For Pittsburgh Residents

[personal jesus]

I am curious what people who have lived in Pittsburgh think of the city. I think I am going to be at Pitt next year so I wanted to hear resident's thoughts on the city. Any comparisions to other cities?

Also if anyone happens to be a cyclist maybe you could PM me about the cycling scene.

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[MsEmerica]

Hi! I am a resident of Pittsburgh and have been for all 21 years of my life, so let me tell you a little about the city.

Pittsburgh is very interesting in that it has so many different neighborhoods that were settled by different nationality groups. The Polish settled Polish Hill, Bloomfield is where a lot of Italians settled, Squirrel Hill is primarily Jewish, etc. So each of these little neighborhoods have a lot of ethnic flare.

Also, compared to other, bigger cities, Pittsburgh traffic is a breeze!

With Carnegie Mellon, Chatham College, Carlow College, Duquesne, and Pitt all within a few miles of each other, there are a lot of college students running around. There are always concerts or plays to go to if you are into those things. Apparently we were voted "#1 music scene in the nation" and another I think it is good, after being to other cities, I deifnately wouldn't say that. One of our most popular venues was just shut down last week, so who knows. We also have lot of cool art and museums, so if you need a break with studying, there are outlets.

Also, most people in Pittsburgh are some of the nicest people you will meet. Out-of-towner people often comment that you can ask anyone here for directions, and tey will gladly offer you some help =) So we are known for our niceness

Unfortunately, Pittsburgh has a lot of problems as well. For example, when the steel industry collapsed, there was nothing of that magnitude to replace it. Before my time, we were once a very prosperous city. Now, unless you are interested in Medicine, Education, or some banking, then Pittsburgh's job market is horrible. As a city in decline, crime rates have went up. One of my friend's apartments was just broken into and robbed last weekend and another friend was mugged two streets away from where I live. The Mayor here is horrible and doesn't knowhow to do anything except tax and spend. It's ridiculously expensive to park downtown now due to the recently increased parking tax.

Also, when I go to other cities, people are more tolerant. I am moving to California next year and everyone around here is like "Why would you want to move THERE?" "You know, there are GAYS there?" "Everyone there is crazy and LIBERAL" And it's just an old fashioned, closed-minded mentality that I need to get away from. PA is a rather conservative state.

Also, the transportation system stinks. Chicago, NYC have great systems. You come here and the busses don't usually run past 11 PM. No real subway system unless you are travelling to the south hills.

I used to ride my bike more, but as far as bike riding...well, I think we are the 9th most obese city in the US. There are, at most, only 90 clear days here a year, so it's not always easy to keep a routine. The car drivers here ABSOLUTELY HATE bike riders. One of my friends, who refuses to do anything except ride her bike, has been hit 9 times since we started college. There are a few good trails here ("The Jail Trail" that runs along the Monongahela River, and the Frick Park and Schenley park trails are nice too), but as far as riding on the street, be careful because cars do not care about you at all.

Lastly, I've noticed that places in other cities stay open much later than here in Pittsburgh. After about 9:30 PM, the only places left to go are bars and 24 hour diners.

I am sorry this was long, but I hope it helps! If you have any more questions, please ask. Overall, I love the city, but after 21 years, I gotta get out! =P

 

[RoccoWJ]

I have also lived in Pittsburgh for the 21 years of my lifetime. I totally agree with MsEmirica's views on the city. It is an excellent place to live and I think you will find the people to be extremely fiendly.


If you have any questions just give me an IM at Rocpen321.

See you at Pitt in a couple weeks for second look week!


Rocco

 

[linus]

msemerica, your post is mostly negative

do you agree with the negative comments, roccowj?

 

[duncanfj]

I've lived in Pgh for 5 years, and would mostly agree with the above comments. I think people here are a little more open-minded than some cities, but once you get outside of the metro area, that changes signifigantly. Central PA is one of the most densely populated areas for white supremacist organizations. But you will not see that kind of attitude, for the most part, in Pgh itself.

 

[personal jesus]

Thanks guys and gals for the responses. I really value the local opinion in getting a sense of what to expect. As for the right wing nature of rural PA, I would suggest that this can be found anywhere. Im in LA right now and the amount of neo-Nazi, white power etc... is upsetting. Parts of CA are definately liberal but there is a strong conservative fail here.

Thanks again and anyone else feel free to add your 2 cents.

 

[hobs]

hey personaljesus,

i grew up in pittsburgh and, although there are some bad aspects of it (as pointed out by MsEmerica), i think it was a great place to grow up and a fun place to hang out. friends of mine that still live there bitch about how it sucks and there's nothing to do--but they've gone to college there and work there now, so they've kind of done what there is to do. i mean, you can only go to the bars so often before they get old and you need to move on.

depending on what you like to do, there's lots of things for everybody, and i think it's generally a nice place to live. it's cheap, too. areas like oakland, south side, shadyside, and the strip district are all areas where there's cool stuff going on: art, music, sports, bars, etc. the weather kind of sucks, though.

there is an old-fashioned mentality that permates most of pittsburgh, especially the older folks. it's not necessarily a mean thing, but there's definitely a sense of people sticking to their own (like in terms of ethnicity). it leads to a sense of prejudice and a lot of off-color jokes (polish, irish, italian jokes and the like), and people from other cities do NOT find it funny or charming. but the by-product of this ethnic cohesion is some really great food. so i guess it's not all bad.

for the most part, however, people are nice and there's something for everybody there.