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My employer has branch openings in Cleveland and Pittsburgh right now. I have decided to move from a southern state, to accept one of these positions. I grew up in the snow belt ; cold doesn't bother me. Can I get your impressions as to: overall friendliness, acceptance of newcomers, safety, traffic issues,shopping, and conservative vs.liberal attitudes, comparing Cleveland and Pittsburgh? Also, I hope to buy an old home... a fixer upper My initial research shows that Cleveland would be a good market for this, while I found fewer properties in Pittsburgh... thoughts? Thank you for the dialogue.
Sounds to me like either would be fine. Pittsburgh a little further ahead in its turnaround. So that could be good for moving now, but maybe Cleveland would be better for getting in on lower prices. Depends on your time preferences.
In terms of old housing stock and buying something to restore, Cleveland wins hands down.
Cleveland has the strong influence of Midwestern residential architecture (deep eaves, big windows, deep porches, complex woodwork) whereas Pittsburgh's vernacular is notably more Northeastern and a bit plainer. Don't get me wrong, Pittsburgh has some impressive houses, but the more architecturally interesting neighborhoods are going to be considerably more expensive. Pittsburgh's urban core neighborhoods are dominated by rowhouses while Cleveland has far more single-family houses and duplexes with yards. Depending on your price range, it's also still possible to snag something in lakeshore-adjacent neighborhoods for a decent price which is something Pittsburgh will never offer, though the hills there are also scenic.
With the world class Cleveland Museum of Art and Cleveland Orchestra (Severance Hall, Blossom Music Center), and PlayhouseSquare, I believe Cleveland has a decided advantage in high culture over Pittsburgh.
With Lake Erie (with a large boating culture and surf beaches), acclaimed metro (county) park systems in all of Cleveland MSA counties, Holden Arboretum, Cuyahoga Valley National Park and a couple state parks, my belief is that Cleveland has a notable advantage in natural areas. Check out Cleveland Metroparks, Lake Metroparks, etc.
Transportation is much easier in Cleveland due to the absence of mountains. Cleveland also has a better mass transit system IMO, though the one in Pittsburgh isn't bad.
Nothing beats spending several days in each city.
Definitely check out state and local tax methods and rates. In the last eight years, Ohio's Republicans have made the tax system much more regressive while also slashing local government and school funding, especially in real, inflation-adjusted dollars. To compensate, local municipal income tax, real estate tax, and even sales taxes have been raised.
Here are a couple threads that may help you in your research.
Kind of silly to post this in a Cleveland forum isn't it? Not like anyone will be biased or anything...
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