Living in Pittsburgh

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speedtraining
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Living in Pittsburgh

Post by speedtraining »

Hoping for some help from any bogleheads familiar with the Pittsburgh, Pa.area. Both my daughter and soon to be son in law will be working in down town Pittsburgh. They are in the process of apartment / housing shopping. Their prioritized search would be safety, ease of transportation to down town, and cost. They initially would want to rent. Any suggestions or recommendations on locations would be greatly appreciated.
livesoft
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by livesoft »

Nice bus from the airport, the 28X.
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prudent
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by prudent »

Ease of transportation to downtown: best is using the T light rail line which runs south from downtown. Either live near a stop or park at one of the Park-and-Ride lots. If driving is preferred, then live north of downtown - there's an HOV lane along I-279 which runs into downtown if they can commute together; if they can't travel together the drive is still better than coming in from east or west.

Before discussing neighborhoods, do they prefer an urban, I-can-walk-to-places area, or a suburban drive-to-everything area?
coalcracker
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by coalcracker »

prudent wrote:Ease of transportation to downtown: best is using the T light rail line which runs south from downtown. Either live near a stop or park at one of the Park-and-Ride lots. If driving is preferred, then live north of downtown - there's an HOV lane along I-279 which runs into downtown if they can commute together; if they can't travel together the drive is still better than coming in from east or west.

Before discussing neighborhoods, do they prefer an urban, I-can-walk-to-places area, or a suburban drive-to-everything area?
The answer as always: it depends.

Pittsburgh's downtown is mainly a business district. The city has been trying, with some success, to lure people into the condos and apartments, and improve the shopping and dining. Compared to most cities, downtown is not a busy place most evenings. Surprisingly, it seems this is mostly due to parking being free and readily available in most of the rest of the city EXCEPT downtown. We have friends who live downtown and there is always moaning about parking when they have a get together at their house. However, Pittsburgh has a first rate symphony, a small theater district, and a growing number of restaurants. You can walk a Steelers or Pirates game.

Immediately east of downtown are Uptown and Oakland, and not great options for living as professionals. Uptown has crime and urban decay issues. Oakland is where the universities and hospitals are, and the issues that come with that.

Further east are Shadyside and Squirrell Hill. These are more residential but have nice business districts. You could live in either of these neighborhoods and walk to grocery stores, restaurants, bars, cafes, shops, etc. It might take 20-30 minutes to get downtown in rush hour. Buses would be a public transport option downtown from here.

The strip district is adjacent to downtown, almost walkable. It has several ethnic markets and shops, and is really buzzing on the weekends. There are several condo complexes that have been built here in the past few years and more people are living here.

Just beyond the strip is Lawrenceville, which used to be a s**hole but has been gentrified over the past decade or so. You could walk to restaurants and botique shops here. You will encounter more of a "hipster" crowd here, whatever that really means.

prudent already mentions the south and north options. Those areas would be more suburban. Public school districts are particularly good in those areas south of the city, if that is a consideration.

Pittsburgh is a city with many neighborhoods, and I could go on but will stop here.
Leesbro63
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Leesbro63 »

Been here for 5 generations since 1904. The the short version is the the weather, the roads and The Pirates suck but everything else is fabulous. PM me for the long version
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Steelersfan
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Steelersfan »

This board is specific to Pittsburgh and has lots of threads about living in and around Pittsburgh. Highly recommended.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/pittsburgh/

They have similar boards for other cities but the Pittsburgh one is especially active.
ilisira
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by ilisira »

Leesbro63 wrote:Been here for 5 generations since 1904. The the short version is the the weather, the roads and The Pirates suck but everything else is fabulous. PM me for the long version

I have lived/worked in Pittsburgh for 10 years before moving a couple of years back, and nothing can summarize this city as good as this.

I will join the others which say it depends. Based on whether they want to use the public transportation, or whether school district is important for them (or proximity to a specific school). Many places to live. But don't forget, whereever you go, there won't be sun shining on majority of the days :)..
Kriegsspiel
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Kriegsspiel »

Southside rocked. If I move back, it would be to Southside (flats), Strip District, or maybe Shadyside.
tim1999
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by tim1999 »

I'm not much of a urban living guy myself. If I were moving to Pittsburgh, and working downtown (and not independently wealthy - otherwise I'd go to Sewickley or Fox Chapel) I'd probably want to live in a northern close-in suburban area like Ross Township. The commute on 279 is quick and easy vs. the mess of tunnels and bridges coming into the city from other directions. Safe suburban area, good variety of housing types, all sorts of shopping, etc. Plus you will pay less in earned income/wage taxes vs. living in the city. However, it's not where the young scenester types want to live by any means.
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Wricha
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Wricha »

Pittsurgh,
It's a place that has moved from one crisis to another and done it poorly. The political situation is corrupt at best (chief of police & mayor under FBi investigation) no creativity on solving problems (single party town for nearly 100 years). The 2nd largest healthcare system is bankrupt (2nd time) The largest employer and healthcare system's tax exempt status is being challenged. The largest insurer is trying to save the second largest healthcare system and has blow through $2 billion of its own cash reserves with almost nothing to show for it. If you want gas or groceries and live in the city you are virtually out of luck. Weather (sky suscide gray 80%) . City schools are sub par.City taxes high. Infra structure is a problem and getting around the city is very difficult because of topography and rivers. One word of advice RENT. Don't let some knucklehead tell you how quaint it is because they have a sandwich with French fries. He has never been west of Cleveland.

If you must live there: Public transportation best from south Bethal Park (good value). Car commuting from the North Cranberry best for real estate apprication. Shady side has charm but crime is a problem Squirrel Hill nice but expensive.
East is a bad commute if you need city access.
Pittsburgh has all its attention focused on the rear view mirror (leadership left with the last blast furnace).
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speedtraining
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by speedtraining »

Thanks to all that posted a response. As always, getting the best answer requires asking more questions.
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Random Musings
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Random Musings »

Leesbro63 wrote:Been here for 5 generations since 1904. The the short version is the the weather, the roads and The Pirates suck but everything else is fabulous. PM me for the long version
It's that darn freeze-thaw cycle that makes western PA roads troubling. Amazing how no other parts of the US have this particular problem. :wink:

Who is this thing you call the Pirates? I though they left town after Barry Bonds left (less clouds and more sun in San Fran must have been the reason his head started to grow like a weed).....

RM
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NightOwl
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by NightOwl »

speedtraining wrote:Hoping for some help from any bogleheads familiar with the Pittsburgh, Pa.area. Both my daughter and soon to be son in law will be working in down town Pittsburgh. They are in the process of apartment / housing shopping. Their prioritized search would be safety, ease of transportation to down town, and cost. They initially would want to rent. Any suggestions or recommendations on locations would be greatly appreciated.
Hi speedtraining,

I'm a Pittsburgh native. I lived for several years within city limits and attended a city public high school. I've seen Shadyside and Squirrel Hill mentioned -- Squirrel Hill is by far the wealthiest neighborhood within city limits and the cost of housing will be fairly high there -- but don't overlook Highland Park, a fairly small East End neighborhood near the Highland Park Zoo. City high schools aren't fabulous, but the magnet schools and schools with IB programs will work well.

I grew up in the South Hills suburbs -- Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon in particular have excellent high schools and are quiet, safe places with reasonable commuting times to downtown (my dad commuted for years). These days I'm not a suburban living guy myself :happy , but if I were, I'd live in the South Hills or in the North Hills (as others have mentioned). Fox Chapel is just outside city limits and has excellent schools.

Hope it helps.

NightOwl
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NightOwl
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by NightOwl »

Wricha wrote:Pittsurgh,
It's a place that has moved from one crisis to another and done it poorly. The political situation is corrupt at best (chief of police & mayor under FBi investigation) no creativity on solving problems (single party town for nearly 100 years). The 2nd largest healthcare system is bankrupt (2nd time) The largest employer and healthcare system's tax exempt status is being challenged. The largest insurer is trying to save the second largest healthcare system and has blow through $2 billion of its own cash reserves with almost nothing to show for it. If you want gas or groceries and live in the city you are virtually out of luck. Weather (sky suscide gray 80%) . City schools are sub par.City taxes high. Infra structure is a problem and getting around the city is very difficult because of topography and rivers. One word of advice RENT. Don't let some knucklehead tell you how quaint it is because they have a sandwich with French fries. He has never been west of Cleveland.

If you must live there: Public transportation best from south Bethal Park (good value). Car commuting from the North Cranberry best for real estate apprication. Shady side has charm but crime is a problem Squirrel Hill nice but expensive.
East is a bad commute if you need city access.
Pittsburgh has all its attention focused on the rear view mirror (leadership left with the last blast furnace).
Wow, Wricha, tell us how you really feel :D .

Pittsburgh has its problems, but I think it's a great medium-sized city in which to live. The national media calls it "Steel City" and plays up its blue collar, "shot-and-a-beer" roots, but of course the steel industry has been gone since the early 1980s, and Pittsburgh is a great example of a Rust Belt city that has re-invented itself. It is now a globally-renowned healthcare center (transplants in particular) and hosts a thriving high-tech industry (centered around Carnegie Mellon University). People wonder why there are so many Pittsburgh Steelers fans who attend away games, and they theorize that Pittsburgh fans "travel well." The truth is that those fans don't travel to away games, they live in "away" cities -- the steel diaspora in the 70s and 80s drove away hundreds of thousands of Pittsburgh residents who had developed strong loyalties to the Steelers during the 1970s "Steel Curtain" days, and their children were raised to be Steelers fans.

Pittsburgh punches above its weight culturally (symphony, opera, museums, etc) in large measure because of the money invested there by some of America's great industrialists -- Andrew Mellon, Henry Clay Frick, etc.
Wricha wrote:If you want gas or groceries and live in the city you are virtually out of luck.
I don't know what this means. I lived within city limits for years, and we have gas stations and grocery stores like everyone else does.
Wricha wrote:Don't let some knucklehead tell you how quaint it is because they have a sandwich with French fries.
Okay, I do love me some Primanti's, but I would never use a trip there as evidence that Pittsburgh is "quaint"! Quite the opposite.

Wricha, most of the rest of your comments are political and out of bounds for Bogleheads, but I will point out that you slam the infrastructure while also slamming attempts to collect tax revenue. More than a little contradictory.

NightOwl
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Valuethinker
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Valuethinker »

NightOwl wrote: NightOwl
Interestingly Pittsburgh is usually held up as the model of an industrial city that has adapted to change. Compare to say Buffalo, Cleveland, Akron etc. 'The rust belt city that didn't rust'. In fact the Financial Times had a special on it at one point (so it must be true ;-))!

As you note the role of philanthropy has been important in preserving it as a cultural centre.

The former steel producing parts of town have been regenerated. The city is known for its expertise in healthcare and as you say there is a lot of tech around CMU. It regularly scores as one of the most affordable cities in America. This is partly because the population is more or less static BUT it's still a good place.

U of Pittsburgh has (had) one of the best philosophy departments in the world, bar none. That sounds irrelevant but there's a lot of computer science research that is quite close to philosophy.

Weather harsh. Can't speak to all the local issues raised.
Leesbro63
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Leesbro63 »

It's official: Pittsburgh is best place to live in U.S. (it even beats Honolulu)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -Unit.html
Leesbro63
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Leesbro63 »

Fox Chapel, PA (Pittsburgh Northern Suburb) number 8th best place to retire rich...very Bogleheadish:

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mjf45hdf ... nsylvania/
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Leesbro63 »

Wricha is just plain wrong.
xram
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by xram »

Leesbro63 wrote:Wricha is just plain wrong.
+1


http://primantibros.com/04history.html
Only go to the stip or oakland :happy
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RooseveltG
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by RooseveltG »

My wife is from Pittsburgh and here is her take:

1) Would suggest that a young couple moving to Pittsburgh or any new city should consider renting in order to get to know the city. Transportation ease (biking or bus) to town works best from Oakland, Shadyside, Southside (very popular as a newer area for young people) and Squirrel Hill. Highland Park (Taza d' Oro coffee shop probably a good place to find out about locals in this area), while I am not that familiar with living there, has been talked about as a new place for young couples to buy start up houses.

2) Pittsburgh's Post Gazette is the only newspaper I have seen to report weekly accounts of "Random Acts of Kindness" where somebody in the city is recognized for truly doing a good deed, many times anonymously, for another individual. This is a reflection on the kind of people your children will meet in Pittsburgh. People are sincerely kind and helpful.
Here is hoping that your children will be happy to call Pittsburgh home for many years to come. It is a great place to live and work.

Roosevelt.
michaelsieg
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by michaelsieg »

by xram » Tue Apr 09, 2013 8:46 am

Leesbro63 wrote:
Wricha is just plain wrong.

+1
+2
I really like PHG and perceived it much different than Wricha.
Even though we lived in PGH only for a few years, I think it is a great city to live if you are young and like going out, and also a great place to raise a family. Carnegie Mellon and PITT (and UPMC) attract a lot of great minds and there are lots of promising companies/startups in the technology/medical field. We lived in Fox Chapel because of the school system and we still miss living there today - for PGH a fairly pricey area, but compared to other metropolitan areas you get a lot of real estate for your money. For first time home owners/young families we had several friends in Aspinwall, an ara we really liked and there were also homes to rent there.
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by mlipps »

Random Musings wrote:
Leesbro63 wrote:Been here for 5 generations since 1904. The the short version is the the weather, the roads and The Pirates suck but everything else is fabulous. PM me for the long version
It's that darn freeze-thaw cycle that makes western PA roads troubling. Amazing how no other parts of the US have this particular problem. :wink:

Who is this thing you call the Pirates? I though they left town after Barry Bonds left (less clouds and more sun in San Fran must have been the reason his head started to grow like a weed).....

RM
Gee, it's sounding more and more like Chicago...
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by zhiwiller »

I grew up in the suburbs and went to Carnegie Mellon. I love Pittsburgh, but I moved away because my particular industry isn't well-represented in Pittsburgh and the weather is just so much better in Orlando where I am now.

Pittsburgh is a wonderful town. Many of the suburbs are truly inexpensive, but you will have to deal with a heavy traffic commute to get downtown. My father worked downtown for decades commuting from Springdale (NE suburb, near Fox Chapel but 1/5 the price) to downtown. Don't underestimate the suburbs. It may be worth driving a bit more every morning/evening to pay half the price and live in a more family-friendly place. I have friends from high school and college all over Western PA, but none of them actually live downtown.
Leesbro63
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Leesbro63 »

BTW, one invention that's made living here MUCH EASIER than when I was a kid here (born 1960) is the ALL WHEEL DRIVE vehicle. Winter still sucks but you can get around fairly easily now. With the very steep hills, it was much worse here than, say, Chicago, which was mentioned, even though their winters are even more severe. That's all better now with AWD. Oh, tires and brakes here last only half as long as in the flatlands, and even the most perfectly maintained cars will be shoddy long before they would in the sunbelt. But housing is so cheap that this offsets everything, and a good suburb like Fox Chapel can provide excellent "free" education without the need for expensive private schools.
MoonOrb
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by MoonOrb »

I lived in Pittsburgh from 1995 to 2001 and loved it. If I were to move back I'd return to Squirrel Hill. The neighborhood was highly walkable, had easy access to bus routes into and out of downtown, was between Frick Park and Schenley Park, and was close to Carnegie Mellon and Pitt. It was also just across the bridge from a major shopping center, and had very quick access to the Parkway.

There are other neighborhoods in the east end that are pretty nice, too. Shadyside is a little precious and expensive in my opinion (it's still a very nice neighborhood), but parts of Lawrenceville, Morningside, East Liberty, Point Breeze, Regent Square, etc. can all be very nice. Living east of the Squirrel Hill tunnels or south of Mount Washington means a truly brutal commute on the parkway and is to be avoided if possible. There are great suburbs with very good public schools in the South Hills, though, and Mount Lebanon and Upper St Clair are very nice. I never envied my friends who did that commute, but it made sense for people with kids who wanted to live in nice neighborhoods with good schools.

If I were raising a family I'd probably live in the North Hills, where there are still good school districts but the commute into the city is not as terrible. Generally speaking the North Hills are a little bit more working class than the neighborhoods of Upper St Clair and Mt Lebanon, but there are many very nice neighborhoods up north, too. West of the city in an area like Sewickely would be terrific if it were affordable, but I knew few people who lived out there.

I think it depends what is most important to them--if urban living is what they want, it is hard to beat Squirrrel Hill and the immediate environs (oh, Greenfield would be a very nice more affordable choice; at least it would have been a decade ago). If they want a suburban life, they have much to choose from, and will have to weigh home prices v. commute time v. quality of schools.

Pittsburgh has a very strong sense of community and identity. People like to say that it's a good place to raise a family, and they're right.

Also, the weather sucks. Sorry.
xram
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by xram »

I think the weather in Pittsburgh is perfect.

I have lived in the south (New Orleans) - miserable, hot, wet, blow my head off!!!!!

I have lived way up north - snow 10 months of the year. better than new orleans but a little too cold etc

Pittsburgh...mild summers, fairly mild winters. perfect in my opinion

My wife is not from Pittsburgh. She is from the south. She has travelled extensively.

She always states that Pittsburgh is her favorite location as far as scenery and weather..

good luck
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Random Musings »

mlipps wrote:
Random Musings wrote:
Leesbro63 wrote:Been here for 5 generations since 1904. The the short version is the the weather, the roads and The Pirates suck but everything else is fabulous. PM me for the long version
It's that darn freeze-thaw cycle that makes western PA roads troubling. Amazing how no other parts of the US have this particular problem. :wink:

Who is this thing you call the Pirates? I though they left town after Barry Bonds left (less clouds and more sun in San Fran must have been the reason his head started to grow like a weed).....

RM
Gee, it's sounding more and more like Chicago...
We chew through more brake pads around here. But as mentioned, it's a good place to raise a family and the cost of living is attractive. And the sun is out today in western PA. :D

RM
I figure the odds be fifty-fifty I just might have something to say. FZ
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by RooseveltG »

My wife also added this:

If you live in Shadyside, Oakland or Squirrel Hill, you can walk to almost everything. That includes restaurants, grocery stores, banks, post offices, home improvement stores, big white computer stores with expensive shiny products, dentists, doctors, hospitals, museums, libraries, parkes, bike trails, etc. When you live in another city, you realize how compact and easy Pittsburgh is.

The inner city is actually a university town with the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon. Even though the demographic is old, the students (who are not residents) make the city feel a lot younger for 8 months of the year.

What really makes Pittsburgh unique is that the rivers and hills break the city into discrete neighborhoods; some with multiple generations of family. The city is really a big town with major league sports and a first class cultural scene.

The weather is a problem but there are many other redeeming features.

Roosevelt.
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Wricha
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Wricha »

Leesbro63 wrote:
Wricha is just plain wrong.



What fact was wrong. Perhaps you could enlighten me?
+1
Leesbro63
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Leesbro63 »

1. It's no more corrupt here than most other places and less than many, 2. Most cities are single party but our suburbs are not, 3. Healthcare is in turmoil everywhere. Nothing unique here. And while the politics of healthcare are confrontational here, patient care, including access and outcome, are world class. 4. My family has been buying groceries here for five generations and gasoline for 4 and horse feed before that. What are you talking about? 5. City schools are actually MUCH better than most major cities and there are 5-6 absolutely top suburban districts (Fox Chapel, North Allegheny, Mt Lebo, Upper St Clair, and a few others). 6. City AND suburban property taxes ARE high, but state income tax is a relatively low 3.07%. And IRA/pension income is not taxed at all. For Boglehead types, this mix of taxation is optimal. 7. The infrastructure IS old and restrictive due to topography, but you adapt. And live where the commute to work will be ok. 8. Crime is way way below most other major cities. 9. You are right about gray skies, but many of us accept that as a trade off for four changing seasons.

Other than that, you're right in the money!
Wricha wrote:Pittsurgh,
It's a place that has moved from one crisis to another and done it poorly. The political situation is corrupt at best (chief of police & mayor under FBi investigation) no creativity on solving problems (single party town for nearly 100 years). The 2nd largest healthcare system is bankrupt (2nd time) The largest employer and healthcare system's tax exempt status is being challenged. The largest insurer is trying to save the second largest healthcare system and has blow through $2 billion of its own cash reserves with almost nothing to show for it. If you want gas or groceries and live in the city you are virtually out of luck. Weather (sky suscide gray 80%) . City schools are sub par.City taxes high. Infra structure is a problem and getting around the city is very difficult because of topography and rivers. One word of advice RENT. Don't let some knucklehead tell you how quaint it is because they have a sandwich with French fries. He has never been west of Cleveland.

If you must live there: Public transportation best from south Bethal Park (good value). Car commuting from the North Cranberry best for real estate apprication. Shady side has charm but crime is a problem Squirrel Hill nice but expensive.
East is a bad commute if you need city access.
Pittsburgh has all its attention focused on the rear view mirror (leadership left with the last blast furnace).
xram
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by xram »

Leesbro63 wrote:1. It's no more corrupt here than most other places and less than many, 2. Most cities are single party but our suburbs are not, 3. Healthcare is in turmoil everywhere. Nothing unique here. And while the politics of healthcare are confrontational here, patient care, including access and outcome, are world class. 4. My family has been buying groceries here for five generations and gasoline for 4 and horse feed before that. What are you talking about? 5. City schools are actually MUCH better than most major cities and there are 5-6 absolutely top suburban districts (Fox Chapel, North Allegheny, Mt Lebo, Upper St Clair, and a few others). 6. City AND suburban property taxes ARE high, but state income tax is a relatively low 3.07%. And IRA/pension income is not taxed at all. For Boglehead types, this mix of taxation is optimal. 7. The infrastructure IS old and restrictive due to topography, but you adapt. And live where the commute to work will be ok. 8. Crime is way way below most other major cities. 9. You are right about gray skies, but many of us accept that as a trade off for four changing seasons.

Other than that, you're right in the money!
Wricha wrote:Pittsurgh,
It's a place that has moved from one crisis to another and done it poorly. The political situation is corrupt at best (chief of police & mayor under FBi investigation) no creativity on solving problems (single party town for nearly 100 years). The 2nd largest healthcare system is bankrupt (2nd time) The largest employer and healthcare system's tax exempt status is being challenged. The largest insurer is trying to save the second largest healthcare system and has blow through $2 billion of its own cash reserves with almost nothing to show for it. If you want gas or groceries and live in the city you are virtually out of luck. Weather (sky suscide gray 80%) . City schools are sub par.City taxes high. Infra structure is a problem and getting around the city is very difficult because of topography and rivers. One word of advice RENT. Don't let some knucklehead tell you how quaint it is because they have a sandwich with French fries. He has never been west of Cleveland.

If you must live there: Public transportation best from south Bethal Park (good value). Car commuting from the North Cranberry best for real estate apprication. Shady side has charm but crime is a problem Squirrel Hill nice but expensive.
East is a bad commute if you need city access.
Pittsburgh has all its attention focused on the rear view mirror (leadership left with the last blast furnace).
I grew up in Pittsburgh. I do not remember dark skies every day. And I would def take the weather in Pittsburgh over the absolutely horrible disgusting miserable weather in the deep south (Louisiana in particular)'. Sure, in the south, you get a nice sunny sky but so hot and muggy and Mosquitos eating your kid alive. No thank you. I'll take beautiful Pittsburgh weather any day. Good luck..
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Kriegsspiel
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Kriegsspiel »

I agree. Even if last summer was unreal with the heat and humidity.

;)
shantster
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by shantster »

I'm surprised the thread has made it this far and no one has mentioned living in the Regent Square. I lived in Shadyside for 5 years but then moved to Regent Square upon graduating medical school and could not be happier with the decision. For what you pay for a decent (but still bread and butter) apartment in Shadyside, you can get a floor of a duplex in Regent Square that includes awesome ammenities such as a private deck and shared backyard. You still have some bars (I'm addicted to D's) but you get the added bonus of Frick park and its awesome running/biking/hiking trails. It's also much quieter with more settled people (rather than the students of Shadyside and definitely Oakland), which can be a plus. There's buses that go downtown and for driving, it's off the main highway or you can cut through the parks to get there. And part of the square is just outside of Pittsburgh so you don't have to pay city taxes.

Granted, suggestions for where to live completely depend on what the couple's goals are. If they want more student friendly or busy place, I'd do Shadyside or possibly Southside if they want easy access to those bars. More suburban you'll want to look in the South Hills, North Hills, Monroeville, etc. For a mix of being able to walk and a more relaxed/residential area, I find Regent Square great. Squirrel Hill is a good alternative but rent is in general pricer and you will for sure be in city tax zone.
Leesbro63
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Leesbro63 »

But the part of Regent Square, which IS a great neighborhood, that's outside Pgh is in Wilkinsburg and Swissvale (Woodland Hills Schools). Most Bogleheads would not accept the quality of those schools. Even the City of Pgh Schools, esp Taylor Allderdice High School (where Regent Sq city residents go) is better than Wilkinsburg or W Hills.
shantster
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by shantster »

Leesbro63 wrote:But the part of Regent Square, which IS a great neighborhood, that's outside Pgh is in Wilkinsburg and Swissvale (Woodland Hills Schools). Most Bogleheads would not accept the quality of those schools. Even the City of Pgh Schools, esp Taylor Allderdice High School (where Regent Sq city residents go) is better than Wilkinsburg or W Hills.
Which again, if you go to my point above, is completely based on what their goals are for finding a place to live. If they are without children and only planning on renting for now, why should they pay the extra 2% premium for the school district that you are not going to utilize? I was just giving a suggestion that no one else had mentioned with the disclaimer in there that their choice of neighborhood should be based on their goals for finding a place to live. I'm sorry that my suggestion of this neighborhood is unacceptable to you.
Leesbro63
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Leesbro63 »

It's not about me. Just pointing out that the school choices in Regent Square depend on which official municipality that part of Regent Square is located. And that none compare to Fox Chapel, Mt Lebo or USC. And that Wilkinsburg and Woodland Hills are even below the city schools.
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by czeckers »

I dragged my wife to Pittsburgh kicking and screaming (figuratively speaking), and then had to drag her away when it was time to move away. It's a great town. Many great recommendations above. The most important thing is that you don't have a tunnel to drive through on your work commute. They are massive traffic bottlenecks during rush hour.

As far as the skies, it may not be San Diego, but it sure is warmer and sunnier than Upstate, NY.

-K
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (Pittsburgh).
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Material Guy
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Material Guy »

The posts above have discussed various issues relating to life in Pittsburgh. We have been in the Northern Suburbs for a while now and I would highly recommend living here. There are three primary inlets into downtown from the suburbs, the East, West/South and North. For someone commuting into downtown, you have to go through tunnels from the East and West. These are invariably backed up each rush hour. The North allows you easy passage into and out of downtown. It depends on whether you prefer a more urban environment or not. If the former, then places such as Squirrel Hill are better. If the latter, then the Northern suburbs are great with excellent schools (for those with children). We moved here from Tennessee many years ago dreading the winters. They have turned out to be fine, sans the rare blizzard.
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Random Musings
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Random Musings »

Even though I like western PA, the drawback is clouds. For larger type cities, it ranks #2 after Seattle for cloudy days and #5 for rain/snow days (Seattle is #6 there). Think it has to do with the Appalachians and Great Lakes.

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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by MoonOrb »

I agree on the clouds. We moved to Seattle from Pittsburgh and people loved to say, "You better love cloudy days!" and inside I just thought, "Big deal, I'm coming from Pittsburgh."

One thing about the Pittsburgh weather that is a real positive is that you have four distinct seasons, and neither the winter nor the summer are exactly extreme. Summers are humid and sticky, but it's not like being in Texas or Louisiana, and winters are cold and often icy, but it's not like being in Buffalo.
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Valuethinker »

czeckers wrote: As far as the skies, it may not be San Diego, but it sure is warmer and sunnier than Upstate, NY.

-K
;-). 'It may not be Upstate New York, but it sure is warmer and sunnier than Tuktoyaktuk'.

Talk about d-mning with faint praise ;-).

(Humour: I grew up in Ontario. I realize you seem to get more snow than we do (because perhaps the south side of the Lake) and the Golden Horsehoe on Lake Ontario actually has fairly mild winters.

Or as we used to say 'at least it's not Ottawa' ;-). (or Winnipeg ;-)).

Or as they say in Winnipeg, or Alberta 'it's a nice dry cold ;-)'.
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Valuethinker »

Without knowing much about Pittsburgh except second hand:

- a number of my friends did Phd work at CMU or Pittsburgh, they all seemed to like the city (although it lacked the 'urban vibe' of Toronto, Montreal, New York say-- this was in the 80s mind)

- a friend of mine lived there for 10+ years and was very happy-- the low cost of housing, the people etc. Finally he moved to California for career reasons
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by josh1130 »

Bump
Just found out last week that wife is doing Residency in Pittsburgh at UPMC - I know very little about the city, and the other posts on this thread are a few years old. Anything new to add to this? We've been recommended Shadyside neighborhood for close to city or go south if we prefer th burbs. Any insight would be appreciated.
arizonaslim
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by arizonaslim »

Was born in Pittsburgh and lived there for a few years when I was a young adult.

Alas, the Pittsburgh job market of the 1980s is why I now live in AZ. However, I do remember that Pittsburgh was a fabulous place for one of my favorite activities, bicycling. I hear that, nowadays, it's even better.

Have even heard that there's a riverside trail that will eventually take you to the C&O Trail that ends in Washington, DC. That's 300 miles of off-road bliss on a gently graded trail. It's calling to me.
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by livesoft »

Pittsburgh has not changed since this thread started. Steelers did not even play in the SuperBowl.
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by frisbee »

A few things have changed. What's important to know is where @ UPMC your wife will be working. They have a number of hospitals in the area. The general rule of thumb is that you don't want to commute across a bridge or through a tunnel. And stay off I279/376 during rush hour.

If you are working at the main hub in Oakland or Shadyside, you probably don't want to live too far away (especially not in the South Hills).

In general, the last 3 years (since this thread started) have seen Shadyside, Lawrenceville, and East Liberty become more trendy. The last 2 have similar parallels to the Brooklyn gentrification. These areas have the advantage of strong public transportation around the Universities. PM me if you have more questions.
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Steelersfan
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by Steelersfan »

I'll repeat a recommendation I made before. Go to this board:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/pittsburgh/

It's one of the more active such boards around, and your question gets asked regularly.
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by saltycaper »

Start looking for a place to live. That will help guide your choice of neighborhood.

Beware there are so many renters in the East End (Oakland, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, etc.) due to educational and medical facilities that quality of housing might not be what you expect for a given price range, depending on the cost of living and age of housing stock in your current area.

At the time of day the commute would occur, get directions from your potential abode to your destination from an online service that includes traffic info, like Google. Do this for several days to get an idea of the actual commute time, not the fantasy commute time.
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Re: Living in Pittsburgh

Post by psystal »

josh1130 wrote:Bump
Just found out last week that wife is doing Residency in Pittsburgh at UPMC - I know very little about the city, and the other posts on this thread are a few years old. Anything new to add to this? We've been recommended Shadyside neighborhood for close to city or go south if we prefer th burbs. Any insight would be appreciated.
Welcome to Pittsburgh!

Shadyside is a nice neighborhood, but you will pay a substantial premium to live there. There are plenty of great neighborhoods mentioned here that won't set you back quite so much.

If you're a 'burbs person, I'd recommend going North to the Wexford/McCandless/Cranberry area. If you plan on having children in the public school system, the North Allegheny School District is top ranked, and the taxes are more reasonable than in many other districts. You'll find lots of other UPMC docs living here.
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