After a Visit: Pittsburgh First Impressions... (neighborhoods, schools, income)

[sahara_gem]

Okay, people...seriously. What is up with all the potholes!?
They're everywhere. Did street maintenance funding get depleted or something? I got back from Pittsburgh yesterday and I must say that it is a very narrow and hard-to-navigate type of city. Maybe it was the area I was driving around, but I found it on average to be a much harder city to navigate, than say, Philly. Don't get me wrong, I like the city and still want to move there, but the only downside was transportation. I've asked around and now I see why so many people in Pittsburgh ride the bus. But, damn, my poor SUV got a severe beating by all those potholes!

The city has lots of character and pretty much what I expected (gritty, slushy, windy, small streets, generic industrial-look) is what I got. Of course, I did go in possibly the worst time of year imaginable...Anyways I am sure Pittsburgh has a pretty side to it, I just didn't see it this time around. Still excited about moving, though!

And are taxes very high on housing?

[fleetiebelle]

Okay, people...seriously. What is up with all the potholes!?
They're everywhere. Did street maintenance funding get depleted or something?

Well, we're just getting temperatures above freezing during the day for the first time in about 6 weeks. Water seeps into the cracks, and when it freezes again overnight expands and cracks the pavement. Potholes have just started to appear in the last few days because of that freeze/thaw cycle. The city really hasn't had time to address it yet.

[WILWRadio]

Those potholes are the result of gophers and ground hogs getting restless for Spring. They've been tunneling like mad lately and have resorted to using jack hammers to break through the pavement. :-)

[Hopes]

You'll find these types of road problems in any region of the country that has a four season climate like Pittsburgh's.

The potholes aren't this bad all year long. They get worse in the winter due to the explation provided by fleetiebelle. But the salt used on the roads signficiantly contributes to the problem because it causes a thawing and freezing cycle more often than the weather. I'll add the snow plows do a good job of pulling up chunks from the road too.

The road crew will be out there repairing the most damaging potholes ASAP. The rest will be repaired in the spring. Our street maintenance budgets weren't cut. Street maintenance is a challenging and ongoing activity in any winter weather region.

Be forewarned, there will always be a pothole in any season--just not as many as in the late winter and early spring.

You'll learn how to drive without hitting them. It's an easy skill to learn.

[Tiger Beer]

Now that I think about it, I hit quite a few of them in Pittsburgh last weekend. However, being that I'm also in MI at this time, I've hit a ton of them here as well.

Basically same answer as above...up in this entire part of the country...a lot of snow and ice..also means a lot of salt on the roads...plus the other about water getting into the cracks and freezing...on and on. In other words, there is a lot of factors creating the potholes...and very common everywhere in this part of the country that combines snow, ice and salt on the roads.

[BrianTH]

Pittsburgh can indeed be hard to navigate, but as everyone has noted this is a brief seasonal period for potholes.

Housing taxes as a percentage of housing value are relatively high. Housing taxes as a percentage of household income are around average. This is one of the side-effects of having relatively cheap housing: tax rates have to be higher to get an equivalent amount of revenue for the relevant authorities. And while the other financial benefits of cheap housing generally outweigh the taxes, you should indeed take taxes into account when setting your housing budget.

[ca2pitt]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Pittsburgh can indeed be hard to navigate, but as everyone has noted this is a brief seasonal period for potholes.

Housing taxes as a percentage of housing value are relatively high. Housing taxes as a percentage of household income are around average. This is one of the side-effects of having relatively cheap housing: tax rates have to be higher to get an equivalent amount of revenue for the relevant authorities. And while the other financial benefits of cheap housing generally outweigh the taxes, you should indeed take taxes into account when setting your housing budget.

Ahhh, i was wondering about the high property taxes... i was guessing it was to keep undesirerables out of nice neighborhoods

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by ca2pitt

Ahhh, i was wondering about the high property taxes... i was guessing it was to keep undesirerables out of nice neighborhoods

Nope, it is just a necessary consequence of relatively low property values as a percentage of income combined with the level of services, infrastructure, schools, and so forth people want.