Katrina kicked Pittsburgh out of first place

[ALS]

This is what happens when you let the Democrat's run your city and most of counties around Pittsburgh for over 50 years.
Raise the Taxes so much that there are few jobs available. Then sit there and wonder why the younger population leaves for greener pastures.
Pittsburgh Tribune Review

[Emptymag]

Oh, c'mon now... Teresa Heinz-Kerry says the Trib is a "right-wing rag".
Obviously the paper is only trying to make the Democratic "leaders" in Pittsburgh look bad. It's that vast right-wing conspiracy!

Seriously though, I heard that on 104.7 this morning. Wow. They beat that "most livable city" thing to death years ago... Most LEAVEable sounds like a good choice for a new slogan.

[Trooper]

That's the way it is around here, although if you are in the tech/engineering fields, things are pretty good, with CMU and Pitt doing a lot of work in that area. Luckily, my company is growing and has just finished building their world headquarters here, so I'm not going anywhere. Plus, the Pens are staying

[LittleRedToyota]

pittsburgh still routinely comes in right near the top of "most livable city" lists.

it is a great city to live in...if you can find a decent job.

of course, if you can't find a decent job, it doesn't really matter how livable the city is...yer gonna have to leave.

maybe they should re-name the lists to "most livable if you can find a job cities".

[RandomTask]

pittsburgh still routinely comes in right near the top of "most livable city" lists.

it is a great city to live in...if you can find a decent job.

Those "livable cities" lists are all BS. I wouldn't be surprised if Camden, NJ was on one of 'em.

Having lived in the area for 2 years and having in-laws there, I have a basis for comment.
Pittsburgh is fun to hang around once in awhile, but I could never live there permanently because it's such a pain in the ass to get anywhere. There's no beltway-type of loop, which makes a simple drive from many of the suburbs to the airport about as appealing as taking a Greyhound bus coast-coast. Also, most of the suburbs still look broken-down and grungy.

[D-FENS]

I hate this city and the Urban Terrorists. Maybe it's because I grew up in the sticks but I've never been around people so rude, arrogant and with so little shame.

It's terribly shameful but what do you expect? We're the number one city for people that work in the city but out of the county because the taxes are so fing high. I was gonna try and buy a house this year but what good is it if you get a dirt cheap house if you're taxes are as much as your mortgage or close to it.

This city has some problems.

I just wanna go back to State College

[LittleRedToyota]

i agree the livable cities lists are BS...it totally depends on your priorities. one of the reason pittsburgh does well is that the cost of living here is quite cheap compared to other cities. (and, of course, they are lists of livable "cities", not livable "rural areas").

i agree that getting around pittsburgh can be a bit of a pia...there is never a straight line from here to there. that's sort of what happens when build a city in an area that is all river valleys and "mountains" (small "mountains", but they still make having straight roads about impossible).

the good thing, though, is that there are 5 different ways to get everywhere...so, if you actually live here, you prolly know a good shortcut that doesn't get too tied up with traffic.

i've heard rumors that they are going to put in a beltway...we'll see. it would probably actually be bad for the city itself, but good for the greater area.

compared to the traffic problems of many other cities, though, pittsburgh is like heaven just because the volume is not nearly as high.

as far as the suburbs, just depends on which one. fox chapel, for example, is definitely not broken-down and grungy.

personally, i'm not a big fan of suburbs...to me, they're the worst of both worlds--lots of neighbors that are too close, but no cool restaraunts/shops/museums/entertainment/etc. within walking distance. i'd rather either live in the middle of nowhere or in the middle of everything, but that's just me.

[Emptymag]

I'll pack my bags and come with you. You'll need an extra truck to move all that hardware and ammo anyway!

I hate this city and the Urban Terrorists. Maybe it's because I grew up in the sticks but I've never been around people so rude, arrogant and with so little shame.

It's terribly shameful but what do you expect? We're the number one city for people that work in the city but out of the county because the taxes are so fing high. I was gonna try and buy a house this year but what good is it if you get a dirt cheap house if you're taxes are as much as your mortgage or close to it.

This city has some problems.

I just wanna go back to State College

[LittleRedToyota]

We're the number one city for people that work in the city but out of the county because the taxes are so fing high.

yeah, but part of the reason taxes are so high is that we're the number one city for people that work in the city but live out of the county.

many of the people who make the biggest salaries in pittsburgh pay all of about $50 in taxes per year to the city and county combined...even though they come here every day and use the municipal services that have to be funded from taxes.

it's a vicious cycle...people move out of the county because the taxes are high which shrinks the tax base...so taxes go up...so more people move out of the county because the taxes are high which shrinks the tax base....so taxes go up, etc.

[RandomTask]

I just wanna go back to State College

What racket are you in? You should look for a job at PSU if possible. I worked there for 10 years and it generally sucked, but it was still better than being a corporate monkey for asshole operations like Smackyouweather. PSU would be a means to get here since they have frequent job postings and they have the best health plan and retirement contributions in the county.