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dingurth1 t1_j96zxj5 wrote

I moved here from LA last year, and while it is definitely cheaper overall, especially in the big area of housing, there are some things that are more expensive than I thought they'd be.

  • groceries: to my surprise, groceries here are noticeably higher than when I was in LA. Not crazy, maybe like 10-15% more, but enough to make a surprise dent in my budget.
  • utilities: the rates are about the same, but the utility companies here hit you with a lot more fees, be it account or weather related, where in CA I pretty much only paid usage and tax on utilities
  • car/gas: while gas is cheaper than it is in CA, I use more despite driving about the same. So my budget for gas is actually higher than in LA. This is because of all the hills here. Maybe I just need to learn to drive better, but my miles per gallon are a lot lower compared to when I was on flatter terrain. I also had to get winter tires and I'm sure the hills are putting more strain on my car, so all that adds to more upkeep expenses.

The big wins are in housing costs and restaurants in my experience so far. I'm paying almost 2/3 of the rent I paid in LA for 3x the space. PGH has some of the best housing/rental affordability in the country despite recent price increases. With restaurants I'm similarly paying about 2/3 of what I was used to in LA. My taxes are also lower, but not as dramatically as you'd think since Pittsburgh proper has the 3% on top of state.

Not sure how that compares to Maryland but just wanted to share my impressions. I do encourage you to visit and scope things out before you move.

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dementedturnip26 t1_j974m0m wrote

Groceries are almost solely due to giant eagle being a POS

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enV2022 t1_j98difi wrote

They’re not any different than Kroger or Meijer. ALDI, which gets mentioned here a lot, isn’t that great either anymore. In fact, I’d go to the others before ALDI as it seems they are changing their ways to Dollar General style - much less quantity in something so the value per volume is shit just so they can have a lower price I.e. you aren’t actually getting something cheaper, just a smaller quantity of something for full price.

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burritoace t1_j99xtqr wrote

Half the groceries we get here probably come from California. Shipping is a huge difference here

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ChinaLouise t1_j97g9of wrote

Groceries jumped for us over the past year too. This is pretty new. It probably jumped in LA by 15% too

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dingurth1 t1_j97j3w4 wrote

I meant the very same week/month I moved my grocery bill went up, the only difference being the location. The country has experienced inflation everywhere over the year yes, but PGH groceries are still at a premium compared to LA, with the exception of maybe eggs

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Ordinary_Promise7748 OP t1_j97gayj wrote

Surprised about the groceries! although I’ve heard some pretty nasty things about Giant Eagle.. not sure what exactly’s going on lol what do you do? And thank you for all the info!

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dingurth1 t1_j97jr8j wrote

If you just go to giant eagle you'll pay more yeah. I more actively shop around at different places now. So on a grocery day I might stop at 2-3 places instead of just one. Could be a mix of GE, Aldi, Trader Joe's, and Walmart usually.

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mikeyHustle t1_j97ibwz wrote

Just a word to the wise, the Giant Eagle nearest the location you told us might actually be the worst / most sketchy one in town. You might find yourself shopping at a nicer / better stocked place and busing it back.

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Ordinary_Promise7748 OP t1_j97jjy3 wrote

😩😩 what about Kuhn’s?

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Generic_Mustard t1_j97pprq wrote

Kuhn's is a no frills 1990 shopping experience, it's limited in selection but fine.

In East Allegheny you will have the North Side Farmer's Market from May - October, which is great.

At least one of the vendors there (Blackberry Meadows Farms) runs a reasonably priced CSA that you can pick up weekly at the market.

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max_m0use t1_j97t1tx wrote

> Kuhn's is a no frills 1990 shopping experience

1990? The one in Bellevue always plays music from the 50s and 60s. Not sure if they're all like that.

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B0bb3r7 t1_j98ge8a wrote

What time do you go?? I've always thought that Kuhn's music is pretty good lol. I've heard them play a wide variety with lots of semi-current songs.

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max_m0use t1_j98yg1r wrote

I'm usually there Saturday afternoons. I don't go there very often, so it might have changed since the last time I was there. It doesn't help that most of the customers in there at that time are over 70, so they're probably just playing to their target audience.

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B0bb3r7 t1_j99c0cx wrote

Oh, yeah, early in the day can get a little rough haha.

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