OT: Considering Moving to Pittsburgh~!~Educate me like Im 4

[Til the End of Time]

i am currently a medical resident in pittsburgh. majority of my colleagues are not from pittsburgh. the general consensus is that pittsburgh is a place thats provides good medical training, and is also good for college kids/families, but not so much for yuppies. if you are married or in a serious relationship, its fine. but for out of town singles looking to meet other people, pittsburgh sucks. there is there is also a lack of diversity, both in demographics and thought.

i specifically chose to spend 1 year in pittsburgh because my family is here and i spend my time visiting my SO, so its been fine. but i feel bad for these young doctors who moved to pittsburgh from all over the world/country to get great training at upmc, whose dating options consist of either other physicians or some yinzer who only cares about beer and football.

an example. i have an attractive friend who recently moved to pittsburgh, just graduated from harvard law, very down to earth. she's having a terrible time meeting legit guys. i am trying to set her up with some guys, but there just isnt a big pool to draw from.

also worth noting that i recently graduated from med school (not in pittsburgh) and no one wanted to go to pittsburgh for training. the only 2 people that did were from here. its not because of the training, because that aspect of pittsburgh is great. its because its a bad city for yuppies.

 

[metalan2]

Pittsburgh has great night life and bar scene. Do not listen to the naysayers.


Places to live close to the city that are 100x better than boring suburb life:

Bloomfield, Shadyside, Lawrenceville...and if you want to really make it exciting Southside.


I'd go with the Bloomfield trio though. Restaurants, bars, and avenue...everything in walking distancce. It's awesome.

 

[cassius]

Agree to disagree - I'd say in terms of nightlife, a Monday night in NYC is 5x more exciting than a weekend in Pittsburgh. Nobody goes out around here save for Fridays/Saturdays and sometimes Thursdays.. if weather is cold, then the turnout is even worse. Basically everyone hibernates in the winter and doesn't go out much. Spring/Summer is a lot more fun.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

If you are looking for NYC or similar, yeah look elsewhere.

I do not think that anyone pretended that Pittsburgh is that, and if those are the expectations you set yourself up for disappointment.

That is not for everyone though.

There is good and bad about the NYC's of the world though too. Personally you could not pay me to live there, and it has nothing to do with me being some Yinzer. Pittsburgh has everything you would look for in a big city like NYC, from world class museums and sports, to some very good restaurants and growing dynamic fields such as robotics and cutting edge technology (cars that drive themselves are being developed here, one of several places, but yes here), etc. Bringing in a more vibrant young set of people who are getting served by a growing artsy neighborhood reclaimation areas. The Bakery development is one, that whole area on Penn Circle, the South side, etc.

As I said no NYC, but quit saying that it is some wasteland for yuppies. Just go to some of those places, they are out there if you only look.

 

[SirBrad]

Pittsburgh has done so much in terms of trying to promote themselves as a hip city and attracting young people - and it seems to be working somewhat but somehow Allegheny County's population continues to drop. I guess old people are drying faster than young people are moving in? Either that or the suburbs are flaming out faster than the city is growing?

 

[cassius]

Pittsburgh has done so much in terms of trying to promote themselves as a hip city and attracting young people - and it seems to be working somewhat but somehow Allegheny County's population continues to drop. I guess old people are drying faster than young people are moving in? Either that or the suburbs are flaming out faster than the city is growing?

The latter.. and colleges are growing a bunch (large influx of young folks).

 

[Confounding Factor]

What kind of food are you talking about? Five star type dining or good solid local food?

Anything and everything. But yeah I would rather get some solid local food that you can't get anywhere else in the country.

I moved from Lebo about 8 years ago, but Mineos has the best white pizza I've ever had and Lil Reppis has the best fries and Italian sub on the planet. There's so many great places to eat in Lebo, how the hell are you having troubles?

I'm probably not looking in the right places then. I gave up using yelp and urbanspoon as a guidance on where to eat. Even the locals I've talked to seem confused on what to suggest is good.

I've been to Il Pizzaiolo, which had really good chicken parm and veal cutlet. Good tomato sauce too.

These are just the ones I've been to. Plenty more are out in shadyside or east liberty or south side, but I don't venture out there anymore. These are where I've had good food and good service.

Il Burloni in scott township - Italian- extremely small, my fav Italian place
Il Pizzaiolo downtown or mt Lebo - high end pizza
Proper downtown - high end pizza
Meat and Potatoes downtown - American
Sienna Mercato downtown - meatballs, Italian
Root 174 regent square - American
Point Brugge point breeze - Belgian?
BRGR - now in mt Lebo so I don't have to enter shadyside - simple and good burgers
Pusadees garden lawrenceville - Thai - go in summer and sit outside


Breakfast-
Dor stop dormont, bistro 19 mt Lebo, Maura Mori lawrenceville

Thanks for the list, only been to one you listed. Once the weather gets better I'll try to hit up Point Brugge.

Jesus those are your must eats? Hahaha

He needs to go to the following places:

Walnut Grille, Dor-Stop, Winghart's Burger and Whiskey Bar, Meat and Potatoes, Salt of the Earth, Butcher In The Rye.

If you want more, let me know. You can go to Ruth's Chris or Hofbräuhaus anywhere. Sesame Inn is definitely a good Chinese place tho.

Haha I've been to Sesame Inn, it was meh (but that was at the Station Square location that recently shut down). I've been to Silk Road Inn which was definitely much better. I've been to Ruth Chris which I've enjoyed, forgot Pgh had it...but it's a place I might go once a year if that.

Thanks for the other recommendations. Someone told me about Dor-Stop before.

Yeah I want more, I'm compiling a list of places to eat this summer.

 

[Confounding Factor]

Do not live in the South Hills or Monroeville unless you work in said area. Commuting from and to those areas during rush hours will make you want to slit your wrist after a week. Gibsonia is very nice...actually, just about anything in the North Hills area is pretty nice, and the commutes are much less congested.

Wanted to comment on this real quick.

Yeah the commute in the south hills to downtown is hell. When I first moved to Pgh, I got an apartment in South Park and it took an hour by bus to get downtown one way. I try to avoid Rt 88 around 4:30pm-6pm, single lane traffic, tons of stop lights. South Hills loves their stop lights and stop signs, there are tons of them.

If you really must live in the South Hills area, I'd suggest living close to a T Station and your commute takes ~15 minutes or so.

 

[specialized]

Woot woot #4
http://www.safewise.com/blog/50-safest-cities-pennsylvania/

 

[SirBrad]

I worked on Washington Road for 8 years and I'd probably say that's one of the best stretches of dining in the suburban Pittsburgh.

Sesame Inn
Little Tokyo (good place to spot Mario in public especially around lunch time)
Il Pizzaiolo (although since moving to NJ, all Italian food in Pittsburgh is now second rate)
Bistro 19
Mineo's is a great spot to grab a slice and I always hit up the one in Squirrel Hill when I am back. I met Kevin Stevens there after the 01 season ended)
I heard Molly Brannigan's has been replaced by Prianti's though? I liked Molly's plus they had decent live music.
and of course The Saloon where I spent many Friday's from 5 to about 2

Mt. Lebanon is one of the few (or only?) suburbs of Pittsburgh that's somewhat interesting. Other than that, just from being around here and there for the past 8 years, the suburbs seem to be hurting and quite depressing. Especially out East where I am from - it's really depressing to see.

 

[Freeptop]

Try to stay out of allegheny county due to taxes.

As someone who lived in California for 7 years and now lives in the Northern portion of Allegheny County, I always laugh whenever anyone complains about the taxes here

Seriously, the only difference between Allegheny County and the surrounding counties in taxes is the 1% extra sales tax (that doesn't apply to food or non-luxury clothing), and the drink tax. If it's down to a tie, that's a reasonable tie-breaker. Otherwise, pretty much any other factor should trump it easily.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Anything and everything. But yeah I would rather get some solid local food that you can't get anywhere else in the country.

My brother in law came in from New Mexico and asked for just that, something just Pittsburgh and that he could not find elsewhere. He loved these two choices.

Pamela's that I linked above is unique to Pittsburgh, the president has eaten there (obama) and I think even brought the chef to the white house. Do the original one in the strip on a Saturday or Sunday and you can walk around there, again a unique Pittsburgh thing, and even have dinner in one of a lot of great restaurants there. The Mad Mex people have Kaya there for instance.

http://www.pamelasdiner.com/

Don't **** with the rest of the menu, just get their PAMELA’S FAMOUS CREPE HOTCAKES for 5.95, or add bacon, sausage links or ham for 7.95.

Made thin and in butter giving them a rich crisp unique taste I have never found elsewhere.

The second place I took him to was Fatheads. Again not fine dining but very Pittsburgh and a great sandwich place.

Here is their menu:
http://fatheadspittsburgh.com/menu.html

This is what their sandwiches are like:

There are a lot of great fine dining options as well. Not on the par with those in NYC, etc, but you can find some very good food. Some have listed options above along those lines. I like one not mentioned so far, Monterey Bay Fish Grotto on Mount Washington. Nice view, and it is unique to Pittsburgh, having started here in Penn Hills as the Rodi Grill House or something like that. The Ahi Tuna is their specialty.

https://montereybayfishgrotto.com/

 

[SwordofStMichael]

North Hills, no question about it.
You have everything there without having to go thru traffic, tunnels, crap

You got people in the south hills might as well be from west virginia

 

[SirBrad]

As someone who lived in California for 7 years and now lives in the Northern portion of Allegheny County, I always laugh whenever anyone complains about the taxes here

Seriously, the only difference between Allegheny County and the surrounding counties in taxes is the 1% extra sales tax (that doesn't apply to food or non-luxury clothing), and the drink tax. If it's down to a tie, that's a reasonable tie-breaker. Otherwise, pretty much any other factor should trump it easily.

Yeah pretty funny. Allegheny County was actually recently ranked as a good place to retire because of the low taxes and cost of living.

 

[nhindian]

Meat & Potatoes
Salt of the Earth
Cure
Root 174
The Commoner
Butcher & The Rye
Sonoma Grill

Bar types:
Fatheads - amazing beer, great food
Piper's Pub - craft beer, good British food
Smokin' Joes - craft beer
Church Brew Works - ok beer, good food. Pricey though
Hofbrauhaus - ignore the guy above, there's like, 3 in the US? Definitely worth a visit
D's Six Pax - right by Root 174. Good pizza, huge bottle shop with tons of beer to go
Sharp Edge - tons of Belgian beers on tap, good food

 

[OnMyOwn]

As someone who lived in California for 7 years and now lives in the Northern portion of Allegheny County, I always laugh whenever anyone complains about the taxes here

Seriously, the only difference between Allegheny County and the surrounding counties in taxes is the 1% extra sales tax (that doesn't apply to food or non-luxury clothing), and the drink tax. If it's down to a tie, that's a reasonable tie-breaker. Otherwise, pretty much any other factor should trump it easily.

When it comes to owning a home, not so much. My buddy pays 4-5 grand for property tax in allegheny county while westmoreland is in the 1-2 range for a similar house and lot size. School districts also play a role in it.

I live in centre county now and used to live in huntingdon. I paid 1600 bucks for 2 acres in huntingdon and now pay 5 grand for .25 of an acre in centre. I just bought another property in huntingdon as well with 1 1/2 acres and will only pay about 800.

I guess that's peanuts to some. But when it comes to owning a house it's an uneccesary extra expense IMO.

I also don't claim to be some tax expert. It's just from my personal experience and my friends who also own homes. I'm sure there are tons of variables and what not that some of you may know better than me.

 

[YinzAintBurgh*]

Yeah, I vouch for Fatheads. That's my go to. 40+ craft beers on tap and bomb burgers.

 

[CurseOfKavorka]

Guys I really want to thank you all for taking the time to post in this thread. The amount of information and insight is valuable to me and easier to digest than pages upon pages of Google. I really appreciate it and will be spending my Saturday this weekend with multiple tabs open going over each post in here and learning as much as I can. This is a big decision for me and I really cant thank you all enough. Keep it coming.

 

[ColePens]

Agree to disagree - I'd say in terms of nightlife, a Monday night in NYC is 5x more exciting than a weekend in Pittsburgh. Nobody goes out around here save for Fridays/Saturdays and sometimes Thursdays.. if weather is cold, then the turnout is even worse. Basically everyone hibernates in the winter and doesn't go out much. Spring/Summer is a lot more fun.

Pittsburgh is not Miami, LA, NY, Las Vegas. I'll give you that.

Thurs-Sat is killer though. I agree about the winter, too. But we are a far cry from Buffalo, AMIRITE Marshawn Lynch?!?!

 

[Freeptop]

When it comes to owning a home, not so much. My buddy pays 4-5 grand for property tax in allegheny county while westmoreland is in the 1-2 range for a similar house and lot size. School districts also play a role in it.

I live in centre county now and used to live in huntingdon. I paid 1600 bucks for 2 acres in huntingdon and now pay 5 grand for .25 of an acre in centre. I just bought another property in huntingdon as well with 1 1/2 acres and will only pay about 800.

I guess that's peanuts to some. But when it comes to owning a house it's an uneccesary extra expense IMO.

I also don't claim to be some tax expert. It's just from my personal experience and my friends who also own homes. I'm sure there are tons of variables and what not that some of you may know better than me.

It's all relative. I live in the North Allegheny School District, which is ranked as one of the best in the region, and I own a house (>3000 sq ft house, on 2 acres of land). I don't find the taxes burdensome, but that might be because my mortgage+taxes still only cost as much per month as it did to rent a 1000sq ft two-bedroom apartment in Santa Clara, CA (smack in the middle of Silicon Valley).

Of course, for me, the school district was an important factor, since I have kids. If school districts aren't a factor for someone, then something like taxes can make a bigger difference. Of course, if you're doing that, make sure you also factor in your commute distance and fuel efficiency of your car, since gas prices can be significant if you're living farther out.

 

[Freeptop]

This is unrelated to discussion of taxes, but is related to the topic of moving here:

One big difference for me when I moved back was the realization that my calibration of what constituted "far away" had changed. In Silicon Valley, there are high-speed roads going everywhere. So going 15 miles meant you were only taking 15 minutes to there. Here, a 5-10 mile distance can mean 15-20 minutes in travel time. It makes distances feel longer.

If you're traveling between two locations that are close to a highway, you can do it quickly (unless it's rush hour). Other than that, Pittsburgh is just a slower-travel area, due to narrow roads traveling twisty paths over and around hills. On the other hand, it's a lot more scenic!
(Aside from Highway 1 going up the coast to SF... that's kind of hard to beat).

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

I'm fairly new to Pittsburgh myself, but I find the lack of decent eateries to be so disappointing.

Can anyone provide me a list of MUST EAT AT restaurants?

I live in Mt. Lebo currently.

http://www.amazon.com/Pittsburgh-Ch...08497&sr=8-1&keywords=pittsburgh+chef's+table

Slightly dated, but still a worthwhile guide, IMO.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

Guys I really want to thank you all for taking the time to post in this thread. The amount of information and insight is valuable to me and easier to digest than pages upon pages of Google. I really appreciate it and will be spending my Saturday this weekend with multiple tabs open going over each post in here and learning as much as I can. This is a big decision for me and I really cant thank you all enough. Keep it coming.

Are you dead-set on an outside suburb somewhere? If so, I'd look north (Wexford & surrounding areas), like others have said. Travel is usually just generally easier, assuming you don't mind driving everywhere.

If you're open to city living, then I'd be happy to provide some more details along with what others have already mentioned, but honestly I'm just feeling kind of lazy at the moment, and don't feel like putting in more effort than I necessarily need to, hahah. Time is at a premium on lunch breaks

 

[Dick Sledge]

I would definitely agree with the north hills. Shaler, Wexford, Allison park, etc. Also if you're looking for "white" areas. I currently live in Cheswick. The Cheswick/Springdale area is very transparent in that way. Lol. Just dont cross the New Ken Bridge.

It's cheap suburban living with the Pittsburgh mills right there for shopping and eating. Although the mall sucks. The theater is awesome.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I'm trying to rent a place in or near the city, but freaking nowhere lets me have 2 dogs. ugh.