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[deleted] t1_ix25qgj wrote

I’m over in Philly with the long term goal of moving to Pittsburgh (originally from WV). My husband is from Hawaii but moved to California at 18 and was there for 15 years. One thing we have been surprised is how many Californians are out this way. It is culturally very different but they all said they felt like they could breath out here in terms of having a decent life that didn’t cause financial stress. I don’t know why so many Californians are moving to Texas. Even the “conservative” ones are all moving to liberal Austin but outside Austi the state government is insane. In any event, my artist husband absolutely loves Pittsburgh and was the one who suggested we end up back there. It’s like a smaller version of Philly but still has incredible art and culture, lots of beautiful green hills, and a friendly vibe. I think you’d fit in perfectly in Allegheny area and, coming from CA, the higher taxes will still seem “cheap” - We drove by the water department once in Pittsburgh and they had a big waterfall out front and my husband was like “oh yeah, there is actually enough water out here you can do that unlike California where we are all going to die from fires” - there are a lot of great qualities in California and he misses quite a bit but there is just no way we could ever move back

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No-Camp9363 OP t1_ix27xeb wrote

This is refreshing to hear for sure and I love knowing that I might fit in. My husband will be happy too. Maybe even better than CA. I can't do Texas. I am sure Austin is cool, but I would really feel out of my element. And the south is just too hot. Our park department let the grasses die when in hot as hell Vegas they have HUGE green parks with water spouts for the kids to play in everywhere. It's crazy how the simple little things make such a huge difference. I will look into higher taxes. I am ok if they go to something like good schools. My son can't even get the proper support he needs for speech and social skills and they JUST put in a portable air conditioner in the classrooms because there is no central air. No one has it. It was 108 for a week while the kids suffered with no a/c. There has to be better.

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[deleted] t1_ix2bd84 wrote

There are some really great school districts. Not sure how high property taxes are but research and you’ll be pretty content I think. I travel for work and Austin is turning into LA with the traffic, sprawl, and flashy money image rich lifestyle. You’ll run into a bit of MAGA type in PA but in and around the cities is fine. PA is a true swing state but over all I’d say it’s center/center leftish with different parts of the states clearly on certain sides of political spectrum. If you want to move where your vote truly makes a difference then PA is a great spot. It isn’t all roses and daises and it took my husband a good year to get adjusted (but remember, I’m in Philly. Philly is a beast lol) but he’s very content here. What he appreciates is how people don’t mask who they are - if they have money and like nice things, they’ll buy nice things. If they have money but couldn’t care less about things and just hoard money, they do it. If people don’t want to wear make up, they don’t. If they want to, then they do it. If they want to drive a car for 15 years because they’ve paid it off 10 years ago and they literally don’t care what others think, they do it. Especially coming from image conscious Southern California, he just thinks it’s really cool there isn’t a rat race of constantly trying to impress everyone - people just more genuine.

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Affectionate_Crab773 t1_ix3gh6d wrote

So true, Pittsburghers don't put on airs, not super 'image-conscious'! You can create the life you want here.

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