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I have applied to graduate schools in Seattle, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh a couple of months ago. Now I am starting to receive letters of admission, and will need to make a decision on where to move fast All of these are very nice cities I can see ourselves living in, and the programs that I have applied to are all similar. I am an indecisive person, so this makes it.. ugh.. very difficult.
Me, my boyfriend and our terrier mix currently live in Orlando (family reasons, and we absolutely hate it here). I will be quitting my current job and going to school full time, he will need to find a new job, most likely in customer service (he is currently a manager in an amusement park).
Which city do you think will work best for us? We are considering cost of living, jobs, weather, public transportation and just a general "feel" of the city. We are fairly liberal, interracial (Puerto Rican and Russian), love the outdoors and big-city amenities.
I am leaning towards Seattle or Minneapolis (Pittsburgh is still on the map, although it seems to be less diverse and more blue collar).
Of the three, Seattle strikes me as the best fit. Pittsburgh isn't more blue collar. I'd characterize Pittsburgh as a big college town. It's a wonderful place to be a graduate student. But hard to beat Seattle's mix of "outdoors and big-city amenities."
You have three great choices. If you are looking for a big city experience, then Seattle is the pick.
Pittsburgh is making strides in remaking itself. It might be exciting to notice that, but only if you lived there long term. As a student you won't get to notice it as much as your head is down in the books.
Seattle is a big city, and so is Minneapolis. Both are highly educated cities. Both offer great opportunities for employment, Seattle especially in high tech industries.
I guess it boils down to what region of the US do you want to live in after you graduate? What field are you going to study in and work in ?
If it's obvious like Aerospace, duh Seattle. But if its something more generic, say business administration, then any of them are great. You'll have to feed us a bone here to really give an informed decision. Or if you want to work on the East coast, depending on the college, it may be more recognized. Same for west coast & Seattle and great plains / mountain for Minneapolis.
I am not intimately familiar with any of these cities, so take my comments for what they are.
All three are nice cities with plenty to offer, but I personally would knock out MPLS strictly based on the weather unless you have a really high tolerance for severe cold. I have heard their winters are rough.
Of the other two, I think Seattle is a better city. However, Pittsburgh has a better location in the heart of the country, more historic neighborhoods, and enough culture and urban amenities to keep you reasonably content. So it really depends on your priorities.
Which city do you think will work best for us? We are considering cost of living, jobs, weather, public transportation and just a general "feel" of the city. We are fairly liberal, interracial (Puerto Rican and Russian), love the outdoors and big-city amenities.
I am leaning towards Seattle or Minneapolis (Pittsburgh is still on the map, although it seems to be less diverse and more blue collar).
Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
I don't know why to you Pittsburgh seem less diverse... All 3 are pretty white towns. From the Race stats provided by City-data.com: Pittsburgh is 65% White only; Seattle is 69% White only; Minneapolis is 63% white only.
COL: Pittsburgh Jobs: Seattle Weather: PERSONAL PREFERENCE... they all have their good/bad points-- which are you willing to take. (Even though I'm from Seattle, I'd choose Minnesota just for the sun factor alone. Do you need a lot of sun? Seattle and Pittsburgh are pretty cloudy.) Public Transportation: I'm inclined to say Seattle, but I know Minneapolis isn't too bad. Pittsburgh, I have no idea. "Feel": They're all so different, so again it goes to personal preference. Like history, old style architecture? Definitely Pittsburgh. Love to bicycle but hate hills? Definitely Minneapolis. Big vibrant City? Definitely Seattle
Everybody is a blue collar steelworker in Pittsburgh with only a Junior High School education.
As a matter of fact Pittsburgh has the lowest unemployment rate of the the 3 cities listed and the highest Job Growth...and is one of the top cities of population with atleast a 4-year degree educational attainment amongst its young (25-34yr old).
So much for your mythical "Only a Junior High School Education" stereotype of the Burgh.
Quote:
Pittsburgh is the only MSA with 1,000,000+ population to achieve the maximum categorical increase in its location quotient of college degrees. This dovetails very nicely with its growth in real per capita income over the last decade. This trend doesn't appear to be a fluke like the increase in population during the early 1990's was. The trend has sustained itself for over a decade now, and should continue to sustain itself thanks to demographic phasing. As older, less-educated generations move on, the younger generations that replace them will be much more educated, and the Pittsburgh MSA will graduate into a leader in educational attainment, as opposed to being merely mid-pack among all MSAs with 1,000,000+ population.
Pittsburgh is the pace setter in this benchmark cohort. The region had a relatively shallow recession. Conventional wisdom predicted a sluggish recovery that would lag behind the rest of the country. That's the historical precedent. Instead, Pittsburgh is accelerating.
It offers pretty much the same comparable "Big City" Amenities as the other 2... Pittsburgh offers just a much or close to outdoor-life style as Seattle and probably more than Minneapolis, thing is Pittsburgh isn't as known and its community isn't as defined as Seattle is for Outdoor Life.
All 3 are tops in the "Most Literate" category. So I guess that also flies in the face of your "Junior High School Education" knock.
Pittsburgh has a lower COL, but personal income levels that rival both cities.
All 3 cities are pretty comparable with each other, except for the regions that they're in...It comes down to do you want Pacific Northwest, Midwest, or Northeast.
It amazes me at the level of ignorance people have for the present day Pittsburgh, and think of the city to this day of its 1950's smokey day blue collard past.
Last edited by Blackbeauty212; 01-28-2012 at 05:28 PM..
The link does acknowledge Minneapolis-St. Paul's low unemployment rate. But also states that the Seattle area reports a largest increases in employment. There are more job opportunities to be had in Seattle. (I wasn't saying Minneapolis and Pittsburgh economies were lousy in comparison. I know they're very stable.)
Just because a place has low unemployment rate does not necessarily mean it has more job opportunities.
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All of these are very nice cities I can see ourselves living in, and the programs that I have applied to are all similar. I am an indecisive person, so this makes it.. ugh.. 
very difficult. 
