I need to get a grip because I spent two decades of my life regularly socializing at 24 hour locations? And now it's like we live in an entirely different world as those don't even exist anymore? I find it quite amazing to take a step back and look at what's gone. Late night grub after drinking with friends until the bars close, quietly reading a book by myself while drinking some coffee on a sleepless night.. late night study groups, cramming for finals.. or just hanging out until 2am because I wasn't yet old enough to drink and it was a good place for teenagers to hang out.

Your trollish response is no different than if you said "Shame they're tearing my old high school down, I have a lot of memories of that place" and them some douchebag online told you that high school was two decades ago and you should move on with your life.

Really not sure how you read into my comment as evidence that I'm the one that needs a grip here. You sure care a lot about some stranger's opinion... now that, is wild.

Anywho.. feel free to fuck off. I've seen plenty of other dumb troll responses from you in the past so I won't be wasting anymore time with you. ps. 90s called, they want their screen name back, funny guy.

This is a depressing thread, in that, more places are closed or now close early than I had realized. I wish you luck in finding an appropriate place, because I feel like a piece of my identity died over this pandemic. :( I hope we get some of our late night oasis's back.

When I hear "gated communities and new construction" I tend to think of the suburbs, particularly around Cranberry. I'd probably search there. Maybe Seven Fields.. also stretching towards Mars and down to Wexford and up towards Zelienople.. that entire area has lots of communities but they aren't necessarily gated, more cul-de-sac sort of living but it's a similar vibe as I think you're looking for.

I have no experience with Dallas and don't know what you mean by "master planned" though so can't be of much help on specifics.

>I just had no sense of if there was a local music scene to be heard of.

Local scene.. yeah. I'm not tuned into the jazz scene but I'll take those at their word saying it's happening. Punk has always seemed fairly healthy here, although not my scene either so can't judge it well. Agree with others who said we have a strong classical core as well. The strength of the area is the schools... Chatham, CMU, Point Park, Duquesne, Pitt... all bring things in and host smaller events. Chatham's baroque program is the only one I visit with any frequency.

There's a decent investment into our cultural district, Pittsburgh Sympathy and some other theaters. So we have a lot of local professional talent.

The folk/bluegrass/acoustic scene is a bit hit and miss, especially compared to somewhere like Nashville or Austin. Folk Alley is based out of Kent, OH though, which isn't too far and they bring some acts in. Pittsburgh's annual Arts Fest brings in some good acts for a couple of weeks, so you could look up past events to see the schedules for that.

Pittsburgh isn't the melting pot that it once was, but there's still a strong influence from the Russian Jewish population so that adds some flavor. Not that we have a big klezmer scene or anything but there are players around.

Our open mic scene is nothing to brag about, but it's healthy enough to go out and contribute and make it better. Check out Mr. Smalls & Funhouse. Some random singalong fun at the Northside Elk's lodge banjo night (mostly tenor banjos and Americana). The Quakers sometimes host some performances and singalongs. Other occasional events hosted by local museums like the Warhol.

Where Pittsburgh is lacking is with touring bands bothering to stop by.. we tend to be flyover country for a lot of bigger acts so if you want to catch a lot of larger tours you'll need to travel. This is a double edged sword though, as it's a fairly easy drive to Philly, DC, Delfest (Cumberland), Columbus, Cleveland, Chautauqua, Buffalo, and Toronto.. and the trip to Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago, or Detroit isn't terrible either. We're a good hub to a lot of other cities if you have a weekend to travel for shows and events.

Covid has shut a lot down and we're still crawling back to life. Acoustic Music Works in Squirrel Hill used to regularly host some cool little intimate acts. They're our local Collings dealer so you might want to reach out to them and ask about the music scene here. Oh, and we have a local mandolin orchestra too!

Beyond that.. keep an eye on the local NPR music stations. WYEP and WKSU (Kent, OH) and see if they are actively promoting anything.

We're a smaller city.. the music scene here is lacking compared to other places I've lived (San Diego, Seattle, Chicago). But for the size of the city, it's relatively healthy.

>So same color racism does exist?

Yes. If a Black person follows procedures/policies/training/etc. that are rooted in racism. Although it's the difference between systemic racism vs a more blatant sort of racism.

Systemic racism is tricky, because it doesn't involve wearing polo shirts or klan hoods and carrying around tiki torches chanting "we will not be replaced" or some other BS. The systemic variety can be simple prejudice, profiling, or that sort of thing. The only way to combat it is awareness, and spreading that awareness is a fine line to walk as the receptive audience already gets it and those who need to hear it tend to get defensive (especially when the communication is coming from a stranger yelling in your face).

I should look into that, especially for $20. It would definitely make for safer driving in some situations.

I actually considered getting some prescription sunglasses that wrap around the face a bit, for the sake of bicycle riding but the only frames I could find were camo and not quite what I was looking for (typical Walmart, lol); I really should have followed up on that but then it just fell to the back of my mind.

I'm due for a fresh prescription so I appreciate the reminder!

> I'm just glad I made you so angry you pissed away.... what... 5-10 seconds of your day ranting about Trumpists on my post lmao

You're just continuing to prove the point that you want to argue, not have any sort of genuine discussion.

If you actually want to engage with people, and not just humor yourself, I strongly suggest you revaluate your approach.

You're going to attract what you put out. You've already shown me, without any doubt, that you are not someone worth engaging with through this medium.

No one who is a moderate would be egging on a partisan douche opening a chat with things like:

>but you have to accept big-people words - I'm not in your safe zone!

​

You're defending a troll who is clearly not here in good faith. I'm an actual "moderate" who has voted for plenty of Republicans in my life and can't stand Kucinich then or now... and I call BS when I see it. Until the GOP comes back from orbit and dumps all this Trumpist/MAGA nonsense, voting with Dems on some issues is the moderate position... as reasonable people like Tom Ridge and Liz Cheney have reminded us (never thought I'd call a Cheney reasonable, but relatively speaking, here we are).

You could rewrite that and it's quite obvious what the issue is...

"I made a post attempting to pick fights on a political basis and it was removed!?!?"

This is a Pennsylvania sub, not a place for you to get your partisan dopamine rush. Yes, politics are inevitably going to creep into most discussions, but that's no reason to start that horse shit right out of the gate.

​

>but you have to accept big-people words - I'm not in your safe zone!

You clearly have zero interest in conversing with anyone in good faith. You just want to pick fights and spew insults.

>I was kind of dismissive of these prospects at first because I know PA has a lot of depressed areas that I couldn't really see myself living in. But it also seems like maybe a good opportunity to get decent work experience. Perhaps these areas have other surrounding areas or other metros nearby that are nice to live in?

​

Most likely the jobs available to you are not in those depressed areas, making it a non-issue.

If you need work experience, take the best offer currently on the table, and move elsewhere when you have more experience if the soon-to-be-current job/location isn't a good fit.

Pennsylvania is a big state, with a large population, and it's a mixed bag. It's also not a destination state so more people leave than come in, then add retirement to that equation, and *poof* you have jobs needing filled.

I've lived in Philly, Chicago, San Diego, Phoenix, and Seattle as far as larger cities go... I'm currently in one of those depressed areas; it suits me for the time being, but I have family here and I'm middle aged. Even the depressed areas aren't terrible overall, but given that you're presumably young and single and looking to socialize and date and maybe meet someone, I'd try to stick closer to Philly.

Scranton/Wilkes Barre is probably a good place to buy a house and raise a family while still being close enough to NYC to escape for some occasional culture. It's also a lovely area to explore the outdoors. But I'd disparage and mock the area too if I was a 20 something hoping to party and date.

Harrisburg, Allentown, Reading, York... all very different cities with different pros/cons. Harrisburg has a little more of that urban feel, lots of people with a graduate degree, some decent restaurants and options, and then that drops off entirely about five miles out from city center. But people there are educated, curious, healthy. Can't speak for Allentown but it's close to a lot of things so it has that going for it if you like road trips. Reading is not all that vibrant but close enough to Philly to escape and it's a large enough city to have a lot of options for food/shopping/etc. York is ultra-conservative and dull, but a decent place to raise a family and an easy escape to Baltimore or Philly for a weekend.

With the exception of Philly proper, you'll find that most places in PA are optimal if you have the ability to travel a lot and don't mind road trips... there's a lot in to do in the state but it's spread out. Pittsburgh is good too but it might feel a bit like you're the big fish in a little pond, depending on your expectations and what you are used to. The nice thing about Pittsburgh is it's a really good hub to visit Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, Toronto, DC, and Philly without too much travel time... I really like it as a home base, of sorts, but it's no where near as exciting as living in Philly, Chicago, San Diego, or Seattle were for me. That said, it still has lots to do and feels like it's slowly trending in a better direction.

It's nice for about four hours and then I'm sick of it. For one, I have a lot of sensitivity to light so it gives me headaches and I struggle to wear sunglasses over my glasses, can't stand transitions, and can't wear contacts so headaches and eye strain are par for the course here (I should really look into getting lasik).

Not to mention, if the roads are bad I'm not getting out to the scenic spots and as soon as it starts melting everything is brown and icky.

And you can't avoid that white means cold.. would be a great view from the toasty warm house though.

I preferred living on the West Coast in terms of snow.. mostly avoided it, but if I wanted to drive 45minutes into the mountains I had a winter wonderland to play in and then leave when I was tired of it.

>I would like to live in an area with access to public transportation as I do not have a car.

I wouldn't personally want to live in Munhall then, that's going to be a rough commute using public transit. I love Munhall, would be one of my top choices to buy a house (along with Bellevue on the western side) but neither are great places to be dependent on transit.

​

>I am also an artist so I would love to get involved with the local art scene if at all possible.

Try to find something in Dormont close to the T (only sort of light rail we have).. direct line downtown and Dormont is somewhat artsy. Regent Square might be a decent fit on the East End. Lawrenceville has a lot going on but is relatively pricey to live, so I'd probably go to Millvale or Etna if I wanted to be closer to there (or Highland Park, but also pricey). Polish Hill is a fairly convenient location in the middle of everything. All of those would give you a little bit of a buffer from the college crowd but keep you out of sketchy neighborhoods.

What art medium do you use? Is that your source of income or just a hobby? What do you need to have nearby?

>but any "brown liquor"

yup, I use a cheaper brandy for this.. same stuff I keep in the the kitchen cabinet for cooking. Paul Masson Grande Amber VSOP in my case.. best bang for the buck around if you want something with four years of oak aging. It's smooth enough to drink straight although not comparable to something like Hennessey or Remy which can easily cost 3-4x as much.

Even my second choice, a whisky like Wild Turkey or Four Roses costs a few bucks more.

I'm not sure it matters, really. I use lime more than I use lemon when I make a hot toddy for myself (still citric acid with vitamin c). Some things are just "the way it's always been done" and not necessarily better or worse, probably due to availability and pricing in the past.

lol.. quite possible. Curse them!

It was "the five" and "the 90" in Seattle. Lived there for seven years (two years in San Diego).

*edit to add* Wife was from Phoenix.. "the ten" and "the 17" as well as "the eight."

It's more of an East Coast/ West Coast thing in my experience... In the east you drive on I-95 and out west you drive on "the 5" or "the 15" or whatever. Same applies to Interstates 90/80/70 etc.

I personally prefer using "the" which most of us do when referring to "the Turnpike" although we'd then say I-80, I-79, or whatever. So yeah, I do say I-whatever out here.

Just one of those weird regional things.

80/90 through Ohio can be rough if you run into an active storm, but I doubt any worse than what you'd see at the start in Buffalo. There isn't enough of 90 through PA to even judge it, blink and you'll miss it.

It's gloomy and wet but it's a different sort of gloomy and wet. In Pittsburgh you get downpours and thunderstorms while Seattle is more of an endless haze for months at a time. In Pittsburgh an umbrella is useful while in Seattle it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Another big difference is that Pittsburgh in January will have its fair share of blue skies even if it's cold while in Seattle it's just grey from November until sometime in May. I first moved to Seattle in December and my wife never once saw Mount Rainer until late April or early May because it was always hidden by clouds. The summers, generally May into October, tend to have few clouds and mostly blue skies while the temperature hangs around a moderate 70°-ish for most of that (but with an occasional heat wave). Likewise the winter months tend to stay in the 30° area and rarely dip down low for extended periods.

Overall the total gloom between Pittsburgh and Seattle is similar but it's more sporadic in Pittsburgh and a bit bunched together in Seattle. Plus this is further exaggerated by Seattle being further north so those bright blue summer days last longer and those dark dreary winter days have even less day time light.

It still gets plenty hot/humid here in the summer.. spring is wet, fall is nice, winter is cold. Just fair warning and I say this as someone who lived in San Diego for a couple of years.

If you don't mind the increased rainfall, the thunderstorms are fun.

There's no mass exodus.. I moved back here from Seattle and a pair of friends moved back from San Fran. Another couple of friends moved down to DC for school... there's a healthy flow back and forth. Also had an uncle/aunt and two kids move back from Tahoe, another uncle/aunt and three kids move back from Lake County, CA.. one of those kids married a woman who moved here from San Diego. It's not like there's some net outflow, many people who leave find their way back but at the same time I still have three high school friends from PA living in LA because that's where they found work.

The decline is mostly high deaths and low births; the population here is fairly old overall.

>YOU are the reason that we have this senile old jackass in the White House.

ahhh there it is, showing us your true colors now. Yes, yes... the problem is all those people with "bad ass attitudes" which you clearly don't have... sure, Jan.

ps. if you want people to read your hateful rants, learn to use paragraph breaks while you are using voice-to-text... no one is reading past the first line or two in a giant wall of text.

You know, it would be very easy to compromise here and the GOP just acknowledge that the Dems won the majority, and will maintain the majority, and honor that starting the day everyone is sworn in. I'm sure if the GOP would be willing to do that in good faith, the Dems would be more than happy to have both elections on the same day.

It's a blatant power grab by the GOP trying to extend control by a few months.

I'm sure both sides have some interesting legal theories and none of this is cut and dry from a purely legal perspective. But in terms of what is best for the commonwealth rather than partisan nonsense, it's pretty clear that it's only the GOP turning this into a clusterfuck on the basis of a technicality that allows them to get away with it to some degree.

They lost the majority for this election cycle, they know they won't win those seats that are being vacated. This is just being sore losers.

So, based on your logic, if someone isn't an elected representative they aren't a Republican either? Regardless of their ideology, voting record, etc.?

I think you're just a troll.

>Accept the election results? Trump was impeached before his inauguration! 😂

You aren't the brightest bulb if you think impeachment (for crimes in office) and election denial are the same thing.

You are attempting to take advantage of someone who is lonely and indoctrinate them into a cult.

For all you know, OP is already a member of a church group (and that's perfectly fine if they are or if they desire to be). You have no idea.

The only thing I did was to point out that help can just as easily come from a secular source as a religious source. I did so without even shitting on religion but I'll absolutely call you out on proselytization.