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I know this comparison has been done a few times before, but I feel they are outdated and a lot has changed in recent years regarding QOL, affordability, etc...
Both cities are generally seen as mid-tier, four-season cities with beautiful natural settings. Please compare them based on the following criteria:
Setting / Climate
Natural Setting (arid vs humid vegetation, hills/mountains, etc)
Climate (pros/cons of each season, min/max temps, variability, sunshine)
Future setting/climate Desirability (i.e. resistance to climate change and all the associated problems - I don't see this one too often, but it's interesting to think about)
Quality of Life
Traffic / Commute Times
Housing Affordability
Opportunities (Pay vs COL, job availability, upward mobility)
Natural Setting (arid vs humid vegetation, hills/mountains, etc): Pittsburgh
Climate (pros/cons of each season, min/max temps, variability, sunshine): Denver
Future setting/climate Desirability (i.e. resistance to climate change and all the associated problems - I don't see this one too often, but it's interesting to think about): Denver
Quality of Life: Denver
Traffic / Commute Times: Denver
Housing Affordability: Pittsburgh by a lot.
Opportunities (Pay vs COL, job availability, upward mobility): Denver
City Characteristics: Pittsburgh
Urbanity (layout, continuity, etc): Pittsburgh
Universities (quality, research): Pittsburgh
Culture (museums, random street festivals, etc): Denver
Your Opinions!: Denver is a nicer city because it is clean and growing. I like that there not many crime ridden or run down areas
Natural Setting (arid vs humid vegetation, hills/mountains, etc): Pittsburgh
Climate (pros/cons of each season, min/max temps, variability, sunshine): Denver
Future setting/climate Desirability (i.e. resistance to climate change and all the associated problems - I don't see this one too often, but it's interesting to think about): NA
Quality of Life: For now, a tie
Traffic / Commute Times: Pittsburgh
Housing Affordability: Pittsburgh, by a good margin
Opportunities (Pay vs COL, job availability, upward mobility): Purchasing Power - Pittsburgh, JA/UM - Denver
City Characteristics: Pittsburgh
Urbanity (layout, continuity, etc): Pittsburgh
Universities (quality, research): Pittsburgh
Culture (museums, random street festivals, etc): Pittsburgh
Your Opinions!: I would pick Denver if their COL wasn't so high and increasing at the rate it is. This affects too many aspects that affect QOL. Denver's a great area, but their COL is going to be an albatross around their necks for the foreseeable future.
Brightest future: Debatable. In some ways Denver, in some ways Pittsburgh.
Natural Setting (arid vs humid vegetation, hills/mountains, etc): Pittsburgh
Climate (pros/cons of each season, min/max temps, variability, sunshine): Denver
Future setting/climate Desirability (i.e. resistance to climate change and all the associated problems - I don't see this one too often, but it's interesting to think about): Denver
Quality of Life
Traffic / Commute Times: Pittsburgh
Housing Affordability: Pittsburgh
Opportunities (Pay vs COL, job availability, upward mobility): Denver
City Characteristics
Urbanity (layout, continuity, etc): Pittsburgh
Universities (quality, research): Pittsburgh
Culture (museums, random street festivals, etc): Denver
Your Opinions!
Brightest future: Denver
Where would you rather live? Denver but Pittsburgh seems nice. I'd like to visit
These are really different cities so responses are going to vary on preferences.
Denver is near a whole lot of cool stuff from Red Rocks to Mount Evans to Rocky Mountain National Park, but itself is out on the plains in a rather unremarkable spot. Pittsburgh is a really unique location and it's cool to have a city built inside the Appalachians.
Climate wise Pittsburgh's the cloudiest city in the US while Denver's one of the sunnier cities. Pittsburgh's lush and smells good but's often grey. Denver's climate is nice because the dry air mutes the temp indexes, it doesn't rain a lot, and the variableness of weather breaks up cold / hot spells. Downsides are the dry airs effect on skin, UV exposure, hail storms, brownness (in it's natural state it's brown a majority of the year), and rough growing conditions. Pittsburgh has 25 more frost free days a year cause of the random late and early freezes Denver gets. As far as future climate? Pittsburgh, unless Denver somehow gets significantly wetter. West Virginia climate > Panhandle climate. Both have a lot of options for outdoor recreation.
Traffic: Both are pretty bad. Pittsburgh is a real weird city to drive in and the valleys constrict expansion.
Housing: Pittsburgh and it's not close. Denver's the most expensive city between the coasts.
Downtown: Pittsburgh. The settings much better, buildings are prettier and bigger, and it's noticeably cleaner. Denver in general is a pretty dirty city, from air quality to homelessness to a toxic northeast quadrant of the metro nearby downtown. The cool part to Denver's downtown is all the nightlife and new ideas / concepts to the west and north.
Universities: Pittsburgh.
Future: I'm going to say Pittsburgh. Denver's had several hot decades in a row now, and I don't know that we have much longer we can keep that trend. Home prices are to the point stupidness now, and the only real place to build is out east of town, which just is not a desirable place to be. The foothills are all built out and it's one of the most paved over cities in the US already. The front range and interstate system to the mountains is real congested and won't be built up anytime soon. Pittsburgh can infill with what it has for a while now. Eventually the hilly geography will constrain too much growth though.
Natural Setting (arid vs humid vegetation, hills/mountains, etc): Pittsburgh
Climate (pros/cons of each season, min/max temps, variability, sunshine): Denver
Future setting/climate Desirability (i.e. resistance to climate change and all the associated problems - I don't see this one too often, but it's interesting to think about): Most definitely Pittsburgh. Not sure how any of you are stating Denver here. Drought and diminishing water supply will become a real issue for that area. So will forest fires. I imagine ski resorts and the accompanied tourist dollars will also get hit big time by global warming. Pittsburgh will get hotter, likely feel like Arkansas. No other major impact though.
Quality of Life
Traffic / Commute Times: Pittsburgh
Housing Affordability: Pittsburgh
Opportunities (Pay vs COL, job availability, upward mobility): 10 years ago? Denver. Today? Pittsburgh.
City Characteristics
Urbanity (layout, continuity, etc): Pittsburgh
Universities (quality, research): Pittsburgh
Culture (museums, random street festivals, etc): Pittsburgh
Your Opinions!
Brightest future: Pittsburgh. It's already begun it's (re)ascent. It's urban bones are ripe for continued gentrification and improvement. Denver is plagued by sprawl, a housing bubble, outrageous COL and a plethora of issues related to climate change.
Where would you rather live? I wouldn't mind spending some time in Denver. But long-term? Pittsburgh.
These are really different cities so responses are going to vary on preferences.
Denver is near a whole lot of cool stuff from Red Rocks to Mount Evans to Rocky Mountain National Park, but itself is out on the plains in a rather unremarkable spot. Pittsburgh is a really unique location and it's cool to have a city built inside the Appalachians.
Climate wise Pittsburgh's the cloudiest city in the US while Denver's one of the sunnier cities. Pittsburgh's lush and smells good but's often grey. Denver's climate is nice because the dry air mutes the temp indexes, it doesn't rain a lot, and the variableness of weather breaks up cold / hot spells. Downsides are the dry airs effect on skin, UV exposure, hail storms, brownness (in it's natural state it's brown a majority of the year), and rough growing conditions. Pittsburgh has 25 more frost free days a year cause of the random late and early freezes Denver gets. As far as future climate? Pittsburgh, unless Denver somehow gets significantly wetter. West Virginia climate > Panhandle climate. Both have a lot of options for outdoor recreation.
Traffic: Both are pretty bad. Pittsburgh is a real weird city to drive in and the valleys constrict expansion.
Housing: Pittsburgh and it's not close. Denver's the most expensive city between the coasts.
Downtown: Pittsburgh. The settings much better, buildings are prettier and bigger, and it's noticeably cleaner. Denver in general is a pretty dirty city, from air quality to homelessness to a toxic northeast quadrant of the metro nearby downtown. The cool part to Denver's downtown is all the nightlife and new ideas / concepts to the west and north.
Universities: Pittsburgh.
Future: I'm going to say Pittsburgh. Denver's had several hot decades in a row now, and I don't know that we have much longer we can keep that trend. Home prices are to the point stupidness now, and the only real place to build is out east of town, which just is not a desirable place to be. The foothills are all built out and it's one of the most paved over cities in the US already. The front range and interstate system to the mountains is real congested and won't be built up anytime soon. Pittsburgh can infill with what it has for a while now. Eventually the hilly geography will constrain too much growth though.
I have lived in both, city and suburbs each.
Laughable. When my parents came out to visit, they always remarked on how clean Denver is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HueysBack
Setting / Climate:
Natural Setting (arid vs humid vegetation, hills/mountains, etc): Pittsburgh
Climate (pros/cons of each season, min/max temps, variability, sunshine): Denver
Future setting/climate Desirability (i.e. resistance to climate change and all the associated problems - I don't see this one too often, but it's interesting to think about): Most definitely Pittsburgh. Not sure how any of you are stating Denver here. Drought and diminishing water supply will become a real issue for that area. So will forest fires. I imagine ski resorts and the accompanied tourist dollars will also get hit big time by global warming. Pittsburgh will get hotter, likely feel like Arkansas. No other major impact though.
Quality of Life
Traffic / Commute Times: Pittsburgh
Housing Affordability: Pittsburgh
Opportunities (Pay vs COL, job availability, upward mobility): 10 years ago? Denver. Today? Pittsburgh.
City Characteristics
Urbanity (layout, continuity, etc): Pittsburgh
Universities (quality, research): Pittsburgh
Culture (museums, random street festivals, etc): Pittsburgh
Your Opinions!
Brightest future: Pittsburgh. It's already begun it's (re)ascent. It's urban bones are ripe for continued gentrification and improvement.Denver is plagued by sprawl, a housing bubble, outrageous COL and a plethora of issues related to climate change.
Where would you rather live? I wouldn't mind spending some time in Denver. But long-term? Pittsburgh.
I just heard a story on NPR, or rather, CPR about this yesterday. By 2080, when even my kids will probably be 6 feet under or close, Denver will supposedly have a climate similar to Borger, Texas, based on a computer model. The water situation has been touted for decades. Doesn't mean we shouldn't conserve, heck, we do! Yards are small here, unlike in the Pittsburgh suburbs. According to some computer models, it was supposed to have quit snowing in the mountains years ago. The Lookout: Is Denver becoming Texas? Also: safe injection legislation stalled, weighing charges for RTD driver and more Colorado headlines | CPR
They have been saying that in Pittsburgh for decades. It's always just about to turn the corner. Hasn't happened yet. Still losing population. Denver's population is growing, always.
Please document. Housing prices are leveling off. "Plethora of issues related to climate change". Document again.
They have been saying that in Pittsburgh for decades. It's always just about to turn the corner. Hasn't happened yet. Still losing population. Denver's population is growing, always.
They've been saying, what? That PIT is making a comeback? It is and it has. Population has leveled off and will see growth in the coming years. That growth is younger folks seeking urban and affordable experiences around edu/tech sectors, unlike what the sunbelt is seeing. GDP has strong growth and they basically built a new economy around tech and medical. 123
Quote:
Please document. Housing prices are leveling off. "Plethora of issues related to climate change". Document again
Again, what? Leveling off at 500k? Avg price in DEN is over 500k now. PIT is 150k. Per sqft in DEN is over $450. PIT is $125. The growth forecast in DEN is 4-5%. PIT is 8%. It's clear where housing is more affordable. What's the confusion?
Document... climate change? Can you Google? Or are you saying it's "fake news"?
They've been saying, what? That PIT is making a comeback? It is and it has. Population has leveled off and will see growth in the coming years. That growth is younger folks seeking urban and affordable experiences around edu/tech sectors, unlike what the sunbelt is seeing. GDP has strong growth and they basically built a new economy around tech and medical. 123
Again, what? Leveling off at 500k? Avg price in DEN is over 500k now. PIT is 150k. Per sqft in DEN is over $450. PIT is $125. The growth forecast in DEN is 4-5%. PIT is 8%. It's clear where housing is more affordable. What's the confusion?
Document... climate change? Can you Google? Or are you saying it's "fake news"?
When I joined CD in 2007, the denizens of the CD forum said the 2010 census would show a population growth. When the census results came out, they said "wait'll 2010". Now it's almost here, and the estimated population is still dropping.
I'm saying it's your claim, your job to provide the supporting evidence that it would be any worse in Denver than Pittsburgh.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 02-21-2019 at 12:34 PM..
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