Cardinal said:I hope you are trying to wrangle some major economic development incentives from them in order to open an office there.![]()
biscuit said:You're kidding, right? We're probably going to charge the company for moving here in order to pay for the extra police presence and mental health workers we're going to need once Chet gets into town. ;-)
Chet said:I just learned we are doing a major project in Pittsburgh so we're establishing a permanent branch office there. Are there any Cyburbanites from there?
mendelman said:I really like Pittsburgh! The location, among the ridges and narrow river valleys gives great views from practically any location. It has a very east coast look but has a very midwest attitude.
A little geology lesson (correct if I'm wrong about any of the following):
Pittsburgh is essentially in a high plateau coming off the western side of the Appalachians. With the city located at the headwaters of the Ohio River (two large rivers converging into one much larger river), all the ridges and valleys of the city have been gouged out of the plateau by the rivers and their tributaries, giving the city a pseudo "mountianous" setting. It's really dramatic. And for people like me, who grew up on a Great Lake shoreline plain, it's really cool.
The autumn colors must be great.
valhallan said:I've been looking at Pittsburgh for grad school, so rather than posting a new thread I figured why not revive this one.
My initial impressions of Pitt, from these boards and some internet research, is that it's like Baltimore without the crime. Blue-collar, relatively cheap, experiencing some renewal.. are those impressions accurate?
How's the area around Duquesne University? Can anyone recommend some walkable neighborhoods within a comfortable distance of DU?
I'm fairly excited to explore the possibilities of Pittsburgh since it's close to home and appears to be diamond in the rough. Any thoughts appreciated!
Biscuit??
Well, being that I'm a planner, a non-notive, and not an employee of the Chamber of Commerce I'll try to give you a straight response to any questions you have. Duquesne University is in the Uptown/Bluff area of the city directly East and adjacent to Downtown. It’s a neighborhood that has seen better days but is slowly trying to turn the corner. But to be honest, unless cheap rent is your thing, other than a couple of apt. high rises owned by the University, I wouldn’t recommend living there. It hasn’t turned the corner just enough yet, and other than some of the few newer developments, has a pretty dumpy housing stock.valhallan said:How's the area around Duquesne University? Can anyone recommend some walkable neighborhoods within a comfortable distance of DU?
I'm fairly excited to explore the possibilities of Pittsburgh since it's close to home and appears to be diamond in the rough. Any thoughts appreciated!
Biscuit??
biscuit said:From what I’ve observed a lot of DU students seem to live in the South Side , a neighborhood across the Monongahela River from DU of about 20 blocks of bars, cafes, apartments, and eclectic shops. It’s an interesting place but it might be little loud and too much temptation for a graduate student. You could honestly live anywhere in the City and get to the University with relative ease using the bus system. For walkability, and a little less wildness on the weekends, I would recommend areas in the East End of the city. Squirrel Hill, Shadeyside, Bloomfield, Friendship, etc., are nice neighborhoods with sizable grad student populations.
Hope that helps.
I don't know what you want to go back to school for but Pitt has a fairly decent MPA program that I'm looking at to start next fall, and Carnegie-Mellon has the urban policy program that Richard Florida was once a part of. Should you decide on Pitt my only advise is to find somewhere to live other than Oakland. It's a student ghetto that has little to offer beyond being home to most of the universities and the co-ed undergraduate eye candy.valhallan said:It does. I'm also looking at U-Pitt and starting to find it more desirable in terms of location and programs offered.
Since you're from NoVa you'd probably find most of the nation in general to be reasonable when it comes to housing. Here, it can very wildly between neighborhoods. In the tonier East End neighborhoods you can look to spend about $700 and up for a decent one bedroom and around $900 for a two bedroom. Just don't hold that as the gospel truth as it's just my experience from looking last Spring.The East End neighborhoods do appear to be more to my liking than South Side. Coming from Northern Virginia, I'm blown away by the low housing costs in Pittsburgh and even the most expensive neighborhoods seem reasonable
1. Walkability is not a real problem here in the city, and almost every neighborhood has a shopping district and/or grocery store. In fact yesterday I walked down to the Whole Foods in in the neighborhood next over from ours (about a mile from our apartment) and took the bus back after buying the weeks groceries. I could have driven, but I don't have to, so i didn't.The complaints about nightlife don't bother me. My desires in no particular order are:
1. Walkability - I hate driving now after commuting two hours a day
2. Tranquility - ..for lack of a better word. I want to be like a fly on the wall.
3. Inexpensive - I'm not interested in being rich so I don't manage my money well (would you believe I'm an accountant?) and would like to stop worrying about exhorbitant rents like I do here in metro DC.
4. Sports teams - I love going to sporting events, especially those that are "downtown" (read: not like the Redskins)
5. Single people - I'll be 24 and on the prowl eventually
6. Local bars/diners - I enjoy being a "regular" and having a place other than my home to relax
7. Cold weather - Fall and winter are my favorite time of year so I want the temperature to drop as it should
8. A-political - DC is attractive but I can't handle the obsession with political matters. Live and let live I say
That's all I can think of right away. Does Pittsburgh fit the bill?
valhallan said:Any other suggestions? Originally I liked Philadelphia, but it might be too trendy for my tastes. Perhaps I should give it another visit though.
All comments welcome, thanks![]()
biscuit said:I don't know what you want to go back to school for but Pitt has a fairly decent MPA program that I'm looking at to start next fall, and Carnegie-Mellon has the urban policy program that Richard Florida was once a part of.
biscuit said:6. What this town lacks in a "club scene" (man I hate meat-market clubs) it more than makes up for in local bars and taverns. They are everywhere and are one of the backbones of many traditional Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
biscuit said:8. This is a nominal blue county so while it's not a-political there's no real bother over your personal politics.
Trendy to me is girls dressing like tramps looking for Abercrombie guys and those meat-heads ruining otherwise relaxing bars. I want to have a beard and not feel like everyone thinks I'm homeless. Does that make any sense?jresta said:I know i'm always talking up Philly but it's funny that you called it trendy (even though i don't exactly know what you mean by trendy).
We don't have a lot going on here. Just traffic and cable television.jresta said:I was in Tyson's Corner over the weekend for a friend's birthday party and started chattin' up a few of his friends and they asked where i lived. When i told them Philly they perked up, asked how i liked it, then immediately started talking about the Real World.
I spent a weekend in Philly and loved it's density and grid.. very easy to navigate. We stayed in Rittenhouse Sq and had no trouble walking to South St and Olde City. Cabs were also readily available, which was very cool.jresta said:1. Walkability - It doesn't get much more walkable than this city. Honestly. I'm not even a member of PhillyCarShare because i never need it.
This is what scares me. I guess housing costs will go up everywhere eventually, but while in Philly I got the sense it was quickly going start developing the characteristics that make D.C. unappealing to me.jresta said:3. Inexpensive - It's getting more expensive here at a rapid rate but rents are still cheap compared to DC or Boston.
jresta said:6. Local bars/diners - One of my favorite things about living here. Awesome and cheap food and good but inexpensive beer.
Yes I noticed plenty of political concern in Philly, but of course that was everywhere this time around. I hope it doesn't dominate city life normally as you say, but I got a keen sense of pent-up liberalism just waiting to explode there. Perhaps I'm just paranoid.jresta said:8. A-political - people here are pretty political during campaign season but off-season it doesn't dominate city life like in DC.
I know that scene and you'll find that in the Main Line suburbs, Manayunk and in select bars in University City but even then it's not the same. I've been to bars and clubs in DC and it reminded me very much of a slightly more grown up version of the southern frat scene i saw in Columbia and Chapel Hill. I think people here are a lot more down to earth - even the frat kids. Either way you certainly don't see that in Center City or the surrounding neighborhoods. If the Old City crowd didn't bother you you'll LOVE the neighborhood spots.valhallan said:Trendy to me is girls dressing like tramps looking for Abercrombie guys and those meat-heads ruining otherwise relaxing bars. I want to have a beard and not feel like everyone thinks I'm homeless. Does that make any sense?
The cabs are great and cheap (not like in DC where they charge you by # of occupants) and cross-town transit is abundant and easy. Not only that but if you're feeling lazy you don't even need transportation to have a drink and a meal.I spent a weekend in Philly and loved it's density and grid.. very easy to navigate. We stayed in Rittenhouse Sq and had no trouble walking to South St and Olde City. Cabs were also readily available, which was very cool.
Philly is a lot bigger than the district geographically so it has a long way to go before the housing market reaches that level. I know very few people that still live in Center City because of the prices. All of my friends are north of Spring Garden St, south of South St, or out in West Philly and these are the places i spend most of my time.This is what scares me. I guess housing costs will go up everywhere eventually, but while in Philly I got the sense it was quickly going start developing the characteristics that make D.C. unappealing to me.
Yes I noticed plenty of political concern in Philly, but of course that was everywhere this time around. I hope it doesn't dominate city life normally as you say, but I got a keen sense of pent-up liberalism just waiting to explode there. Perhaps I'm just paranoid.
Other than fears of eventual political persecution, Philly's big negative is education. Temple appears to be the only option for a master's in accounting and I've heard many horror stories about that area. Didn't get a chance to visit for myself, so I'll have to give it another look. Any opinion on the neighborhoods surrounding Temple?
South of South St interests me. I walked from Rittenhouse to the cheesesteak places at 9th and Passyunk and liked the area around Washington Ave/Wharton St. If there's a train station nearby that can take me to Temple, we may have a potential winner.jresta said:All of my friends are north of Spring Garden St, south of South St, or out in West Philly and these are the places i spend most of my time ... Haha. Temple. There's no reason to live there anyway. I have a few friends who go there and they all live in South Philly and take the subway or they live in Manayunk or the suburbs and take the train (Temple has its own train station).
Nah, don't want a conservative city. I actually prefer surrounding myself with people of differing views, as long as they don't try to shove it down my throat. Besides, a conservative going to a city and not expecting to hear liberalism is like an atheist going to church and not expecting to hear about God. ^o)jresta said:If you want a conservative city you won't find it in Philly or Allegheny County but I hear Cincinatti is the place to be. Seriously though, Philly is Democrat's city. I wouldn't say it's necessarily "liberal" (the image coming to mind for me is the BoBo). It's still a very blue collar town. The liberal activists are in Mt. Airy and the anarchists are along Baltimore Ave. in West Philly. I don't think you should fear moving to a blue county, especially this one, because it's pretty easy to avoid political discussion.
It's been a while since I researched those schools, but I believe they were all ruled out based on location, cost, or lack of program availability.. Rutgers is a possibility, I'll check them out again.jresta said:Maybe you checked them all out already but what about Penn? Arcadia? Phila U.? Drexel? St. Joe's? LaSalle? Villanova? Haverford? Swarthmore (beware the liberals ;-) )? Rutgers-Camden? Widener? Rowan?
What you saying about Federal St. Rumpy? Property values were on their way up, but the "ladies" in front of the beer store told me that they had to stop their beautification project. Seems they've been short on cash ever since you left for town.Rumpy Tunanator said:valhallan, if your looking for good neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, don't listen to biscuit, those neighborhoods he lists are bad news. Give these a shot
5. Federal Street on the Northside by the 24 hour beer store: Cops moved there police station from there because property values were skyrocketing![]()
valhallan said:South of South St interests me. I walked from Rittenhouse to the cheesesteak places at 9th and Passyunk and liked the area around Washington Ave/Wharton St. If there's a train station nearby that can take me to Temple, we may have a potential winner.
Definitely, sounds good biscuit :b: It'll be my first real visit to Pitt so I'll need plenty of guidance.biscuit said:valhallan: send me a PM before you visit the 'Burgh. I'd be willing to give the nickle tour and participate in a mini-Cyburbia Alefest.
Yeah it was a looong walk, but gave me chance to see more of the city firsthand.jresta said:Rittenhouse to Pat's! That's quite a hike. Bella Vista (amazing restaurants everywhere) and Queen Village are the neighborhoods between South St. and Washington Ave. You can still find decent rents in BV and QV but i think QV tends to be on the more expensive side. The neighborhoods south of Washington Ave. are Pennsport east of 6th St. and Passyunk Square west of 6th. Both neighborhoods are affordable and quiet.
Next time you're coming up let me know and i'll give you the list of restaurants/bars to check out.
For housing you should check out the area between 10th & Broad St. between Washington and Snyder. The subway runs beneath Broad St. and the stops are Ellsworth/Federal, Tasker/Morris, and Snyder. The main stop for Temple is Cecil B. Moore. It's a 6-7 minute ride to Center City and a 15 minute ride to Cecil B.
valhallan said:Philly's big negative is education. /QUOTE]
You couldn't be more wrong (or your just looking in the wrong places for programs)
I don't have the statistics to back it up...but I would say Philadelphia's concentration of colleges & university's rivals Boston's or at least comes in second...
There are few places close to so many high quality schools in the nation...
Pittsburgh has one of the fastest aging populations (and oldest) in the nation, (and even though Philadelphia still has problems with brain drain) there is still a strong population of people in their mid to late 20s...
obviously it's my opinion but I would recommend thinking alot more about Philadelphia then Pittsburgh....with Philadelphia your in prime location....45min -1.5hr to the beach, 1.5 hr to the mountains, 1.5 hr to NYC, 1.5 hr to Baltimore....it's just very accessible...
narrator said:You couldn't be more wrong (or your just looking in the wrong places for programs)
narrator said:obviously it's my opinion but I would recommend thinking alot more about Philadelphia then Pittsburgh....with Philadelphia your in prime location....45min -1.5hr to the beach, 1.5 hr to the mountains, 1.5 hr to NYC, 1.5 hr to Baltimore....it's just very accessible...
valhallan said:Yeah it was a looong walk, but gave me chance to see more of the city firsthand.
Bella Vista is where the Italian market is, right? That was neat but probably too bustling for me. I'll definitely shop there though, looks like they have some wonderful items. Between 10th and Broad sounds ideal so I'm going to keep my eye on rents in that area. Hopefully they won't skyrocket between now and August! I'm hoping for no more than 650 for a one-bedroom, do you think that's attainable?