Moving to Pittsburgh. Have questions!

gemini aquarius(t)

gemini aquarius(t)

Always Learning
Hey all!
I am moving to Pittsburgh at the beginning of summer and I was hoping you guys could fill me in on some basic stuff!

first, I really need to know how the "fish life" is there! it is super important, obviously!

next, Where are the good areas to live around Duquensne? that is probably where I will end up living around.

Would I need a car?

Thanks guys!

Xavier, future Pittsburghian
 
Welcome! We relocated here almost 5 years ago and like it better than we thought we would.

The most important is PMASI (http://www.pmasi.org) You can get a list of the stores there also(updating it today and check out our meeting times. The forums are new but are picking up.

Depending on your need you might not have to get a car. Most likely unless you like climbing hills you will. We do have zipcar downtown and a few outside areas you can rent by the hour I know a couple of people that use them and like the service.
 
welcome to the burgh, we've also lived here almost 5 years...I know i couldnt do without a car but that's just me...we like to travel all over...for duquense area i would suggest White Oak; it's about a 10 min drive into town and is not a bad place to live. my wife and i lived there for 3 years...plus it's a short trip up to Elmer's which is one of the better fish stores in town.
 
Ahd if you are asking me to give a reason its because I worked there as a police officer and I know that it's not a safe town.
 
well you cant just say trust me to someone that has no idea who you are asking for input on the area. So i was trying to get elaboration on the topic so they could make an educated decision.

That was all.. I personally know nothing about it.
 
I understand. Since you don't know the area and bring up a good point I will elaborate on my response for their sake. It's a drug infested area where there is no shortage on folks who murder each other over drugs and have no problem assaulting officers and anyone else that they feel like it. The kids don't just walk down the street five to ten of them will jump on multiple cars and walk from the trunk to the hood.
 
he did say around Duquesne.
i live pretty close to Duquesne in white oak. i live on a dead end street nice and quite plus there is a nice park to walk my dogs.
 
I really hope the OP means Duquesne University. duquesne the city...yikes. Not that the bluff is a lot better but it is trying to make a comeback with some revitalization efforts.
 
We have some really great and knowledgeable people in our club (Anthony Calfo, Steve Pro, Adam Cesnales just to name a few) with wonderful connections in the industry. We hosted MACNA a couple of years ago. Our club has a great schedule of speakers this year. Check it out on our site www.pmasi.org
 
Thank you all. I was referring to the University, not the city.

My girlfriend's mom said to move to the Chatham Towers, but I am looking at other options as well.

The club sounds great, and a lot better than I was expecting coming from Southern Cali where reef stuff is extremely prevalent.

How about shadyside? South Side? Regent square?
 
Just to throw in my 2 cents on the Duquesne issue, I work with court appointed youth in a group home. One of our young "entrepreneurs" was one of the largest heroine dealer in the Pittsburgh area and lived in Duquesne. I have never felt so unsafe driving on the streets before in my life. Probably the only comparable experience has been taking kids to the projects in Northview on the Northside. Neither is a place I'd want to live, or even be when it gets dark at night.

I can't imagine not having a car, but the whole concept of not having one is so completely foreign to me in my Pittsburgh (born and raised) suburban experience. Living in a large city and using mass transit is just so clausterphobic that I refuse to think of it. Pittsburgh is a great big, little city. We have 3 professional sports teams (4 if you count the Arena league team I guess, then back to 3 if you discount the Pirates as semi-professional), very nice museums, and many of the other nice amenities of a large city with a smaller town feel.

As for fishy-related stuff--I personally find the aquarists and the club to be the best resources for much of the stuff here. Retail-side there are several stores which are improving, but none that come close to some of the nicer stores I've seen in my travels. I'd like to believe that one of them will rise to that level someday. There are several people who know where to get things for you though, and the meetings our reef club has are always very interesting and informative.
 
Oh, and by the way, I love that mantis shrimp in your avatar. I kept one for about 2 years, and she probably my favorite marine species that I've ever kept in any kind of aquaria. I'd love to do it again, but I'm not sure how to go about tying it into my system without risking a catastrophe (i.e. broken glass and running my whole system dry)
 
thank you so much for your experience.

As far as the mantis shrimp, just get a smaller smasher or a spearing species, as they cant break the glass... At one point I had her in a 10g and that is REALLY thin stuff
 
gemini aquarius(t) said:
Thank you all. I was referring to the University, not the city.

My girlfriend's mom said to move to the Chatham Towers, but I am looking at other options as well.

The club sounds great, and a lot better than I was expecting coming from Southern Cali where reef stuff is extremely prevalent.

How about shadyside? South Side? Regent square?
Click to expand...

I would rank them:
1. Shady Side
2. Regent Square
3. South Side (too many drunks/bars, but some people like the scene)

I would check out Squirrel Hill, Greenfield, and maybe Mt Washington depending on if you have a car. I have lived in Pittsburgh all my life (32 years), went to Pitt and work at CMU and I wouldn't go without a car. Too many hills and separated neighborhoods due to geography.
 
Last edited:
Duquesne is a good school. My wife and I went to law school there. we lives in the south side slopes while attending and we took the bus back and forth to school. For a non driving commute south side would be your best location as its a straight shot to campus. It only took us about five minutes on bus to get to school.

A large part of location is what your looking to pay for rent and what your wanting apartment townhouse single family home etc. Not to get too personal but with a price range of what your looking for we can point you to the areas that will fit your needs and your budget.

Oh and its like twenty degrees out this morning and icy spots all over....woooo western Pennsylvania weather.
 
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