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I’m reading that PA is a good place for teachers. Wondering if this is true? I have a BA, CA multiple subject teaching credential and CA Ed specialist credential. 14 years experience. I was looking in the Denver forums and told “forget living here on a teacher’s salary” which was really disheartening and kind of sad to me.
I’m comfortable in my very pretty and friendly Bay Area community, but I’ll never be able to buy on a single salary here. Plus, I’m burnt out on the Bay Area in general. The area I live is great, but it’s a bubble, and small. I don’t really like SF (except to go for music or restaurants) parking is a nightmare and it’s mainly filled with recent college grads. Most people move to the burbs once they hit mid thirties,
Any teachers able to live comfortably in Pittsburgh? Even save to buy? It sounds like a friendly, artsy, welcoming city. Is there a good social life? I’m in my 40s. Bay Area has lots of social options, but it’s really segregated due to traffic. North Bay stays in North Bay and SF, east bay stays in East Bay and SF. Same with South Bay. Despite the size of the entire area, it’s strangely isolated.
Also, there are a lot of singles in my age bracket, but something about that place is really toxic when it comes to dating. Maybe because we’re all so focused on our careers, we never bothered to settle down? Can’t figure it out. I grew up there and it’s changed from an artsy quirky place to high stress and despite the beauty, it’s shockingly not a very positive place. I’m looking for a more chilled out environment, open minded people, friendly, happy, interesting, educated.
Oh yes, and teacher salaries. Also, transferring from out of state. Not a good move retirement wise, I know, I’m looking at other CA cities, but thought I’d explore out if state to cover all bases.
I don't work in education but I do think Pittsburgh is more affordable than other cities in general. I would caution that coming from somewhere like the Bay Area to Pittsburgh might make the city feel underwhelming in comparison. Pittsburgh is just so much smaller.
What made you pick Pittsburgh? Family in the area?
Quick edit: Looks like you posted in the Austin forum too. I was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and have lived in Austin for 1 year. I can probably help you compare the two.
Hey! Thank you! Wow, I received some hostile replies in Austin. I understand that the influx of newcomers taking over their city and pricing them out is upsetting. I experienced that with SF. Once upon a time, SF was a viable option. It’s never been inexpensive, but it used to be possible. Even as postgrads, we were moving there and affording a studio or one bed. Now, it’s out of control. It’s a bummer, but you’ve got to roll with it. Anyway, the comments on the Austin board were really unkind. I know it’s easy to write mean things behind a screen, but I’m not interested in moving to a place that’s hostile toward newcomers ... and let’s face it .. not a lot of love for Californians.
I chose Pittsburgh area because I read that PA is a great state for teachers. I also hear that Pittsburgh is very up and coming, friendly, hip, and affordable still. I’d like to live somewhere that’s a little more chilled out (the Bay Area is totally manic these days) the artists and musicians are leaving the city unless they have rent control. I’d like to live somewhere where buying on a single person’s teacher salary is a possibility. Yeah, I could live in Fresno or somewhere like that, but I’d like to live somewhere more vibrant.
I’m also looking at San Diego, Sacramento (it’s ok there, but not top choice for personal reasons), also looking at Durham North Carolina (apparently another state that’s good to teachers and cost of living might afford a house), Portland, OR too.
I loathe Boise (sorry Idaho) really bad experience there.
Minneapolis sounds friendly but super cold.
Anyway, that’s where I am! Looking for friendly, chilled, open minded, cultural, and yes, a dating scene where people actually want to commit to one person would be cool. I’ve already lived in big cities like London. Super fun, but looking more for community, arts, music scene, food, and affordability these days.
PA is great for teachers. So great the pension may one day break the state. My retired FIL claims his income is higher in retirement than it was when he was teaching.
PA is great for teachers. So great the pension may one day break the state. My retired FIL claims his income is higher in retirement than it was when he was teaching.
Well, I don’t want to break the state! I just want to be able to do my job, help the community, feel part of the community, and be able to afford life there.
Goodjules should be along shortly. She moved here from San Francisco several years ago after being gentrified out of the Bay Area. She bought a big historic home in our suburb of Crafton. She seems to be happy here overall, but I don’t think she likes the weather much. It gets much more humid here in the summertime than in the Bay Area. It is VERY gray here from around November to March. Seems like we have one sunny day per week during those months, on average. We have now had back-to-back years of 50+ inches of precipitation for the first time in recorded history. We don’t get much snow here, but we obviously get much more than the Bay Area. Spring and Fall are lovely—albeit brief (thanks, climate change!) Air conditioning is necessary for Summer.
Housing is MUCH more affordable in Pittsburgh. My fiancé and I earn ~$65,000 combined annually and are going to buy a home in a safe city neighborhood in 2021 (still cleaning up credit issues from an addict ex who stole from me and defrauded me—long story).
Politically the city is rather far to the left but is also only ~1/4 of the county. The rest of Allegheny County leans left. The suburban counties are FAR right-wing. Allegheny County (including the city) comprise ~50% of our metropolitan population. Coming from the Bay Area Pittsburgh will seem politically moderate to you, and the surrounding counties will seem like Mississippi. I work with an office full of city-dwelling Trump supporters, but none of them have an issue with me being gay (thankfully). There is a lot of transphobia in my office, though. The sports culture and gun culture are also huge in Pittsburgh. You don’t personally have to like the Steelers or the NRA, but expect to hear them arise in casual conversations here frequently.
I moved to Pittsburgh from the suburbs of Washington, DC in 2010. I’m happy here overall. Parts of Pittsburgh are rapidly gentrifying; however, they comprise a small overall land footprint. There are still many city neighborhoods and suburbs affordable to the lower-middle-class. Unfortunately I landed in a neighborhood in 2010 that was dirt cheap and is now expensive. We will be buying elsewhere in 2021.
Teaching? My sister is a teacher in Eastern Pennsylvania. PA is a great state for teaching (albeit has a very competitive job market). Given our stagnant population we’d gladly welcome you with open arms!
Hey! Thank you! Wow, I received some hostile replies in Austin. I understand that the influx of newcomers taking over their city and pricing them out is upsetting. I experienced that with SF.
In reality the city is nothing like that. Everyone in Austin has been super friendly and there's no outward hostility towards Californians, though the city is changing and it is frustrating for some people. I guess I'm equally as guilty for moving in, but the tech companies aren't going anywhere anytime soon so I wouldn't let people on the internet scare you away for that reason.
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I also hear that Pittsburgh is very up and coming, friendly, hip, and affordable still.
Pittsburgh has been up and coming since... oh, 2009? People have been saying Pittsburgh was the new Portland, and while it's definitely come a long way, it never "came and went" like Austin and Portland did. In fact, I don't expect it to anytime soon, which could be seen as a pro or con depending on your perspective.
One major difference between Austin and Pittsburgh, is that Austin (and really Texas in general) as a certain buzz to it. People are moving to Texas in droves, and even when I came to Dallas in 2014 for the first time I could immediately tell that things were just happening here. There's a certain optimism that I haven't felt anywhere else. Pittsburgh lacks that energy but isn't doing bad either. I'd say it's sleepier but maybe has a better community feel. I don't want my post to get too long so I'll make a list of which city does what better.
Affordability: Pittsburgh
Natural Beauty: Pittsburgh (Austin is pretty but still not even close)
Architecture: Pittsburgh by a lot.
Weather: Austin (Pittsburgh is slightly less cloudy than Portland, but keep in mind its 100F in Austin for 2-3 months)
Economy: Austin
Art Scene: I'm really torn here... I want to say Austin but just by a hair.
Museums/Zoos/etc: Pittsburgh
Music: Austin by far.
Food: Austin, but neither are as good as larger cities.
Cultural Diversity: Neither.
History: Pittsburgh
Safety: Austin
Traffic: Both surprisingly awful for mid-sized cities but for different reasons. You can get around it in both places if you're smart.
Public Transport: Pittsburgh, but they both suck depending on location.
Surrounding Area: Pittsburgh, for the mountains and proximity to the east coast beaches and cities.
Social Life: Austin, but there's a cycle of transplants moving in, leaving, and being replaced by more transplants, repeat.
A couple more things off the top of my head... Pittsburgh is really neighborhood-based compared to other places I've lived. There's almost a natural "segregation" that takes place because each little neighborhood had it's own central business area in the past which still kind of still exists in many neighborhoods today. I can literally tell where one neighborhood ends and the next starts based on road layout and architecture in some places. I assume this is because Pittsburgh had a lot of immigration 150 years go (Italian, Irish, Scottish, Polish, etc) and they settled into bubbles before cars were common.
I also wouldn't be afraid to live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh if you want to save even more money. Those are where the good school districts are anyway. Unlike Texas, once you leave Pittsburgh you'll just run into more towns, small and large. Texas seems to have a more wide open wild west vibe going on once you leave the population centers. It turns into a whole lot of nothing. PA isn't overpopulated like LA or the Bay area but there's plenty of civilization baked into the scenery in almost any direction for at least a 45 minute drive. And Pittsburgh is actually extremely compact. According to wikipedia, it's only 58 square miles large, compared to Austin which is 305 square miles. So if you move outside of the city, you really aren't going too far at all. Pittsburgh looks way smaller on paper in both land and population, but if you compare the entire metro area Austin and Pittsburgh are actually very similarly sized.
As far as teaching goes, I can't offer much advice. But I will say that when I graduated high school (which was like 10 years ago), there was a teacher strike and everyone was angry with them because it was revealed that some teachers were making 6 digits... so that's probably a good sign?
PA has very few public school teacher vacancies and lots of candidates available to fill them. PA teacher salaries and benefits are among the best in the nation. The site linked below claims to be a resource for teacher employment opportunities. Many of the vacancies are ancillary jobs. Penn State Career Office has a website for teacher employment but it's available only to students and alumni.
PA has very few public school teacher vacancies and lots of candidates available to fill them. PA teacher salaries and benefits are among the best in the nation. The site linked below claims to be a resource for teacher employment opportunities. Many of the vacancies are ancillary jobs. Penn State Career Office has a website for teacher employment but it's available only to students and alumni.
This is no longer the case, in fact we are at the beginning of a teacher shortage. While at one time PA prepared and exported more teachers than any other state, enrollment in teacher prep programs has declined by more than 60% since 2010.
Special education positions are some of the most difficult to fill. If you have good credentials and strong references it should not be difficult to find employment here. And salary and benefits are very good. You should know that unlike many states, PA has 500 districts, many of which are very small (geographic and enrollment.) makes applying for jobs more complicated. Fortunately once you create an account in Applitrack or whatever online system a district uses, you can use it to apply in other places that use the same system.
I moved to Pittsburgh from San Francisco seven years ago. I was well into middle age and I had never lived outside of the Bay Area until I moved here. Home prices are roughly 85% lower than the Bay Area, but property taxes as a percentage of home value are about 3x higher. Even so, owning a home is waaaaaaaaaay more affordable here. Pittsburgh is fairly progressive, but once you leave the city, you're in Trump country. People complain about the traffic, and it does get bad thanks to multiple bridges and tunnels. But it pales in comparison to Bay Area traffic. Rush hour actually ends here. Much smaller population means things aren't nearly as crowded. Saturdays at Costco are like a slow Wednesday at a Bay Area Costco. I've never had more than four people ahead of me for gas, 20+ was typical at my SSF Costco. There's a vibrant food, art, theater, and music scene, albeit much smaller than the Bay Area. Because it's relatively affordable to start a restaurant, find studio space, open a small business, etc. entrepreneurs, emerging artists and creative types can make a life here. While Pittsburghers are welcoming and friendly many have families that have been here for generations so they tend to have well established social networks. I've found that most of the friends I've made are transplants like me. I do have a few friends who are natives. I grew up in the foggy Sunset District so I don't do well with heat. The summers are hot and humid. The winters are very cold, but we don't get tons of snow. Spring and fall are too short. I highly recommend you visit to get a feel for the city. I moved here not knowing anyone other than an artist I met on my first visit and the people on this forum. Some of whom I've since met IRL. I'm happy here. I do miss my family and friends on the west coast and I wish I could change the summers to be like Redwood City's, but other than that I'm quite content with the life I've made. BTW, my house here would easily be worth $2 million in SF. I paid under $200k for it. Feel free to private message me if you have any specific questions.
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