For some time now, a little voice in my head has been telling me that trying to build a life in Pittsburgh will be the kiss of death for my career.
"Move somewhere else," the voice says. "Pittsburgh is not where you want to develop your talents." But where?
New York?
Ugh. In my opinion, that town's motto should be: 'The City That Eats Its Young'.
Chicago?
Not a bad city at all -- but I don't know if I'm up for schlepping back and forth to visit my family.
Atlanta?
I had enough of the South's insufferable humidity during my college days at the University of Missouri. Okay, so some may not consider Missouri to be the south, but regardless, the summer humidity was awful.
Washington, D.C.?
Ditto on the insufferable humidity. The fact is, I didn't like Washington, D. C. metro area the first time around, when I lived there in 1990, and I doubt that it got any better in the ensuing years. My main issue was that the cost of living, specifically rent prices, was insane. The only way to afford to live there was to share living quarters with several other people, and the lack of privacy got to be too much for me.
Sadly, if I cannot find a good job in Pittsburgh, I will more than likely end up relocating to the D.C. area. It's fairly close, situated along the Eastern Seaboard, and offers PLENTY of job opportunities.
And, if I do relocate to D.C., I'll join the hordes of relocated Pittsburghers who make the trek back to the 'burgh on the weekends to visit their families. Leave D.C. on Friday and be back on Sunday night. Sounds like fun.
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2 comments:
Let me put in a vote for Chicago. I went through an eerily similar job hunt in Pittsburgh three years ago. Tons of resumes, phone calls, and emails sent out with no responses. I'm a web designer who moved back to Pittsburgh from Boston to be closer to my family and spent a year looking for a full-time position. I gave up, started looking in Chicago and found a great job almost immediately.
Before relocating, I didn't appreciate what a great city Chicago is. After living here for two years, I can see myself staying for a long time. The people here are smart, friendly, and exceedingly generous and it didn't take long for me to be welcomed in to a wonderful circle of friends.
• The architecture, cultural activities, and lakefront and neighborhood parks are fantastic. There is always something to do that won't break the bank.
• The cost of living is reasonable for a big city. Certainly not as cheap as Pittsburgh, but not outrageous like Boston or San Francisco.
• Fantastic restuarants. Enough said.
• As far as shlepping back and forth, it's not that far from Pittsburgh. 1 1/2 hours by plane and the 8 hour drive isn't as bad as the 7 it takes to get to NYC.
• And the most important thing is that the job market is strong. I had an epiphany the last time I was in Pittsburgh visiting with some friends - all of them have been in the same job going on 10 years. The job stability is nice but, unfortunately, that's not such a great way to advance a career.
So while you could keep putting up with the frustrating job hunt and *maybe* find a great job in Pittsburgh, you'd better be prepared to stay put for a looong time because you're going to have to go through this nightmare all over again the next time you want to make a move.
I'll assume this isn't too late, since you're still writing this blog, but I should mention: Austin Texas. Austin is hot, but not nearly as humid as places farther east, and you get used to it. I did, after living in Pittsburgh for 30 years.
Austin is young and vibrant with a booming economy, a laid-back atmosphere, and housing that is still reasonably affordable -- though not as cheap as Pittsburgh.
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