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Where could I go in Pittsburgh that has a high population of Polish-Americans?


PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
19 Aug 2012 /  #1
I know there is "Polish Hill" but I don't like the looks of that neighborhood very much, it looks kind of dead. I'm looking for more of a mix of mostly Germans and Poles and I need there to be a lot of people in their mid-twenties. At least 1/4 would be good. I need the people to be very normal and professional, I don't want to see punks and bohemians everywhere; that's what I'm trying to get away from. I care a lot more about the people than how good and convenient the neighborhood is, but I refuse to live in a dump.
p3undone  7 | 1098  
19 Aug 2012 /  #2
Polkatagalong,Why Pittsburgh?
NorthMancPolak  4 | 642  
19 Aug 2012 /  #3
You wouldn't like it, there's lots of those dark folks who aren't as high up the (tq PTA) "race ladder" as you are.
OP PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
19 Aug 2012 /  #4
Polkatagalong,Why Pittsburgh?

Because it's nice there, and it's a big enough city to feel connected with everything, but no so big there are all these crazy regulations and you feel trapped like in NY. It's also farther North so you're away from the rednecks, but not so far north that you have to deal with crazy yanks. I've heard a lot of people who like it there, it looks like my kind of place. They have a lot of Central Europeans I've heard.

I want to stay in the East and I don't want to go farther south, going far west or south are not options.
p3undone  7 | 1098  
19 Aug 2012 /  #5
Polkatagalong,crazy yanks lol.I'm one of those Yankees lol;)
OP PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
19 Aug 2012 /  #6
Woah, you're from Boston, yep.
p3undone  7 | 1098  
19 Aug 2012 /  #7
Polkatagalong,I lived in Fla for about a year;too hot for me.The city where I was born once had a large Population of Poles,this was in Lynn Ma.I'm not familiar with Pittsburgh,but it does get quite cold there as it does in Boston.I know that Chicago has a good number of Polish Americans as well as expats..
OP PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
19 Aug 2012 /  #8
I can adjust to the cold, just not the heat. It's only a little colder there than it is here, except there's a lot of snow. I live in a moutainous area so... Chicago is too big.
nunczka  8 | 457  
19 Aug 2012 /  #9
What you are looking for is no longer available out side of Chicago. After WW2 ethnic neighborhoods began to change. We GI's came home from the war and life as we left it began to change.. Some of us went to college under the GI bill, others went into blue collar jobs which were plentiful due to the transformation from a war time production to civilian products. America was on a roll. Many of us moved into the suburbs. The old folks began to die off. The old ethnic neighborhoods began to change a lot of it was caused by white flight. People started to make good money and found greener pastures. Life is no longer like the life of the European immigrants.. You have to look no further than Detroit. At one time Detroit was very Polish and other ethnic populations\of European origin.

As the population thinned out,the churches which held the people together began to disappear. There went the Polish schools taught by Catholic Nuns.. In my city (Baltimore) things began to disintegrate Polish was no longer taught in Parochial schools.. The was no longer a need for Polish speaking households. (The old folks learned to speak English)
OP PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
19 Aug 2012 /  #10
I don't want to live in like a little Polonia necessarily, I wasn't raised catholic or with any kind of religion for that matter, so I'd probably stick out like a sore thumb. Ideally, I would like there to be some Poles (10-20%), some Germans, some English. I just want to be around a few of my type of people so that I feel familiar with someone. I don't need to live in an ethnic neighborhood. Chicago is really dangerous and hard to get around in.

Even though the old culture is mostly gone, there is still a population of Poles in Pittsburgh if what I'm gathering from wiki is right. 8% is pretty good, but the question is what percent are less than 30? It's a lot better than nothing. As long as there isn't a high black or jewish population (not more than 20%) along with that it's great.
RevokeNice  15 | 1854  
19 Aug 2012 /  #11
It seems like you are running away in an attempt to find something that simply no longer exists.
f stop  24 | 2493  
19 Aug 2012 /  #12
when you find a place like that, your elitist attitude will make you an outcast again. You sound like a pompous ass.
OP PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
19 Aug 2012 /  #13
I don't have an elitist attitude. Have you ever tried living alongside blacks all the time? They look at you menacingly, they're loud, their pants are falling down ugh. Unless they're integrated and professional, it gets really old seeing that all the time. My sister went to a mostly black school when we were in the city and she was tortured. I just want to be happy, that's all. I don't choose to stick my head in the sand and avoid the truth.
PlasticPole  7 | 2641  
19 Aug 2012 /  #14
Chicago has a lot of suburbs around it. Its not just the city.
OP PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
19 Aug 2012 /  #15
If you know Chicago, what suburbs do you think would be good for me? My reservations are the following:

1. Is reasonably safe and a low crime rate
2. Has a 10-20% population of integrated Poles and recent immigrants
3. minorities don't take up more than 25% of the population
4. Has a diverse mix of Northern Europeans
5. at least 30-40% of the population is under 30
6. The people are friendly, and will not beat you up when they hear you're from the south.

Lol I know I want like an impossible place haha

It seems like you are running away in an attempt to find something that simply no longer exists.

I know my dad thinks it's ridiculous.
nunczka  8 | 457  
19 Aug 2012 /  #16
It sounds like those Pennsylvania hills are calling you home. Whats wrong with Florida? Too hot?? Not according to what I saw in the NE this summer.. 108 degrees.. I lived in Florida for forty years.. I have yet to see it go over 100.. But we have 8 months of beautiful weather., Oh yes! there is such a thing like air conditioning
yehudi  1 | 433  
19 Aug 2012 /  #17
I've heard a lot of people who like it there, it looks like my kind of place. They have a lot of Central Europeans I've heard.

I heard there are a lot of Central Europeans in Central Europe. You might want to try that.
pip  10 | 1658  
19 Aug 2012 /  #18
Philedelphia is nice. I was there once. I could never live in the states though --so I am no help.
nunczka  8 | 457  
19 Aug 2012 /  #19
Pip When was the last time that you were in Philadelphia? It has become one of the most decaying cities on the east coast.

As documented by the 2010 Census, Philadelphia has experienced significant changes in its ethnic and racial composition over the last two decades, with many neighborhoods undergoing sweeping transformations.

Since 1990, the city’s white population has fallen by nearly a third. The black population has shifted to new parts of the city. The Asian population has more than doubled. And the rapidly growing Hispanic

population has expanded far beyond its traditional home in eastern North Philadelphia.
The changes were especially striking in Northeast Philadelphia, which went from 92 percent white in 1990 to 58.3 percent white in 2010. Despite losing one-third of its white residents during the period, the Northeast grew in population by 5.4 percent, thanks to an array of new arrivals.

Look out Canada.. You are next
sledz  23 | 2247  
19 Aug 2012 /  #20
If you know Chicago, what suburbs do you think would be good for me? My reservations are the following:

Norridge, IL Harwood Heights,IL mostly all Polish and close to city.

Mt.Prospect, IL about 15 miles NW of Chicago has a growing Polish Population.

Chicago is really dangerous

If you hang out in the ghetto areas you will get shot just like in NYC.

Chicago is an awesome place to live, we have a beautiful lakefront and plenty of stuff to do!:)
f stop  24 | 2493  
19 Aug 2012 /  #21
All you need is a sh!t-load of money and you can be assured that you will not run into a black person for miles. Otherwise, you're might have to learn how to be gracious to the dirty masses like the rest of us. ;)
Piasst poland  
19 Aug 2012 /  #22
Anyone who cannot see that the usa is long becoming a fascist police state is blind.
f stop  24 | 2493  
19 Aug 2012 /  #23
I don't think Fascist applies here. There is no way US will ever be one race. I don't see it having a dictator, either..

Poland, on the other hand...
OP PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
20 Aug 2012 /  #24
I heard there are a lot of Central Europeans in Central Europe. You might want to try that.

I mean people who are influenced by that ethnicity, not actual Central Europeans, I should be more clear.

Eeew Florida is a horrible place, I wouldn't even live down there for two weeks. There are a million Floridians moving up here from there. I like the high in the summer to not go above 80 lol. I can't adjust to the heat like I can to the cold. I don't like the Florida people (no offense) and they have too many insects. It's not my style there. I dated a guy from Florida and he was a dork.

Philedelphia is nice. I was there once. I could never live in the states though --so I am no help.

They call it filthydelphia.

All you need is a sh!t-load of money and you can be assured that you will not run into a black person for miles. Otherwise, you're might have to learn how to be gracious to the dirty masses like the rest of us. ;)

I doubt my salary as a medical records technician will pay for that haha. I'm just a quirky version of your average joe schmoe.

Mt.Prospect, IL about 15 miles NW of Chicago has a growing Polish Population.

That one actually looks promising, the problem with Chicago is that it's VERY cold in the winter and very HOT in the summer. I'm used to a very temperate climate.
PlasticPole  7 | 2641  
20 Aug 2012 /  #25
The south is very hot in the summer, depending on where you are. Chicago is super cold in winter tho. Brrr. Pittsburg is cold in winter as well.
OP PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
20 Aug 2012 /  #26
The south is very hot in the summer, depending on where you are.

Oh no, It's not near as hot here in the summer as it is in Chicago.

Pittsburg is cold in winter as well.

I could easily get used to Pittsburgh, it's only a zone colder than what I'm used to.

If I worked in a hospital or doctor's office, do you think I would have to commute into the city everyday? It all just depends on whether I could find a job that is close so I wouldn't be in traffic everyday.

If I worked for a few years, got a promotion, got married, then maybe someday I could live in one of the rich neighborhoods.
PlasticPole  7 | 2641  
20 Aug 2012 /  #27
The key is to live in a suburb and try to find work nearby. Suburbs are usually safer than cities.
OP PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
20 Aug 2012 /  #28
Exactly, the job I am going to have experience in is pretty fast growing so if there is a big doctor's park in that suburb it could definitely be a possibility.

The important thing is that I can find friends that I really like and have things in common with. I want to be in a neighborhood with a lot of young professionals like myself, not college students, or retired people. Suburbia may not be a good idea, it could be lonely, but I feel that Pittsburgh is a little too small for me. A population of 500-700,000 would be best.
PlasticPole  7 | 2641  
20 Aug 2012 /  #29
In that case, you might do well with an apartment complex next to a downtown area. I am sure they exist in Pittsburg. Look for an area that's been revitalized and is being marketed toward young people with good paying jobs and no kids. There are some places like that around here. Don't know if they are everywhere.

Then there's the regentrification movement. If you can find a place being regentrified, you might find a lot of young, professional neighbors renting nearby.
OP PolkaTagAlong  10 | 186  
20 Aug 2012 /  #30
Then there's the regentrification movement. If you can find a place being regentrified, you might find a lot of young, professional neighbors renting nearby.

That would be Polish hill, it's a nice deal for the money, good views and in a convenient location close to downtown, but there still aren't a lot of young people. It's a target for black people with a lot of kids who have a low income and retired folk. It's a dying neighborhood and some say it's going to grow, but I don't think it's going to any time soon, probably because it's a little too dumpy. South Side would be the second choice I think, but they have more of the people I'm trying to get away from here, bohemians and hipsters. I'm doubt Pittsburgh is going to work for me, but there are some things I really like about it and it has a nice feel.

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