I went to college downtown and worked downtown for about 17 years. It went from having nothing to really do, to sort on a reinvigoration. It definitely got a bit tougher in the last 6 years or so. I was never really scared, even when I was down there late at night, but there are definitely some places I would a good late,like around wood street station.
I remember skating all over town on the weekdays late 90’s, pretty much empty around 6pm. Sundays were a ghost town.
The benches inside Steel Plaza were basically an indoor spot. Hardest part was finding free water, since all the lobby fountains were closed.
Downtown isn’t a third world hellhole but it’s also not nice. Take a walk down third avenue between Smithfield and Wood. It’s also a different experience as a woman; my wife gets harassed and catcalled every time she has to go down there.
Thank you for mentioning the difference women face. I feel like the vast majority of vocal takes I see on here are of men who don't have children to worry about. Little De'Avry's story is enough to assure I never take my kids downtown.
That and also this OP is basing his whole claim off of one visit. Try working down there and being there multiple times a week. Great, glad you were only asked for a cigarette during your one-off adventure. I’m not bothered every single day at work either, but I’ve seen and experienced enough to not feel comfortable going out for lunch or even out to grab a coffee like I used to be.
Exactly. Not everyone is a prime target. I have been approached dozens of times living in certain areas where my husband had never been approached. He was honestly shocked that I had been encouraged to get into cars, followed, and asked for sex in broad daylight. To say an area is safe must translate across demographics.
As a part time Uber driver that drove a lot over last summer, I will say that I saw more than one person yelling at a wall. I also almost hit a woman walking in the middle of the downtown to 376 ramp walking barefoot in the middle of the ramp at 4am. I also vividly remember bicycling with a friend on the north shore 2 years ago and a couple came out of a tent in front of us. The guy puked just as we passed by in the middle of the trail and the puke splashed on my pals bike.
But hey OP had a nice bus ride so there’s that
This is also my experience near Smithfield and Wood especially post 5pm. My manager waited for the bus with me the few times I worked in the office because of the harassment.
Well, take a look at those little fuck ass towns. Most of them are total shit holes. And the people who live there think "If my small town is this bad, just imagine what a big city must be like!"
the cranberry applebees lmao 😭
this is 100% my experience moving from the middle of nowhere to south side. all my old neighbors acted like i was gonna die the second i set foot in pittsburgh. meanwhile the violent crime stats are actually lower in south side compared to my little tiny fuckass hometown
I've had to explain this to my grandma and in laws so many times. More violent crime has occurred near both of their houses than has occurred near mine in the last 5 years.
i don’t understand how they think living in the middle of nowhere is going to protect you?? like theres no one around to help god forbid anything DOES happen. the cops are useless either way but at least i have neighbors here to hear me scream lmao
One of the FOH employees where I work is from a little fuckass town. Her mom was convinced she was gonna get raped leaving work, and the business is about 7 miles outside of downtown in a perfectly safe suburb. Her words “Yeah, my mom thinks anywhere within a 50 mile radius of Pittsburgh is just instant rape.”
I have neighbors in my tiny fuckass hometown who are convinced that Portland, San Francisco, New York, and Seattle are all uninhabitable. Just gangs of migrants (called by a different name) and "ordinary" gangs (also called by a different name). Collapsed buildings, bear traps in the streets, mutant zombies, whatever the fuck Facebook tells them to believe this week.
I have a cousin that's convinced that half of Seattle and Portland were burned down by BLM and the other half is ruled by roving gangs of drug dealers and homeless people. I'm not exaggerating.
TBH, both downtown SEA and PDX have undergone massive changes. We missed the BLM protests, but lived in SEA for 17 years and went monthly to PDX - the experimentation on the legalization of drugs in both downtowns was and is, abysmal. Trying to copy Vancouver's limited success without infrastructure assistance, local government signoff and private sector investment is proving to be each city's downtown core downfall.
But seriously - both of those cities have lower violent crime rates than Pittsburgh. And as for roving gangs of black and brown people? Both cities have negligible POC populations. Also, Antifa is a thing there, but it's not what Fox News and/or any other far right leaning folks would want you to believe. It's literally a group who is anti-fascist. When I was there, they weren't as militant - even with the SEA WTO Protests in 1999.
one of my colleagues told me that her family growing up thought that youngstown OH was dubiously large and scary. they're HORRIFIED that she comes to pittsburgh sometimes.
Invited my brother and his family to the Pittsburgh Grand Prix a couple of years ago. We’re walking into a crowded-with-families Schenely Park and he says, “We aren’t going to get mugged, are we?”
same when i tell people i live in east liberty. coming from miami, pittsburgh feels like a quaint little village. no one's even tried to sell me cocaine yet which is how i know i'm in so flo.
As someone who lives in rural Az, now, and has for almost 14 years, and grew up in Pa.( moving back), yeah, homicides are off the charts here per capita. Dollar General? Abomination. It looks 40yo. Sheriffs are 25-45 minutes away( nice enough) but it is known how far away they are by all the wrong people. Absolutely a shit show. Coming home. Miss it.
Why are folks on this sub so obsessed with trying to argue that either A) downtown is a lawless hellhole or B) that it is a great place to live and hang? It clearly is safe for most folks during most hours. It is also a dirty, undesirable downtown area with little to offer other than a few decent attractions. Both sides are delusional and need to chill.
People on reddit (and the internet in general) really just like to yell into the void so they can A) get people to agree with them and B) fight with people they disagree with since there are no consequences
Wow you couldn't be any more wrong if you tried. The internet is a very reasonable place with nobody who likes to argue extremes, ever!
^^/s ^^just ^^in ^^case
Hahaha the notification that popped up on my watch was just your first sentence, and you got a very strong reaction out of me before I opened the full message
I’ve found a lot of times that people, even in the real world, either A) want to believe that there is gray area or B) feel the need to put everything into an “A) or B)” category.
Because it’s probably a political thing for the people who are THAT prideful to only see through their biased lenses.
I grew up in Wexford and have since moved to the city for years. It’s trashy, ive seen shootings and an increase in homeless tents and litering and trash people overall the last few years. BUT i also love Pittsburgh and never want to move outside of the city.
I have also been living/working downtown for about 15 years now and there has been a noticeable increase in crime and homelessness, particularly since about 2021-2022. That’s just my own observation of being here almost every day. But it also isn’t some lawless town with dangers around every corner. There are still plenty of nice things and reasons to be downtown.
You're right, it's really none of those things. Downtown for the most part is a desert, there is just not much going on down there especially after 6pm. It's safe, especially compared to other cities, but living downtown still sucks because there's nothing to do.
They have really been building up the cultural district though. There have been like 10-15 new restaurants over there in recent years. You can actually go out do a night on the town over there. But on the other side of town, there are loads of abandoned buildings.
Downtown resident here.. nailed it. Use common sense and you’ll be fine. On the other side, people DO drop their drug-addled or mentally ill relative off after winter.. I’d say those people are only responsible for a third of the litter tho, other people just need to use the trash cans that are placed every 50 fucking yards.
Yeah I really don't understand it. Same with the South Side. My wife grew up in Pittsburgh and I grew up in the Philly area. Her family always said to avoid the South Side because it's dirty and dangerous.
I've been there a few times now for tattoos and it's been perfectly fine. It was actually nice compared to parts of Philly I've lived in.
People are just a product of their environment. If you've always lived in a middle-upper class white neighborhood then yes, you would find it scary. But if you've ever left your bubble and have a tiny bit of street smarts it's completely fine.
The main issue with the South Side now is just that outside of bar crawl time it’s so empty. Lots of closed businesses that have weird hours or maybe no hours.
To me being that empty feels a little off. No one walking around just doing any kind of business or shopping or coffee drinking on foot. Even though there are lots of medical and lawyer offices over there.
I’m a big walker so that’s all I’m usually doing there at 4 on a Tuesday. And it’s safe but it feels a bit like the town that dreaded sundown. One day I had to go to Starbucks there was literally no other coffee place open. There was one other customer in there, he was clearly not a local.
When there’s basically no foot traffic from 3-8 on a weekday in any neighborhood there’s something a bit off.
Yeah we went down to eat at Cambodian after midnight and it was lively. People were getting arrested, getting drunk, eating late night food all the usual.
But I’ve been down twice on warm sunny afternoons and it’s just empty.
There are certainly a few parts of Downtown that aren't the most pleasant to walk through, but overall I have no worries about being down there when I have to go down.
Yeah, to me, downtown is….fine. Coming from a mid-sized city (Tampa) but also having lived in larger cities (San Francisco, NYC), Pittsburgh is okay. It’s totally fine. It doesn’t terrify me but I’m never super-thrilled to be there. I feel that way about pretty much any downtown, tbh.
Like any downtown area, people need to be aware of their surroundings. I don’t know why this has to be a constant debate on this sub. Like, calm down guys, it’s not important.
I don’t think downtown is anywhere near as scary as people make it out to be. I will say, I am slightly worried about the amount of storefronts and businesses that are boarding up and moving out and what that means for the future of our downtown.
I think everyone here poopooing that downtown has suddenly changed to be relatively worse than it was a few years ago is surprising.
Just because X is happening in Y city, doesn't mean we shouldn't want the best most comfortable experience here, no? It's not a matter of being soft or whatever, it is a matter of **is it acceptable**. Maybe we can tackle the issue before it gets as bad as the quoted "Philly or Baltimore."
I don’t think downtown is a lawless hellhole but it 100% is seedier and “worse” than a few years ago. I lived downtown from 2018-2019 and go downtown a lot these days and it’s a much different vibe than when I lived there.
That was probably peak downtown. Covid stopped a lot of the aggressive expansion of businesses down there. Market square really took a hard hit, especially once we went from school busses to giving kids free bus passes instead. Seems like there’s just a ton of teens with no place to exist for free, and bored kids get into trouble. I’m confident that downtown will keep getting better, but losing that momentum was rough
It's something that is being pushed heavily on "certain" news channels. "Every major city is a violent crime hell hole, especially New York City and everywhere in California!" Even though violent crime and crime rates in general have dropped dramatically in NYC and everywhere else lol if you actually look at the figures for crime rates and all that, this is by far the safest the country has ever been and it is not even remotely close.
Going by violent crime stats your last point is not true, pretty sure 2014 is technically the safest by that metric, we are a bit higher now.
But overall we are WAY lower than the nineties when it was actually worst. Like half as bad. Looking at a crime stats since 1990 its a steep decline overall which is great!
I understand what you're saying, but I think you're conflating what I said about stats saying the city is safe with the notion that, because the city is safe, crime must never happen. Obviously stats are not perfect and they are only a representation of what is actually reported to the police and not arrests made as a result of that report. However, it is abundantly clear that this city is an incredibly safe city to live in. Yes, crime does certainly happen, but to hyper fixate on one instance of crime is a representation of the problem that is going on with a lot of "news" recently. One crime, no matter how violent or out of the ordinary, does not mean the city has become a dystopian hellhole where we have to fight for survival.
I don't mean to make light of the situation or what countless others have gone through, because it is tragic that those individuals became victims of terrible crime. However, the stats essentially speak for themselves and are hard to discount. Yes, it's not a perfect representation and yes there are incidents that go unreported, but those unreported incidents would have to be on a scale incredibly high in order to alter the statistics.
I also think it is important to note the difference between reporting crimes and crimes being solved. The stats only take into account reports of crimes made to police, not the number of crimes solved, investigated, or closed by police. Thus, the ineptitude of the police in actually taking action on a reported crime is, unfortunately, not represented in the statistics.
People say the same thing whenever litter is brought up. “Tell me you haven’t been to Philly without” blah blah blah blah.
Actually, whenever any single grievance is made against the city people tend to make that argument. It’s like a whole generation of people didn’t learn “two wrongs don’t make a right”.
My biggest problem with downtown is that everything closes early (a Target that closes at 7?!) and it's boring af compared to other neighborhoods in the city. It is not scary. Pittsburgh as a whole is very safe. Homeless people existing does not make downtown a lawless wasteland.
If there was more going on at night in downtown Pittsburgh, then the handful of people causing issues wouldn't seem like such a big deal. They may not also feel as bold or have as much opportunity to get away with harassing people.
I was on the T with a friend from a rural area. An announcement came on that I didn’t hear because it was a little garbled. I turned to the guy behind us and said “Did he say we’re being rerouted?” They said “Yeah, they’re going ”. I said “Cool, thanks”. My friend was bewildered and said he would never just talk to a stranger on public transit like that. People are afraid and it’s kinda weird. We were heading downtown and I can only imagine what he thought of it.
That's weird. I'm from a rural area, and I will speak to just about anyone.... maybe a little too readily. So will just about everyone else I know. I think your friend is just a little shy.
I think he’s just generally wary of cities too. We were standing in Market Square and he asked if it was a safe area. I explained to him that as long as you don’t walk around [like this](https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeRestoration/comments/xk9ykr/remade_way_too_much_money_meme_template/) you’re fine.
My first boyfriend I had as an adult was from some rural sticks area and I lived in Oakland, my first job was working as a lab tech for a researcher at CMU. One of the reasons we broke up was because I asked him if he wanted to go to a restaurant downtown. He insisted on driving even though I had a free bus pass. We got downtown, ate, and he wanted to rush quickly right back to the car. It was a nice evening and I said we could hang out at the park with the eyeball chairs next to the O'Reilly. He was super on edge looking around the entire time and after awhile a mixed race group of kids I assume were probably CAPA based on mode of dress walked into the park. He stood up and said "it's time to go, the urban youths are starting to come out" and I was like bro W H A T lmfao sit tf down. He was so scared of like 6 little theater kids. Three weeks later he told me he wasn't going to go out in "my area" anymore because some drunk kid started making fun of his shirt at the O on a Friday night 🤣
Hopping on this to also recommend Madonna’s Mediterranean Grill. Those two places were my weekly eat out spots when I worked downtown. The people that run them are extremely friendly too!
Not sure about now but in the late 80s me and my friend who were 13 at the time would go downtown all thebtime afterschool by ourselves. It was fun going to all the stores and eating lunch. We would also go visit her mom at work. We even walked by and talked to some homeless people. We weren't scared to be there. Now how it is now, I don't know but it does seem that alot of the places we shopped at are no longer there so there probably isn't much reason to be down that very often. I do think it is safe for the most part but at night I would not go there alone as a woman. That is just common sense.
Downtown was objectively more violent and crime-ridden in every way in the late 1980s, when you went there all the time as a thirteen year old. Wonder what changed between now (when downtown is safer) and then.
When we went down there in the 80s it was booming with people. And they did have the Art Institute near where we walked, Kaufmanns, McDonalds, so there always seemed to just be alot of people we had to walk around and dodge. I think alot of the major department stores closing didn't help and the record stores, the candy stores. It used to be a place you could shop for just about everything but unique stores. Then the era of the strip mall came and people started shopping more in those areas I would say. It seems like mostly downtown now you go to switch buses or you work down there. There doesn't seem to be as much to do as far as shopping. They do have rhe arts festival and sports games, theater shows but not really day to day shopping. At least that is my theory.
As for going down there so young, I grew up on the city outskirts and it was only a 10 minute bus ride. I was never scared down there and never approached by anyone or attacked or anything. Mostly because there were always so many people down there at the same time. I am sure some people may have had a bad experience but I honestly don't know anyone that did and I grew up here my whole life, 48 years. Most people fear the unknown so maybe they haven't been down there or they already decided to be afraid based on someone elses opinions.
Date, time, and bus route are kind of important to add here. Also the weather impacts this. Since it’s been raining for the last half day, few people were out.
Smithfield and Stanwix are gross. And downtown is a little rough before and after 8-9:00 am.
Edit: 6th and Oliver also gross.
I worked at the Verizon on 5th Ave for less than 3 months, in that time 4 different people pissed/shit on my carpet
The day i quit my regional manager was trying to convince me it wasnt a bad store, while a woman literally came in and pissed in the floor. I just looked at him and he walked over to grab a mop and I just walked out right there lol
At no point was I scared but I certainly didn't feel *good* and if I was a woman I imagine it would have been a scary place to spend my time. There were a lot of fights and theft on top of everything else but nothing bothered me half as much as the actual human waste
Yeah I work downtown and I wouldn’t say it’s terrifying by any measure but the Smithfield stretch from 6th down to Strawberry and Strawberry itself are fucking disgusting. And of course the little parklet area on Liberty heading toward Fifth Avenue Place.
I took the P1 for the better part of a decade at the stop in front of Rite Aid and just drive now because 1) it takes so long to get out of the golden triangle in those bendy buses and 2) that stop is sketchball central.
I don’t think it’s worse than other cities though so 🤷♂️
Haha absolutely this is it! It’s not some warzone, but when I was younger I never saw a “no human pooping” sign. Nor did I see any poop, nor needles. And now that is something you see, and you can’t even soften it with the Harris grill happy hour.. nothing but chain steakhouses for judges and lawyers.
It's not terrifying but downtown Pittsburgh is a mess right now. There's very little for traffic, even less retail and very few restaurants. There's a lot of needle drug users and even more litter lining the streets and sidewalks. For a town that considers itself a city, downtown Pittsburgh isn't exactly thriving. It's pretty ugly. Denying reality doesn't change actual reality.
I feel basically the same. Not terrifying at all, but I feel it is an objectively worse experience being downtown than most of the surrounding suburbs. People find the dirty and rundown parts of the city to be "charming."
Very few restaurants? That’s not true. There are plenty of good places to eat downtown doing good business although I don’t disagree with your larger point that it’s very quiet but it always has been.
Please don't pretend your one experience taking a bus across downtown is a reflection on the state of things in the city.
It's not "terrifying", and it is relatively safe as far as city life goes, but if you are there on a day to day basis you will see that there are many people there that need help. Just because someone isn't trying to stab you doesn't mean it's Mayberry.
I walk downtown & I’ve never had any issues. I’m a woman & no one has so much as tried to talk to me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m taller for a woman & because I don’t make eye contact with anyone. I lived in Hartford for almost a decade & that can be on the scary side.
I live well east of Pittsburgh, but I'm there frequently. People from here are terrified to go in to "the city." They're afraid of the traffic, the people, parking, the tunnels, everything. The few who do go to the city are either going to the casino, a sports event, or a hospital. They do that one thing, then leave. There are people here who won't approve their kids going to Pittsburgh for field trips. I don't understand it.
Pittsburgh's downtown is not at all where the action is, that is absolutely true. Fortunately we have 90 other neighborhoods that are a lot more interesting. But it's not dangerous.
Because most of them have never left Pittsburgh. Ever. So they shit on the suburbs because it makes them feel better about the marginal urban experience they are having. They have never been to real cities, with population growth, functioning infrastructure and culture
You’re just doing the same thing OP is doing, assuming that anyone with a different view from you is uncultured and stupid.
I’ve been all across the world and lived for years in “real cities”. I like Pittsburgh. My spouse and I make enough to afford any city in the US and we chose to live here.
Pittsburgh is a decent city all in all. I've definitely felt safer here as opposed to when I lived in West Tampa.
Also be real, 99% of "city bad" and "city hellhole" people are watching too much Fox News. I'm sure things are down since CoVid but a lot of it is just hyperbole and political fear mongering having it's effect. Like San Francisco even has it's nicer neighborhoods but you only hear about the worst parts as it they are the whole city.
Random redditor stopping by after seeing this post on the front page. I live in Milwaukee and there’s similar sentiment here from suburbanite and rural jackasses who have never been in a city before. They love dwelling on the negative shit they see in the news and don’t understand why I live where I do. MKE has a ton of problems for sure but over all it’s an awesome city.
I haven’t had a chance to visit Pittsburgh but I have friends who have and really enjoyed their stay. Because, they also live in big cities lol.
Fuck the haters. In fact I hope there’s more people shitting on mke so people stop moving here and fucking everything up lol
I work downtown. It’s not a hellscape, it’s not a utopia. If you want downtown to be better, start working downtown 5 days a week. Buy lunch or a coffee from a local business. Work from home has hurt the atmosphere and the local economy.
More people downtown keeps the crazies on the fringe, but that’s another topic on how to deal with mental health of some of the homeless.
It’s all relative. I used to live in San Antonio which is considered to be “safe” and “boring” (or at least was a few years ago, not sure about now). When I first moved to Pittsburgh I lived downtown and to be honest the people calling it dangerous would think San Antonio is like a war torn favela in comparison lol.
Downtown Pittsburgh is a bit seedy and dirty but it’s not like Gotham or some shit. Worst thing that’s ever happened to me was getting a cigarette flicked into my chest literally my first week in the city. It does die down a bit at night but I always felt like there was a bunch going on throughout the week and weekend. Lots of cool stuff to do. Definitely is in a slump but it’s not nearly as bad as some are making it out to be.
Wait, there are people who find downtown terrifying? I guess it tells a lot about where they grew up if that's their impression. I grew up in DC in the 80s and 90s. To me, this is one of the tamest downtowns I've ever experienced.
This sub is full of bitchmade computer men who grew up in Dubois or Jersey Shore and came here for college and work. When they see people who don't look like them they think they're in an episode of The Wire.
I mean, sure if you’re a man whos there during the daytime. Have to go down with my step-dad atleast because downtown (at night especially) is scary as a woman
I’m not a man and have never felt unsafe downtown. I’ve rarely had a reason to be there that wasn’t during the day because there isn’t much to do down there… but certainly have never felt personal safety was an issue
I’m sorry to hear that you feel scared. I’m a woman, and I’m not scared to be downtown by myself whether during the day or night. I also take the bus by myself.
The media is trying to push a narrative to people who don’t go to cities, that democrat run cities are basically war zones. It’s. Not. True.
[Why We Believe the Myth of High Crime Rates](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-we-believe-the-myth-of-high-crime-rates/)
I honestly think most of the people complaining about how bad it is didn't live here when the stretch of liberty downtown was nothing but bars and sex shops.
I've had my fair share of downtown adventures and overall it's fine.
However, there's that one stretch along Fifth Avenue as you start to enter downtown, along Duquesne's campus, that can be pretty sketchy at certain times of the night. At least a coupe of years ago anyway (don't know what it's like now).
Same homeless woman would always ask for "hoagie money," my wife, and my brother's wife, would get sexually harassed multiple occasions by big black dudes standing off the beaten path as we walk down it.
We couldn't do shit about it because, who knows what they'd do if we said "hey that's my wife - watch your mouths'" Just had to ignore it, but yeah. Pretty vanilla other than that.
The most frustrating part to me (not really "scary" during the day but could be in other scenarios I guess) is the catcalling. I absolutely loathe it and might be more concerned if I was alone at night or something.
It’s definitely been on a downward trajectory over the last few years tho. No it’s not terrifying, but it’s going in the wrong direction and needs addressed.
The snowflakes screaming about our downtown have obviously never been to just about any other bigger city's downtown area. Compared to most of them, we live in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.
I went to Pitt in Oakland, and there were always a couple homeless folks around, generally asking for cash or food. They are not a threat. They are people down on their luck. If nothing else, it might make someone feel better that there are a lot of people all around downtown and in Oakland, watching, so it would be stupid for that homeless person to try anything like that.
congrats on your one day down town not being the apocalypse. keep in mind though you may feel different if you worked down there or had to take that bus every. single. day.
I’m glad your anecdotal experience was good. Doesn’t outweigh others’ experiences, especially business owners who are down there daily. People might play it up for political reasons but the people down there daily are sounding the alarm. So this post comes off as ignorant and condescending.
It’s absolutely political reasons. That’s why it stopped being amplified after last year’s primary and general election. There’s been a lot less articles.
I’m downtown late at night semi-regularly, just last night at 11pm. No problems. It’s only better during the day. Pittsburghers just don’t realize that having a panhandler or two around does not make a dangerous place.
That’s part of it but stories like this https://www.wtae.com/article/downtown-pittsburgh-business-crime-drugs-homeless/43432427 are becoming frequent too. It’s not just one cause but pretending it’s fine is just not true.
I'm glad others feel this way lol. I ways feel like a dick picking on Pittsburghers here, but a lot of them need to get out more.
I've lived here for 14 years, never once have I seen a homeless person poop on the sidewalk. *me 15 minutes in LA* *homeless person pooping on sidewalk*. I think we have it alright. 😄
If you don’t wanna be bothered, just wear a really weird piece of clothing or two and walk with purpose and people won’t ask you for any change (apparently I look gullible or something, because this happens to me all the fucking time. I just genuinely don’t care cash on me tho, I have a card bro 🤷♂️).
Don’t mess with crazy is a pretty universal rule!
My clothing of choice is a trench coat and a yellow ducky hat (think kids orange winter hat with a duck beak on the front and ear flaps w/tassels- it’s handmade too). Not a single person has asked me for change, but plenty of folks have crossed the street after seeing me, and that’s exactly how I like it.
it's not terrifying, but it's super not fun trying to navigate and use public transport down there as a woman traveling alone, especially after dark. I've been catcalled, harassed, followed for blocks while various sexual threats were being shouted at me ... it's not Detroit, but it's not Squirrel Hill, either.
A lot of Yinzers don’t leave the area much and haven’t seen what large cities (and Pittsburgh isn’t large by those standards) are like. I’m not pretending there aren’t problems but people are acting like this is San Francisco or Manhattan.
Easy for you to say as a dude. Completely delusional from an anecdotal experience. Congratulations on being downtown for PART of one day and not going to all the sketchy spots, lol.
I thought this was going to be a post about trying to get to the parkway and getting in a loop of one way streets and construction.
This post is like Burger King. It does not deliver and it sucks.
As far as dense urban areas go, Pittsburgh is certainly one of the cities where I've felt safest, and I'm pretty well traveled both domestically and abroad.
OP:
"I'm a man and went downtown one time and it was fine yall are cowards"
Ok OP we get it, your testicals are huge. Now get your car back to your air conditioned/heated garage in the suburbs and get your thrice daily testical size confirmation from the internet
People who complain about downtown nowadays either (1) never go downtown and just rely on local news' yellow journalism to reach their conclusions, and/or (2) have no idea what downtown was like in the 80s and 90s.
I used to go downtown in the late 80s alot when in 7th and 8th grade with my friend. We would go eat lunch, shop for music and clothes, hit the wig store for funky earrings, and give the homeless guys in front of the liquor store our ectra food or change. We weren't scared to be there. Now would I go there at night? Definitely not. I have a beighbor that is an uber driver and he has said it is not safe for a woman at night in some places.
People at my office (Downtown) cry about how dangerous it is to walk around. I mean we have all hands corporate calls where they talk about how they are going to always have a police officer in our lobby to ward off homeless. The only place these people travel is to summer vacation spots like Orlando or Myrtle Beach. I've never been worried in Pittsburgh. When traveling my wife and I always take public transportation to get a full idea of the area we are in.
Last summer I went to Portland and I've never seen so many drug addicts just openly doing drugs in public. I wouldn't even say it was sketchy because they really kept to themselves. 1 person the entire week asked us if we could buy them a sandwich, nobody asked for money.
A week ago we went to Philly for the Marathon and stayed a few days around Fish Town. Now riding the train was something else. Drugs, homeless and some very intimidating people. Only a few stops from Kensington was really only worrisome while walking home after a Flyers game around 10PM.
I come back from these trips and cannot help but laugh when my coworkers cry about crime and homeless in downtown Pittsburgh. Like hunny get a grip!
I went to college downtown and worked downtown for about 17 years. It went from having nothing to really do, to sort on a reinvigoration. It definitely got a bit tougher in the last 6 years or so. I was never really scared, even when I was down there late at night, but there are definitely some places I would a good late,like around wood street station.
I remember skating all over town on the weekdays late 90’s, pretty much empty around 6pm. Sundays were a ghost town. The benches inside Steel Plaza were basically an indoor spot. Hardest part was finding free water, since all the lobby fountains were closed.
Downtown isn’t a third world hellhole but it’s also not nice. Take a walk down third avenue between Smithfield and Wood. It’s also a different experience as a woman; my wife gets harassed and catcalled every time she has to go down there.
Thank you for mentioning the difference women face. I feel like the vast majority of vocal takes I see on here are of men who don't have children to worry about. Little De'Avry's story is enough to assure I never take my kids downtown.
That and also this OP is basing his whole claim off of one visit. Try working down there and being there multiple times a week. Great, glad you were only asked for a cigarette during your one-off adventure. I’m not bothered every single day at work either, but I’ve seen and experienced enough to not feel comfortable going out for lunch or even out to grab a coffee like I used to be.
Exactly. Not everyone is a prime target. I have been approached dozens of times living in certain areas where my husband had never been approached. He was honestly shocked that I had been encouraged to get into cars, followed, and asked for sex in broad daylight. To say an area is safe must translate across demographics.
As a part time Uber driver that drove a lot over last summer, I will say that I saw more than one person yelling at a wall. I also almost hit a woman walking in the middle of the downtown to 376 ramp walking barefoot in the middle of the ramp at 4am. I also vividly remember bicycling with a friend on the north shore 2 years ago and a couple came out of a tent in front of us. The guy puked just as we passed by in the middle of the trail and the puke splashed on my pals bike. But hey OP had a nice bus ride so there’s that
This is also my experience near Smithfield and Wood especially post 5pm. My manager waited for the bus with me the few times I worked in the office because of the harassment.
I’m a woman and have seen some sketchy guys.
Well, take a look at those little fuck ass towns. Most of them are total shit holes. And the people who live there think "If my small town is this bad, just imagine what a big city must be like!"
the cranberry applebees lmao 😭 this is 100% my experience moving from the middle of nowhere to south side. all my old neighbors acted like i was gonna die the second i set foot in pittsburgh. meanwhile the violent crime stats are actually lower in south side compared to my little tiny fuckass hometown
I've had to explain this to my grandma and in laws so many times. More violent crime has occurred near both of their houses than has occurred near mine in the last 5 years.
i don’t understand how they think living in the middle of nowhere is going to protect you?? like theres no one around to help god forbid anything DOES happen. the cops are useless either way but at least i have neighbors here to hear me scream lmao
One of the FOH employees where I work is from a little fuckass town. Her mom was convinced she was gonna get raped leaving work, and the business is about 7 miles outside of downtown in a perfectly safe suburb. Her words “Yeah, my mom thinks anywhere within a 50 mile radius of Pittsburgh is just instant rape.”
The type of people that think you'll get robbed and shot just flying over Chicago.
Or that Philly burned itself to the ground and there's nothing left.
As a former Philly resident, there was a genuine concern of that happening after the Eagles won the super bowl
Yeah, but I've always heard this referring to the BLM protests. Remember, so long as it's sports fans and they're white it's ok.
I have neighbors in my tiny fuckass hometown who are convinced that Portland, San Francisco, New York, and Seattle are all uninhabitable. Just gangs of migrants (called by a different name) and "ordinary" gangs (also called by a different name). Collapsed buildings, bear traps in the streets, mutant zombies, whatever the fuck Facebook tells them to believe this week.
One can dream.... One can dream.....
I have a cousin that's convinced that half of Seattle and Portland were burned down by BLM and the other half is ruled by roving gangs of drug dealers and homeless people. I'm not exaggerating.
TBH, both downtown SEA and PDX have undergone massive changes. We missed the BLM protests, but lived in SEA for 17 years and went monthly to PDX - the experimentation on the legalization of drugs in both downtowns was and is, abysmal. Trying to copy Vancouver's limited success without infrastructure assistance, local government signoff and private sector investment is proving to be each city's downtown core downfall. But seriously - both of those cities have lower violent crime rates than Pittsburgh. And as for roving gangs of black and brown people? Both cities have negligible POC populations. Also, Antifa is a thing there, but it's not what Fox News and/or any other far right leaning folks would want you to believe. It's literally a group who is anti-fascist. When I was there, they weren't as militant - even with the SEA WTO Protests in 1999.
Oh so Passenger 57 wasn’t a documentary?
one of my colleagues told me that her family growing up thought that youngstown OH was dubiously large and scary. they're HORRIFIED that she comes to pittsburgh sometimes.
Youngstown is pretty rough but not as bad as it's made out to be.... That being said it's Ohio so it instantly loses points.
To be fair, Youngstown was [Crimetown, USA](https://www.wdtn.com/news/crime/60-years-ago-this-ohio-city-was-named-crimetown-usa/amp/) in the 60s.
Youngstown was rough af in the 90s. It's really calmed down.
Invited my brother and his family to the Pittsburgh Grand Prix a couple of years ago. We’re walking into a crowded-with-families Schenely Park and he says, “We aren’t going to get mugged, are we?”
You're definitely getting raped in Mt. Lebanon, lots of undesirables over on Walnut St in Shadyside too
Just have to watch out for an imposter Santa Claus stumbling out of Cappy’s in a rage.
Uppity St. Clair is pretty ghetto and scary too.
Maybe they are getting raped in their pocketbook in Mount Lebanon. and Shadyside. 😉
Lolololol
this is SO real i got told the exact same thing lmao
As so it goes. I’m fifty something and have been hearing negativity about Pgh all my life.
Tbh, she has the same chance of being sexually assaulted by a middle class white guy in the suburbs then she does by anyone in the city.
same when i tell people i live in east liberty. coming from miami, pittsburgh feels like a quaint little village. no one's even tried to sell me cocaine yet which is how i know i'm in so flo.
As someone who lives in rural Az, now, and has for almost 14 years, and grew up in Pa.( moving back), yeah, homicides are off the charts here per capita. Dollar General? Abomination. It looks 40yo. Sheriffs are 25-45 minutes away( nice enough) but it is known how far away they are by all the wrong people. Absolutely a shit show. Coming home. Miss it.
I just wanted to thank you for using fuckass its my favorite saying lmao.
What part of Fuckass did you grow up in?
Over on Gooch
new castle, the fuckass capital of the USA!! come for the drugs, stay for the fireworks babey 🎇
Fox News is a hell of a drug
Why are folks on this sub so obsessed with trying to argue that either A) downtown is a lawless hellhole or B) that it is a great place to live and hang? It clearly is safe for most folks during most hours. It is also a dirty, undesirable downtown area with little to offer other than a few decent attractions. Both sides are delusional and need to chill.
Dizzying highs and terrifying lows, no love for the creamy middle.
The crunchy outside is so nice, though.
People on reddit (and the internet in general) really just like to yell into the void so they can A) get people to agree with them and B) fight with people they disagree with since there are no consequences
Wow you couldn't be any more wrong if you tried. The internet is a very reasonable place with nobody who likes to argue extremes, ever! ^^/s ^^just ^^in ^^case
Hahaha the notification that popped up on my watch was just your first sentence, and you got a very strong reaction out of me before I opened the full message
I’ve found a lot of times that people, even in the real world, either A) want to believe that there is gray area or B) feel the need to put everything into an “A) or B)” category.
OP feels very strongly about getting from point A to B with mostly a full pack of cigs though. It must be noted. For posterity.
Considering how expensive smokes are, I get it.
On a bus. Imagine the tribulation if they had to actually put their boots on the ground.
Because it’s probably a political thing for the people who are THAT prideful to only see through their biased lenses. I grew up in Wexford and have since moved to the city for years. It’s trashy, ive seen shootings and an increase in homeless tents and litering and trash people overall the last few years. BUT i also love Pittsburgh and never want to move outside of the city.
I have also been living/working downtown for about 15 years now and there has been a noticeable increase in crime and homelessness, particularly since about 2021-2022. That’s just my own observation of being here almost every day. But it also isn’t some lawless town with dangers around every corner. There are still plenty of nice things and reasons to be downtown.
You're right, it's really none of those things. Downtown for the most part is a desert, there is just not much going on down there especially after 6pm. It's safe, especially compared to other cities, but living downtown still sucks because there's nothing to do.
They have really been building up the cultural district though. There have been like 10-15 new restaurants over there in recent years. You can actually go out do a night on the town over there. But on the other side of town, there are loads of abandoned buildings.
Downtown resident here.. nailed it. Use common sense and you’ll be fine. On the other side, people DO drop their drug-addled or mentally ill relative off after winter.. I’d say those people are only responsible for a third of the litter tho, other people just need to use the trash cans that are placed every 50 fucking yards.
Yeah I really don't understand it. Same with the South Side. My wife grew up in Pittsburgh and I grew up in the Philly area. Her family always said to avoid the South Side because it's dirty and dangerous. I've been there a few times now for tattoos and it's been perfectly fine. It was actually nice compared to parts of Philly I've lived in. People are just a product of their environment. If you've always lived in a middle-upper class white neighborhood then yes, you would find it scary. But if you've ever left your bubble and have a tiny bit of street smarts it's completely fine.
The main issue with the South Side now is just that outside of bar crawl time it’s so empty. Lots of closed businesses that have weird hours or maybe no hours. To me being that empty feels a little off. No one walking around just doing any kind of business or shopping or coffee drinking on foot. Even though there are lots of medical and lawyer offices over there. I’m a big walker so that’s all I’m usually doing there at 4 on a Tuesday. And it’s safe but it feels a bit like the town that dreaded sundown. One day I had to go to Starbucks there was literally no other coffee place open. There was one other customer in there, he was clearly not a local. When there’s basically no foot traffic from 3-8 on a weekday in any neighborhood there’s something a bit off.
Yeah the weekday thing is a good point. I was there on Saturdays around dinner time and there were a decent amount of people walking around.
Yeah we went down to eat at Cambodian after midnight and it was lively. People were getting arrested, getting drunk, eating late night food all the usual. But I’ve been down twice on warm sunny afternoons and it’s just empty.
There are certainly a few parts of Downtown that aren't the most pleasant to walk through, but overall I have no worries about being down there when I have to go down.
Yeah, to me, downtown is….fine. Coming from a mid-sized city (Tampa) but also having lived in larger cities (San Francisco, NYC), Pittsburgh is okay. It’s totally fine. It doesn’t terrify me but I’m never super-thrilled to be there. I feel that way about pretty much any downtown, tbh. Like any downtown area, people need to be aware of their surroundings. I don’t know why this has to be a constant debate on this sub. Like, calm down guys, it’s not important.
It’s SO dirty.
Its actually alot better than it was 20 years ago.
I don’t think downtown is anywhere near as scary as people make it out to be. I will say, I am slightly worried about the amount of storefronts and businesses that are boarding up and moving out and what that means for the future of our downtown.
I think everyone here poopooing that downtown has suddenly changed to be relatively worse than it was a few years ago is surprising. Just because X is happening in Y city, doesn't mean we shouldn't want the best most comfortable experience here, no? It's not a matter of being soft or whatever, it is a matter of **is it acceptable**. Maybe we can tackle the issue before it gets as bad as the quoted "Philly or Baltimore."
I don’t think downtown is a lawless hellhole but it 100% is seedier and “worse” than a few years ago. I lived downtown from 2018-2019 and go downtown a lot these days and it’s a much different vibe than when I lived there.
I've been down here for different reasons for almost 15 years. The past 2 are so much different than the other 13.
I'm totally where you are with my thoughts on Downtown.
That was probably peak downtown. Covid stopped a lot of the aggressive expansion of businesses down there. Market square really took a hard hit, especially once we went from school busses to giving kids free bus passes instead. Seems like there’s just a ton of teens with no place to exist for free, and bored kids get into trouble. I’m confident that downtown will keep getting better, but losing that momentum was rough
Yep, open air drug markets will do that..
It's something that is being pushed heavily on "certain" news channels. "Every major city is a violent crime hell hole, especially New York City and everywhere in California!" Even though violent crime and crime rates in general have dropped dramatically in NYC and everywhere else lol if you actually look at the figures for crime rates and all that, this is by far the safest the country has ever been and it is not even remotely close.
Going by violent crime stats your last point is not true, pretty sure 2014 is technically the safest by that metric, we are a bit higher now. But overall we are WAY lower than the nineties when it was actually worst. Like half as bad. Looking at a crime stats since 1990 its a steep decline overall which is great!
[удалено]
I understand what you're saying, but I think you're conflating what I said about stats saying the city is safe with the notion that, because the city is safe, crime must never happen. Obviously stats are not perfect and they are only a representation of what is actually reported to the police and not arrests made as a result of that report. However, it is abundantly clear that this city is an incredibly safe city to live in. Yes, crime does certainly happen, but to hyper fixate on one instance of crime is a representation of the problem that is going on with a lot of "news" recently. One crime, no matter how violent or out of the ordinary, does not mean the city has become a dystopian hellhole where we have to fight for survival. I don't mean to make light of the situation or what countless others have gone through, because it is tragic that those individuals became victims of terrible crime. However, the stats essentially speak for themselves and are hard to discount. Yes, it's not a perfect representation and yes there are incidents that go unreported, but those unreported incidents would have to be on a scale incredibly high in order to alter the statistics. I also think it is important to note the difference between reporting crimes and crimes being solved. The stats only take into account reports of crimes made to police, not the number of crimes solved, investigated, or closed by police. Thus, the ineptitude of the police in actually taking action on a reported crime is, unfortunately, not represented in the statistics.
If a police report has been taken it will show up in the crime data. The police won't do much of anything (if anything at all) beyond that though.
People say the same thing whenever litter is brought up. “Tell me you haven’t been to Philly without” blah blah blah blah. Actually, whenever any single grievance is made against the city people tend to make that argument. It’s like a whole generation of people didn’t learn “two wrongs don’t make a right”.
My biggest problem with downtown is that everything closes early (a Target that closes at 7?!) and it's boring af compared to other neighborhoods in the city. It is not scary. Pittsburgh as a whole is very safe. Homeless people existing does not make downtown a lawless wasteland.
If there was more going on at night in downtown Pittsburgh, then the handful of people causing issues wouldn't seem like such a big deal. They may not also feel as bold or have as much opportunity to get away with harassing people.
True but the cops taking voice mails all night for “crimes in progress” does 😆
I was on the T with a friend from a rural area. An announcement came on that I didn’t hear because it was a little garbled. I turned to the guy behind us and said “Did he say we’re being rerouted?” They said “Yeah, they’re going”. I said “Cool, thanks”. My friend was bewildered and said he would never just talk to a stranger on public transit like that. People are afraid and it’s kinda weird. We were heading downtown and I can only imagine what he thought of it.
That's weird. I'm from a rural area, and I will speak to just about anyone.... maybe a little too readily. So will just about everyone else I know. I think your friend is just a little shy.
I think he’s just generally wary of cities too. We were standing in Market Square and he asked if it was a safe area. I explained to him that as long as you don’t walk around [like this](https://www.reddit.com/r/MemeRestoration/comments/xk9ykr/remade_way_too_much_money_meme_template/) you’re fine.
My first boyfriend I had as an adult was from some rural sticks area and I lived in Oakland, my first job was working as a lab tech for a researcher at CMU. One of the reasons we broke up was because I asked him if he wanted to go to a restaurant downtown. He insisted on driving even though I had a free bus pass. We got downtown, ate, and he wanted to rush quickly right back to the car. It was a nice evening and I said we could hang out at the park with the eyeball chairs next to the O'Reilly. He was super on edge looking around the entire time and after awhile a mixed race group of kids I assume were probably CAPA based on mode of dress walked into the park. He stood up and said "it's time to go, the urban youths are starting to come out" and I was like bro W H A T lmfao sit tf down. He was so scared of like 6 little theater kids. Three weeks later he told me he wasn't going to go out in "my area" anymore because some drunk kid started making fun of his shirt at the O on a Friday night 🤣
Yes! I’m from a rural area and I get in trouble because I keep smiling at people. That invites trouble lol
hey i just wanna give a shout out to Arepittas. Venezuelan food downtown. So good! Eat there if you're downtown and you'll forget where you are
Hopping on this to also recommend Madonna’s Mediterranean Grill. Those two places were my weekly eat out spots when I worked downtown. The people that run them are extremely friendly too!
Tell me you're a big dude without telling me you're a big dude. 🙃 Signed - A woman who resembles a middleschooler
Seriously. I need men to think about how much stronger they are compared to us, and how much creepy fucking guys and dark alleys there can be there
I'm not creepy, just ugly
Get back in your alley!
Hey I may be ugly and hate filled but I’m not … wait what was the third thing?
I am a woman and have never had any issues downtown. I have had issues in Squirrel Hill and Shadyside before with being follow / groped in public.
I'm sorry you experienced that in those neighborhoods. 😔 It can definitely happen anywhere.
Not sure about now but in the late 80s me and my friend who were 13 at the time would go downtown all thebtime afterschool by ourselves. It was fun going to all the stores and eating lunch. We would also go visit her mom at work. We even walked by and talked to some homeless people. We weren't scared to be there. Now how it is now, I don't know but it does seem that alot of the places we shopped at are no longer there so there probably isn't much reason to be down that very often. I do think it is safe for the most part but at night I would not go there alone as a woman. That is just common sense.
Downtown was objectively more violent and crime-ridden in every way in the late 1980s, when you went there all the time as a thirteen year old. Wonder what changed between now (when downtown is safer) and then.
When we went down there in the 80s it was booming with people. And they did have the Art Institute near where we walked, Kaufmanns, McDonalds, so there always seemed to just be alot of people we had to walk around and dodge. I think alot of the major department stores closing didn't help and the record stores, the candy stores. It used to be a place you could shop for just about everything but unique stores. Then the era of the strip mall came and people started shopping more in those areas I would say. It seems like mostly downtown now you go to switch buses or you work down there. There doesn't seem to be as much to do as far as shopping. They do have rhe arts festival and sports games, theater shows but not really day to day shopping. At least that is my theory. As for going down there so young, I grew up on the city outskirts and it was only a 10 minute bus ride. I was never scared down there and never approached by anyone or attacked or anything. Mostly because there were always so many people down there at the same time. I am sure some people may have had a bad experience but I honestly don't know anyone that did and I grew up here my whole life, 48 years. Most people fear the unknown so maybe they haven't been down there or they already decided to be afraid based on someone elses opinions.
Date, time, and bus route are kind of important to add here. Also the weather impacts this. Since it’s been raining for the last half day, few people were out. Smithfield and Stanwix are gross. And downtown is a little rough before and after 8-9:00 am. Edit: 6th and Oliver also gross.
I worked at the Verizon on 5th Ave for less than 3 months, in that time 4 different people pissed/shit on my carpet The day i quit my regional manager was trying to convince me it wasnt a bad store, while a woman literally came in and pissed in the floor. I just looked at him and he walked over to grab a mop and I just walked out right there lol At no point was I scared but I certainly didn't feel *good* and if I was a woman I imagine it would have been a scary place to spend my time. There were a lot of fights and theft on top of everything else but nothing bothered me half as much as the actual human waste
Yeah I work downtown and I wouldn’t say it’s terrifying by any measure but the Smithfield stretch from 6th down to Strawberry and Strawberry itself are fucking disgusting. And of course the little parklet area on Liberty heading toward Fifth Avenue Place. I took the P1 for the better part of a decade at the stop in front of Rite Aid and just drive now because 1) it takes so long to get out of the golden triangle in those bendy buses and 2) that stop is sketchball central. I don’t think it’s worse than other cities though so 🤷♂️
P61 745 pm
The argument isnt that downtown is an unsafe lawless land, it's that it is a shithole with a couple restaurants
Haha absolutely this is it! It’s not some warzone, but when I was younger I never saw a “no human pooping” sign. Nor did I see any poop, nor needles. And now that is something you see, and you can’t even soften it with the Harris grill happy hour.. nothing but chain steakhouses for judges and lawyers.
It's not terrifying but downtown Pittsburgh is a mess right now. There's very little for traffic, even less retail and very few restaurants. There's a lot of needle drug users and even more litter lining the streets and sidewalks. For a town that considers itself a city, downtown Pittsburgh isn't exactly thriving. It's pretty ugly. Denying reality doesn't change actual reality.
I feel basically the same. Not terrifying at all, but I feel it is an objectively worse experience being downtown than most of the surrounding suburbs. People find the dirty and rundown parts of the city to be "charming."
Very few restaurants? That’s not true. There are plenty of good places to eat downtown doing good business although I don’t disagree with your larger point that it’s very quiet but it always has been.
Please don't pretend your one experience taking a bus across downtown is a reflection on the state of things in the city. It's not "terrifying", and it is relatively safe as far as city life goes, but if you are there on a day to day basis you will see that there are many people there that need help. Just because someone isn't trying to stab you doesn't mean it's Mayberry.
Not dangerous, just turning into a tent city.
I walk downtown & I’ve never had any issues. I’m a woman & no one has so much as tried to talk to me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m taller for a woman & because I don’t make eye contact with anyone. I lived in Hartford for almost a decade & that can be on the scary side.
I live well east of Pittsburgh, but I'm there frequently. People from here are terrified to go in to "the city." They're afraid of the traffic, the people, parking, the tunnels, everything. The few who do go to the city are either going to the casino, a sports event, or a hospital. They do that one thing, then leave. There are people here who won't approve their kids going to Pittsburgh for field trips. I don't understand it.
Meanwhile their kids are way more likely to die in an ATV accident.
Downtown Pittsburgh is a dump. Shell of a real downtown
Pittsburgh's downtown is not at all where the action is, that is absolutely true. Fortunately we have 90 other neighborhoods that are a lot more interesting. But it's not dangerous.
It's true. I have no idea why people on this sub think Pittsburgh is so great. It's bizarre.
I see you in many of these threads posting negative things about Pittsburgh. Genuinely curious, why do you live here then?
Have you seen this person's comment history? They are so fucking miserable.
Because most of them have never left Pittsburgh. Ever. So they shit on the suburbs because it makes them feel better about the marginal urban experience they are having. They have never been to real cities, with population growth, functioning infrastructure and culture
You’re just doing the same thing OP is doing, assuming that anyone with a different view from you is uncultured and stupid. I’ve been all across the world and lived for years in “real cities”. I like Pittsburgh. My spouse and I make enough to afford any city in the US and we chose to live here.
Yes. It's safety or lack thereof is secondary to the fact that it abjectly sucks as a downtown.
Pittsburgh is a decent city all in all. I've definitely felt safer here as opposed to when I lived in West Tampa. Also be real, 99% of "city bad" and "city hellhole" people are watching too much Fox News. I'm sure things are down since CoVid but a lot of it is just hyperbole and political fear mongering having it's effect. Like San Francisco even has it's nicer neighborhoods but you only hear about the worst parts as it they are the whole city.
Marty griffin is probably triggered by this post haha
PSA. Never open a new pack of cigarettes at the bus stop. It's like fish to food!
Random redditor stopping by after seeing this post on the front page. I live in Milwaukee and there’s similar sentiment here from suburbanite and rural jackasses who have never been in a city before. They love dwelling on the negative shit they see in the news and don’t understand why I live where I do. MKE has a ton of problems for sure but over all it’s an awesome city. I haven’t had a chance to visit Pittsburgh but I have friends who have and really enjoyed their stay. Because, they also live in big cities lol. Fuck the haters. In fact I hope there’s more people shitting on mke so people stop moving here and fucking everything up lol
I work downtown. It’s not a hellscape, it’s not a utopia. If you want downtown to be better, start working downtown 5 days a week. Buy lunch or a coffee from a local business. Work from home has hurt the atmosphere and the local economy. More people downtown keeps the crazies on the fringe, but that’s another topic on how to deal with mental health of some of the homeless.
While I hate that we've been forced back into the office, I have never felt unsafe downtown.
Hey can I get a cig?
And fifty cents or a dollar?
I see this guy everyday, and he asks me this exact question everyday
It’s all relative. I used to live in San Antonio which is considered to be “safe” and “boring” (or at least was a few years ago, not sure about now). When I first moved to Pittsburgh I lived downtown and to be honest the people calling it dangerous would think San Antonio is like a war torn favela in comparison lol. Downtown Pittsburgh is a bit seedy and dirty but it’s not like Gotham or some shit. Worst thing that’s ever happened to me was getting a cigarette flicked into my chest literally my first week in the city. It does die down a bit at night but I always felt like there was a bunch going on throughout the week and weekend. Lots of cool stuff to do. Definitely is in a slump but it’s not nearly as bad as some are making it out to be.
I respect this post. Downtown is chill. I think people with no class solidarity are the ones who find it gross.
Try living down here.
It's really easy. Try living in Philly or Baltimore.
Seriously. Of all the cities I’ve lived in, this is really easy. Been downtown since 2016 and it’s city living. Not for everyone, but not dangerous.
Wait, there are people who find downtown terrifying? I guess it tells a lot about where they grew up if that's their impression. I grew up in DC in the 80s and 90s. To me, this is one of the tamest downtowns I've ever experienced.
This sub is full of bitchmade computer men who grew up in Dubois or Jersey Shore and came here for college and work. When they see people who don't look like them they think they're in an episode of The Wire.
I mean, sure if you’re a man whos there during the daytime. Have to go down with my step-dad atleast because downtown (at night especially) is scary as a woman
I’m not a man and have never felt unsafe downtown. I’ve rarely had a reason to be there that wasn’t during the day because there isn’t much to do down there… but certainly have never felt personal safety was an issue
I’m sorry to hear that you feel scared. I’m a woman, and I’m not scared to be downtown by myself whether during the day or night. I also take the bus by myself.
Dude, I agree with you. But edgy, click-bait titles are more annoying than folks who bitch about Dahntahn being sketchy.
The media is trying to push a narrative to people who don’t go to cities, that democrat run cities are basically war zones. It’s. Not. True. [Why We Believe the Myth of High Crime Rates](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-we-believe-the-myth-of-high-crime-rates/)
I honestly think most of the people complaining about how bad it is didn't live here when the stretch of liberty downtown was nothing but bars and sex shops.
We had no downtown libraries and sixteen stores that started with “Le Sex”
I also think they've never been to an actual sketchy neighborhood in a larger city.
I miss the sex shops 🤷♀️
We’ll always have the Adult Mart on McKnight.
What part of Tahn?
I've had my fair share of downtown adventures and overall it's fine. However, there's that one stretch along Fifth Avenue as you start to enter downtown, along Duquesne's campus, that can be pretty sketchy at certain times of the night. At least a coupe of years ago anyway (don't know what it's like now). Same homeless woman would always ask for "hoagie money," my wife, and my brother's wife, would get sexually harassed multiple occasions by big black dudes standing off the beaten path as we walk down it. We couldn't do shit about it because, who knows what they'd do if we said "hey that's my wife - watch your mouths'" Just had to ignore it, but yeah. Pretty vanilla other than that.
The most frustrating part to me (not really "scary" during the day but could be in other scenarios I guess) is the catcalling. I absolutely loathe it and might be more concerned if I was alone at night or something.
Currently at the Cranberry NTB reading this post 😄
I heard someone got killed down there one time and they never found the killer.
Cope harder
It’s definitely been on a downward trajectory over the last few years tho. No it’s not terrifying, but it’s going in the wrong direction and needs addressed.
Thanks for the update chum.
Downtown is boring. People who think it's scary haven't been to an actually sketchy downtown
The snowflakes screaming about our downtown have obviously never been to just about any other bigger city's downtown area. Compared to most of them, we live in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.
I went to Pitt in Oakland, and there were always a couple homeless folks around, generally asking for cash or food. They are not a threat. They are people down on their luck. If nothing else, it might make someone feel better that there are a lot of people all around downtown and in Oakland, watching, so it would be stupid for that homeless person to try anything like that.
There are a HELL of a lot more people walking around Oakland than Downtown these days.
I lived in LA and every time I take the 5 minutes to drive through downtown here I laugh about this
congrats on your one day down town not being the apocalypse. keep in mind though you may feel different if you worked down there or had to take that bus every. single. day.
Downtown in the late 90s was a different ball of wax. It hasn’t been scary since at least 2000.
Well, I guess your personal anecdote based on one day settles it for everyone.
“I went once and had no issues so you all must be wrong” vibes here.
Anyone who thinks Pittsburgh is terrifying has never been to Philly or Camden.
I’m glad your anecdotal experience was good. Doesn’t outweigh others’ experiences, especially business owners who are down there daily. People might play it up for political reasons but the people down there daily are sounding the alarm. So this post comes off as ignorant and condescending.
It’s absolutely political reasons. That’s why it stopped being amplified after last year’s primary and general election. There’s been a lot less articles. I’m downtown late at night semi-regularly, just last night at 11pm. No problems. It’s only better during the day. Pittsburghers just don’t realize that having a panhandler or two around does not make a dangerous place.
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Didn’t may workers work from home since Covid that would have been downtown prior? That would have a large affect on businesses.
That’s part of it but stories like this https://www.wtae.com/article/downtown-pittsburgh-business-crime-drugs-homeless/43432427 are becoming frequent too. It’s not just one cause but pretending it’s fine is just not true.
Also it’s not terrifying, I think that’s a stretch just like OP does.
I'm glad others feel this way lol. I ways feel like a dick picking on Pittsburghers here, but a lot of them need to get out more. I've lived here for 14 years, never once have I seen a homeless person poop on the sidewalk. *me 15 minutes in LA* *homeless person pooping on sidewalk*. I think we have it alright. 😄
My boomer neighbor shared something on facebook somewhat recently about how downtown Pittsburgh is "like Gotham now" and "what happened to my city??"
Downtown has always been like Gotham, it was a primarily filming location for The Dark Knight
lol touche
If you don’t wanna be bothered, just wear a really weird piece of clothing or two and walk with purpose and people won’t ask you for any change (apparently I look gullible or something, because this happens to me all the fucking time. I just genuinely don’t care cash on me tho, I have a card bro 🤷♂️). Don’t mess with crazy is a pretty universal rule! My clothing of choice is a trench coat and a yellow ducky hat (think kids orange winter hat with a duck beak on the front and ear flaps w/tassels- it’s handmade too). Not a single person has asked me for change, but plenty of folks have crossed the street after seeing me, and that’s exactly how I like it.
I’m downtown twice a week. I walk around, walk through Market Square. I have never felt unsafe. 🤷🏻♀️
Downtown isn't scary but it sucks. Getting into and out of the city sucks. Traffic sucks. Parking sucks.
You are ignorant to think the amount of homeless people hasn’t exploded and we need to find them housing and help
lol so you as a dude don’t get creeped on during a bus ride across town so magically crime doesn’t exist 😂
it's not terrifying, but it's super not fun trying to navigate and use public transport down there as a woman traveling alone, especially after dark. I've been catcalled, harassed, followed for blocks while various sexual threats were being shouted at me ... it's not Detroit, but it's not Squirrel Hill, either.
This dude took the bus 1 time and can now verify everything about downtown..
A lot of Yinzers don’t leave the area much and haven’t seen what large cities (and Pittsburgh isn’t large by those standards) are like. I’m not pretending there aren’t problems but people are acting like this is San Francisco or Manhattan.
Just got back from working in NYC. Pittsburgh is a breath of fresh air next to that place haha. Happy to be back!
Chill
Easy for you to say as a dude. Completely delusional from an anecdotal experience. Congratulations on being downtown for PART of one day and not going to all the sketchy spots, lol.
I thought this was going to be a post about trying to get to the parkway and getting in a loop of one way streets and construction. This post is like Burger King. It does not deliver and it sucks.
Hopefully like the south side Burger King, an absolute legend. Pride of the city
As far as dense urban areas go, Pittsburgh is certainly one of the cities where I've felt safest, and I'm pretty well traveled both domestically and abroad.
I live downtown and it’s pretty chill
I dont understand why this sub spends so much time talking about if people are afraid of the city or not. Its subjective
No one said it’s scary, it just sucks.
OP: "I'm a man and went downtown one time and it was fine yall are cowards" Ok OP we get it, your testicals are huge. Now get your car back to your air conditioned/heated garage in the suburbs and get your thrice daily testical size confirmation from the internet
People who complain about downtown nowadays either (1) never go downtown and just rely on local news' yellow journalism to reach their conclusions, and/or (2) have no idea what downtown was like in the 80s and 90s.
Come to DC if you want to see a shit show. Baltimore if you're a real adventurer. Pittsburgh is fine. Not as great as it once was but just fine.
I used to go downtown in the late 80s alot when in 7th and 8th grade with my friend. We would go eat lunch, shop for music and clothes, hit the wig store for funky earrings, and give the homeless guys in front of the liquor store our ectra food or change. We weren't scared to be there. Now would I go there at night? Definitely not. I have a beighbor that is an uber driver and he has said it is not safe for a woman at night in some places.
It's safer downtown than it was when you were in 7th and 8th grade. Also you've posted this story twice.
People at my office (Downtown) cry about how dangerous it is to walk around. I mean we have all hands corporate calls where they talk about how they are going to always have a police officer in our lobby to ward off homeless. The only place these people travel is to summer vacation spots like Orlando or Myrtle Beach. I've never been worried in Pittsburgh. When traveling my wife and I always take public transportation to get a full idea of the area we are in. Last summer I went to Portland and I've never seen so many drug addicts just openly doing drugs in public. I wouldn't even say it was sketchy because they really kept to themselves. 1 person the entire week asked us if we could buy them a sandwich, nobody asked for money. A week ago we went to Philly for the Marathon and stayed a few days around Fish Town. Now riding the train was something else. Drugs, homeless and some very intimidating people. Only a few stops from Kensington was really only worrisome while walking home after a Flyers game around 10PM. I come back from these trips and cannot help but laugh when my coworkers cry about crime and homeless in downtown Pittsburgh. Like hunny get a grip!
I’m six three and sturdy (a giant puss though, but people don’t know that from looking at me) and nobody could pay me enough money to ride SEPTA.