Live Outside the Dollar

One of the best reasons for moving to Pittsburgh is its affordability. According to CNN.com’s Cost of Living Calculator, housing in Chicago is 74% more expensive than Pittsburgh, in Los Angeles it’s 156% more expensive, and in Manhattan housing is 439% more expensive than it is in Pittsburgh. It’s irrefutable that Pittsburgh is cheap, but the best part is that with its affordability also comes opportunity.

Over the past few decades, Pittsburgh has been on the rise. And as the rest of the nation struggles with finding and keeping a steady job, the numbers of those entering the labor force in Pittsburgh has been on a steady increase since the 1970’s. In fact, in just the past few years alone, Pittsburgh has been making significant strides in employment, a trend that is illustrated by University of Pittsburgh’s Chris Briem’s Labor Workforce graph. The opportunity available in Pittsburgh is endless, and not just for those seeking employment either.

If you’re more of the do it yourself entrepreneur type, Pittsburgh is the place for you. In a city that does not hesitate to support local, it is no surprise that incubator businesses have taken a strong root in this beautiful city in an effort to give technology based companies an opportunity to blossom into something great. With companies like AlphaLab and Innovation Works, hundreds of startup companies have been able to quickly get their footing right here in Pittsburgh and are already beginning to grow and expand, making impacts globally.

Pittsburgh. It’s innovative, it’s filled with opportunity and the best part is that it’s affordable. It’s a city that gives its citizens a chance to live the life they’ve always wanted. Outside the bounds of  the dollar. The way life should be.

City of Champions

With all this recent hype due to the Pittsburgh Penguins climbing the playoff ladder, we figured there’s no better time than now to let you know a little bit about Pittsburgh Sports! First deemed the “City of Champions” in the 1970’s due to our multiple championship wins in Baseball, Football and Hockey, Pittsburgh has stayed true to its reputation being named “Best Sports City” by Sports News in 2009. With the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins, Pittsburgh has a sport for every fan. And when you come here, you won’t be allowed to forget it either!

While many cities have different sports teams, what makes Pittsburgh so amazing is the common ground found in black and yellow. Unlike other cities, the colors of every Pittsburgh team are black and yellow. Whether intentional or not, what this did was create a phenomenon. Instead of finding a division amongst fans of different sports in the same city, the city’s official colors have created a foundation from which all fans can unite. When you wear a Steelers jersey, you’re not just a football fan. When you wear a Penguins jersey, you’re not just a hockey fan. And when you wear a Pirates jersey, you’re not just a baseball fan. Rather, the colors of those black and yellow uniforms instill pride in not just a sport, but the beautiful city of Pittsburgh itself. Black and yellow is a platform on which all Pittsburghers can stand. It’s a platform of pride. A platform of unity. It’s a symbol of camaraderie.

One of the best parts about Pittsburgh sports is that they make the city more beautiful. And we’re not just talking about the influx of good looking fans, but the actual stadiums themselves. A Pittsburgh Stadium (see photos below) is not just a pile of bricks. Carefully designed and well thought out, Pittsburgh stadiums are breathtaking in themselves. Located on the banks of the Allegheny River, both PNC Park and Heinz Field are designed in a way that leaves one stadium open to a magnificent view of the yellow Pittsburgh bridges and downtown skyscrapers. The hockey stadium, also known as the Consol Energy Center, which serves as an indoor multi-purpose arena for concerts, monster truck derbys, wrestling matches, the NCAA Championships, and much more, sits between 15,000 and 20,000 people depending on the venue and is one of the most technologically savvy stadiums in the nation. And if you miss out on getting hockey tickets, no worries. You can catch it with tons of other Pittsburgh fans on a big screen TV, where every hockey game is projected, right outside the stadium walls.

And if watching games from the comfort of a bar is more your speed, well then you came to the right city. With tons of bars and restaurants lining the streets of every neighborhood from North Side to Oakland, you better believe that no matter where you walk into, the game will be on the TV! After all, whether it’s time to be fancy or time to chill out, when you live in a city like Pittsburgh, it’s always time for sports!

Consol Energy Center

PNC Park

Heinz Field

5 Cool Things To Do In The Pittsburgh Summer

Pittsburgh Summers are as hot as Pittsburgh Winters are cold. And if you’ve ever been in Pittsburgh during the Winter, you know just how frigid it can get! So as the Summer approaches and you prepare for the wonderful juxtaposition of sweaty Pittsburghers strolling through luscious Pittsburgh scenery, the question must arise, what exactly can you do to keep you and your family cool during the Summer? Luckily, we've already composed a list of 5 Cool Things To Do In The Pittsburgh Summer!

5 Cool Things To Do In The Pittsburgh Summer:

City Pools. Located all over the city, Pittsburgh is home to over 20 community pools, 18 of which are outdoors! Only $60.00 for a family of four, with its Adult Lap Swims, Aerobic Classes, Swim Teams, Swim Lessons and more, you and your family are guaranteed to enjoy cooling off when the heat is on!

City Spray Parks. With just a few scattered amongst the city, the Pittsburgh Spray Parks are more rare than the community pools, but just as fun! Free to the public, Spray Parks are a great place to bring your kids so they can socialize and run through the giant colorful sprinklers of Pittsburgh!

Pittsburgh Museums. If you’re looking to stay dry and still keep cool, try one of the many air conditioned museums Pittsburgh has to offer. Ranging from natural history to modern art, Pittsburgh has it all and wants you to come see it!

Steel City Improv Theater. Even when the sun goes down, Pittsburgh tends to stay hot. Cool off at night with something hilarious! Tucked away in the corner of Ellsworth Avenue and the South Highland Bridge (5950 Ellsworth Avenue), the Steel City Improv Theater is a great air conditioned place to take a date or spend a night with friends. Home to some of the best improvisers in Pittsburgh, this theater is bound to have you laughing and all for the simple price of $5.00!

Ohiopyle. While this technically isn’t located in the city of Pittsburgh, it sure is worth the drive! An hour and a half outside the city, Ohiopyle State Park is home to waterfalls, white water rafting, hiking, mountain biking, camping and more! Although, while everything it has to offer is great, one of it’s most fun aspects are its natural waterslides! Slides carved by hundreds of years of running water, Ohiopyle’s natural water slides are a great way to keep cool on a hot Pittsburgh day!

So, don't be so hot headed! Try one of our suggestions and make sure you keep cool in the approaching Summer!

The Beauty of War

Neatly tucked into it’s own little North Side nook is a neighborhood of homes that date back to before the civil war - The Mexican War Streets. Developed around 1841 (about the same time of the Mexican - American War, hence the name), today the Mexican War Streets consist of densely packed victorian era styled row houses that sit along tree lined streets which are named after such battles and generals as Buena Vista, Monteray and Palo Alto. And while walking those historic streets is a beautiful way to spend an afternoon (and one which we here at Vibrant Pittsburgh surely do suggest), we must first mention that if not for the very love Pittsburghers have for their city, those streets would not be what they are today.

Once a home for horses, pigs, chickens and cows, the first homes built on The Mexican War Streets were for animal caretakers. It was from there that the streets began to develop, slowing down development during the Civil War and picking up speed again thereafter. It was the during the 1920’s, however, that the future of these homes went astray. With the invention of the automobile, people began picking up - leaving their homes and heading off to the ever growing popular suburbs. By the 1960’s The Mexican War Streets were all but abandoned and being prepared for demolition.

It was at this time that Pittsburghers caught wind of what was happening. Sticking by their city and having their own cultural history of being a people who see the potential in something sluggish (have we mentioned that Pittsburgh has completely bounced back from it’s industrial depression?), the Mexican War Street Society and the Pittsburgh History & Landmark Foundation teamed up to fight the plans of urban demolition and won!

Today the Mexican War Streets is one of Pittsburgh’s favorite communities that adds to its vast culture and colorful neighborhoods! To learn more about the Mexican War Streets and its tours click here: http://bit.ly/ZC5mCD

The Hometown Strip

Hand painted signs of all styles and colors line the streets. Some sit in front of the mom and pop shops while others hang from their entrance archways. You turn your head left and the smell of freshly baked breads, biscotti’s and freshly roasted coffee’s sweep through the morning air and tickle your senses. Your lips tingle from the hodgepodge of smells and turning to your right you’re absorbed into fragrances of aged cheeses and warm soft shelled tacos. Exploring the depth of your surroundings, you find yourself amongst the ranks of bustling fresh produce buyers - humming as they scan the colorful arrays of vegetable and fruits laid before them. Pierce a little deeper and the mom and pop shops, the hometown novelty shops and even the crispness of the farmer markets melt into the background as the all encompassing foreground becomes a bit more clear. You are not amongst a massive blob of strangers. You are not swimming, lost in a sea - struggling to stay afloat. You are not alone. You are amongst Pittsburghers. You are in the center of culture. You are in the Strip District.

While all of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods have their own history and feel about them, the Strip District is unique. Warehouses turned apartment buildings, truck stops turned nationally recognized food phenomenons, once a home to industrial America, the Strip District has renovated its past! And the energy doesn’t stop when the sun goes down, either. Stop by the Strip at night and be greeted by the flourishing nightlife of one of Pittsburgh’s hot spots. From the Jazz music of bars and restaurants like Cioppino to the more alternative rap, rock, and hip music of church-turned trendy hangout, the Altar Bar, the Strip District truly has it all!

To learn more about which places you should visit in the Strip District, check out PopCity Media’s article here: http://bit.ly/10jbV1