Living Here

Being located in Zones 6 to 7a, Pittsburgh has an interesting climate. 

The warm, often humid climate in the summer presents great growing conditions for numerous plants, but the cold winters with periodic deep freezes can be quite challenging for non-cold hardy plants to make it through.

So, while you may be used to growing common fruits like apples, berries, peaches, and more, there are actually a ton of fruits that could grow in Pittsburgh that you may not know about.

In this one, we thought we'd share some of the more unique fruits we've found that can thrive in our climate, plus give some tips we've found from our own trees for special considerations to keep in mind (when applicable).

Notes: We presently are growing (or plan on growing) most all of the fruits listed in this article. However, all of our plants are still young and not quite producing just yet. As such, first-hand maintenance information may be limited until our plants grow more. Likewise, only specific varieties of any given species may grow in our area (e.g. brown turkey figs and not mission figs). This will be a recurring theme, but always check growing zone ratings before purchasing any plants- especially if you want to plant them outside permanently.

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When it comes to flying out of Pittsburgh International Airport, we are no strangers to having to make a connection (or two) to get to our final destination. The options for direct flights from Pittsburgh are few and far between, and more often than not we have to fly to a carrier's main hub nearby to get to our final destination.

But the availability of interesting non-stop flights has been improving with each passing year, and Pittsburgh is now home to several routes you may not be aware exist!

So in this one, we thought we'd leave the Newark, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver hubs alone for a little bit and look at some of the more interesting flights you may be able to find direct from Pittsburgh!

Note: Airline routes change regularly. This includes the listed carrier, frequency, and availability to travel to the destination outright. Although we strive to keep this article as up-to-date as possible, note that availabilities may change. If you spot any errors, please contact us. Conversely, this list doubles as a summary of some direct flights to Pittsburgh just as much as they are away- so if you live in one of these cities and want to check out Pittsburgh, look up the flight!

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When we started renovating our kitchen, we knew we wanted to support as many Pittsburgh businesses as we could over more conventional big box retailors.

Although many of the products we installed in our kitchen were, of course, not locally made, this one purchasing decision at least allowed us to help keep some of what ended up being a rather expensive remodel local.

So in this one, we thought we'd share who we used, what we thought, and more to help others who are looking to renovate a kitchen in Pittsburgh like we did!

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Over the past several years exploring Pittsburgh, we have started to get a good understanding of some of the best things the city and metro area has to offer. But on the flip side, we have also seen many of the area's issues, and are more than happy to admit there are several aspects in which the city is lacking (cough, metro system, cough cough).

As such, we thought it'd be fun to put together a list of some of the ideas we wish the city would have. 

But for this list, we wanted to keep things a bit light-hearted and fun as opposed to tackling some of the very real and serious problems our city faces. So many of the ideas below are pie-in-the-sky, likely never going to happen ideas, and none of them include a zipline from Mount Washington to the North Shore!

To put it bluntly, we did not let things like practicality, cost, or feasibility stop us in many of the below, and this list should mostly be considered what we would do if we had (a few) billion dollars, no concern for ROI, and free reign to make it all happen.

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We will be the first to admit that driving in Pittsburgh is not the best. While our rush hours are nothing compared to other major cities in the country, there is something about Pittsburgh that makes driving here more difficult than it should be.

It would be easy for us for simply blame this on the tunnels, bridges (446 at last count), and potholes and be done with it. This is certainly a factor, of course, but our working theory goes just a bit beyond that as well.

So, why do we think driving here is not the best? We have two styles of drivers, and they are conflicting when on the road together.

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Are you looking to travel from Pittsburgh to New York? Well, you're in luck- there are actually a number of options available beyond just flying.

Whether you're looking to take Trailways, Amtrak, drive, or even fly, there are a number of travel options for you!

As we've taken more or less every transportation option in our travels from Pittsburgh to NYC, we wanted to break down the options in detail in this one.

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Looking at Pittsburgh real estate is fun, isn't it?

Okay, we know it isn't. In fact, buying a house in Pittsburgh can be downright awful in terms of finding a location, price, and condition that matches your budget- all while being able to negotiate a deal in the hot marketplace.

In this one we wanted to share some of our thoughts after our house buying experience in hopes that it may help others moving looking to do the same!

Note: Our experiences noted below are based on us buying a house within Pittsburgh's city limits only. Those who live in a different city and/or different county may have different rules and rates to keep in mind. For specific questions, please speak to licensed Pittsburgh real estate agent.

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Pittsburgh and the northeastern United States started 2018 off with a bang, experiencing near record low temperatures followed by a rare bomb cyclone.

With temperatures between zero and ten degrees (before wind chill!) for many days in a row, Pittsburgh's iconic three rivers started to freeze over.

We took several trips out into the tundra known as Pittsburgh when this happened to capture some shots of the frozen wonderland. These 19 photos are some of our favorites.

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