 3 years and then either having to take a survival type job or be forced to move. This has happened to many of my friends who usually end up in DC, dislike it, and then come back for a bit before moving to NYC or another NE city (for those who want to stay in that part of the country).
This is one of the big reasons I believe that while the demographics of the city are shifting younger it has failed to grow.
6. Sports. There are a few weird aspects to sports in the city and basically everyone who's into sports pulls for the Pittsburgh teams.
7. Cost of Living. Seattle's overpriced. Pittsburgh's a bargain. It used to be about twice as big and has the legacy amenities to reflect that. That's why you will see it stacked up against places like Seattle, Portland, Denver, Minneapolis, Boston, and so on. It's not that Pittsburgh is actually better than these places, but it's close and so much more affordable. It's hard to match at that price point and metro size for an urban setting.
I've considered giving Pittsburgh a 3rd try, but I also have accepted that by doing so I'd basically be giving up on my dating life (or more likely I'd just date college aged girls for as long as I could get away with it giving up on having the family thing).
Portland is more to my liking even if the people generally aren't over places like Pittsburgh or Seattle, but the COL is hard to justify.
I guess in the end it comes down to the social aspect. How much of a typical Seattle person are you? If that's where you feel at home socially, politically, and otherwise you probably won't like living in Pittsburgh. But if you look at it more in the way of wishing you were surrounded by normal, yet somewhat educated people (who are direct) then you'll probably like living there.
Edit: Pittsburgh doesn't change much. Even when it does it still has the same feel. So it's not really a "stick it out" sort of place. For a long time it felt like it was about 20 years behind the times, but not in a bad way.
Well I've spent time in Seattle, lived in Portland, and also lived in Pittsburgh so I can give you an idea.
Pittsburgh and Seattle are closely matched when it comes to amenities, however this is what it comes down to:
1. Winter. How do you deal with the snow/cold? It's not exactly Chicago, but then again it's not Seattle either. I'm originally from the Midwest so it didn't bother me, but I prefer the PacNW.
Disclosure: I'm living where I'm living now, in part, because I got tired of having a full winter.
2. Tolerance and diversity (especially if you're a minority). All my friends who were either from parts of the Midwest or Pittsburgh and moved to the PacNW (Portland, Seattle, and Olympia mainly) said how it was a breath of fresh air. Many of them still live in the PacNW and none of those who moved on to other cities have returned to Pittsburgh. Even with the politically correct BS you get in that area of the country I'd still say it's better than Pittsburgh in this respect.
However, the directness and (northern) friendliness of Pittsburgh people is much more to my liking.
3. Food. People rave about Pittsburgh being a foodie town these days. It's not. Mostly mediocre and limited in types of of cuisine offered, but you can find decent pizza. It always bothered me how difficult it was to find good pizza despite having good food in other areas in the PacNW. Things like micro-brews and beer selection isn't bad in Pittsburgh, but far behind the PacNW. For example Fat Heads is generally listed as one of the good places to go in Pittsburgh for selection. I think they have something like 40 beers to select from.
4. Dating and Nightlife. Pittsburgh is lacking in a young professionals scene (or post 30's scene) so you're mostly stuck with bringing along your own family or dating in the 18-27 range. Most of the nightlife caters to the college aged kids too. Oddly Pittsburgh lacks good nightclubs, high end, and fashion. It's more of a dressed down, dive bar going sort of vibe. Nerdy stuff is more accepted in Seattle if that's your thing.
5. Jobs. This is the big one. Pittsburgh really isn't big enough to keep you in a great job unless you're in some niche or a top person in your field (outside of college professors or the medical field). It is also known for going through up and down (layoff) cycles. As a result, myself included, you might end up losing your job after 3 years and then either having to take a survival type job or be forced to move. This has happened to many of my friends who usually end up in DC, dislike it, and then come back for a bit before moving to NYC or another NE city (for those who want to stay in that part of the country).
This is one of the big reasons I believe that while the demographics of the city are shifting younger it has failed to grow.
6. Sports. There are a few weird aspects to sports in the city and basically everyone who's into sports pulls for the Pittsburgh teams.
7. Cost of Living. Seattle's overpriced. Pittsburgh's a bargain. It used to be about twice as big and has the legacy amenities to reflect that. That's why you will see it stacked up against places like Seattle, Portland, Denver, Minneapolis, Boston, and so on. It's not that Pittsburgh is actually better than these places, but it's close and so much more affordable. It's hard to match at that price point and metro size for an urban setting.
I've considered giving Pittsburgh a 3rd try, but I also have accepted that by doing so I'd basically be giving up on my dating life (or more likely I'd just date college aged girls for as long as I could get away with it giving up on having the family thing).
Portland is more to my liking even if the people generally aren't over places like Pittsburgh or Seattle, but the COL is hard to justify.
I guess in the end it comes down to the social aspect. How much of a typical Seattle person are you? If that's where you feel at home socially, politically, and otherwise you probably won't like living in Pittsburgh. But if you look at it more in the way of wishing you were surrounded by normal, yet somewhat educated people (who are direct) then you'll probably like living there.
Edit: Pittsburgh doesn't change much. Even when it does it still has the same feel. So it's not really a "stick it out" sort of place. For a long time it felt like it was about 20 years behind the times, but not in a bad way.
You obviously haven't been to Pittsburgh recently as your comparisons on the social front are tremendously off. Downtown and the cultural district specifically has established itself as an upscale social and cultural district. I can't imagine Portland has a more "authentic" or diverse social scene.
3. Food. People rave about Pittsburgh being a foodie town these days. It's not. Mostly mediocre and limited in types of of cuisine offered, but you can find decent pizza. It always bothered me how difficult it was to find good pizza despite having good food in other areas in the PacNW. Things like micro-brews and beer selection isn't bad in Pittsburgh, but far behind the PacNW. For example Fat Heads is generally listed as one of the good places to go in Pittsburgh for selection. I think they have something like 40 beers to select from.
Totally disagree with this as well. Its not like only Pittsburghers are touting the restaurant scene here. Well respected food media have identified the city as a great dining destination. And while there are some Asian cuisines that are under-represented (and before I get schooled on this..I mean there are FEW not NONE) overall there is diversity and lots of choice.
We eat out every weekend and still have a long list of "we need to try that place!" places.
Totally disagree with this as well. Its not like only Pittsburghers are touting the restaurant scene here. Well respected food media have identified the city as a great dining destination. And while there are some Asian cuisines that are under-represented (and before I get schooled on this..I mean there are FEW not NONE) overall there is diversity and lots of choice.
We eat out every weekend and still have a long list of "we need to try that place!" places.
I tend to think that the Pittsburgh food scene is diverse... but all it takes to bring me back to reality is to drive a few hours south to visit friends in suburban Maryland, where it's hard to drive one mile without running into a cluster of ethnically diverse food options... and they don't have the pretentiousness or high prices.
Curious, which ethnic places in Pittsburgh have pretentiousness and high prices? That sure hasn't been our experience.
The new ones that open and cause Pittsburgh to get more attention from magazines. Meanwhile, you can go to suburban Maryland and find family operated ethnic cuisine everywhere, for decent prices without something like an "instagram friendly bar" or a clever name or whatever nonsense people come up with to seem hip and new.
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. A part of me will always miss Seattle but we have settled in nicely here. The only reason we are not closer to the city is we found a very old farmhouse with a few acres to buy.
