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Can you believe it?! Negativity from a Pittsburgh cheerleader ahead (don't faint...)
Although I love Pittsburgh overall, there are a few things that kind of drive me nuts about it:
1) Driving difficulties, including driving and a weird layout based on topography. It's frustrating trying to get around in Pittsburgh, and easy to get lost. Also, although I appreciate living in a city with public transportation, PAT really needs to work on a few aspects of their service.
2) Negative locals who don't know how good they have it here. Take a clue already from all the positive transplants and improve your poor attitude, will ya? And while you're at it, fix up your old houses - they're beautiful and have lots of character and deserve better than the shabby care that you give them! People in many other housing markets would literally kill to get their hands on the kinds of historic homes that some Pittsburgh natives just let fall into disrepair because they are too cheap and lazy to have done anything to them since 1974.
3) Although I have found the people of Pittsburgh to be typically very well-educated and progressive, I unfortunately can't say the same for the people living in more rural areas surrounding the city. There's a saying that Pennslyvania is Philly and Pittsburgh with Alabama in-between, and I have personally found that to be true - insular, not open to change, and deliberately ignorant.
Well I have to agree with the LACK of sunshine! I'm originally from Buffalo and even BUFFALO HAS MORE SUNSHINE!!!!! I lived in Seattle and it's even greyer than there. I think the greyness is what gives the general population it's "I hate my life and Pittsburgh" attitude. If only the sun could pop out at least once or twice during the week in the winter, it wouldn't be so dreary.
Taxes are really high for what you get for your money. It's a shame the government can't find better ways to manage the money. Looking at other places, you get WAY MORE for your taxes than you do here in Pittsburgh. I really don't mind high taxes, but at least make me feel like I'm getting my moneys worth!
The inability to purchase alcohol or beer in a grocery store. What a pain in the a*s it is to have to do your grocery shopping in one place and to get your alcohol from a completely different place. It wouldn't be such a problem, but the weather is so crappy most times that it's not a pleasant experience to have to run out of your vehicle into the pouring, freezing rain to get alcohol. And the fact you cannot buy a 6 pack or beer/wine coolers at these beer stores is even MORE ridicuous! So now you have ANOTHER trip you have to make to a BAR (hoping it's open in the AM) unless you want to buy beer by the case load. And wait, you still have to go out to ANOTHER place to get a bottle of wine!
It's the most inconvenient place I have ever lived.
WAY too much work to be worth my while.
I'm planning to move to Pittsburgh in five years so I'm very interested in getting a complete picture of the area. My big concerns are the weather, taxes, and the inconvenience of buying alcohol.
Have you been to San Francisco? If so, would you say it's as gray as the SF Sunset District? I lived there for thirty years so I think I could handle Pittsburgh. However, I've lived the last twenty years in a much nicer climate with actual sun in the summer!
Given that I will probably be able to purchase a home that is drastically cheaper than what I own in CA, the property taxes will be annoying, but not a deal-breaker. When I was in Pittsburgh a few years a go there was talk about property tax relief proposals. Did anything ever come of that? Like you, I don't mind paying if the services provided are worth it (schools, roads, infrastructure...).
I am spoiled here in CA. Not only can you buy wine, beer, and spirits in most grocery stores, we have a fantastic selection of small wineries, breweries to choose from. I honestly think this would be the hardest adjustment for me to make because it would affect me in my day to day life. I hate having to make extra trips when I'm running errands. Any chance that this system will change?
I'm planning to move to Pittsburgh in five years so I'm very interested in getting a complete picture of the area. My big concerns are the weather, taxes, and the inconvenience of buying alcohol.
Have you been to San Francisco? If so, would you say it's as gray as the SF Sunset District? I lived there for thirty years so I think I could handle Pittsburgh. However, I've lived the last twenty years in a much nicer climate with actual sun in the summer!
Given that I will probably be able to purchase a home that is drastically cheaper than what I own in CA, the property taxes will be annoying, but not a deal-breaker. When I was in Pittsburgh a few years a go there was talk about property tax relief proposals. Did anything ever come of that? Like you, I don't mind paying if the services provided are worth it (schools, roads, infrastructure...).
I am spoiled here in CA. Not only can you buy wine, beer, and spirits in most grocery stores, we have a fantastic selection of small wineries, breweries to choose from. I honestly think this would be the hardest adjustment for me to make because it would affect me in my day to day life. I hate having to make extra trips when I'm running errands. Any chance that this system will change?
It is plenty sunny here in the Spring/Summer/Fall, winters tend to be pretty dreary.
I think there are a couple of grocery stores that sell alcohol (Shop N Save in South Fayette?). I would hope that would change, but I would not hold my breath.
As a Philly native, I hate the 'burgh. The highways are convoluted. Worst dating city in America. Even the educated locals are backwards hicks. Nothing like being landlocked in a gray sea of despair. Pittsburgh may be great on paper but if you've lived anywhere remotely cosmopolitan, chances are you won't like it.
I can't get the sunshine graph to copy, so I'll refer you to the Pittsburgh main page. Then compare it with any other city in the US. You will see that Pittsburgh is a cloudy place, even in the summer, relatively speaking.
I am spoiled here in CA. Not only can you buy wine, beer, and spirits in most grocery stores, we have a fantastic selection of small wineries, breweries to choose from. I honestly think this would be the hardest adjustment for me to make because it would affect me in my day to day life. I hate having to make extra trips when I'm running errands. Any chance that this system will change?
Pittsburgh is actually a great beer town. Yes, the buying restrictions are annoying, but in my view that is more than made up for by the fantastic selection of beers available in various places (on draft or for taking home), including from several outstanding local (or localish, meaning somewhere in PA) breweries.
On the other hand, the wine and spirits situation is indeed somewhat grim, and obviously the wine situation in particular is nothing like California. The only hopeful note I can offer on that front is that the traditional Pittsburgh basement tends to make for an ideal wine cellar, so most of the people I know who are into wine end up accumulating their own collections.
I'm planning to move to Pittsburgh in five years so I'm very interested in getting a complete picture of the area. My big concerns are the weather, taxes, and the inconvenience of buying alcohol.
Have you been to San Francisco? If so, would you say it's as gray as the SF Sunset District? I lived there for thirty years so I think I could handle Pittsburgh. However, I've lived the last twenty years in a much nicer climate with actual sun in the summer!
Given that I will probably be able to purchase a home that is drastically cheaper than what I own in CA, the property taxes will be annoying, but not a deal-breaker. When I was in Pittsburgh a few years a go there was talk about property tax relief proposals. Did anything ever come of that? Like you, I don't mind paying if the services provided are worth it (schools, roads, infrastructure...).
I am spoiled here in CA. Not only can you buy wine, beer, and spirits in most grocery stores, we have a fantastic selection of small wineries, breweries to choose from. I honestly think this would be the hardest adjustment for me to make because it would affect me in my day to day life. I hate having to make extra trips when I'm running errands. Any chance that this system will change?
Right now I'm in Scottsdale, Arizona. Talk about sunshine! I really can't answer many of the questions about taxes, etc. because I did not spend enough time there. Many of the regular posters on here can answer whatever questions you have, they seem pretty well versed in all things Pittsbugh.
I don't think people realize what a pain it is to have to drive all around to get some simple grocery items like beer unless they have lived elsewhere. (Most states allow beer to be bought in stores....) I doubt it will ever change, something about bar owners freaking out about lost business. It drove me nuts, it was SUCH a pain! As far as starting your own wine collection, that is easier said than done, especially since Pittsburgh has very little variety compared to other areas of the US.
Last edited by londonbarcelona; 03-18-2008 at 04:12 PM..
I remember experiencing absolute amazement at seeing beer and wine for sale just about everywhere when I first went to collage in the state of Indiana. The now defunct drug store "Phar-Mor" would literally have pyramids of beer case promotions in the store, which nearly half of it was dedicated to beer and wine priced like a steal compared to PA. Even today, I love being able to purchase beer, wine, even spirits at places like Wal-mart, Krogers, Aldis..
As others have said, it will never change, much like auto inspection/emission which I hate as well.
I don't think people realize what a pain it is to have to drive all around to get some simple grocery items like beer unless they have lived elsewhere. (Most states allow beer to be bought in stores....) I doubt it will ever change, something about bar owners freaking out about lost business. It drove me nuts, it was SUCH a pain! As far as starting your own wine collection, that is easier said than done, especially since Pittsburgh has very little variety compared to other areas of the US.
I grew up in a state with drive-through beer buying (as well as beer in grocery stores), so I do realize how inconvenient it is in Pittsburgh. On the other hand, I now live within a two-minute walk of a place I can buy approximately 1000 varieties of beer, with an ever-rotating selection on tap (this being D's). For me that is a worthwhile tradeoff, but I am a serious beer guy.
On wine, the people I know (and this includes my wife, and somewhat myself I guess) basically help each other out. For example, unusual wines will sometimes show up in the better state stores, and people will buy several bottles of something they spot (sometimes the whole stock, in fact) and then trade with their other wine-loving friends. Plus, you can order wine for direct shipping to a state store, and you have a constitutional right to have wine shipped directly to you (according to the Supreme Court), although this last issue is in some legal limbo. But in general, I acknowledge buying wine in PA is a pain in the neck, and on this subject I really can't offer a compensating tradeoff (other than the ease of cellaring).
I can't get the sunshine graph to copy, so I'll refer you to the Pittsburgh main page. Then compare it with any other city in the US. You will see that Pittsburgh is a cloudy place, even in the summer, relatively speaking.
I've never minded the cloudiness in the summer too much, as it does keep the humidity from being more oppressive. Also the lush greenery then makes it more appealing. I know that I haven't spent a winter in the area in over 30 years, but I do remember some sunny periods. The weather seemed very changeable with a lot of precipitation.
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I'm originally from Buffalo and even BUFFALO HAS MORE SUNSHINE!!!!! 
I lived in Seattle and it's even greyer than there. 
I really can't answer many of the questions about taxes, etc. because I did not spend enough time there. Many of the regular posters on here can answer whatever questions you have, they seem pretty well versed in all things Pittsbugh. 
