Not sure where to go after KC.... (Springfield, Malden: best cities, real estate)
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So. My gf and I once we finish up our bachelors degrees will be taking a year to live in Tokyo or Hong Kong, then moving back to the US to get our masters.
We are both going into the medical field, with her wanting to get a masters in genetic counseling. I am going for masters in physician assistant. My option is found in almost all major cities (but not in KC damn it, only Wichita or STL). However she is limited to the locations on this map:
When we do this, to keep cost down, one of us will get our degree first while the other works, and then we will switch. So 4 years at our new location. With only one of us living we want to keep our cost of living down. We will have no debt at this time, just living expenses. We would like to keep our rent at $1000/month or under if possible.
This gets rid of some choices we would like such as Chicago, Boston, and while we reallllly wanted Portland, they don't have an accredited program there.
SO we are looking based on quality of schools and cost of living, and hoping for a fun city. We don't party tho we are down for good shows/raves occasionally, we like to go out to lounges laid back bars... the hole in the wall type places. Nice restaurants... not necessary upscale, like if we eat at the Plaza it's Bo-lings or Tomfooleries usually. If its downtown we like Mannys or Lulus noodles, just some examples.
Anyways... it seems our 2 best choices come down to Pittsburgh, PA and Houston, TX.
I've been to Houston and thought it was awesome. Tho crazy sprawl, but i'm used to that from KC, and in all honesty while I prefer urban areas, sometimes it nice to just get out to some convienent suburban places for certain things (like Zona Rosa, or the area around it)
We aren't concerned with the city being like KC, but we do want it to offer the same amenities i'd say. Unique urban neighborhoods, a decent downtown, nice shopping areas, nice burbs for when we want to hit them up.
Does anyone know anything about these places? I was hoping they'd have better public transportation, but it seems from what i've reason no one uses Pittsburghs subway/light rail system much... at least not in the neighborhoods people recommend, and in Houston it sounds like their light rail is rather limited too (but since we would be in the medical field it does seem it goes from downtown Houston to the Texas Medical Center.
I know little about Houston, and nothing about Pittsburgh really, except they seem to have a lot of great looking buildings downtown.
Anyone who can help i'd appreciate it. Keep in mind this is still a few years off, but we need to figure out our next stop so we can get pre-requesties for whichever program we are trying to get into completed.
Actually Houston is not that bad. They have a pretty vibrant central city. Downtown is pretty dead, but the areas around the medical centers is pretty vibrant and urban.
The rest of Houston is just horrible though. Not just sprawl, but ugly texas frontage road sprawl with horrible traffic that goes on forever. Houston has light rail, but it's pretty worthless for the most part, you need a car there.
I would go with Pittsburgh if you like places like Chicago and Boston. Nice compact city with a good vibrant downtown and many great urban neighborhoods VERY walkable. The suburbs there are sort of hidden in the trees and hills that surround the city. Decent transit etc.
Glass towers or interesting architecture?
Highway sprawl or nice suburbs with trees and hills?
Transit that goes places or a light rail line in the central city?
A city close to many other cities or a city in Texas?
One big difference. Houston is growing rapidly and has a strong economy and very cheap cost of living.
Pittsburgh (along with Buffalo) is the only metro losing population and the economy there has a rough time. Last I heard transit was being drastically cut due to funding issues.
I would still choose Pittsburgh any day over Houston, but you could probably enjoy the good things about Houston too, so long as you don't plan to stay forever. Not sure I would stay in Pittsburgh forever either though.
From your list…
Birmingham is a great city and is very underrated. Lots of neat urban areas with a younger population due to the colleges. Just a bit small.
Colorado and DC would be good!
Cincy would not be too bad, kind of a cross between KC and Pittsburgh.
Boston! You should really try to make Boston work. I love Boston. Plus you would be close to NYC, Philly etc. Enjoy those cities while you are young.
Salt Lake City is not too bad. It’s like a smaller Denver (they have the mountains too) only more conservative.
I've never been to Houston, but it just does not appeal to me at all. It has all the problems of a humungous city (traffic, home prices), but none of the charm.
Pittsburgh on the other hand, I think is one of the most underrated cities in America. They have a terrific downtown area, really quaint eclectic neighborhoods, friendly people, and terrific dining.
I also love Minneapolis/St. Paul if you don't mind the cold weather months.
I lived in the DC area for a bit. Housing prices can be outrageous, but the public schools in the burbs are some of the best in the country. And their rail system is the best in the country IMO - reliable, clean and extensive into the suburbs. And downtown DC is roaring back. They have a lot of really great shopping/dining areas - Adams Morgan, DuPont Circle, Georgetown, Chinatown. You could probably find a townhome in Maryland or maybe out south in Springfield, VA for not too much, still be close to a rail line, and still be able to walk to shops and restaurants (suburban DC still employs a lot of great "new urbanism" design - denser developments), all while enjoying top-notch schools.
Actually Houston is not that bad. They have a pretty vibrant central city. Downtown is pretty dead, but the areas around the medical centers is pretty vibrant and urban.
The rest of Houston is just horrible though. Not just sprawl, but ugly texas frontage road sprawl with horrible traffic that goes on forever. Houston has light rail, but it's pretty worthless for the most part, you need a car there.
I would go with Pittsburgh if you like places like Chicago and Boston. Nice compact city with a good vibrant downtown and many great urban neighborhoods VERY walkable. The suburbs there are sort of hidden in the trees and hills that surround the city. Decent transit etc.
Glass towers or interesting architecture?
Highway sprawl or nice suburbs with trees and hills?
Transit that goes places or a light rail line in the central city?
A city close to many other cities or a city in Texas?
One big difference. Houston is growing rapidly and has a strong economy and very cheap cost of living.
Pittsburgh (along with Buffalo) is the only metro losing population and the economy there has a rough time. Last I heard transit was being drastically cut due to funding issues.
I would still choose Pittsburgh any day over Houston, but you could probably enjoy the good things about Houston too, so long as you don't plan to stay forever. Not sure I would stay in Pittsburgh forever either though.
From your list…
Birmingham is a great city and is very underrated. Lots of neat urban areas with a younger population due to the colleges. Just a bit small.
Colorado and DC would be good!
Cincy would not be too bad, kind of a cross between KC and Pittsburgh.
Boston! You should really try to make Boston work. I love Boston. Plus you would be close to NYC, Philly etc. Enjoy those cities while you are young.
Salt Lake City is not too bad. It’s like a smaller Denver (they have the mountains too) only more conservative.
Yeah when I was in Houston I basically was in the urban areas only, and saw the Galleria that was it. It's weird, seems so many places I look there downtowns are just dead except during the day for business =(
It's not like Boston and DC wouldn't be nice! They would be, but can we actually go to any of these areas and stay in a nice place in a good area for $1000/month or less? Thats why Chicago is ruled out for us.
My gf is in the banking industry, so I would think she wouldn't have problems in Pittsburgh, myself... I do more IT, so it may be a problem for me =/ not sure what the situation is there. SLC might be cool. but the location is just.. not really attractive to us, I don't know anything about it tho.
I've never been to Houston, but it just does not appeal to me at all. It has all the problems of a humungous city (traffic, home prices), but none of the charm.
Pittsburgh on the other hand, I think is one of the most underrated cities in America. They have a terrific downtown area, really quaint eclectic neighborhoods, friendly people, and terrific dining.
I also love Minneapolis/St. Paul if you don't mind the cold weather months.
I lived in the DC area for a bit. Housing prices can be outrageous, but the public schools in the burbs are some of the best in the country. And their rail system is the best in the country IMO - reliable, clean and extensive into the suburbs. And downtown DC is roaring back. They have a lot of really great shopping/dining areas - Adams Morgan, DuPont Circle, Georgetown, Chinatown. You could probably find a townhome in Maryland or maybe out south in Springfield, VA for not too much, still be close to a rail line, and still be able to walk to shops and restaurants (suburban DC still employs a lot of great "new urbanism" design - denser developments), all while enjoying top-notch schools.
Minneapolis is cool, the people are great.... I guess we just want something that is a bit more different then KC, and when we were there I didn't get that big of a different feeling. Maybe it was the areas I was in? I don't mind cold at all, and prefer to have 4 seasons.
The DC area sounds nice if we could find something we could afford, just looking at HGTV shows like house hunters it looks like we would be able to rent a cardboard box there LOL.
Pittsburgh (along with Buffalo) is the only metro losing population and the economy there has a rough time. Last I heard transit was being drastically cut due to funding issues.
I think it's important to distinguish between 'losing' population and 'declining' population. Pittsburgh isn't necessarily 'losing' population, as in people are bailing ship. It's quite the opposite in Pittsburgh. People ARE moving to Pittsburgh. The reason the population is 'decreasing' is because we lost a huge percentage of our population in the early 80s when the steel industry collapsed. That left us with a large aging population which is beginning to die off.
People thinking Pittsburgh is a decaying city helps keep Pittsburgh one of the best kept secrets in America. We're not the type of people who want a BOOM because we know first hand that booms become busts. Pittsburgh was chosen to host the G-20 for good reason: Pittsburgh's economy is actually holding fairly steady during this recession. The housing market didnt' take a dive, and our unemployment numbers are fairly reasonable compared to the rest of the country. Pittsburgh rebuilt it's economy after the crash of the steel industry, and that rebirth helped Pittsburgh survive this depression.
Also, Pittsburgh's young adults often chose to work elsewhere upon graduating, but Pittsburgh draws a large percentage of them back when they get married and start families. Hands down, Pittsburgh is probably one of the best cities in the country for raising a family. It's super affordable, not over crowded, safe, quality schools, and has lots of cultural arts for a city its size.
(That was a terribly worded sentence, but I'm in a hurry and I'm sure you get the drift! )
I've never been to Houston, but it just does not appeal to me at all. It has all the problems of a humungous city (traffic, home prices), but none of the charm.
Pittsburgh on the other hand, I think is one of the most underrated cities in America. They have a terrific downtown area, really quaint eclectic neighborhoods, friendly people, and terrific dining.
I also love Minneapolis/St. Paul if you don't mind the cold weather months.
I lived in the DC area for a bit. Housing prices can be outrageous, but the public schools in the burbs are some of the best in the country. And their rail system is the best in the country IMO - reliable, clean and extensive into the suburbs. And downtown DC is roaring back. They have a lot of really great shopping/dining areas - Adams Morgan, DuPont Circle, Georgetown, Chinatown. You could probably find a townhome in Maryland or maybe out south in Springfield, VA for not too much, still be close to a rail line, and still be able to walk to shops and restaurants (suburban DC still employs a lot of great "new urbanism" design - denser developments), all while enjoying top-notch schools.
So which cities would I want to look at and still be close to a rail line other then Springfield? I'm interested if it's not to far out in the boonies and they areas aren't just super bland.
Pittsburgh still looks like a decent choice tho... as long as getting a job isn't a problem. I mean it's a under 7 hour drive to NYC, 4 hours to DC, 5 hours to Toronto... basically it looks like if I just wanted to get away for the weekend a lot of options around it....
Contrary to what you believe, you can find a 1 BR (not fancy) for about $1,000 or less, 6 miles from Boston on the subway or bus line -- in Quincy, where I live. Lots of Chinese in the past 15 years, now some nice Indian families and yuppies. Quincy has lots of lower class and middle class whites as well, with the hard-to-find Boston accent now disappearing or diluted with so many transients in the expensive areas of downtown Boston.
Try patriotledger.com for our daily, covering the South Shore (except Sunday...Saturday is the largest classifieds, as well as a Friday real estate pullout.
Some neighborhoods are near beaches and the water along Quincy Shore Drive. There's even a water taxi to Boston, but too far from me...and it costs maybe $7 each way, but something I want to try on a Saturday for fun.
Plenty of apartments in Chicago for under $1,000 (much cheaper than Boston). Search craigalist in your price range. I've wished to move there for years and often check their prices on Craigslist.
Try Malden, off the subway 6 miles north of Boston. Not fancy, but it does have some fancier rentals now. Some locals disparage both Quincy and Malden, but overall they're decen for me.
I think it's important to distinguish between 'losing' population and 'declining' population. Pittsburgh isn't necessarily 'losing' population, as in people are bailing ship. It's quite the opposite in Pittsburgh. People ARE moving to Pittsburgh. The reason the population is 'decreasing' is because we lost a huge percentage of our population in the early 80s when the steel industry collapsed. That left us with a large aging population which is beginning to die off.
People thinking Pittsburgh is a decaying city helps keep Pittsburgh one of the best kept secrets in America. We're not the type of people who want a BOOM because we know first hand that booms become busts. Pittsburgh was chosen to host the G-20 for good reason: Pittsburgh's economy is actually holding fairly steady during this recession. The housing market didnt' take a dive, and our unemployment numbers are fairly reasonable compared to the rest of the country. Pittsburgh rebuilt it's economy after the crash of the steel industry, and that rebirth helped Pittsburgh survive this depression.
Also, Pittsburgh's young adults often chose to work elsewhere upon graduating, but Pittsburgh draws a large percentage of them back when they get married and start families. Hands down, Pittsburgh is probably one of the best cities in the country for raising a family. It's super affordable, not over crowded, safe, quality schools, and has lots of cultural arts for a city its size.
(That was a terribly worded sentence, but I'm in a hurry and I'm sure you get the drift! )
I agree with everything you said. I didn't mean to give the impression that Pittsburgh was declining. I know people that live in Downtown Pittsburgh and I know people are moving back to the central city. It's a great city.
I just know the metro was one of the only metro areas that was losing population (city and burbs). Not because Pittsburgh is not a desirable place to live, but because of the economy in the area.
If the economy has bounced back recently, then good for Pittsburgh.
Regardless of how fast the area is growing, the city and region is a fantastic area and I would recommend it to anybody if they have a reason to go there (school, job etc).
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