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Old 04-14-2013, 12:26 AM
 
1 posts, read 8,236 times
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I am planning to relocate out of Los Angeles. I believe I am really close to job offers in both cities (Milwaukee will probably happen first). Pittsburgh is my first choice, but Milwaukee seems like a great option as well. Here are the items that are important to me; cost of living-affordable housing, outdoor activities-really enjoy the water and 4 seasons, decent traffic (compared to L.A.) , sports, and welcoming community. I work in higher education. Would love to hear some opinions on these two cities as well as how they compare as far as weather-are winters that much worse in Milwaukee? Thanks!!
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Old 04-14-2013, 01:44 PM
 
Location: Chisago Lakes, Minnesota
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Can't speak for Milwaukee, never been there. Love Pittsburgh, though. Keep in mind the Pittsburgh metro is very hilly, and the winter driving conditions can often be a challenge. Many of the roads are winding, old, and narrow. The freeway system can be quite confusing, as well. They had to build 'em where they could around and through the hills.

That stuff aside, I find the city itself quite enchanting. Pittsburgh has reinvented itself from an old rust belt city into a bustling, modern metropolis . The downtown is an excellent mix of old and new architecture, and the myriad of bridges which span the 3 rivers are just spectacular. Tunnels going through hillsides in and out of the city add another cool dimension that you don't see a lot of in other towns. All this set in the middle of big, lush, green hills which are part of the Appalachian Mountain chain. It is a really underrated part of the country from the asthetic aspect.

If you're a sports fan, then Pittsbugh will satisfy your every need, save the NBA (which I could care less about anyway). They have 3 of the newest and best sports arenas/stadiums in pro sports, and the fan bases are knowledgable and passionate as any anywhere. The Steelers and Penguins are just about always competitive, and although the Pirates have morphed into one of baseballs most beleaguered franchises over the past 20 years, they nonetheless remain one of the oldest and proudest teams in the majors, not to mention they boast what many agree is the finest ballpark in the country. Pitt and Penn St. offer a plethera of collegiate sporting action.

One thing I'm unsure about is the COL, particularly where housing in the Pittsburgh area is concerned. We scouted the area for a good while thinking it was a place we would be interested in, but despite numerous reports about how low the housing costs were there, we did not come across much that impressed us. There were tons of VERY old homes, but not much 15 years or younger that was affordable to us (and I consider affordable to be 200K and under). Others may dispute this, but I am only relaying what we found. Depending on what you make, this may not be an issue for you anyway.

You will get 4 solid, defined seasons in Pittsburgh, with plenty of cold, snow and a lot of cloudy days in winter. That will be true for Milwaukee as well, so make sure it's something you can deal with coming from sunny LA.
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Old 04-14-2013, 06:19 PM
 
Location: Toronto
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I also can't speak for Milwaukee, but I know a fair bit about Pitt and it seems to be a really cool town. There are some really vibrant neighbourhoods in and around the downtown, a lot of formerly depopulated areas are coming back to life, and its setting at the confluence of three major rivers with the hills all around it is beautiful. If you're a dedicated urbanist, Pittsburgh has a very cool aesthetic that is somewhat similar to Phillie's - lots of rowhouses rather than apartment buildings. It's also got that gritty, tumbledown look to it that I've always liked. But it also reminds me of San Fran with its steep hilly topography and streets you would not want to ride a bike up.

There are also some really nice suburbs nestled into the hills around Pittsburgh, but it's an affordable city, so you shouldn't have a problem finding affordable housing in a central neighbourhood right in the city if you don't like the burbs.

So, yeah, Pittsburgh is great, but hopefully some Milwaukee people will chime in to give you their POV.
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Old 04-14-2013, 09:38 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
6,327 posts, read 9,093,421 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Northerner View Post

One thing I'm unsure about is the COL, particularly where housing in the Pittsburgh area is concerned. We scouted the area for a good while thinking it was a place we would be interested in, but despite numerous reports about how low the housing costs were there, we did not come across much that impressed us. There were tons of VERY old homes, but not much 15 years or younger that was affordable to us (and I consider affordable to be 200K and under). Others may dispute this, but I am only relaying what we found. Depending on what you make, this may not be an issue for you anyway.
This is true of Pittsburgh I think so as a resident as well.

With climate, both do see similar seasonal snowfall, but Pittsburgh is milder in the winter for sure but summers I don't think are too different temperature wise. One thing you didn't mention but I would give an edge to Pittsburgh is with the economy. We weathered the recession well and were deemed one of only a handful of major metros to be fully recovered from the recession, and that was declared last year. Also, unlike Milwaukee which gets serious competition with Chicago and Madison for getting businesses and residents, Pittsburgh doesn't have that issue which gives it a rather large footprint of influence for a mid sized city. With sports for example, besides SEPA/the Philly metro, virtually all of Pennsylvanian counties have more Pittsburgh fans than for other cities (even in Scranton/Wilkes-Barrie, Lancaster, etc surveys show the residents root for Pittsburgh teams more than Philly teams).
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Old 04-14-2013, 10:55 PM
 
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I lived in Milwaukee area for 20+ years. I haven't been to Pittsburgh, so I can't compare the two.

But I will try to up-sell Milwaukee

Cost of living: It depends on how well of an area you want to live in. Downtown area, decent condos go for over $350k. But the suburbs are more affordable, like Oak Creek, Franklin, Glendale, Greenfield.

Outdoor activities: There are several skiing places close by. Plus many parks and hiking trails. Milwaukee has one of the best rated park systems in the US. And you have the lakefront, with running/bike paths and a beach. Yes, the beach and water is not as good as CA.

Traffic: It depends on where you live and how far your commute is. Traffic to downtown and the Zoo interchange does get busy in the morning and evening, but for me it added on about 15 minutes to my travel time. I used to drive 30 miles to work and my travel time was about 35 minutes. But I also did start work later, around 9 AM. Traffic is nothing like Chicago or Houston, two places I have driven in during rush hour.

During the winter, when it snows 6+ inches, traffic can get very bad because people drive slow.

Also, there are plans to rebuild the Zoo Interchange so in a few years.

Sports: You have the Brewers (Baseball), Bucks (Basketball), Admirals (Ice Hockey), Wave (Soccer). Plus the Packers ! Driving to Green Bay is not far. It's just a matter of getting tickets. Tailgating for baseball and football games is lots of fun.

Community: I'm a minority and had no major issues living in Milwaukee. The people are friendly and welcoming.

Other things to consider: Nightlife .. Milwaukee has has several area in or around downtown with streets of bars.

Chicago is about 90 miles away from Milwaukee and I used to visit it a lot.

Festivals in Milwaukee... The summers are just awesome and full of fun things, like SummerFest.

Summerfest Lineup

Summerfest (also known as "The Big Gig") is a yearly music festival held at the 75-acre Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee. The festival lasts for 11 days, is made up of 11 stages with performances from over 700 bands. Summerfest attracts between 800,000 and 1,000,000 people each year

Wisconsin State Fair
Wisconsin State Fair

Ethnic Festivals
Milwaukee Summer Lakefront & Ethnic Festivals 2013 - A Listing of Summer Festivals in Milwaukee
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Old 04-15-2013, 01:06 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis (St. Louis Park)
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You certainly have a sweet scenario in front of you: two very underrated, underappreciated, up-and-coming and overlooked cities in this country to choose from! If I had to make a list of cities that would Probably exceed my expectations upon moving to and would make me secretly excited, it'd include:

-Pittsburgh
-Milwaukee
-Cleveland
-Detroit
-Cincinnati
-Columbus
-Baltimore
-Minneapolis-St. Paul
-St. Louis
-New Orleans
-Madison
-Providence
-Philadelphia


These cities all have the following in common: they all are treated/perceived like cities that are one or two notches below their actual ranks/status. They are all underrated and should be more highly regarded.
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Old 04-15-2013, 08:59 PM
 
Location: The canyon (with my pistols and knife)
14,169 posts, read 22,574,016 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sbm8226 View Post
I am planning to relocate out of Los Angeles. I believe I am really close to job offers in both cities (Milwaukee will probably happen first). Pittsburgh is my first choice, but Milwaukee seems like a great option as well. Here are the items that are important to me; cost of living-affordable housing, outdoor activities-really enjoy the water and 4 seasons, decent traffic (compared to L.A.) , sports, and welcoming community. I work in higher education. Would love to hear some opinions on these two cities as well as how they compare as far as weather-are winters that much worse in Milwaukee? Thanks!!
Cost of living - Milwaukee

It's not a huge difference, but based on what I know, groceries are more expensive in Pittsburgh, and housing is becoming a bit less affordable. There's a surplus of older housing in Pittsburgh, which keeps their prices flat, but there's a significant shortage of newer housing. They can't build $250K+ houses fast enough, which is driving up the prices in some areas. Milwaukee's real estate market took a bigger hit than Pittsburgh's, but that means there are better bargains to be found there.


Outdoor activities - Pittsburgh

It's a bit of a trade-off. Milwaukee is located on Lake Michigan, but most outdoor recreational opportunities that don't involve water are two to three hours away in northern Wisconsin. On the other hand, Pittsburgh is two hours away from Lake Erie, but it has three rivers in the city itself, and it's only an hour from the Laurel Highlands, which is an underrated area for outdoor recreation. Advantage goes to Pittsburgh for having better skiing nearby, plus whitewater rafting and access to the Great Allegheny Passage.


Sports - Pittsburgh

The Packers have the most championships in NFL history, and the Steelers have the most championships since the AFL/NFL merger. But the Packers are up in Green Bay, whereas the Steelers are right across the river from downtown Pittsburgh. The Pirates have set the North American professional sports record for most consecutive losing seasons, but the Brewers have never won the World Series; and though Miller Park is nice, PNC Park is considered one of the best ballparks in Major League Baseball. Milwaukee lacks an NHL team and Pittsburgh lacks an NBA team, but the Bucks haven't won the NBA Finals since 1971, whereas the Penguins have won the Stanley Cup in 1991, 1992 and 2009, and appear to be a prime contender for it again this year.


Traffic - Milwaukee

Milwaukee is flat, which gives it an automatic advantage over Pittsburgh. Furthermore, no Interstate in Milwaukee is as substandard as I-376 in Pittsburgh.
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Old 04-15-2013, 10:05 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis (St. Louis Park)
5,993 posts, read 10,124,065 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gnutella View Post

Traffic - Milwaukee

Milwaukee is flat, which gives it an automatic advantage over Pittsburgh. Furthermore, no Interstate in Milwaukee is as substandard as I-376 in Pittsburgh.
Flatness has nothing to do with traffic whatsoever. All Interstates in this country (or nearly all) are constructed at certain grades where traffic does not have to come to a major slowdown. That being said, I do know that Pittsburgh and PA has plenty of substandard Interstates. One other thing about Milwaukee that drastically affects its traffic is the presence of Chicago. I-94 from MIL to CHI is very congested, especially for a city the size of Milwaukee.
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Old 04-15-2013, 11:42 PM
 
3 posts, read 17,697 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus View Post
One other thing about Milwaukee that drastically affects its traffic is the presence of Chicago. I-94 from MIL to CHI is very congested, especially for a city the size of Milwaukee.
I didn't experience this... there was traffic in Kenosha area because of the I94 construction. It was down to two lanes for several months.

But other than that, traffic to Chicago was was good till 294 / 94 interchange in IL.

Also I-94 has been expanded to 4 lanes heading south from Kenosha to the border. The plan is to expand it to 4 lanes in both directions ... from the Mitchell Interchange to the border, which is 35 miles.

http://www.plan94.org/index.jsp

Last edited by Edge23; 04-15-2013 at 11:59 PM..
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Old 04-16-2013, 09:40 AM
 
Location: Minneapolis (St. Louis Park)
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I didn't realize it was expanded to 4 lanes in each direction (FOUR lanes for 70 miles is crazy, btw!). Last time I drove that route I was in college....in 2002. It was quite congsted considering I was not near downtown Milwaukee or Chicago and traffic moved along freely, albeit a bit slower than the posted limit due to congestion. I was fairly impressed with the volume of traffic going in both directions in the middle of the day though.

I-90 from Madison to Chicago is no better, and is actually probably worse because it's still 2 lanes in both direction most of the way, even though traffic volumes could easily merit 3+ lanes in each direction. As a former Minnesotan with family in Chicagoland, traveling back and forth between the cities was particularly painful between Madison and Chicago, and even as far "back" as Tomah, where I-90 meets I-94 and traffic really picks up most days, but especially summer weekends (cabin traffic)!
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