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Just curious, why would you call it a northeast city ( as opposed to a midwest city ) ?
Pittsburgh is a northeastern city because:
1. It's in the Northeast
2. People from Pittsburgh get offended if you say they are in the Midwest
Northeast versus Midwest really doesn't matter much though. It's just a geographic catchall term. Pittsburgh is only a two hour drive from Cleveland, but the two cities are very different in terms of accent, building styles, etc. On the other hand, it has some more similarities with Cincinnati even though it's further from Pittsburgh. Overall though Pittsburgh has always looked east, towards Philadelphia, NY, and DC, rather than west.
I agree with other posters that this city would fit everything you say you want.
I actually grew up about 3 hrs east of Salt Lake City ( for 24 yrs ) and have been there easily over 100 different times, so I had considered that awhile ago, but yes, ever since the Olympics came to town 15 yrs ago, their COL there has really escalated as well.
Otherwise, SLC is nice--they get a lot of snow and its very hot ( usually over 95-100 everyday in the summer time ) but virtually NO traffic to worry about, and the people for the most part ( even though I'm not Mormon myself ) are rather friendly.
Most people don't know, but SLC is actually a very liberal city ( almost as much as Portland. ) However, once you get outside the city ( into the suburbs and especially near Provo to the south, it's as red as you will find. )
Colorado would be nice, but not sure if there is a place there that is anything like some of the things I'd be looking for ( outside of Denver itself ) ?
Colorado Springs may be a good alternative. Not huge, but large enough: city 440,000, metro 680,000. Beautiful environment if your into outdoors, biking, hiking, etc. Mild winters, Warm but not overtly hot summers.
We have AAA baseball and the Rockies are only an hour and half up the road.
Traffic can be bad at times, but not like larger cities such as Portland.
COL is right around the national average.
It's not as "far right" as you may hear. It is on the conservative side, but more of a libertarian live and let live attitude. Mainly due to the large number of military retirees.
1. It's in the Northeast
2. People from Pittsburgh get offended if you say they are in the Midwest
Northeast versus Midwest really doesn't matter much though. It's just a geographic catchall term. Pittsburgh is only a two hour drive from Cleveland, but the two cities are very different in terms of accent, building styles, etc. On the other hand, it has some more similarities with Cincinnati even though it's further from Pittsburgh. Overall though Pittsburgh has always looked east, towards Philadelphia, NY, and DC, rather than west.
I agree with other posters that this city would fit everything you say you want.
Hey, thanks for some of the insights about Pittsburgh!
So right now I am still deciding on where to move ( my HR dept at work is gathering the locations in that area ) but Pittsburgh does look intriguing.
So, I have a traffic app on my smart phone, and I've been checking several northeast cities, including Pittsburgh about every hour or so from around 2pm ( east coast time ) to about 10-11pm east coast time. Is there a lot of construction on some of the main arterials there, because even late at night, it will show a few solid red lines where the freeways/highways are at, mostly south of what I am guessing is downtown?
I seen a youtube video of a guy who drove through Pittsburgh filming as he was driving, and the city looks gorgeous! Stunning views of several spots of the downtown area, but one poster sent me a PM saying that Pittsburgh isn't as cheap to live ( rent and other factors ) as others talk it up to be, but I don't know if they were living there or not as it wasn't on their profile...
So with Pittsburgh being a more northeast city than a Midwest city, what in your opinion are some of the similarities between it, and other cities like Rochester/Syracuse, NY, Albany, NY, Springfield, MA, Worcester, MA and Manchester, NH ( if you've been to either of these other cities? )
Colorado Springs may be a good alternative. Not huge, but large enough: city 440,000, metro 680,000. Beautiful environment if your into outdoors, biking, hiking, etc. Mild winters, Warm but not overtly hot summers.
We have AAA baseball and the Rockies are only an hour and half up the road.
Traffic can be bad at times, but not like larger cities such as Portland.
COL is right around the national average.
It's not as "far right" as you may hear. It is on the conservative side, but more of a libertarian live and let live attitude. Mainly due to the large number of military retirees.
What about Boise? It has a lot of the same attributes that people like about Portland, but is more affordable. Or maybe even places in Montana, like Mizzoula or Billings.
So, I have a traffic app on my smart phone, and I've been checking several northeast cities, including Pittsburgh about every hour or so from around 2pm ( east coast time ) to about 10-11pm east coast time. Is there a lot of construction on some of the main arterials there, because even late at night, it will show a few solid red lines where the freeways/highways are at, mostly south of what I am guessing is downtown?
Parkway West has some pretty serious construction going on right now. Parkway East is notorious for having bad traffic, due to having an under-sized tunnel which causes perpetual congestion. I'm not aware of any construction to the south - we really don't have any north-south highways until you get to 79, which is a good deal west of Downtown, and usually pretty clear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by skylar0201
I seen a youtube video of a guy who drove through Pittsburgh filming as he was driving, and the city looks gorgeous! Stunning views of several spots of the downtown area, but one poster sent me a PM saying that Pittsburgh isn't as cheap to live ( rent and other factors ) as others talk it up to be, but I don't know if they were living there or not as it wasn't on their profile...
I think I know who sent you the message. Housing prices have climbed here - moreso for renting than owning by far, and moreso if you want to live in a walkable neighborhood in the city than in the suburbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by skylar0201
So with Pittsburgh being a more northeast city than a Midwest city, what in your opinion are some of the similarities between it, and other cities like Rochester/Syracuse, NY, Albany, NY, Springfield, MA, Worcester, MA and Manchester, NH ( if you've been to either of these other cities? )
Pittsburgh isn't really much like those cities at all, IMHO, since those cities are in the "Yankee" cultural zone which covers New England and Upstate NY. Pittsburgh is a "Midland" city - with similar dialects (northern, but with slight southern influence) and housing styles (lots of brick, and a fair amount of rowhouses). It's similar to Philly and Baltimore to the east of it, and Cincinnati and Saint Louis to the west, although with a notably smaller black population than any of those cities. There's also more than a touch of Appalachia in places, but the mid-Atlantic vibe is stronger overall.
What about Boise? It has a lot of the same attributes that people like about Portland, but is more affordable. Or maybe even places in Montana, like Mizzoula or Billings.
Yeah, but does Boise have minor league ball? Also, it seems like the summers can be rather hot there ( I've only driven through it several times, each time in the summer. ) It is a nice city, but I'd probably rank it just below Spokane ( no offense ) and about Missoula, yes, Missoula actually looks like a nice town. I'll be driving through it later this summer when I make a cross-country trip in August.
I think my employer has an office in Boise ( my former supervisor was a trainer there ) but don't think we have one in Missoula...
Parkway West has some pretty serious construction going on right now. Parkway East is notorious for having bad traffic, due to having an under-sized tunnel which causes perpetual congestion. I'm not aware of any construction to the south - we really don't have any north-south highways until you get to 79, which is a good deal west of Downtown, and usually pretty clear.
I think I know who sent you the message. Housing prices have climbed here - moreso for renting than owning by far, and moreso if you want to live in a walkable neighborhood in the city than in the suburbs.
Pittsburgh isn't really much like those cities at all, IMHO, since those cities are in the "Yankee" cultural zone which covers New England and Upstate NY. Pittsburgh is a "Midland" city - with similar dialects (northern, but with slight southern influence) and housing styles (lots of brick, and a fair amount of rowhouses). It's similar to Philly and Baltimore to the east of it, and Cincinnati and Saint Louis to the west, although with a notably smaller black population than any of those cities. There's also more than a touch of Appalachia in places, but the mid-Atlantic vibe is stronger overall.
Oh, so is the traffic on the Parkway construction right now, directly related to work on the tunnel itself, or is that traffic congestion through there likely to stay?
About the housing prices, Ok, that makes sense. Well, whichever location I'd move to eventually, I will likely rent for 12-15 months and then aim at buying a house. What would be ideal is if I could rent a house first, so as to know what I like/dislike about it, and measure that out against the pros and cons of it. Here in Portland, renting something like a 2bd/2ba apartment runs about $1200-2000/mo; depending on its location and amenities and buying a house, is around $250k+ for something very small and not in the most desired part, and my income is nowhere near either of those options here now....
Hm, I guess I thought Pittsburgh was more of a New England dialect; though not quite as strong as you'd find in a place like Boston, VT, etc.
So, is pollution still a concern around Pittsburgh? That seems to be another negative I hear about it....
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Housing prices have climbed here - moreso for renting than owning by far, and moreso if you want to live in a walkable neighborhood in the city than in the suburbs. 
