Moving to Pittsburgh

[Brundlefly]

Thanks for the info, guys. Any reccomendations for apartments? I plan to rent for 6-9 months and then buy somewhere. So far the best apts I have seen online are Chestnut Ridge just West of the city. It is directly adjacent to Settlers Cabin Park. I like to hike, so being right next to a park is appealing.. Its hard to get a real feel about an apt just from a website, though..

[Shi Huangdi]

Squirrel Hill is right next to Frick Park and Schenley Park, so those are both good places as far as living near a park goes. From either Squirrel Hill or Shadyside, Schenley Park will be a short drive in either case. Also, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill both are very good in terms of alot of shops, restaurants, and bars being nearby. Those are also both closer to Oakland, which has the University of Pittsburgh and a whole lot of great ethnic restaurants in it. The only problem is rent there is pushed a little bit up due to universities being nearby.

Depending on your financial situation, you may want to consider living nearby a bus line, or near the T, if you work downtown(Or Dahntahn as it's called in Pittsburghese). Parking is horribly expensive downtown, and you can save a bunch of money by taking the bus in. Be careful of living at any spot which require taking the parkway (I-376 or I-279) into work, as traffic can really congested on it.

[Brundlefly]

Originally posted by Shi Huangdi
Squirrel Hill is right next to Frick Park and Schenley Park, so those are both good places as far as living near a park goes. From either Squirrel Hill or Shadyside, Schenley Park will be a short drive in either case. Also, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill both are very good in terms of alot of shops, restaurants, and bars being nearby. Those are also both closer to Oakland, which has the University of Pittsburgh and a whole lot of great ethnic restaurants in it. The only problem is rent there is pushed a little bit up due to universities being nearby.

Depending on your financial situation, you may want to consider living nearby a bus line, or near the T, if you work downtown(Or Dahntahn as it's called in Pittsburghese). Parking is horribly expensive downtown, and you can save a bunch of money by taking the bus in. Be careful of living at any spot which require taking the parkway (I-376 or I-279) into work, as traffic can really congested on it.

I'm working right near the airport, thats why I was looking west of the city only.

Being near a university would be cool as I imagine there would be a higher concentration of sexy single girls to bump into around town..

My employer is putting me up in an extended stay facility for the month of November, so I'll have time to explore Squirrel Hill and other areas.. Thanks for your input..

[DanS]

While this doesn't help you, my sis used to work at Vivendi near the airport. She commuted from Steubenville.

There is tons of dirt cheap housing relatively close-by, if that's what you're looking for. If you're looking for trendy or urban, I'm guessing West of the city is not your best bet, however. At least that's what my limited experience suggests.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Brundlefly


I'm working right near the airport, thats why I was looking west of the city only.

Being near a university would be cool as I imagine there would be a higher concentration of sexy single girls to bump into around town..

My employer is putting me up in an extended stay facility for the month of November, so I'll have time to explore Squirrel Hill and other areas.. Thanks for your input..

Like DanS, I'm not going to help you much, but I will be a little more optimistic. Just as I was leaving Pittsburgh in 2000, shopping and restaurants out near the airport really began to boom, centered on an area called "Robinson Town Center," I believe. It had long been worth the pilgrimage out there just for the Ikea, but suddenly there were all sorts of stores, bars, restaurants, movies, etc. It's far too suburban for my tastes, but it may mean there's life out there now.

It is true, though, that the liveliest places to live are far from the airport, and the bridges and tunnels make the commute out there slower than you'd expect.

[Brundlefly]

Thanks Dan and Rufus.

When I buy it will be in a place that I've identified as an up-and-coming high growth area - doesnt matter to me if it is in the city or out.

Rufus, did you live in the city? What's a good part of the city to live in?

[Grandpa Troll]

Well..years ago I won two U S Open Fighting Championships and 1 Forms (Hyung) in Tae Kwon Do, North Hills and then Butler which is just outside of Pittsburgh

as Dan stated very hilly


But then been like 456.74 large 4 item pizzas ago so not sure what its like now


Have fun

[Kuciwalker]

CMU is in Pittsburg. That is about as much as I care about the city.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by Brundlefly
Thanks Dan and Rufus.

When I buy it will be in a place that I've identified as an up-and-coming high growth area - doesnt matter to me if it is in the city or out.

Rufus, did you live in the city? What's a good part of the city to live in?

I lived in various East End neighborhoods -- Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, North Point Breeze. I worked at the University of Pittsburgh and my wife was a grad student at Carnegie Mellon, so the East End was perfect for us. Of those three, you'd prefer probably Shadyside (best shopping, restaurants) or Squirrel Hill (cinemas, bars, best video/dvd store in town, and lots of college students). North Point Breeze is a terrific, up-and-coming mixed race/mixed class neighborhood where we still own a house, but it's more family-oriented. Squirrel Hill is also closest to Interstate 376, which would be your commuting artery if you lived in the East End. There are also lots of young folk and hopping bars in Oakland, the University neighborhood, and it's also just off I-376; but it was always a bit too student-ghetto for my tastes.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Japher
Pittsburgh... I so want to go there. Mainly because I want a Primanti Bros Sandwhich



Cole Slaw, Pastrami, fried egg, french fries, and tomato

yum

I've had it. There's one down here in FtL. It's not all it's cracked up to be.

[ajbera]

George Romero shot Night of the Living Dead in Pittsburgh, IIRC.

[Japher]

It's not all it's cracked up to be.

I can't hear you... nananananan

[ajbera]

Better watch out, Brundlefly:

Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack
October 19, 2005 | Issue 41•42

PITTSBURGH—A zombie-preparedness study, commissioned by Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy and released Monday, indicates that the city could easily succumb to a devastating zombie attack. Insufficient emergency-management-personnel training and poorly conceived undead-defense measures have left the city at great risk for all-out destruction at the hands of the living dead, according to the Zombie Preparedness Institute.

"When it comes to defending ourselves against an army of reanimated human corpses, the officials in charge have fallen asleep at the wheel," Murphy said. "Who's in charge of sweep-and-burn missions to clear out infected areas? Who's going to guard the cemeteries at night? If zombies were to arrive in the city tomorrow, we'd all be roaming the earth in search of human brains by Friday."

Government-conducted zombie-attack scenarios described on the State Department's website indicate that a successful, citywide zombie takeover would take 10 days, but according to ZPI statistician Dr. Milton Cornelius, the government's models fail to incorporate such factors as the zombies' rudimentary reasoning skills and basic tool use.

"Today's zombies quickly learn to open doors, break windows, and stage ambushes," Cornelius said. "In one 1985 incident in Louisville, a band of zombies was able to lure four paramedics and countless law-enforcement officials to their deaths by commandeering an ambulance radio and calling for backup."

ZPI researchers noted that tens of thousands of Pittsburgh citizens live in close proximity to a cemetery. This fact, coupled with abnormally high space-radiation levels in eastern Pennsylvania and ongoing traffic issues in the East Hills and Larimer areas, led Cornelius to declare the likelihood of a successful evacuation as "slight to impossible."

"The designated evacuation routes would be hopelessly clogged, leaving many no choice but to escape by foot," Cornelius said. "Add a single lurching zombie into that easily panicked crowd and you've got a nightmare scenario."

Cornelius' model shows that after the ensuing stampede, "the zombie could pick and choose his victims," and predicts the creation of hundreds of new undead "in a single half-hour feeding frenzy."

Pittsburgh's structural defenses are particularly inadequate. The city's emergency safe houses, established by a city ordinance in the early '70s, lack even the most basic fortifications for zombie invasion.

"Under the ordinance, wooden tool sheds and rusty station wagons are classified as adequate shelter," Cornelius said. "But once dozens of zombies hungering for living flesh begin pounding on the walls and driving their half-decomposed fists through the windows, sheds and cars quickly give way."

Federal Undead Management Agency spokesperson Dr. Sheena Aurora downplayed the ZPI report, arguing that zombies move slowly and can be easily overpowered. Aurora advised citizens to look over their shoulders frequently, adding that a large shopping mall can serve as a "long-term, even fun" refuge from zombies.

Such assertions alarm zombiologist Olivier Baptiste, who calls FUMA's information "hopelessly outdated."

"Dr. Aurora's claims are based on decades-old zombie models," Baptiste said. "Widely released evidence from recent years clearly shows that zombies can run just as fast, if not faster, than a living human."

Added Baptiste: "That FUMA trains its field agents to shoot zombies in the torso, rather than the head, demonstrates just how out of touch the government is."

Evans City, PA Police Chief Gino Fulci said zombie preparedness comes down to training on the local level.

"Children need to be taught from preschool that they might have to put a bullet between the eyes of their own undead mother," Fulci said. "'Destroy The Brain' banners should be hung above the entrances of schools, churches, and town halls everywhere."

Cornelius recommends that Pittsburgh residents prepare a "go-bag" containing a Glock 17 pistol and 50 rounds of ammunition. If leaving the house is not an option, Cornelius advises residents to barricade all first-story doors and windows, and have at least one method of suicide prepared, should zombies successfully breach the home.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/41676

Awesome homage to zombie films!

[Brundlefly]

Originally posted by ajbera
Better watch out, Brundlefly:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/41676

Awesome homage to zombie films!

My "go bag" is ready!