My family and I moved to Pittsburgh (20 min north of Downtown) about a year ago. Prior to that we were in NJ just outside NYC. Cost of living out here is 100-times better. Schools are great. Amenities are awesome. People are pretty down to earth and friendly (most are born here/raised here/die here). The city has actually changed a lot over the past 10 years (we lived south of Pittsburgh from 2006-2010 so the fact that we’re back should tell ya something).
So much development and new businesses moving in - especially tech. Plus it has amazing university’s, museums, arts and of course pro sports.
We love it here and hope to make Pittsburgh our final destination to raise our 2 kids.

You lost me at flu strain. Please stay away from our great city. The theaters, arcades and casinos are closed. Unfortunate, but correct.

Lived there years ago. Unless they have changed the tax structure, stay out of Allegheny county, which is Pittsburgh.

In Cranberry township just north, RE taxes used to be about 1/3 the rate. It is suburban living and easy drive to downtown.

If you want to be in town there are plenty of charming neighborhoods but you’ll need more local help for that.

GL.

Pittsburgh is one of the most interesting/unique cities I’ve lived in (I’ve lived in 5 states and 2 countries always within 15 miles of a city) and what makes Pitt so interesting is how unique each area surround the city is.
This time moving here we chose the north hills because there’s more land for your $$ plus more woodland areas to hike/bike/play. When we lived in the south hills in 2006-10 we loved the older homes, tighter neighborhoods, train system to downtown, old-school shops/restaurants. Not to say the north hills doesn’t have these things...just not as many from my “newbie” perspective.
Another thing Pitt has that we love are the rivers. I grew up working at marinas and on boats on Long Island Sound so being able to play in the rivers is great. Don’t have a boat now but did back in ‘06-‘10 and we spent almost every summer weekend boating and chilling in front of pirates stadium listening to the game.
Pittsburgh is a diamond in the rough that most of America overlooks. Selfishly I’d like to keep it that way now that we’re back. Hahaha.

My company was based out of there for awhile and I spent a lot of time there in 2015 and liked the area. Heading east from there had a small town feeling.

Based on what OP is saying it’s probably a general rule you will want to avoid the city limits AND be outside the county that inner city is associated with. For example downtown Minneapolis and the bad areas of Minneapolis are in Hennepin county. Coming into the cities from 45 minutes away you’ll enter the county and still be in farmland for a little bit.

If you have the financial resources then the Squirrel Hill and Shadyside areas are way sweet. Either way, to save research time, take a map and draw a north / south line right at Squirrel Hill and don’t waste time looking at areas to the east of there. Pittsburgh is a great choice because it has everything that city living has to offer. Pittsburgh has been named America’s most livable city (more than once) for a reason. The entertainment venues are among the best and the people are friendly. Unlike nearly every other county, Allegheny County is made up of something like 133 different municipalities so you are changing towns every few miles. Not a big deal though and it makes it easy to identify the various areas. Good luck, I’m sure you will be happy in and around the Burgh.

I live here it’s fine I’m still alive

While I don’t reside in Pittsburgh, it is an amazing city period. We go there several times a year just to have dinner on Mount Washington which overlooks the three rivers (monongahela, Ohio and Allegheny ). Sorry for any mis spellings. Heinz Hall is amazing, Love the Steelers, Pens and Pirates! Great places to eat, socialize and just live a peaceful life.

Coming from the north was always an easier drive when I was there. 79/279 south drops you right downtown. The bridges and tunnels from the south and east were always big choke points.

My commute from near Slippery Rock was only slightly longer than other people's I worked with, but it was way less stressful.

Congrats on moving to a great city!