Considering a move (back) to Pittsburgh

[Guest Luke Cage]

Long story short, I moved to Masschusetts in 2003. I like the area, but the high cost of living and general unfriendliness of New Englanders have me thinking about another move. I lived in Pittsburgh a loooooong time ago (1970-1982) and have been feeling a little homesick. Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect/look for in the following categories?

 

Good neigborhoods-By good, I mean no obvious open air drug deals everywhere you look, no need to dodge bullets on the way from the car to the house, good shopping nearby and convenient to down town. I am familiar with Squirrel Hill and Shadyside. I recently checked out a townhouse at Bear Run Village, but would rather live in a real community.

 

Entertainment/hanging out-Where are the best places to find good eats? What neighborhoods/area have the most happening?

 

Bookstores/Comic shops. Is Eides still the best shop around? What other shops are good?

 

Cost of living-How much are you paying for a weeks worth of groceries?

 

 

Thanks in advance.

[King Kamala 0]

Ask KKK, he has a real POSITIVE opinion of Steel Town.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Oh Christ, don't get me started.

 

Here's some background on my history in Southwestern PA.

 

When I was a kid I lived north of the city in places like Sharpsburg, Shaler, Hampton and Ross. I moved to make my fortune, and to tag along with the better half while she got her Masters in Psych. Currently I live in Irwin, right along the Allegheny/Westmoreland County line (think North Versailles).

 

Regarding "good neighborhoods," I'm not sure. You mention Squirrel Hill and Shadyside, both of which are closer to the city than where I currently live. However, Mt. Lebanon seems to be a yuppie place, too.

 

Some things that might better answer your housing concerns would be if we knew what you were looking for -- do you want to buy a house, do you have a family, etc. If you want to buy a house I would STRONGLY reccomend you stay out of Allegheny County because they're going through some bullshit assessment problems and you'll probably get buttfucked in taxes. (Another thing to clear up your question of where to live might be knowing how far away you would want to live from the city.)

 

Regarding the nightlife, I stay home and play video games all day so I can't help you there, but there's always the Steelers and Pirates, which have the fanciest stadium for a minor-league team you'll ever see.

 

Cost of living -- regarding groceries, I go only to Giant Eagle. Shop 'n Save, Foodland and Kuhns are all ripoffs, and I refuse to go into a mega-WalMart for groceries (OMG ANTI-CORPORATE HIPPIE LOL). I'd say I average about $60-70/week in groceries, but I'm a coupon whore so my figure might be a little low. I own a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom house (it's a colonial so the two upstairs bedrooms have that hippie "slope" look, which take away about 1/2 of available space to roam around in) that was bought at around $125,000. Add taxes, insurance, etc., and I have a $1,000/month payment to make. Utilities (cable, internet, sewage, electricity, gas, garbage, water, etc.) usually add on another $500.

 

Provide some more information and I'll try to answer some of your questions.

 

Oh, and the place is still run by Democrats, which explains why the city is in such shitty shape. Oh, and the morons here still live back in a time when the Steelers were headed by Terry Bradshaw and they were going to play the Rams for the Super Bowl.

 

PS: Holy crap, you must be the oldest person here...

[Guest Failed Mascot]

Long story short, I moved to Masschusetts in 2003. I like the area, but the high cost of living and general unfriendliness of New Englanders have me thinking about another move.

Well what part did you move to? There are some areas that are more expensive then others.

[Guest Luke Cage]

Heh heh heh. I'm 38. I think I am the oldest person that posts here.

I am married with no children. We want to buy a home. Renting is the way for us right now.

 

I am FAR from a pub crawlin', scene makin' party dude. My ideal night on the town is spent in my home theater watching Rififi or The Godfather. My wife likes to go out from time to time so I deal. Just looking for some place to have a decent meal.

 

Thank you for the tip re: AC.

 

I'd like to be able to get downtown within a reasonable time-20-45 min max?

 

I have fond memories of shopping at Giant Eagle. I hate Wal-Mart also.

 

I lived in Homewood during my time in Pgh. Hilltop to be precise. For those not familiar, Hilltop was/is the projects. Much worse now than it was then.

 

I am about as far from a yuppie as you can get so I'm not looking to move in with the Dylan/Trevor/Caitlin breeders, thanks. I have done my time living in war zones though.* When I say good neighborhood, I just mean someplace that isn't featured on COPS on a regiular basis.

*When my mom moved us outta Pittsburgh we moved to Baltimore MD. During my time in Baltimore I lilved in Park Heights/Pimlico, North Avenue and Downtown(Calvert ST/St Paul area)

 

 

I am actually in town right now (typing on my powerbook using a crappy hotel connection). I visited some old haunts (East Liberty, Carnegie Library on Hamilton) and my old schools. My wife likes some parts of Pgh, so this isn't just my nostalgia fueled drive to come "home".

 

I live in Westborough Mass right now. A home that cost 125k in PGH would probably go for 289k here. We relocated here for a job opportunity that did NOT work out. Now it's time to load up the truck and...

 

By the way, if you think Steeler fans are stuck in the past try living in Baltimore with a city full of obsessed Oriole fans. Before the Ravens, the only thing people seemed to care about was eating crabs, going "downy oshun" (Baltimorese for going to Ocean City) and talking bout the O's. You'd think that after the Ravens won a Superbowl that the O-bsession would have goneaway but nooo.

 

Please forgive the rambling nature of the post...I'm tired and can't sleep on a cruddy hotel mattress. Thanks again for the info.

 

Luke "Old Man" Cage

[Guest Luke Cage]

Well what part did you move to? There are some areas that are more expensive then others.

Westborough. It isn't just the expense (tho that's a big part of our problem). It's tough to get along with people here. I don't know whether it's an anti-outsider mentality or just general stand offish-ness. I get a "If you ain't from here, you don't belong here" vibe from lots of people. Add that to the thought of paying nearly 300K for a home that may be worth 175K when the insane NE real estate bubble finally pops. Time to go.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I thought that mentality pretty much applied to most of the East Coast from what I've encountered, especially here in Miami. I've been here for about a year and it's difficult to make friends to hang out with for that reason.

[MrRant 0]

Can't you just say you are from Cuba and they will welcome you with open arms?

[Guest Vitamin X]

I don't look Cuban and I speak English without an accent (or at least a Californian one, therefore eliminating any trace of Spanish in it like the Miami accent does), so yeah that doesn't quite fly.

 

I still say it's an East Coast mentality, at any rate. "Move out of my way, I'm more important than you are."

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I am FAR from a pub crawlin', scene makin' party dude. My ideal night on the town is spent in my home theater watching Rififi or The Godfather.

My n*gga. If you also play Madden '05, you need to call me when you arrive.

 

I'd like to be able to get downtown within a reasonable time-20-45 min max?

 

That depends. Is that 20-45 minutes during rush hour? If not, I get to Pittsburgh in about 45 minutes if some schmoe didn't get into an accident on the Parkway East. The roads are absolute shit and show no signs of improving. I'd say if you want to get to Pittsburgh fast, then looking for something north of the city would be your best bet -- I-279 is, imo, the best highway to get to and from Shittsburgh. Fear the Greentree Hill in the wintertime.

 

I have fond memories of shopping at Giant Eagle. I hate Wal-Mart also.

 

Judging from your post count, you probably aren't used to my style of posting. I'm all about Wal-Mart, but for some reason I just can't do my grocery shopping there. And besides the Giant Eagle advantage card owns joo -- they also started this "fuel perks" promotion where for every $50 you spend in groceries you get 10 cents off of your next gas purchase at one of their gas stations called "GetGo."

 

I lived in Homewood during my time in Pgh.

 

Ugh. Well let's just say it hasn't gotten better over the years. In fact, I would say stay away from the city altogether and become an evil suburbanite like me. The Mayor, Tom (S)murphy, is claiming we are responsible single-handidly for the financial ruin of the city.

 

During my time in Baltimore I lilved in Park Heights/Pimlico, North Avenue and Downtown(Calvert ST/St Paul area)

 

That's Dr. Tom terrority there...

[Guest Luke Cage]

I lived in Homewood during my time in Pgh.

 

Ugh. Well let's just say it hasn't gotten better over the years. In fact, I would say stay away from the city altogether and become an evil suburbanite like me. The Mayor, Tom (S)murphy, is claiming we are responsible single-handidly for the financial ruin of the city.

 

Heh. I drove thru there while I was in town. I had no problems walking around East Liberty/Homewood, but I would NEVER let my wife go there alone. Homewood/Hilltop wasn't exactly Beverly Hills when I lived there but DAMN did it go downhill.

 

Thank you for the replies to my post. I appreciate your input!

[Guest Failed Mascot]

Well what part did you move to? There are some areas that are more expensive then others.

Westborough. It isn't just the expense (tho that's a big part of our problem). It's tough to get along with people here. I don't know whether it's an anti-outsider mentality or just general stand offish-ness. I get a "If you ain't from here, you don't belong here" vibe from lots of people. Add that to the thought of paying nearly 300K for a home that may be worth 175K when the insane NE real estate bubble finally pops. Time to go.

Westborough sucks. Worcester(where I am) has some damn nice houses that cost around 120K. I'm talking 2 floors and like 7 rooms, a kitchen, and 1 1/2 bathrooms. Not to mention a basement as well. My grandmother lives around the rich neighborhood so that's how I know. She bought her house years back though for near nothing and proceeded to redo the basement into bedrooms along with having my grandfather make a sub-basement apartment.

 

other cities that cost alot are Leicester, Paxton, Auburn, and Gloucester(where the movie The Perfect Storm took place).

 

Worcester has so many different types of people that we don't consider anybody outsiders. Its just hard to understand us at first because we have such a hard Boston accent.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

New England reminded me of an English-speaking Quebec,

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

People from Vermont called me "Flatlander."