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Old 05-30-2008, 09:13 AM
 
20,273 posts, read 32,877,652 times
Reputation: 2910

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Quote:
Originally Posted by The_soul_controlla View Post
Maybe it's just because I'm into alot of things that really aren't that prevalent here, or maybe it's just that I've been to other cities in a fair amount of time.
I'd suggest more the former. Given the population data I have seen, it appears young people are moving to the City from elsewhere. So, I don't think it is reasonable to assume that you are better informed than these other people about what other places are like. Rather, it just appears that Pittsburgh may be a bad fit for you as an individual, even while it is a good fit for some other young people.

Which again isn't surprising--I think there are something like 30 million people in the United States age 20-34, give or take. 30 million people will result in a tremendous amount of diversity in preferences, and indeed obviously there can be preference sets that add up to only a minority of that group, and yet nonetheless still amount to millions of people. In that sense, it would also not be too surprising if you could find quite large populations of like-minded young people elsewhere, while at the same time Pittsburgh was appealing to a large group of different young people.
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Old 05-30-2008, 02:47 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
12,529 posts, read 17,446,660 times
Reputation: 10629
Soul Controlla,


Sounds like you're making the right move leaving Pgh. But here's a little tip I learned during college interviews, GET THE JOB FIRST. If you're making a good living, the other stuff seems insignificant. I wouldn't really care to be in an area that has tons of entertainment if I couldn't afford the price of admission.
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Old 05-30-2008, 03:47 PM
 
Location: Saint Petersburg
632 posts, read 1,734,001 times
Reputation: 319
Quote:
Originally Posted by londonbarcelona View Post
I understand stating facts and stats about unemployment, which companies are headquarted here, what the population is in the year 2008, etc., but when someone says they don't like the "look" of certain neighborhoods or they feel the area is littered with garbage, who are we to say whether their OPINIONS are right or wrong? Maybe to them they prefer California type housing, or perhaps where they live there is less litter then what they see here.
Well, for me the problem happens when people say things like:

"That neighborhood is crime-ridden - you can tell just by looking at it!"

Or "This city has more litter than Los Angeles, and I know because last time I was downtown I saw many pieces on the ground!"

Only the second parts of those sentences are opinions - the poster thinks a neighborhood looks like it has a lot of crime or that there were many pieces of litter downtown.

Conversely, the first parts of those sentences involve reality, facts, something that could be checked and might have statistics associated with it - a certain neighborhood has more crime than the city average or there are more pieces of litter per square mile in downtown Pittsburgh than downtown Los Angeles.

The problem is that people confuse the second part, their own personal opinion or observation, with the first part, the actual reality of a situation. Anecdotal evidence is ok, especially in the absence of or in addition to actual statistical evidence, but people need to understand and acknowledge that it may not reflect truth, the actual rightness or wrongness of something. And they need to be aware that someone else might call them on it.

There's nothing wrong with challenging people to make better arguments. There isn't even anything wrong with disagreeing with someone's opinion. Disagreement doesn't mean you hate them, or you are trying to insult them, or that you are personally attacking them.

Everybody has the right to post how they feel. But nobody has the right to demand that other people simply accept those feelings at face value all the time.
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Old 10-24-2008, 08:34 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
6 posts, read 18,393 times
Reputation: 11
I feel the need to post here.

I grew up in Butler County which is north of Pittsburgh. My parents are both blue-collar workers, make a decent living and we had a nice house for a family of five. There are no non-service jobs in Butler County, so when I graudated college, I had to expand my search to Allegheny County/Pittsburgh. I did the 40 mile commute for a couple of years, but couldn't take it anymore so I purchased a condo just west of Pittsburgh, and I admit, at age 24, not many other cities would offer me that possibility. I had to purchase a condo because there was NO WAY I was going to be able to afford taxes on a townhome or regular home (condo I only have to pay taxes on the structure, not the land).

That said, I can not WAIT to get out of this town. There are absolutely no entry jobs in any business field. I now have 3 years of experience, my significant other is close to two years experience (after searching for 9 months after graudation just to find himself a job)... and we've been sending out dozens of resumes for the last 9 months. I think we have a total of 3 interviews for the probably 300+ resumes sent out.

We are both fortunate to have jobs in this economy, but when Pittsburgh was recently labeled the best place to ride out the economic downturn I thought that was just complete BS. Sure it's great, if you're 45 and have at least 20 yeras of experience. My company just laid off half of it's workers - all under the age of 28.

I only know of one person who actually moved here for a job- and she left to escape to a job in NYC within a year and a half. There is NO way for young singles to meet people. If it wasn't for college and finding my boyfriend, I would have zero hope here.

I had a wonderful circle of friends from high school. Where do they live now? Harrisburg, Nebraska, Knoxville, DC, Philly, NYC, Columbus, Ireland, Dallas. Not a single friend from high school decided to stay here. I rarely run into anyone from high school when I'm up visiting my parents because THEY LEFT A LONG TIME AGO! I wish I had realized what a horrible place this is to start a career and to start a family when they did. Now I have a house to sell before I can get the heck out of this town.

The city is completely corrupt. It has been more than 50 years the democratic party have run the town. I have nothing against democrats or republicans but rule by one party for that long can only lead to corruption. And the sad pathetic residents of Pittsburgh don't care for some reason. They've driven themselves into a huge deficit... and they build the Pirates a ballpark with our taxes and LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE! We have a team that couldn't compete in the local high school leagues. Our 26 year old mayor is as stupid and corrupt as they come. Oh and Governor Corrupt Rendell acts like Pittsburgh doesn't even exist. He pumps money and funding and everything he has into the eastern side of the state and into Philly but doesn't want to help Pittsburgh. If someone gave him a lie detector test and asked "do you care about Pittsburgh or their economy or job losses or excessively high taxes" - his answer would have to be no to pass. Pittsburgh city schools are an absolute DISASTER and just get worse every year.

Anyone who is not under the age of 30 could not possibly comprehend what a complete black hole this place is. The only jobs around are engineering jobs, which are plentiful for those with that type of degree/experience. But most people don't choose engineering careers, and if not, they have to relocate to have any possibility of making more than $30K during their lifetime. People who are older think things are just peachy. I'm guessing by the time I'm 50 that the city will have under 100K residents. There's just no reason to live here if you're a young person! None!
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Old 10-24-2008, 12:04 PM
 
487 posts, read 1,375,888 times
Reputation: 149
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sportsync View Post
Anyone who is not under the age of 30 could not possibly comprehend what a complete black hole this place is. The only jobs around are engineering jobs, which are plentiful for those with that type of degree/experience. But most people don't choose engineering careers, and if not, they have to relocate to have any possibility of making more than $30K during their lifetime. People who are older think things are just peachy. I'm guessing by the time I'm 50 that the city will have under 100K residents. There's just no reason to live here if you're a young person! None!
At the risk of sounding harsh, welcome to the real world, kid.
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Old 10-24-2008, 01:05 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
12,529 posts, read 17,446,660 times
Reputation: 10629
Quote:
Originally Posted by bboy36win View Post
At the risk of sounding harsh, welcome to the real world, kid.
Ditto that.

As Myron used to say: Life ain't fair.
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Old 02-26-2009, 01:12 PM
 
6 posts, read 12,388 times
Reputation: 13
Ya, it's a joke. It never changes, despite the periodic hype. Sad. ;-(

There are problems everywhere. The thing about 'burgh is that it's so darn depressing.

Pittsburgh has a jobs problem. Pgh is pretty depressing too.

Last edited by Yac; 02-27-2009 at 02:48 AM.. Reason: 3 posts in a row merged
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Old 02-27-2009, 02:45 PM
 
371 posts, read 794,953 times
Reputation: 76
Default The problem starts at the top

First of all, Pittsburgh is a very beautiful and affordable mid-Western city. There are vibrant neighborhoods, one of the largest system of public parks in the Country, and many amenities. It is especially good to raise a family here.

But the economy is in the toilet. The Governor cares little about Western PA (and, in fact, the declining population makes Western PA a lot less significant, politically, than Philadelphia which gets all the attention).

The legislature is too big (and corrupt) and the Democratic machinery controls everything (and I'm a registered Democrat) and is so well entrenched that the Allegheny County Chief Executive, who is politically a Republican (no new taxes, anti-union, small government), was convinced by his wife to switch to the Democratic Party when he told her of his ambitions for political office, because he'd have no chance as a Republican.

The fact that we have no serious competition for major political office in Western PA is the biggest drawback and the reason why the same old ideas get recycled over and over. Until our electorate stops voting the straight party ticket and puts some thought into who they are electing, there is no hope of change.

The school districts (there are way too many of them) have too much autonomy for good. School district property taxes are outrageous and that won't change anytime soon. As a result, those who have ambition at the County level are too scared to raise or change the tax structure because most people are paying too much already. County services are cut back as a result.

Economic development means a Walmart in your back door. Until recently, the County granted Tax Increment Financing status to almost any school district that requested with the result that municipalities cannibalized each other for business. Politicians attempted to capitalize on the dot-com boom by providing incentives for technology developers to locate here but even these jobs are disppearing (Seagate, which operated a research site, here, is closing the doors in June along with the elimination of 159 jobs).

Pittsburgh has been trying to attract more young people here but young people want a political dialogue, not blind ambition, to guide public policy. Unfortunately, each time we experience some competition in politics, we either end up with morons like ex County commissioners Dunn and Cranmer, or cowards like Jim Roddey who didn't want to do the right thing (introduce parity into the property tax market), because it would have offended his affluent political base.

Currently, property taxes are indexed to the 2002 assessment. Unfortunately, this means that people who bought homes in affluent areas are paying proportionally less than people in older, established areas where values are stable or depressed. A friend of mine just purchased a home in Sewickley for $600,000 but the County assesses it at just over $200,000 because that was the value at the last assessment.

Our infrastructure is aging because the politicians want to build roads (and bridges that they can name after themselves), rather than improve public transportation, which is sorely needed. Most people who drive to/from the city do so because there are no viable alternatives.

All of this might seem like I am down on the region but I am not. Pittsburgh and the surrounding counties are real gems in the rough. But what we need, here, is a new way of doing business and we won't get it with our current political system. We're not Chicago and we can't survive with one party rule (and no effect opposition).

So come here. But run for office (in Allegheny County you start at the municipal or school board level and move up).

And do the right thing. It would be refreshing.
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Old 02-27-2009, 03:56 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
29,627 posts, read 34,112,869 times
Reputation: 76631
Quote:
First of all, Pittsburgh is a very beautiful and affordable mid-Western city.
I shouldn't be stirring the pot, but I still contend that anyone who says that Pittsburgh is Midwestern is unfamiliar with the Midwest.
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Old 02-27-2009, 04:16 PM
 
371 posts, read 794,953 times
Reputation: 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by fleetiebelle View Post
I shouldn't be stirring the pot, but I still contend that anyone who says that Pittsburgh is Midwestern is unfamiliar with the Midwest.
Well, you'd be wrong. I grew up in Ohio, in the shadows of Republic Steel and Cleveland, the Cuyahoga River fires, Higbee's and Halle's, went to school in Indiana, not too far from Hammond/Gary and lived in Chicago.

I also lived in DC, and New York, in the US, and spent summers in Philly.

Pittsburgh is a lot more Midwestern that it is Eastern.

PS. My favorite radio stations as a kid were WMMS in Cleveland and WLS (World's Largest Store) in Chicago. Sometimes I'd listen to WGN (World's Greatest Newspaper).
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