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It’s almost like this question was custom made for me as I’ve lived in both Portland and Pittsburgh.
The short answer here is Portland is a full step above Pittsburgh despite being close in metro size.
In a lot of the categories they’re comparable, but if you’re mostly concerned with a lower cost of living, snow, sports, a whole lot fewer homeless, and more “real” people then Pittsburgh is going to be your pick.
Both downtown areas are fairly even matched with Portland’s being slightly bigger, but where they differ are:
A lot of Portland’s neighborhoods flow better into the downtown area. Pittsburgh is good in this aspect as well with some of its areas. Others are cut off by geography so your day-to-day living limits you to a handful of areas usually.
Foot traffic is heavy in Pittsburgh during the day and on game day during the week becoming patchy and more limited to its neighborhoods after office hours. In Portland this is more evenly distributed throughout the week and at most times of the day/evening.
Pittsburgh’s shopping tends to seem more limited because there’s a redundancy of businesses in the core, where in Portland you have more variety.
Neighborhoods:
Neighborhoods are pretty evenly matched with Pittsburgh having better, but more one-dimensional nightlife (i.e. college focused, lack of nightclubs, etc.)
Dining options are better in Portland.
Cultural amenities as far as high art are better in Pittsburgh (the museums mostly), but in your day-to-day life I doubt your average person is going to want to/afford to visit often enough to make a big difference.
Landscape:
Both are fairly even on landscape from the city standpoint. Portland does a better job of weaving nature in with its urban areas. Not to mention if you look at from the metro and/or within a 3 hour drive Portland offers a good deal more. Sure you can reach more cities from Pittsburgh, but a lot of those are either not as good or basically copies in a different region (i.e. Cleveland is the Midwest’s Pittsburgh).
Weather:
Weather, IMO, is much better (or at least milder) in Portland. I’d include the lack of bugs in Portland as part of this in an odd way as you can enjoy nature more without them pestering you. Although many people can’t handle the darkness that comes with living in the PacNW so that could be a deal breaker.
Economy:
Tied. Neither one is particularly great unless you are in the industry that each city excels in and/or have connections. Portland is so over saturated with people who have degrees even getting survival type jobs can be a pain in the butt. Pittsburgh changes so slowly that you’re talking decades between meaningful changes (so you’d better like what’s going on now) and it isn’t big enough to make great jobs easy to come by.
Future Outlook:
Not sure. I expect Pittsburgh to get more expensive and Portland to get a lot more expensive, but that’s probably not what you had in mind though.
Higher Education:
Pittsburgh generally, but Portland is better at all levels as it is one of the few areas where community college isn’t a joke.
Calling Pittsburgh the “Portland of the East” is pretty misleading beyond the similar layout of hills, greenery, rivers, and bridges.
The ideology between the two cities is very different.
Portland caters to hipsters and geeks. Pittsburgh generally shuns hipsters pushing them into a few neighborhoods and considers something like the furry convention in town as really weird and noteworthy.
Portland is PC, passive aggressive, & “soft”. Pittsburgh is loyal, blunt, and standoffish (but friendly once you’ve broken into social circles or are just asking for directions). A “good” friend in the PacNW sense of the term friends would be called activity partners and/or an acquaintance in Pittsburgh.
In general the west coast seems open to ideas whereas Pittsburgh still retains a lot of the east coast’s pecking order with ideas needing to be “economically viable” before they’re realistically considered. In Portland you could in theory strike up a conversation with the mayor, but in Pittsburgh “going above your pay grade” can have a range of negative implications like you’re trying for your boss’ job or possibly lead to you getting snubbed by a higher up as being not on their level.
It even trickles down into things like dating. In Portland it’s not a big deal what your preferences or orientation is, but in Pittsburgh expect to get pressure or at the very least questions anytime you go outside of the norm. Pittsburgh is also fairly segregated.
Traditional sports are a big deal (sometimes too much so) in Pittsburgh while nontraditional and kid-like stuff has more of a following in Portland like Soccer and adult kickball.
When you get right down to it I’d say Portland is the better city, but Pittsburgh has better people taken as a whole. But then again I like to know where I stand with people. Plus the negatives of Portland tend to be mere annoyances whereas Pittsburgh’s problems are real problems impacting people’s lives.
One of the reasons I’m going to be scouting out Tacoma is I’ve been told it combines the PacNW sensibilities with more of the Pittsburgh people’s the down-to-earth, no-nonsense thing, which if that’s the case would make it a better place for me than either Pittsburgh or Portland alone. Sure it is lacking in overall amenities by comparison, but Seattle is a short train ride away.
Although, if you’re the typical Seattleite who looks down on someplace like Tacoma and its gritty, blue-collar, creative mix then I’d imagine you’d hate Pittsburgh (as that’s what about 75% of it is all about minus the diversity/people from all walks living peacefully together).
I think what the article was getting at by calling Pittsburgh the “Portland of the East” was the city has a lot of things people in Portland value at a cheaper price tag ON PAPER. However, once you take into account the people, politics, and all the other things that make Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, the comparison falls apart.
You did an excellent job of describing the subtle differences b/twn the two cities.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of nearby outdoors experience does Pittsburgh offer in comparison to Portland? Pittsburgh seems firmly nestled in the Appalachians and with three river valleys emanating out of it and a pretty thoroughly four seasons climate so I assume there's a decent variety?
Portland probably has more outdoor recreational opportunities nearby than Pittsburgh does, but Pittsburgh is also very underrated in this regard.
Pittsburgh has an extensive system of city parks, and the rivers (especially the Allegheny River) are increasingly used for rowing, kayaking, powerboating, and even yachting. Fireworks shows, Pirates games and concerts at Heinz Field get a lot of boats out on the rivers, as do Steelers games in the first half of the NFL season before the weather gets cold. There's also the Three Rivers Regatta, which is the first Formula 1 powerboat race in the United States. A long-term plan to redevelop the riverfronts in the city has been underway for a long time now, and still continues.
Outside the city, the big recreational opportunities are in the Laurel Highlands to the southeast of the city. That's where you can go skiing, hiking, biking, camping and whitewater rafting. The options probably aren't as spectacular as those in the Cascade Mountains, but they're good enough to develop a tourism economy nonetheless. There's also the Great Allegheny Passage, which is a hiking/biking trail from downtown Pittsburgh to downtown Washington DC.
Just chiming in to say that Pittsburgh is much more survivable without a car.
I haven't been to Portland in around a decade, but the last time I went there was an awkward, decentralized bus system that is fine for day trips but would be a potential nightmare if you need to commute.
love Pittsburgh as someone from PA. There are many similarities between two cities indeed.
Several differences come to my mind though:
Pittsburgh has better R&D and educational/medical institutions. Also better museums and other cultural/sports facilities/events.
Economy wise, I think the two cities have different focuses, and I don't know enough to say which is better.
Portland feels more cosmopolitan -- it has a better food scene, especially Asian cuisine (in particular, really great Japanese food). Retail is also more interesting and diverse in Portland. Also, Portland airport has direct intercontinental flights (e.g., to Japan).
love Pittsburgh as someone from PA. There are many similarities between two cities indeed.
Several differences come to my mind though:
Pittsburgh has better R&D and educational/medical institutions. Also better museums and other cultural/sports facilities/events.
Economy wise, I think the two cities have different focuses, and I don't know enough to say which is better.
Portland feels more cosmopolitan -- it has a better food scene, especially Asian cuisine (in particular, really great Japanese food). Retail is also more interesting and diverse in Portland. Also, Portland airport has direct intercontinental flights (e.g., to Japan).
Portland and NW Oregon are where you go if you want a Northeast Asian climate in the U.S.
Never got the appeal of Portland. Hipster central.
Modernist building design (Portland is for people who love glass panes), temperate rainforest and snow-capped peaks not too far away, and it rains more often than it snows. Also very easy to find decent bookstores, indie art galleries, and show venues in the middle of town, all of which do exist in Pittsburgh but a little more spread out and in some cases (depending on your location) out of the way.
Portland's architecture is for making you feel like you are dreaming the future. Pittsburgh's architecture is for making you feel like you are being judged for your sins by a higher power, which has an appeal of its own.
Culturally, woke PC attitudes are Portland's civic religion (Portlandia absolutely got this part right), and while this is also true in parts of Pittsburgh, it's nowhere near as pronounced or in-your-face.
Last edited by EliEverIsAHero; 03-01-2021 at 06:02 PM..
I prefer Portland's massive quantity of different types of bars and pubs (and even some clubs). Both cities have a very strong drinking culture, but I like that in Portland's bars you can play slot machines and watch naked strippers while sipping on an amazing local microbrew.
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