New to Pittsburgh?

A Newcomer's Guide to Pittsburgh

Living

Get a Job

• Job & Career Education Center
  Come in to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's job center for help with finding a job.
• CareerLink Pittsburgh
  http://www.careerlinkpittsburgh.com/
  CareerLink is a one-stop shop that connects employers and job seekers. CareerLink offers help online and at multiple sites in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
• Additional Pittsburgh Employment Resources...

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Getting Around

• Maps
  A collection of maps of Pittsburgh from various sources.
• Port Authority of Allegheny County
  http://www.portauthority.org/
  The Port Authority serves the City of Pittsburgh and all of Allegheny County with a network of buses and light rail. They also provide ACCESS service for senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
• Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
  http://www.flypittsburgh.com/
  The official site of the Pittsburgh Airport Authority. Allows you to search for arrivals from and departures to an extensive list of cities for today. Provides information about getting to and from the airport.
• Traffic.com: Pittsburgh
  http://www.traffic.com/Pittsburgh/
  Check out the traffic conditions on the major highways in Pittsburgh.

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Where to Live

• Allegheny County Municipalities
  http://www.alleghenycounty.us/munimap/
  Don't know where a town is? Check here for a map and information on each of the 130 municipalities that make up Allegheny County.
• City of Pittsburgh: Neighborhoods
  http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/portal/neighborhoods.html
  The City provides a map of and information about each neighborhood with links to related organizations.
• PGHLIVING
  http://www.pghliving.com/
  If you are thinking of living in Downtown Pittsburgh (in and around the Golden Triangle), PGHLIVING will help convince you.
• PopCity
  http://www.popcitymedia.com/
  An excellenent site to learn about the city neighborhoods of Downtown, East Liberty, Friendship & Penn Avenue Arts District, Lawrenceville, North Side, Oakland, Shadyside, South Side, Squirrel Hill, and The Strip District. Great articles!
• Additional Neighborhood Resources...

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Rent an Apartment

• Allegheny County Housing Authority
  http://www.achsng.com/
  ACHA is the public housing authority for Allegheny County and provides information on Low-Income Public Housing Application Procedure.
• Apartment Finder
  http://www.apartmentfinder.com/
  This is the online version of the monthly free print publication distributed in multiple cities. You can search by all cities around Pittsburgh or by a specific municipality.
• Apartment Rental Guide: Pittsburgh
  http://www.rentalguidepittsburgh.com/
  This is the web version of the free monthly print publication by Homes & Land Affiliates. You can search by region (central, north, south, east, west) or do a combined search.
• Housing Authority of Pittsburgh
  http://www.hacp.org/
  HACP provides information on public housing. HACP's housing is available to individuals and families, including special provisions for senior and persons with disabilities. HACP manages several thousand housing units in community settings, high rises and scattered sites around the City.
• PGHLIVING
  http://www.pghliving.com/
  Do you want to live downtown? Check out this Downtown Living Initiative website where you can do a search for rental properties Downtown, on the North or South Shore, in the Strip, on in Uptown/Lower Hill.
• Pittsburgh's Apartment Source
  http://www.apartment-source.com/
  Search by area of the city (north, south, east, west, central). This is the web version of the free print publication "Pittsburgh's Apartment Source" from the Fairfax Publishing Company, Inc. The Pittsburgh, PA Apartment Source provides a comprehensive list of over 100 apartment communities in the Pittsburgh, PA area.
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Homes for Rent
  http://classified.post-gazette.com/realestate/rentals.asp
  Check here for current classified listings in the local newspaper.
• Additional Rental Resources...

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Buy a House

• Allegheny County Real Estate Assessments
  http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/
  By inputting an address of a house, you can see what the price paid for it by the current owner was, the current market value of the house and property, and the size of the lot. It might help to know about the Pittsburgh Wards.

• Howard Hanna
  http://www.howardhanna.com/
  Serving Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. For listings in Pittsburgh, click on Western Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, then search in North, South, East and West by neighborhood. For instance, Squirrel Hill and Shadyside are in the East. You can set up a search profile and have them email you new listings. Includes listings from other real estate agencies (cross-listed).
• Pittsburghmoves.com
  http://www.pittsburghmoves.com/
  Coldwell Banker Pittsburgh has 15 offices and over 900 sales associates in Pittsburgh. You can set up a search profile and have them email you new listings. Includes listings from other real estate agencies (cross-listed)
• Additional Real Estate Resources...

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Services

Check out the Schools

• Pittsburgh Public Schools (Board of Education)
  http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/
  The Pittsburgh School District is the largest in Allegheny County, with 86 public schools serving approximately 31,148 pupils throughout Pittsburgh and Mt. Oliver.
• Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3 (AIU)
  http://www.aiu3.net/
  All 42 school districts in Allegheny County except for Pittsburgh belong to the AIU. Included are links to the websites of each school district. It also has a list of private schools and the Diocese of Pittsburgh elementary schools served by the AIU.
• Diocese of Pittsburgh
  http://www.diopitt.org/
  Provides information on education. Look for elementary schools under the parishes.
• Pennsylvania School Profiles
  http://www.paprofiles.org/
  View the report card for any school district in Pennsylvania.

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Find a Library

• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Locations
  Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh's public library. Use this map to find the branch closest to you.
  • Get a Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Library Card
    If you are a resident of Allegheny County, you are eligible for a library card, good at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, its branches and most district libraries in Allegheny County.
• eiNetwork Member Libraries in Allegheny County
  Look here for a library in your community if you live outside of Pittsburgh but within Allegheny County. These libraries also provide free Internet access on their library computers and in some cases free wireless access.

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Find a Place to Worship

• Pittsburgh Magazine: City Guide: Worship
  A list of local and national contact numbers/websites for a variety of religious denominations.
• Additional Religion Resources...

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Food & Restaurants

• Find a Grocery Store
  Here you'll find links to area supermarkets and specialty stores.
• Farms & Farmers Markets
  You can find these from May through November in the Pittsburgh area. Also included are links to farm stores which are often open year round.
• Restaurants
  Included here are links to guides to Pittsburgh area restaurants, including reviews, as well as links to restaurants.

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Shopping

• Pittsburgh Magazine City Guide
  http://www.wqed.org/mag/cityguide/
  Each July, Pittsburgh Magazine publishes a "City Guide" issue with information on shopping areas, as well as a Dining Guide.
• PopCity
  PopCity has shopping and dining information by city neighborhood.
• Additional Shopping Information...

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Social Services

• Allegheny County Health Department
  http://www.achd.net/
  Location information for their health clinics as well as general health news and alerts.
• HumanServices.net
  http://www.humanservices.net/
  
• United Way
  http://www.unitedwaypittsburgh.org/
  Their HelpConnections database features the most extensive directory of health and human service programs in the region.

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Government

• Allegheny County
  http://www.alleghenycounty.us/
  Pittsburgh is in Allegheny County.
• City of Pittsburgh
  Official city government website containing information on city services as well as descriptions and maps of the neighborhoods.
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
  http://www.state.pa.us/
  Includes a link to a list of state agencies.
• Additional Government Resources...

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How and Where do I Vote?

• Allegheny County Department of Elections
  http://www.alleghenycounty.us/elect/
  Includes a Polling Place Locator that provides a quick and easy method of determining where the polling place for any particular address within Allegheny County is located.
  • How and Where to Register to Vote
• Pennsylvania Department of State: Voting (VotesPA.com)
  http://www.dos.state.pa.us/voting/
  This website from the Pennsylvania Department of State includes tips for first time Voters, Voter Registration Application, and Pennsylvania Voter Guide.
• Additional Voter Information...

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Paying Taxes

Cities and municipalities have local earned income taxes that you will have to pay along with the state and federal income taxes.

• Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
  Find information and forms for both individual and business taxes. Also online filing of tax returns.
• City of Pittsburgh Department of Finance
  Includes income and property tax forms and information for residents and businesses that lie within the city limits.
  • Individual and Business Tax Forms
• Allegheny County Municipalities
  To find out information about taxes in your municipality, you can obtain contact information from this Allegheny County website, which includes links to municipal websites if they exist. Larger municipalities might have their tax forms online.
• NewPA.com: Local Tax Information
  The Department of Community and Economic Development of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provides information on municipalities throughout the state.
  • Municipal Statistics Tax Reports
• Additional Tax Information...

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Motor Vehicle Information

• Pennsylvania Driver & Vehicle Services
  http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/
  
  • Driver License Information for New Residents
    Information on how to apply for noncommercial and commercial driver's licenses in Pennsylvania.
  • Motor Vehicle Information for New Residents
    How To Title and Register Your Out-of-State Vehicle in Pennsylvania
• City of Pittsburgh Parking Authority
  If you live in a Pittsburgh neighborhood with restricted parking, here is where you get a Residential Parking Permit. You can also buy a "Park Card" to use in Pittsburgh parking meters or pay a parking ticket online.

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Buying Liquor

• Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board
  http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/
  In Pennsylvania you cannot buy beer, wine, or liquor in a supermarket. For wine and hard liquor you must go to a "Pennsylvania Wine and Spirits" store. Or you can buy them online at http://www.pawineandspirits.com/ and then pick them up at your local Pennsylvania Wine and Spirits store.
  • Allegheny County Store Locations
• A Guide to Buying Spirits in Pittsburgh
  This article in PopCity tells you what you need to know about buying beer (you have to go to a distributor or a bar) and spirits in Pennsylvania.
• Additional information on Beer and Wine...

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Information

Stay Informed

There are a lot of tools these days for finding out and keeping abreast of what is going on in the Pittsburgh area. These are just a few of your options.

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  http://www.post-gazette.com/
  Check out the Local News section in our daily newspaper. You can also subscribe to a daily Headlines by Email service or check their Events Calendar for things to do.
• Pittsburgh Tribune Review
  http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/
  A Greater Pittsburgh daily newspaper; includes links to regional newspapers.
• Pittsburgh City Paper
  http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/
  A free local alternative entertainment newsweekly
• Pittsburgh Magazine
  You'll want to pick up a print issue of this monthly magazine (or subscribe to WQED) since only only a few of its articles are online. Fortunately their annual City Guide is available online.
• Additional Pittsburgh News Sources...

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What's Happening

• GO Guide
  http://goguide.3rc.org/
  Check the GO (Great Outdoors) Guide for recreational activities and organizations in the Pittsburgh region.
• Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
  http://www.pgharts.org/
  The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust website will give you the latest information on what cultural events are happening downtown.
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Events Calendar
  http://www.post-gazette.com/events/
  See what's happening today and in the future at this comprehensive community calendar.
• PopCity
  Features links to news stories about Pittsburgh.
• Addtional Pittsburgh Events Calendars...

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Just Visiting?

• Explore Pittsburgh
  http://www.post-gazette.com/explorepittsburgh/
  This is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's guide to Pittsburgh for visitors, new residents, and natives. It includes: attractions, an interactive map, family activities, nightlife, dining, and Pittsburgh facts.
• Imagine Pittsburgh
  http://www.imaginepittsburgh.com/
  Imagine what you can do here! One of the safest cities and a top adventure town.
• VisitPittsburgh.com
  http://www.visitpittsburgh.com/
  At this website from the Greater Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau one can book hotels, theaters, and restaurants.
• Additional Pittsburgh Visitor Resources...