Denver vs. Pittsburgh (attorney, relocate, real estate)

[AlphaBeta01]

I'm a single, young professional (accountant) from San Diego, and my employer has given me the choice to transfer to Denver or Pittsburgh in April 2008. I have read several discussion threads in the Denver and Pittsburgh fourms. Both cities have their pros and cons. I am planning to visit Denver and Pittsburgh soon to see which city would be best for me. However, I am hoping that a few folks would be able to provide a comparison between Denver and Pittsburgh in terms of weather, people, culture, outdoor oppournity, social life, night life, dating scene, etc. Anything to compare these two cities would be helpful before I visit.

Regards...

[DenverAztec]

I just recently helped one of our company directors relocate from San Diego to Denver and he loves it. He lives in Stapelton, about a 15 minute drive from downtown. I live in Capitol Hill (on the edge of downtown) and have for 20 years, but a native of 41 years in Denver. Denver has not, and hopefully will never, have the mass exodus of it citizens in places like Detroit, Philly or Pittsburgh and we do not have true ghettos or abandonded neighborhoods. Our industries are diverse and not on the scale that steel was, so we have survived depressed economic periods of the past.

Crime is significanly less then Pittsburgh because of the variations in industries and vacant neighborhoods. As an accountant, you will be just fine in this job market should you choose to find a different employer, for growth purposes. I found the folks in Pittsburgh to actually be friendly, verses Detroit or Philly. They were helpful and congenial, similar to what you will find with true Deverities. We are not has humid as PA due to our elvation and we are actually very dry in the winter but summers can be humid. You will find that Denver ranks tops for dating and for singles and the nightlife is absolutely here. LODO and the condos/apartments in that area are jammed with young professionals and that is reflected in the nightlife entertainment. SOCO, South of Colfax on Broadway and Lincoln are the fun nightclubs verses the sports bars of LODO. Both cities are rich with historical structures and have a central core to their downtown, but Denver's downtown is the 10th largest in the country and incredibly vibrante day and night.

Take advantage of the visits to both cities and ask tons of questions and research the heck out of each. You are in a ideal opportunity to compare and don't limit yourself to just this thread. I see tons of bad advice given mixed in with good as there are several folks here, and probably, on the Pittsburgh thread, that hate where they live. Feel free to PM if you want specific advice on what to check out on your visit. Best of luck to you!

[movin' on up]

you don't want to move from california to a rusty midwestern town, i promise. that said, take your visits and make your own decision. the midwest is thought to be good for rasing kids and not much else.

[Katiana]

I answered this over on Pittsburgh and would agree with most of what's been posted here. While it is your decision, if I were in your place, I'd choose Denver.

I see tons of bad advice given mixed in with good as there are several folks here, and probably, on the Pittsburgh thread, that hate where they live.

Absolutely! The Pittsburgh forum has a lot of cheerleaders who get very defensive when anything remotely negative is said about the place, like the gawd-awful climate or the population loss. People on this forum seem to be able to agree and disagree a little better.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by movin' on up

you don't want to move from california to a rusty midwestern town, i promise. that said, take your visits and make your own decision. the midwest is thought to be good for rasing kids and not much else.

Are you referring to Pittsburg?? It is an eastern city.
Are you referring to Denver??? It is a western city.

I will assume by your comment that you are referring to Pittsburg as a "rusty midwestern town". I have been to Pittsburg before the renaissance and after the renaissance of that beautiful city; it may have been called a "rusty steel town", at one time, but not today.

"midwest is thought to be good for raising kids and not much else"---thought by you??? a very pedestrian and pedantic thought. However, most of us, know better.

Thank you for your opinions but a geography lesson is needed.

Livecontent

[Charles]

Originally Posted by livecontent

Are you referring to Pittsburg?? It is an eastern city.

I'll chime in. Sometimes cities can be viewed differently geographically vs characteristically (culturally?).

For example, I read somewhere Buffalo has more of a midwestern characteristic (maybe traditionally more blue collar, manufacturing, steel plants, grain processing) while Rochester and Syracuse have more of an eastern characteristic (maybe more white collar, corporate, Kodak). They are within two hours away from each other on the "truway" and in the same state too. Buffalonians even sound like they're from the midwest.

Pittsburgh may have more characteristics of a midwestern city even though it is in an eastern state.

Cyburbia Forums - Buffalo, New York - Kaisertown [w/images]

[Katiana]

Pittsburgh and Buffalo consider themselves eastern cities. Pittsburgh is close to Ohio, but it is still in Pennsylvania.

[BarryK123]

Originally Posted by livecontent

Are you referring to Pittsburg?? It is an eastern city.
Are you referring to Denver??? It is a western city.

I will assume by your comment that you are referring to Pittsburg as a "rusty midwestern town". I have been to Pittsburg before the renaissance and after the renaissance of that beautiful city; it may have been called a "rusty steel town", at one time, but not today.

"midwest is thought to be good for raising kids and not much else"---thought by you??? a very pedestrian and pedantic thought. However, most of us, know better.

Thank you for your opinions but a geography lesson is needed.

Livecontent

I lived in Pittsburgh for 3 years. Even though it's in PA on the map, it really belongs in Ohio. It is much more a midwestern than eastern city.

For a few days as a tourist, it's a neat place to visit. It's funny - people who spend a few days or weeks there tend to think it's a great place. I, and my wife who grew up there, don't agree. The weather is awful. Denver likes to brag about its 300 days of sun. Pittsburgh has 300 days of no sun. While downtown may look shiny and pretty, it's a ghost town on weekends and after working hours. Nobody lives downtown.

If you live within city limits, you pretty much have to send your kids to private school (though there are some burbs with good schools.)

The reason it's not a rusty steel town any more is the steel industry died there. While that may be great for the air quality, it's not great for employment opportunities.

If you want dirt cheap real estate, it's the place to go. A house that would be 500K in Denver is about 200K in Pittsburgh.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by Charles

I'll chime in. Sometimes cities can be viewed differently geographically vs characteristically (culturally?).

For example, I read somewhere Buffalo has more of a midwestern characteristic (maybe traditionally more blue collar, manufacturing, steel plants, grain processing) while Rochester and Syracuse have more of an eastern characteristic (maybe more white collar, corporate, Kodak). They are within two hours away from each other on the "truway" and in the same state too. Buffalonians even sound like they're from the midwest.

Pittsburgh may have more characteristics of a midwestern city even though it is in an eastern state.

Cyburbia Forums - Buffalo, New York - Kaisertown [w/images]

Charles you would make a good defense attorney. You make me laugh. If a guy does not know geography, he does not know it but...what I can say, I am still laughing...

Buffalonian always considered themselves easterners because New York is an eastern state. Rochester and Buffalo can be spoken about as the same, in my mind. Believe me the film manufacturing plants and equipment manufacturing plants of Xerox were very smelly blue collar. Syracuse thinks of itself, as the capital of the central NY region but have you ever seen Carrier, air conditioning plants in Syracuse---Blue Collar. How about the salt mines near Syracuse--Roman type slave blue collar.

Pittsburgh does not have characteristics of a midwestern city--no way, wrong, you are wrong. If anything, it traditional though itself as a heavy industrial eastern city, steel, coal, glass surrounded by coal mining areas. Today it has grown into a very nice, city with more expansive industries and cultures. I just do not see how you can say midwestern.

The only time it was thought as other than eastern was in the Colonial times when it was on the western frontier.

Give up the ship, counselor; give back your legal defense fees--you have been ruled wrong.

but it was amusing

livecontent

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by BarryK123

I lived in Pittsburgh for 3 years. Even though it's in PA on the map, it really belongs in Ohio. It is much more a midwestern than eastern city.

For a few days as a tourist, it's a neat place to visit. It's funny - people who spend a few days or weeks there tend to think it's a great place. I, and my wife who grew up there, don't agree. The weather is awful. Denver likes to brag about its 300 days of sun. Pittsburgh has 300 days of no sun. While downtown may look shiny and pretty, it's a ghost town on weekends and after working hours. Nobody lives downtown.

If you live within city limits, you pretty much have to send your kids to private school (though there are some burbs with good schools.)

The reason it's not a rusty steel town any more is the steel industry died there. While that may be great for the air quality, it's not great for employment opportunities.

If you want dirt cheap real estate, it's the place to go. A house that would be 500K in Denver is about 200K in Pittsburgh.

I still do not agree that it could be considered midwestern, having grown up in New York--I view Ohio as an eastern state. Cleveland is an Eastern City, Buffalo is an Eastern City so to say that Pittsburgh which is east, a midwestern city????

I have been to Pittsburgh many times but many years ago and a somewhat recently. I think it is a beautiful city but I never lived there.

Livecontent