'Bright Flight' - From the Suburbs (Pittsburgh, Oakland: foreclosures, mortgage broker, bad credit)

[hnsq]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Once you have two or possibly three little kids, walking and taking public transit will be much less desirable and probably downright annoying. I think cars have big benefits at times. My only problem with buses is how slow they are (you can put a little more gas on that thing bus driver), how often there's a bus stop, and I can't stand how trashy some people act on the bus. I don't want want to take a bus to make an hour or 2 hour thing turn into an all day affair which it does if I take the bus to the mall. If Pittsburgh only had more light rail

I agree with your point about light rail. I wish the city would turn the busway into light rail. A light rail system from oakland/shadyside to downtown would be more helpful than I can describe.

Cars do have huge benefits, and I am sure I will change my mind as I get older. Thinking about kids terrifies me right now, so I am definitely not talking about families!

Getting around really depends...I use www.goodapples.com for nearly all of my groceries, they are delivered right to my door. I rarely shop in malls, I do almost all of my shopping online. The first time you order toothpaste online you feel like you are doing something slightly ridiculous, but when you realize you don't have to actually drive to a pharmacy, it turns into a great feeling.

Making use of technology can really cut down on all of the things that you need a car for (malls, banks, shopping, etc.). For example, I haven't set foot in a physical bank in over two years...

But I am sure once I have kids I will be trying to find you and say you were right!

[BrianTH]

We only have one kid, but there are certainly times we need a car--shopping trips to certain stores, birthday parties in distant neighborhoods, and so on. On the other hand, public transit remains preferable for us when we are doing joint trips to or from preschool/work (everyone is Downtown). On the bus, you can interact in ways you just can't while driving (particularly not safely), and our little squirmer definitely prefers not being locked into a carseat--which is possible because in general the bus is much safer.

Speaking of safety, and looking forward, I would MUCH rather have a teenage boy riding public transit than driving around with his friends. And in fact they can start doing that--riding public transit by themselves--much earlier than they can drive themselves. I think that much earlier and much safer transportation autonomy for children is a huge plus for families living in areas with good public transit options.

The upshot is we have a car (two in fact, but we are getting rid of one), but we put less than 5000 miles on our car(s) a year. And if Zipcar was in our neighborhood--which hopefully will happen eventually--we would probably go with no cars at all.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by hnsq

I agree with your point about light rail. I wish the city would turn the busway into light rail. A light rail system from oakland/shadyside to downtown would be more helpful than I can describe.

Cars do have huge benefits, and I am sure I will change my mind as I get older. Thinking about kids terrifies me right now, so I am definitely not talking about families!

Getting around really depends...I use www.goodapples.com for nearly all of my groceries, they are delivered right to my door. I rarely shop in malls, I do almost all of my shopping online. The first time you order toothpaste online you feel like you are doing something slightly ridiculous, but when you realize you don't have to actually drive to a pharmacy, it turns into a great feeling.

Making use of technology can really cut down on all of the things that you need a car for (malls, banks, shopping, etc.). For example, I haven't set foot in a physical bank in over two years...

But I am sure once I have kids I will be trying to find you and say you were right!

Interesting...... I personally like to go to a store and get the product right away instead of having to wait for it to be shipped. Plus it gives someone a job but I can see why so many people are attracted to buying most things online. I didn't really know simple things such as toothpaste were available to get online since they are so easy to get at most stores. To each his own though.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by hnsq

Getting around really depends...I use www.goodapples.com for nearly all of my groceries, they are delivered right to my door. I rarely shop in malls, I do almost all of my shopping online. The first time you order toothpaste online you feel like you are doing something slightly ridiculous, but when you realize you don't have to actually drive to a pharmacy, it turns into a great feeling.

I love Good Apples! They deliver to my workplace and I find it so convenient to just place an order on line and then just take it home from work. Plus, I just generally hate grocery shopping, so anything I can do to avoid a large grocery store is great in my book. I went to the Market District in Robinson once not long after opened and decided that that place would be my own personal version of hell.

[hnsq]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Interesting...... I personally like to go to a store and get the product right away instead of having to wait for it to be shipped. Plus it gives someone a job but I can see why so many people are attracted to buying most things online. I didn't really know simple things such as toothpaste were available to get online since they are so easy to get at most stores. To each his own though.

But this gives someone a job too. People have to run the websites and distribution channels.

Plus, GoodApples has a 200% guarantee on all 'fresh' items, meaning if you have apples or a steak delivered and they aren't as fresh as you would like, they will credit your account for 200% the amount you paid. Maybe it is just personal preference, but I like the idea that I can get a week's worth of grocery shopping done in 10 minutes while sitting in front of the TV...

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by hnsq

But this gives someone a job too. People have to run the websites and distribution channels.

Plus, GoodApples has a 200% guarantee on all 'fresh' items, meaning if you have apples or a steak delivered and they aren't as fresh as you would like, they will credit your account for 200% the amount you paid. Maybe it is just personal preference, but I like the idea that I can get a week's worth of grocery shopping done in 10 minutes while sitting in front of the TV...

That doesn't sound too bad actually and sounds like a good site.

[sr1234]

The numbers don't lie. Washington and Butler counties lead the way.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

Interesting...... I personally like to go to a store and get the product right away instead of having to wait for it to be shipped. Plus it gives someone a job but I can see why so many people are attracted to buying most things online. I didn't really know simple things such as toothpaste were available to get online since they are so easy to get at most stores. To each his own though.

It's also a moneysaver, if you can get free shipping. At least in my high cost of living area. One other case for online shopping? You get the product you ordered. Out here theft is such a big thing that often the first few boxes you pick up are empty.... and I've even had more than one experience of getting the product home and a switch has been made. Usually water for product.

Or everything is locked up to prevent theft and you have to find someone to unlock the doors and get it for you.... it's just too much hassle.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

It's also a moneysaver, if you can get free shipping. At least in my high cost of living area. One other case for online shopping? You get the product you ordered. Out here theft is such a big thing that often the first few boxes you pick up are empty.... and I've even had more than one experience of getting the product home and a switch has been made. Usually water for product.

Or everything is locked up to prevent theft and you have to find someone to unlock the doors and get it for you.... it's just too much hassle.

I work at a supermarket and never have I heard of such a thing like that

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

I work at a supermarket and never have I heard of such a thing like that

It's one of the "perks" of living in a high crime/high cost of living area. (Oakland, CA is the 3rd or 4th most dangerous city in the country.) The one that really got me was buying Sebastian's Potion 9 for my hair. It's a sweet smelling orange colored styling/moisterizing product. In a METAL squeezable TUBE, like an old style toothpaste tube. It's not cheap, either.

I noticed the tube was a bit crinkly, but it was heavy, so I knew it was full. I flipped open the tube at home and saw white goo oozing out. It was cream rinse or something -- looked like white Soft Soap, but didn't lather. They not only emptied out the tube, they REFILLED it somehow. I took it back to the store, and the cashier didn't bat an eye. She said it happens all the time.

We walked back to the shelf and there were 4 boxes, and only ONE was shrink wrapped. The other three we opened and I confirmed all the product had been replaced.

I took the shrink wrapped one, and it was fine.

And when I told my husband about it, he said even shrink wrap doesn't mean anything..... because at the flea markets all over people sell shrink wrap machines and supplies. Great for all your black market and counterfeiting needs...

That's pretty much when I started buying online. Or at Costco -- where they way overwrap stuff in ways you can't get in to get the product without destroying the package.