[badman_ting]

I left Pittsburgh, like all my friends except for one. It's been discussed as an up-and-coming city for years now, but I'm still not sure it's somewhere I would want to live. I remember when people pointed to the Google office that was built there, as an indicator that things were changing. At the time, that office had 25 employees, not sure about now. I guess I'm saying that I'm not sure how much of that narrative is actually happening for people in Pittsburgh.

As far as raising kids, I could definitely see that. Your real-estate dollar goes pretty far. The weather sucks ass, though -- even Paul Graham says so! I really wouldn't want to have to deal with that again.

(Also, the bit about "why should I pay a bunch in rent to live near some nice parks" is such a dumb way of thinking about NYC. But if you really do think that way you definitely should not go to New York.)

[fixermark]

You aren't wrong about the weather. Which is, ironically, why I live here... I hate sunny weather, I burn easily (even with sunscreen) and it's easier for me to add clothing to guard against the cold than to shed layers to avoid the heat. I'm also allergic to the pollen of a whole host of plants that simply aren't hardy enough to survive the winters here; my childhood summers were a miserable annual struggle through one respiratory infection after another, but nowadays I just pop a Zyrtec a few months out of the year and I'm good to go.

Pittsburgh is a great fit for me climate-wise, but given that I'd move to Alaska for the climate, I'm probably an outlier. ;)

[badman_ting]

Well, in my opinion it's not just the cold, the summers are hot and gross too. Not much "open-window weather", as my mom says. But then, if pollen is a consideration that would make sense for you. I live in the Pacific NW now, which is much milder year-round.

[johnward]

The weather is terribad. The winters are long(sometimes october-march), cold, and dark. There is a few weeks of spring which is mild but rains the entire time. The last few weeks have been the best weather I've experience in a long time but it still rained 5 days a week. It was just nice on the weekends. Then the summer is hot and so humid you cannot breathe.

The Pittsburgh area gets less sunlight per year than Seattle does (which is somewhat known for being dreary). This one really gets me. Sunlight make me function better. I go to California and the radio stations are talking about how it's been "overcast" and it's like the most sunlight I've seen in my life. Overcast in Pittsburgh means the skies are grey.

[quesodd]

Google is doing well. They have 4 floors at BakerySquare and just bought a significant portion of some new construction.

[johnward]

and constantly have positions open