Stay? Go? To a new city, or to grad school?
May 6, 2013 10:14 PM Subscribe
My friends who are moving to Pittsburgh are asking me if I want to join them, and this is making me question my potential career path and what I should do over the next year or so.
I am 23. I have gone back and forth on whether I want to give journalism a try throughout undergrad. Because of all the bad things I heard about the field (low pay, crazy hours, lots of stress) on this forum, I figured I would do marketing writing instead, and now that I’m about a year and a half out of college, I am currently working as a very underpaid copywriter. It’s definitely not as engaging as my last gig interviewing musicians. I also miss the process of talking to and writing about other people, so now I’m thinking I want to do journalism after all. The low pay is not much of a concern anymore, because even the lowest-paid reporter’s salary is probably more than what I’m making right now. And unlike undergrad, I now know what I would like my specialty to be if I do become a journalist: religion.
My original plan was to try and freelance for awhile on the side, and see if I could build up to a fulltime religion journalist through that. In the meantime, I would continue working at this job for a year.Now that my friends are asking me to join them, I’m having second thoughts about staying after all. The lure of being in a place that isn’t family-owned and living in a new city calls to me.
But I wonder if it would be in my best interest, career-wise, to stay here and build up a portfolio, because I have a few local connections, and all of the publications I’ve written for have been local. Maybe that would better help me get my foot in the door for freelancing? My friends are moving to Pittsburgh, which doesn’t seem like a hub for writing work. And frankly, neither is my hometown (Nashville), but I figure if I have some roots planted here in the writing community, then that connection may help me get started freelancing a little bit easier than uprooting and trying to establish myself in an entirely different place.
And grad school is always an option that haunts me. My mother really wants me to go, and she is more than happy to provide financial support, but I’m terrified of the possibility that I might not end up using my degree, or worse, dropping out before I finish it. But there are only two programs I can find that focuses on what I want to do—NYU and Columbia, neither of which are light on the pocketbook. However, assuming that I do go through with it, grad school could be good in the doors it would open for me, such as internships. I’m not eligible for many relevant internships since I’m not a recent graduate, and the ones who do accept later graduates have not selected me, unfortunately.
So I figure I have three options:
A.) Stay in Nashville, keep working where I am, try to freelance, save money, and down the road send out applications to out-of-state jobs that are more a fit for what I’m looking for
B.) Move in with my friends. Maybe get a not-as-relevant job, since I don’t really want to have a car up there (I would live in one of the more walkable parts of the city), though I’m willing to look for something similar to what I’m doing now. Not save as much money, but enjoy being in a new place and experiencing new things.
C.) Apply to journalism school
Really, this comes down to conflicting parts of me: the one side that’s more career-oriented and serious, and the more carefree side that says I could be content just working to get by and enjoying the new experience of being somewhere else. The serious side of me always wins, and I want to indulge the other side of me for once. And I’m young, right? I can always be more career-oriented down the road. So I really want to pick B.)
But then the serious side of me speaks up, and says that I should try and establish myself as soon as I can. What do you advise I should do? Career-wise? Moving-wise?
I am 23. I have gone back and forth on whether I want to give journalism a try throughout undergrad. Because of all the bad things I heard about the field (low pay, crazy hours, lots of stress) on this forum, I figured I would do marketing writing instead, and now that I’m about a year and a half out of college, I am currently working as a very underpaid copywriter. It’s definitely not as engaging as my last gig interviewing musicians. I also miss the process of talking to and writing about other people, so now I’m thinking I want to do journalism after all. The low pay is not much of a concern anymore, because even the lowest-paid reporter’s salary is probably more than what I’m making right now. And unlike undergrad, I now know what I would like my specialty to be if I do become a journalist: religion.
My original plan was to try and freelance for awhile on the side, and see if I could build up to a fulltime religion journalist through that. In the meantime, I would continue working at this job for a year.Now that my friends are asking me to join them, I’m having second thoughts about staying after all. The lure of being in a place that isn’t family-owned and living in a new city calls to me.
But I wonder if it would be in my best interest, career-wise, to stay here and build up a portfolio, because I have a few local connections, and all of the publications I’ve written for have been local. Maybe that would better help me get my foot in the door for freelancing? My friends are moving to Pittsburgh, which doesn’t seem like a hub for writing work. And frankly, neither is my hometown (Nashville), but I figure if I have some roots planted here in the writing community, then that connection may help me get started freelancing a little bit easier than uprooting and trying to establish myself in an entirely different place.
And grad school is always an option that haunts me. My mother really wants me to go, and she is more than happy to provide financial support, but I’m terrified of the possibility that I might not end up using my degree, or worse, dropping out before I finish it. But there are only two programs I can find that focuses on what I want to do—NYU and Columbia, neither of which are light on the pocketbook. However, assuming that I do go through with it, grad school could be good in the doors it would open for me, such as internships. I’m not eligible for many relevant internships since I’m not a recent graduate, and the ones who do accept later graduates have not selected me, unfortunately.
So I figure I have three options:
A.) Stay in Nashville, keep working where I am, try to freelance, save money, and down the road send out applications to out-of-state jobs that are more a fit for what I’m looking for
B.) Move in with my friends. Maybe get a not-as-relevant job, since I don’t really want to have a car up there (I would live in one of the more walkable parts of the city), though I’m willing to look for something similar to what I’m doing now. Not save as much money, but enjoy being in a new place and experiencing new things.
C.) Apply to journalism school
Really, this comes down to conflicting parts of me: the one side that’s more career-oriented and serious, and the more carefree side that says I could be content just working to get by and enjoying the new experience of being somewhere else. The serious side of me always wins, and I want to indulge the other side of me for once. And I’m young, right? I can always be more career-oriented down the road. So I really want to pick B.)
But then the serious side of me speaks up, and says that I should try and establish myself as soon as I can. What do you advise I should do? Career-wise? Moving-wise?
I would not recommend that anyone get into journalism right now. People are getting forcibly booted out of journalism constantly. And ah...religion journalism, while interesting, isn't exactly a hot new trend right now. As for grad school, that's a lot of debt that you probably won't be able to pay off in this economy.
I would recommend holding down a day job, wherever it is you live, and freelancing on the side, and probably writing about religion on your own website. I'm sure marketing sucks, but we don't hear about mass layoffs in marketing every single day.
As for whether or not to move, it's up to you there. I don't think there sounds like there is a massive advantage when it comes to writing work in either place to pick it. If you want to move with friends, go ahead--but I wouldn't count on journalism. I got laid off in the 2001 recession and dear lord, am I grateful to my ex-boss for doing it when she did. The people who were higher-ups when I was there all got laid off a few years ago and they're....well, freelancing at best in most cases that I've seen.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:31 PM on May 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
I would recommend holding down a day job, wherever it is you live, and freelancing on the side, and probably writing about religion on your own website. I'm sure marketing sucks, but we don't hear about mass layoffs in marketing every single day.
As for whether or not to move, it's up to you there. I don't think there sounds like there is a massive advantage when it comes to writing work in either place to pick it. If you want to move with friends, go ahead--but I wouldn't count on journalism. I got laid off in the 2001 recession and dear lord, am I grateful to my ex-boss for doing it when she did. The people who were higher-ups when I was there all got laid off a few years ago and they're....well, freelancing at best in most cases that I've seen.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:31 PM on May 6, 2013 [3 favorites]
I would say that if you can freelance on the side and maybe luck into a journalism job, sure, why not?
I would not pay money to go to J-school, but on the other hand, I know some Columbia Journalism grads and they seem to have not exploded from Bad Life Decisions yet. (I'm in my early 30's, these folks were all there in the mid 2000's) That said I don't know that any of them are paid journalists as a career, either.
What are your realistic job prospects in Pittsburgh? Would you have to wait tables or bag groceries due to not having a car? Or could you get a copywriting gig similar to what you already do? Could you parlay the last year of work into something you'd enjoy?
I would not move to Pittsburgh if you'd be throwing away basically all your career experience in order to flip burgers because, like, you don't really feel like having a car.
That said, if you can find something meaningful* to do with your life, sure, go!
*Meaningful not only limited to career success in your field, of course, and hey, maybe you don't find marketing meaningful at all. Just know why you're going, is all.
posted by Sara C. at 10:48 PM on May 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
I would not pay money to go to J-school, but on the other hand, I know some Columbia Journalism grads and they seem to have not exploded from Bad Life Decisions yet. (I'm in my early 30's, these folks were all there in the mid 2000's) That said I don't know that any of them are paid journalists as a career, either.
What are your realistic job prospects in Pittsburgh? Would you have to wait tables or bag groceries due to not having a car? Or could you get a copywriting gig similar to what you already do? Could you parlay the last year of work into something you'd enjoy?
I would not move to Pittsburgh if you'd be throwing away basically all your career experience in order to flip burgers because, like, you don't really feel like having a car.
That said, if you can find something meaningful* to do with your life, sure, go!
*Meaningful not only limited to career success in your field, of course, and hey, maybe you don't find marketing meaningful at all. Just know why you're going, is all.
posted by Sara C. at 10:48 PM on May 6, 2013 [1 favorite]
Go to Pittsburgh.
j school is a bad investment, and there is no guarantee that you would come out with a job afterward.
You don't sound happy living where you are and working in your job, and I bet you can find another job that pays the bills but might not be quite right while trying out a new city.
Your clips are clips; they can travel with you and help you get some articles published in Pittsburgh even if the people there are not familiar with Nashville publications. It will be a little ore difficult to build up contacts and get in a new system but you don't have that much less of a shot At being successful in Pittsburgh rather than Nashville.
You are young and your job is disposable. Go try something new!
People settle into careers and places to live by trying a bunch of things.
posted by rmless at 11:34 PM on May 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
j school is a bad investment, and there is no guarantee that you would come out with a job afterward.
You don't sound happy living where you are and working in your job, and I bet you can find another job that pays the bills but might not be quite right while trying out a new city.
Your clips are clips; they can travel with you and help you get some articles published in Pittsburgh even if the people there are not familiar with Nashville publications. It will be a little ore difficult to build up contacts and get in a new system but you don't have that much less of a shot At being successful in Pittsburgh rather than Nashville.
You are young and your job is disposable. Go try something new!
People settle into careers and places to live by trying a bunch of things.
posted by rmless at 11:34 PM on May 6, 2013 [2 favorites]
If your mother has enough money that paying for school in NYC is no problem (and I last heard Columbia basically now costs 84k/yr all in) then of course, that would be great. IF there is no debt or financial strain involved. If not, doesn't Nashville sound better for interviewing musicians etc than PA? You are very young though so any decisions you make are changeable and this is a great time to try new things out. It actually sounds like you want to go to Pittsburgh the most so why not try it out?
posted by bquarters at 12:19 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by bquarters at 12:19 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Think about it like this. You can carefully consider your options, make a well-informed and sober decision and land flat on your face. Or not. Or you can just take a chance and land flat on your face. Or not. You control only your choices - the outcome is usually a matter of chance.
You're 23 and have the opportunity to move from Nashville to Pittsburgh? I'd do that without even thinking too much about it. What's the worst thing that could happen? You're 25 and back in Nashville right were you started two years older and wiser for the experience.
I changed countries, career, and my daily language when I was 34. It's all worked out. You have lots of time to screw up.
Pittsburgh is a nice town. Unlike a lot of other Northern cities, the downtown area is very nice and the suburbs are a shit. You'll be in Western Pennsylvania - Pennsyltucky as those of us raised in the eastern part of the state refer to it - so culturally not so different from Nashville but at the same time miles apart.
Do it. Don't look back.
posted by three blind mice at 12:48 AM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
You're 23 and have the opportunity to move from Nashville to Pittsburgh? I'd do that without even thinking too much about it. What's the worst thing that could happen? You're 25 and back in Nashville right were you started two years older and wiser for the experience.
I changed countries, career, and my daily language when I was 34. It's all worked out. You have lots of time to screw up.
Pittsburgh is a nice town. Unlike a lot of other Northern cities, the downtown area is very nice and the suburbs are a shit. You'll be in Western Pennsylvania - Pennsyltucky as those of us raised in the eastern part of the state refer to it - so culturally not so different from Nashville but at the same time miles apart.
Do it. Don't look back.
posted by three blind mice at 12:48 AM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Come to Pittsburgh! I have a few friends who are freelance writers here, and they're making a living. (Pittsburgh is cheap. Cheap, cheap, cheap. And if you'd live in one of the more walkable parts of the city, I'm going to assume that you'd be in the East End, where it's pretty easy to live without a car. I did it without a problem for two or three years.)
The thing about moving and jobs in your early twenties is that your career path is going to be crazy. You want to go into journalism now, but it's possible that you get here, start freelancing, and then a friend-of-a-friend knows about a technical writing position that would be perfect for you. And then after a couple of years you decide to get a little more client-facing, so you become a salesperson, and then you get promoted and suddenly you're managing a little sales division. (I say this not to minimize your aspirations now, but because it's what I did, and what a lot of my friends are doing right now. Legal assistant > business analyst > functional architect > software QA. Never in a million years did I think at 23 I'd end up in software.)
Also: Pittsburgh is doing pretty well right now; it has become a very interesting place to live. There's a lot going on, and the culture for people under 35 is changing dramatically. There are a lot of younger companies that have hit their stride and are expanding pretty rapidly and intelligent people are in demand.
posted by punchtothehead at 5:46 AM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
The thing about moving and jobs in your early twenties is that your career path is going to be crazy. You want to go into journalism now, but it's possible that you get here, start freelancing, and then a friend-of-a-friend knows about a technical writing position that would be perfect for you. And then after a couple of years you decide to get a little more client-facing, so you become a salesperson, and then you get promoted and suddenly you're managing a little sales division. (I say this not to minimize your aspirations now, but because it's what I did, and what a lot of my friends are doing right now. Legal assistant > business analyst > functional architect > software QA. Never in a million years did I think at 23 I'd end up in software.)
Also: Pittsburgh is doing pretty well right now; it has become a very interesting place to live. There's a lot going on, and the culture for people under 35 is changing dramatically. There are a lot of younger companies that have hit their stride and are expanding pretty rapidly and intelligent people are in demand.
posted by punchtothehead at 5:46 AM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
It is great for you that your mom is willing to pay for Grad school but is she aware you most likely won't get a job in journalism with it? A lot of older people are still stuck on the idea that "grad school"= guarenteed well paying career. It would be awful to disappoint her after she invested so much money in you; doubly so if she later kind of blames you for not getting the well paid job she expected due to your shortcomings, rather than her unrealistic expectations/changed reality of the workforce.
posted by saucysault at 6:00 AM on May 7, 2013
posted by saucysault at 6:00 AM on May 7, 2013
UPitt has an excellent writing program and a thriving artists community.
posted by brujita at 6:17 AM on May 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by brujita at 6:17 AM on May 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
I do some freelance journalism, and I know a few people who work for daily newspapers and have good jobs. And they're still young and may get sick of it yet.
None of them went J school. And none of them have a specific, weird beat like religion. They are metro news and business reporters. They were also total under grad newspaper rock stars.
In other words, if you want to pursue a career in journalism, get used to the idea that you have to cover things that you don't find personally interesting.
Pittsburgh is a cheap place to live, and you have friends there. Moving to Pittsburgh is not an awful idea. Your ideas about journalism (interviewing musicians! When it's more like, City Council elections!) make you sound really naive, though.
posted by ablazingsaddle at 6:38 AM on May 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
None of them went J school. And none of them have a specific, weird beat like religion. They are metro news and business reporters. They were also total under grad newspaper rock stars.
In other words, if you want to pursue a career in journalism, get used to the idea that you have to cover things that you don't find personally interesting.
Pittsburgh is a cheap place to live, and you have friends there. Moving to Pittsburgh is not an awful idea. Your ideas about journalism (interviewing musicians! When it's more like, City Council elections!) make you sound really naive, though.
posted by ablazingsaddle at 6:38 AM on May 7, 2013 [2 favorites]
I've lived in Nashville and I've lived in Pittsburgh and I unreservedly recommend living in Pittsburgh.
You're going to have to give up pursuing journalism as your main source of income though. Just release it. If you love writing, start a blog, or do freelance on the side.
There are tons of large companies in in Pittsburgh and you can probably get a job using your writing skills at one of them.
Stay a year, and you'll be eligible for in-state tuition at University of Pittsburgh, the Cathedral of Learning. It's a wonderful school (both of my parents went there,) and an amazing bargain. You can pursue writing there, or anything else really.
You'll love the Mexican War Streets, just walking there, eating cherries from the trees on the sidewalks, looking at art glass in the windows of the houses, enjoying the architecture...that's my idea of heaven.
Check out Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, and go across the Homestead Grays bridge and hang out by the river.
Get a Mineo's Pizza. Go to the Strip and have a Primanti Brothers sandwich. Poke around and get your groceries.
You'll be moving with friends so you're overcoming a hurdle with that, it's an adventure!
Very few people get to do exactly what they love to earn money. I consider myself lucky that I have skills and talents that let me earn a good living, with enough time left over to write, play games, pet my kitties and travel. I don't hate my job, far from it, I really enjoy it. I'm not an Astronaut, or a Spy, like I wanted to be when I was a kid, but I'm a fully actualized, happy adult.
At the end of the day, that's all that matters.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:02 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
You're going to have to give up pursuing journalism as your main source of income though. Just release it. If you love writing, start a blog, or do freelance on the side.
There are tons of large companies in in Pittsburgh and you can probably get a job using your writing skills at one of them.
Stay a year, and you'll be eligible for in-state tuition at University of Pittsburgh, the Cathedral of Learning. It's a wonderful school (both of my parents went there,) and an amazing bargain. You can pursue writing there, or anything else really.
You'll love the Mexican War Streets, just walking there, eating cherries from the trees on the sidewalks, looking at art glass in the windows of the houses, enjoying the architecture...that's my idea of heaven.
Check out Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, and go across the Homestead Grays bridge and hang out by the river.
Get a Mineo's Pizza. Go to the Strip and have a Primanti Brothers sandwich. Poke around and get your groceries.
You'll be moving with friends so you're overcoming a hurdle with that, it's an adventure!
Very few people get to do exactly what they love to earn money. I consider myself lucky that I have skills and talents that let me earn a good living, with enough time left over to write, play games, pet my kitties and travel. I don't hate my job, far from it, I really enjoy it. I'm not an Astronaut, or a Spy, like I wanted to be when I was a kid, but I'm a fully actualized, happy adult.
At the end of the day, that's all that matters.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:02 AM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: e_i's guide to making decisions:
1. Choose what I want. Don't worry about why I want it.
2. Ask my brain if this choice might going to wreak havoc or produce catastrophic damage.
If my brain thinks yes, damage will follow this choice that I want, then I respect my brain and don't do it. Otherwise, I go for it. If I don't follow this process, and I use my brain to select what I want, I end up with a sound, rational selection that isn't what I wanted.
So: do you want to go to Pittsburgh with your friends? If so, is it likely to be a ruinous life choice? Your brain will say, "No, but..." Ignore everything after the but... and --> Go to Pittsburgh.
So: do you want to go through a traditional program at a J-School? If so, is it going to be a ruinous life choice? Your brain should be saying, yes, this is a ruinous life choice as the total expense is enough cash to buy a house in many parts of the country, and it's in a field where there are few and fewer jobs, and they pay shit. --> no J-School.
My shitty, cynical, uninformed opinion is that writing is becoming a gentleman's sport. But at 23, you're in a great position to select an entirely new career, in which writing can be a key skill. A key skill among other key skills. If I were you this is what I would do. 1: Move to Pittsburgh with friends. 2: Get some kind of temp corpo job. 3: Get involved somehow with a local alternative paper. 4: Look at every last grad program offering at Pitt and at CMU in every school. Flag a few of interest and email/meet with the admissions chair. Go to their open house. Apply to a few by December (generally the grad program deadline). By next May, you should have some options through either the local alt press thing, corpo temping, or grad admit. If not, re-evaluate living in Pittsburgh.
Almost Lastly: don't pay for grad school out of your own pocket.
Lastly: What about data journalism? Combining journalism with scraping and analyzing data across a variety of sources. It's a combination of writing, programming, stats, visualization. This combo of skills could keep you afloat for awhile.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 8:44 AM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
1. Choose what I want. Don't worry about why I want it.
2. Ask my brain if this choice might going to wreak havoc or produce catastrophic damage.
If my brain thinks yes, damage will follow this choice that I want, then I respect my brain and don't do it. Otherwise, I go for it. If I don't follow this process, and I use my brain to select what I want, I end up with a sound, rational selection that isn't what I wanted.
So: do you want to go to Pittsburgh with your friends? If so, is it likely to be a ruinous life choice? Your brain will say, "No, but..." Ignore everything after the but... and --> Go to Pittsburgh.
So: do you want to go through a traditional program at a J-School? If so, is it going to be a ruinous life choice? Your brain should be saying, yes, this is a ruinous life choice as the total expense is enough cash to buy a house in many parts of the country, and it's in a field where there are few and fewer jobs, and they pay shit. --> no J-School.
My shitty, cynical, uninformed opinion is that writing is becoming a gentleman's sport. But at 23, you're in a great position to select an entirely new career, in which writing can be a key skill. A key skill among other key skills. If I were you this is what I would do. 1: Move to Pittsburgh with friends. 2: Get some kind of temp corpo job. 3: Get involved somehow with a local alternative paper. 4: Look at every last grad program offering at Pitt and at CMU in every school. Flag a few of interest and email/meet with the admissions chair. Go to their open house. Apply to a few by December (generally the grad program deadline). By next May, you should have some options through either the local alt press thing, corpo temping, or grad admit. If not, re-evaluate living in Pittsburgh.
Almost Lastly: don't pay for grad school out of your own pocket.
Lastly: What about data journalism? Combining journalism with scraping and analyzing data across a variety of sources. It's a combination of writing, programming, stats, visualization. This combo of skills could keep you afloat for awhile.
posted by everythings_interrelated at 8:44 AM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Your ideas about journalism (interviewing musicians! When it's more like, City Council elections!) make you sound really naive, though.
I'm aware that journalism is not a 24/7 glamorous job. My point about interviewing musicians was that I miss interacting with and talking to different people, as opposed to what I do now, which is just doing a ton of researching and writing. As for having to write about things I'm not interested in...well, I already do. Hence why I've thought about becoming a religion reporter, but I know how unstable the field is so I'm not that attached to the idea. J-school is the least desirable of the three options I've been pondering, but I thought I'd put it in my question for the hell of it.
And if you'd live in one of the more walkable parts of the city, I'm going to assume that you'd be in the East End, where it's pretty easy to live without a car. I did it without a problem for two or three years.
I've been thinking about this. We are indeed focusing on this area, but I'm wondering if I'll be okay without a car if my job isn't close by. I hear the bus system can be pretty unreliable. Is that right? Also, how's Pittsburgh for bicyclists?
My biggest reservation about bringing a car is the layout of the streets. I've read that it's intimidating and confusing at first, but you get used to it. What makes it so intimidating and confusing?
posted by dean_deen at 5:47 PM on May 7, 2013
I'm aware that journalism is not a 24/7 glamorous job. My point about interviewing musicians was that I miss interacting with and talking to different people, as opposed to what I do now, which is just doing a ton of researching and writing. As for having to write about things I'm not interested in...well, I already do. Hence why I've thought about becoming a religion reporter, but I know how unstable the field is so I'm not that attached to the idea. J-school is the least desirable of the three options I've been pondering, but I thought I'd put it in my question for the hell of it.
And if you'd live in one of the more walkable parts of the city, I'm going to assume that you'd be in the East End, where it's pretty easy to live without a car. I did it without a problem for two or three years.
I've been thinking about this. We are indeed focusing on this area, but I'm wondering if I'll be okay without a car if my job isn't close by. I hear the bus system can be pretty unreliable. Is that right? Also, how's Pittsburgh for bicyclists?
My biggest reservation about bringing a car is the layout of the streets. I've read that it's intimidating and confusing at first, but you get used to it. What makes it so intimidating and confusing?
posted by dean_deen at 5:47 PM on May 7, 2013
I love Pittsburgh and would encourage you to move here but yeah, the roads are intimidating and confusing. You're probably used to a mid-western style grid patter of streets and we don't have anything like that here. The dominant theme here is triangles, not squares so right angle intersections are rare. The terrain here is a series of plateaus divided by rivers and/or steep ravines so the roads have to be connected by bridges and/or tunnels and there are lots of steep inclines and even the occasional street that dead-ends at a stair-case because there was no way to finish the road.
On positive side, the streets are pretty well marked and Google Navigate on my phone does a good job of finding stuff around here for me.
posted by octothorpe at 6:08 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
On positive side, the streets are pretty well marked and Google Navigate on my phone does a good job of finding stuff around here for me.
posted by octothorpe at 6:08 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
My biggest reservation about bringing a car is the layout of the streets. I've read that it's intimidating and confusing at first, but you get used to it. What makes it so intimidating and confusing?
This is a dumb reason to go to Pittsburgh without a car, if you already have a car that you can physically get to Pittsburgh from Nashville.
You will learn to navigate the streets. This is something you have to do when you move to a new city.
posted by Sara C. at 6:26 PM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
This is a dumb reason to go to Pittsburgh without a car, if you already have a car that you can physically get to Pittsburgh from Nashville.
You will learn to navigate the streets. This is something you have to do when you move to a new city.
posted by Sara C. at 6:26 PM on May 7, 2013 [3 favorites]
as opposed to what I do now, which is just doing a ton of researching and writing. As for having to write about things I'm not interested in...well, I already do. Hence why I've thought about becoming a religion reporter
1. Journalists spend the vast majority of their time researching and writing.
2. This may be a regional thing that I'm not picking up on, but I don't think that "religion reporter" is a real thing. There might be some journos who specialize in writing about religion, but they probably happened into that gig after working in the trenches for a while. Or do you mean working for magazines like Christianity Today or something? I think that would be a lot like being a copywriter, but I don't know.
3. Part of being a frustrated creative person is either finding a dayjob that gives you some satisfaction, or gives you enough money to live and time to work on your other shit. It's a tough balance, but there are very few people who make money off of what they love, but they make money off a bastardized version of what they love.
My biggest reservation about bringing a car is the layout of the streets. I've read that it's intimidating and confusing at first, but you get used to it. What makes it so intimidating and confusing?
You'll figure it out. It's Pittsburgh, not Mumbai.
Good luck! One of my good friends from way back lives in Pittsburgh, loves it, and pays a third of what I pay in rent for a bigger, nicer apartment.
And excuse me, but I have to finish a glorified press release/article about public transit in LA . . .
posted by ablazingsaddle at 8:01 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
1. Journalists spend the vast majority of their time researching and writing.
2. This may be a regional thing that I'm not picking up on, but I don't think that "religion reporter" is a real thing. There might be some journos who specialize in writing about religion, but they probably happened into that gig after working in the trenches for a while. Or do you mean working for magazines like Christianity Today or something? I think that would be a lot like being a copywriter, but I don't know.
3. Part of being a frustrated creative person is either finding a dayjob that gives you some satisfaction, or gives you enough money to live and time to work on your other shit. It's a tough balance, but there are very few people who make money off of what they love, but they make money off a bastardized version of what they love.
My biggest reservation about bringing a car is the layout of the streets. I've read that it's intimidating and confusing at first, but you get used to it. What makes it so intimidating and confusing?
You'll figure it out. It's Pittsburgh, not Mumbai.
Good luck! One of my good friends from way back lives in Pittsburgh, loves it, and pays a third of what I pay in rent for a bigger, nicer apartment.
And excuse me, but I have to finish a glorified press release/article about public transit in LA . . .
posted by ablazingsaddle at 8:01 PM on May 7, 2013 [1 favorite]
Pittsburgh is easier to navigate than you think, if you're willing to get lost a few times. There are a few streets that loop around the city. If I get lost, I drive until I hit one of them and then re-orient myself. I find that people make fun of the weird layout, but people don't really get lost; it's more of a "aww, Pittsburgh is adorably weird sometimes" thing (but that's just my experience.)
I think that the buses for the East End are pretty good. If you're in Squirrel Hill, the 61s run every ten to fifteen minutes. If you're in Shadyside, the 71s and the busline run more often than that. I bus to work and occasionally around the city, and I've been really happy with the reliability. I think it largely depends on the neighborhood.
Pittsburgh is okay for bicyclists; the terrain is terrible, and some drivers still haven't adjusted to sharing the road, but there's been a marked increase in the number of bicyclists, and an according rise in sharrows, bike parking, etc. If you want more information, Bike Pittsburgh is a great resource. I'm sure they'd love to talk about any concerns or questions you have (seriously, give them a call; they're super nice.) A decent portion of my friends bike to work, so it's something that's becoming more normal.
posted by punchtothehead at 5:44 AM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
I think that the buses for the East End are pretty good. If you're in Squirrel Hill, the 61s run every ten to fifteen minutes. If you're in Shadyside, the 71s and the busline run more often than that. I bus to work and occasionally around the city, and I've been really happy with the reliability. I think it largely depends on the neighborhood.
Pittsburgh is okay for bicyclists; the terrain is terrible, and some drivers still haven't adjusted to sharing the road, but there's been a marked increase in the number of bicyclists, and an according rise in sharrows, bike parking, etc. If you want more information, Bike Pittsburgh is a great resource. I'm sure they'd love to talk about any concerns or questions you have (seriously, give them a call; they're super nice.) A decent portion of my friends bike to work, so it's something that's becoming more normal.
posted by punchtothehead at 5:44 AM on May 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
The East End and downtown are very reasonable places to bus around in. As you get further out, the buses get a little weirder. When people say they're unreliable they mean two things:
1) They don't run anything like on time. This is absolutely true. Bus schedules tend to mean nothing here. So what you want to do is live somewhere there's a bus that runs every 10-20 minutes, and then who cares when it's due, you just go out to the stop and bring a good book and before long, a bus appears. If you live somewhere there's a bus once an hour, then you best turn up on time and also take an early enough bus that if your bus is half an hour late, you don't get screwed.
2) Public transit is constantly underfunded. So every year or two drastic cuts and price increases are threatened, everyone postures for a while, and eventually there are some cuts and some price increases but not as bad as anyone thought they would be. Every five or six years the city decides to just totally rewrite the bus routes. If you're in a well-served area this won't affect you too badly; you'll just have a different bus and maybe you'll walk another block or three to get to it. If you're in an area where there's only one bus, then you're really screwed if that's a bus that gets axed.
I love this city and I've been taking buses around it daily for 15 years. You can get where you need to go, no problem. But you do have to choose where you live with an eye to the bus routes, always have a good book or a charged-up phone to kill time if you're stuck at a stop with no bus in sight, and you need a very good sense of humor.
(Pittsburgh is awesome. You should come here. But I don't know the prospects for writers so I can't weigh in on that side of it. But cost of living is very low, so you can live more easily than other places on part-time work and then have more time to write in your off hours!)
posted by Stacey at 6:04 AM on May 8, 2013
1) They don't run anything like on time. This is absolutely true. Bus schedules tend to mean nothing here. So what you want to do is live somewhere there's a bus that runs every 10-20 minutes, and then who cares when it's due, you just go out to the stop and bring a good book and before long, a bus appears. If you live somewhere there's a bus once an hour, then you best turn up on time and also take an early enough bus that if your bus is half an hour late, you don't get screwed.
2) Public transit is constantly underfunded. So every year or two drastic cuts and price increases are threatened, everyone postures for a while, and eventually there are some cuts and some price increases but not as bad as anyone thought they would be. Every five or six years the city decides to just totally rewrite the bus routes. If you're in a well-served area this won't affect you too badly; you'll just have a different bus and maybe you'll walk another block or three to get to it. If you're in an area where there's only one bus, then you're really screwed if that's a bus that gets axed.
I love this city and I've been taking buses around it daily for 15 years. You can get where you need to go, no problem. But you do have to choose where you live with an eye to the bus routes, always have a good book or a charged-up phone to kill time if you're stuck at a stop with no bus in sight, and you need a very good sense of humor.
(Pittsburgh is awesome. You should come here. But I don't know the prospects for writers so I can't weigh in on that side of it. But cost of living is very low, so you can live more easily than other places on part-time work and then have more time to write in your off hours!)
posted by Stacey at 6:04 AM on May 8, 2013
My Dad used to say, "The longest wait in the world is for the bus in January." Get a car, you won't be sorry.
Finding your way around isn't that hard. Get a GPS and you're golden. The terrian is not bike friendly, especially in snow. Think San Francisco, lots of hills (when we moved from Pittsburgh to San Francisco, My mom said, "I feel so at home!") Also some of the older streets may still have cobblestones, this is not amusing in icy weather.
My cousin, who lived on Lilac St in Squirrel Hill (cobblestone) used to drive a Geo Metro to work in the winter and a Vespa in nice weather.
But getting from Squirrel Hill to town is no biggie on the Parkway, if you end up working downtown.
I will say that the old trolley system was great, the busses are ah'ite, my Mom didn't learn to drive until she was 30 because she could get around so easily. Also, you may find folks to carpool with.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:31 AM on May 8, 2013
Finding your way around isn't that hard. Get a GPS and you're golden. The terrian is not bike friendly, especially in snow. Think San Francisco, lots of hills (when we moved from Pittsburgh to San Francisco, My mom said, "I feel so at home!") Also some of the older streets may still have cobblestones, this is not amusing in icy weather.
My cousin, who lived on Lilac St in Squirrel Hill (cobblestone) used to drive a Geo Metro to work in the winter and a Vespa in nice weather.
But getting from Squirrel Hill to town is no biggie on the Parkway, if you end up working downtown.
I will say that the old trolley system was great, the busses are ah'ite, my Mom didn't learn to drive until she was 30 because she could get around so easily. Also, you may find folks to carpool with.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:31 AM on May 8, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by dean_deen at 10:18 PM on May 6, 2013