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Pittsburgh feels larger and more vibrant. It also has better nightlife and better/more sports. Not to mention the outdoor activities the three rivers and surrounding hills/mountains provide. Pittsburgh wins this one and I'm very surprised to see Cincinnati winning the poll.
I am too; shocked, really.
The 2 cities certainly have some things in common -- both are 18th century cities (founded) with lots of hills, old architecture and tight, interesting downtowns with lots of narrow streets. But while Cincinnati had some things going for it, Pittsburgh punches in a higher weight class. It's more cultural, dynamic, progressive and diverse while Cincy seems more southern, conservative and parochial. Pittsburgh certainly has stronger mass transit with substantial LRT and the express, rapid transit like busways (and then throw in the 2 super interesting 19th century funiculars (inclines), which are as much transit options for residents at the top as they are tourist attractions. Sorry Cincy's new little circular Bell streetcar in downtown and adjacent OTR just doesn't cut it.
And while Cincy has some very interesting neighborhoods like OTR, Pittsburgh's neighborhoods like Oakland, Shadyside, East Liberty, Squirrel Hill, among others seem stronger and more vibrant... And certainly Pittsburgh's university 1-2 punch with CMU and Pitt (both top-100 world universities) pulverizes UC, which isn't even a top 200 world U.
The 2 cities certainly have some things in common -- both are 18th century cities (founded) with lots of hills, old architecture and tight, interesting downtowns with lots of narrow streets. But while Cincinnati had some things going for it, Pittsburgh punches in a higher weight class. It's more cultural, dynamic, progressive and diverse while Cincy seems more southern, conservative and parochial. Pittsburgh certainly has stronger mass transit with substantial LRT and the express, rapid transit like busways (and then throw in the 2 super interesting 19th century funiculars (inclines), which are as much transit options for residents at the top as they are tourist attractions. Sorry Cincy's new little circular Bell streetcar in downtown and adjacent OTR just doesn't cut it.
And while Cincy has some very interesting neighborhoods like OTR, Pittsburgh's neighborhoods like Oakland, Shadyside, East Liberty, Squirrel Hill, among others seem stronger and more vibrant... And certainly Pittsburgh's university 1-2 punch with CMU and Pitt (both top-100 world universities) pulverizes UC, which isn't even a top 200 world U.
Cincy is a nice city, but I, too, prefer Pittsburgh. That's why I moved there.
Interesting fact about the funiculars: one of them is (by far) the oldest in continuous operation in the US. https://nullspace2.blogspot.com/
Well from Cincy you have weekend trips to the same size landlocked cities (Columbus and Indy). Cincy might be cleaner but I don;t thnk more vibrant. Doesn't really offer more. From Pittsburgh you have DC and Baltimore 3.5 hrs away, and Philly and the ocean beaches within easier reach. and of course NYC closer if you prefer that. Also Pgh is pretty close to nice real mountain terrrain, whitewater rafting, skiing, etc that Cincy does not offer.
Lake Erie is 3 hours from Cincinnati. Many lakes in Kentucky/Tennessee in the opposite direction.
Outside of it's river valley setting, Cincy really does not seem that any different than all the other mid sized, mid western, middle American cities.
Pitt is very unique. Not quite Eastern, but not really midwest. Old, but not colonial old.
Cincinnati is actually the US’s oldest boomtown in its interior, so its city layout and architecture is similar to the rowhouse neighborhoods of the older eastern seaboard cities a lot of which remained intact rather than destroyed via freeways and urban renewal.
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