Upbeat_Estimate1501 t1_ix23nwj wrote 2 years ago

I grew up in the midwest, moved to the East Coast, then to here, so for context OP price wise I'd say Pgh is a good fit cost of living wise. I was considering California but decided against it due to exactly what you mentioned. I think price is kind of a HUGE selling point if you want to take financial stress off your backs, but if you want to live near family that's understandable too.

I'm sure some of the pros/cons you've already seen in the videos and have been mentioned here. Pros: price, kind of that small town-ish feel, we have a good healthcare system (as someone with a disability it's as good as we get in the US, often specialists don't as for a referral), culture is decent, school districts decent depending on where you're looking, sports if you're into that. Cons: pollution, lack of diversity, can feel very small town-ish (good or bad), allergy season is getting worse, weather, nightlife (depending what you or your kids are into). As you mentioned PA is a toss-up politically, flying by the seat of our purple pants each election. Noticed this pass summer also everyone's lawns were a lot more brown due to the heat :/, but you'd be able to get a yard, maybe even a garden.

No-Camp9363 OP t1_ix26sjt wrote 2 years ago

Thank you. We moved to the Bay area for work and it has not been easy. Living in the redwoods is great in theory, but it is beyond challenging. Rents have doubled in the last 5 years. Houses here aren't nice and you pay triple than PA. A house that is a tear down will cost about $800k. And cost of living is going up. Our water bill with just doing basic house cleaning (no lawn or gardens) is $150 a month where my sil in Vegas with a pool pays $30.

I am ok with varying political stances and a balanced one can be good as long as people are civil. There are plenty of right leaning conservatives in the mountains here and there isn't exactly culture unless you have arm sleeves or commute to Silicon Valley.

Our allergy season is beyond horrible. I was hoping to escape to somewhere easier to breathe, but might not ever. We also have a bad mold problem here. We have pollution from wood burning stoves, farming and wildfire smoke, but no factories or much traffic. Some years the sky is orange from fires and you can't go outside or open a window.

We don't get rain from March until October or November. It is pretty boring having no variation. I never thought I would miss rain. I might kick myself someday for saying that.

Those are many of the areas I am hoping to better for us. I hope to visit the town soon. Thanks for all of the help!