Just DON'T
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12/22/2019
I'm Pittsburgh born & bred. While I do believe we are the survivors and could live almost anywhere you put us, that's mainly because this city sucks! I've lived in all the counties around Pittsburgh. The roads everywhere are crap. Pothole country. Allot of racism & prejudice on BOTH sides of the fence. Not many opportunities to find a well paying job (I'm lucky to have found one - even luckier I can transfer out of state) where you can pay the high rent prices (unless you wanna live in a bad area), outrageous utility bills, car and insurance, buy food, put gas in your car to get to the job, etc. If you manage to do THIS, and still have money to enjoy your days off, there's NOTHING to do! Unless you like bars. Just be careful you don't get into a fight with some prick there cuz ppl in this city are plain ignorant! No one says hello, holds a door open, waves. I haven't known any of my neighbors since childhood! The public schools are terrible compared to many other states so good luck giving your children a better chance at life. There's a ton of drugs like heroin and methamphetamines, invading ALL areas (even the high class ones) so more crime is a given. BUT, even with the opioid crisis, you'll die before getting adequate help. God bless you if you need mental health help... NOT gonna happen here! There's usually months to wait for an initial appt. And the weather? No wonder we're depressed! We have 6+ months of cold, cloudy, dreary weather. I'm surprised there's not mass suicide ???????! We get all 4 seasons in one day more often than not. So, be prepared to change more than once in a day. We don't get tornadoes, hurricanes, or earthquakes but we've had micro bursts which are kin to tornadoes. A decent amount of flooding. Sleet is a given in the winter along with extremely frigid temps. Buy jumper cables for your car or you'll be waiting forever for roadside assistance. Be careful of pipes freezing too. If you work downtown, watch the icy cold winds from the dirty, nasty river. In the summer, it is very humid & if you have respiratory issues, don't move here! Your makeup will melt and hair will turn into a frizzy nightmare. In Fall, the allergies are horrendous! This year, I couldn't go outside without my eyes blurring badly as well as the normal allergy problems. I don't pay attention to politics so I can't help you there. I know the bridges are in desperate need of repairs, taxes are insane, job markets don't seem to be growing (you could always work for Walmart, any fast food place, food service, call center, or a warehouse for barely above minimum wage, can't afford healthcare, lucky to get 40 hours, got to take more than one bus which is also pricey, and break your back for no chance at a raise or advancement plus the boss is probably an a*****e!!! There's plenty of those opportunities here for you so there's your positive... You could live on welfare till death and even use the system, sell your food stamps, drive a BMW while receiving housing vouchers and they won't kick you off or get you in trouble! That ONLY happens to the ppl who want to work and get off welfare... ??????? Oh & don't EVER get in ANY trouble because it's a Commonwealth State! You'll never get off probation; it benefits the county too much. The jail is disgusting. You'll NEVER get out of there without signing over your life either to some kind of supervision like probation or a program that sets you up to fail & commit another crime. They make money from keeping ppl in jail and on paper instead of getting addicts help, providing rehabilitation versus strict punishment for minor offenses, but they'll let domestic abusers get every option to stay out and torment (in some cases, kill) their victim. There's zero help for victims and their children so simply live in fear to get PTSD, but if you stick up for yourself off to the jail you go! Better have money for a lawyer because the public pretender's don't help one bit. So... If you want to live in Pittsburgh PA and have a good experience/life, you got to have wealth to buy those golden opportunities that 98% of us can't afford. Otherwise, welcome to H*ll on Earth - you're not getting outta here with your sanity intact... Simply MY opinion - though I lived here for 30+ years. Best wishes & blessings to ALL.
Colleen | Pittsburgh, PA