<p>What luck for me, this would probably be my favorite question in the world as I frequently joke that I should work for the PGH Chamber of Commerce. I am a native but have lived out of state since 1995, with the exception of one year and am hoping to move back this summer. Here is what I love about the area, you have city life on a scale that is not overwhelming in size or price, great healthcare and education available. People are NICE. I live in New England and let me tell you, people are cold up here. Yes, sometimes I meet somebody rude in Pittsburgh, but that is the exception, and yes, sometimes I meet somebody here who is very nice and helpful, but THAT is the exception. Regarding a move to the area, I guess the biggest issue is where to live. I think that would depend on if you had a car or not, if you do then that does allow more freedom, if not, no problem. Choose a location closer to where you will need to be, perhaps between where the 2 of you need to be if you are not going to the same school or working in the same place. AwesomeOpossum did a great job of providing some neighborhood information. I would include Lawrenceville as an area that has experienced a lot of change over the past several years and is somewhat of a hipster neighborhood… not sure if that is viewed positively or negatively by you. Regarding the Strip district… I LOVE it. I am middle aged so not really interested in the night life piece but on a warm Saturday morning, there is no place I would rather be. I go all year when I am in town, but when it is warm it takes on a different feel (at least to me).</p>
<p>-Check out Pittsburgh Magazine as a source for regional information on an ongoing information
-<a href=“http://www.friendsoftheriverfront.org/”>http://www.friendsoftheriverfront.org/</a> for some outside activities focused around the rivers
-<a href=“http://www.ventureoutdoors.org/”>http://www.ventureoutdoors.org/</a> all types of outdoor activities
-<a href=“http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/raccooncreek/index.htm”>DCNR Homepage; a state park that is about 45 minutes from Oakland, click on “calendar” for events
-<a href=“http://bike-pgh.org/”>http://bike-pgh.org/</a>
-<a href=“http://www.threeriversrowing.org/”>http://www.threeriversrowing.org/</a>
-even though you are outdoor enthusiasts, don’t forget about the wealth of opportunities available in other activities…museums, music, theater, opera…My son has a friend who is a student at Pitt and I know she uses the bus system for free, I believe the Carnegie museums are free as well.
-<a href=“http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/”>http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/</a>
-<a href=“http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/”>http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/</a> great history museum
-<a href=“http://www.mattress.org/”>Home Page - Mattress Factory; a smaller museum in the Mexican War Streets
-<a href=“Home | The Frick Pittsburgh”>Home | The Frick Pittsburgh; has a great art museum and the old Frick house, also a carriage/car museum
-<a href=“http://culturaldistrict.org/”>http://culturaldistrict.org/</a> cultural district offerings
-also tons of sports team things, Steelers, Penguins, Pirates… even though I do not enjoy sports generally, I try to take in a Pirate game every so often, just a beautiful stadium and beautiful view of my favorite city.</p>
<p>How is that for a start? Let me know if there are any other specific questions I may be able to help you with. You can add it here or PM me. I feel for your situation. We are hoping our son gets into a grad program for the fall and he will probably be in the same situation of having to move someplace where he has no idea about anything. I would recommend going once before if possible to get a feel for the place and scope out areas. If you will be affiliated with Pitt, I believe they have a list of landlords that agree to meet minimum criteria in exchange for being on the Pitt list, if you choose other than that, try to get a good idea of management.</p>