Pittsburgh vs. Washington, D.C. (Erie, Gettysburg: apartment, lease, townhouse)

[Elder18]

I recently spent a few days in DC and then went to Pittsburgh to sign the lease for my apartment.

Let me tell ya: I'm sorry, yinzers, but it seems like DC is so much more open and exciting than Pittsburgh.
The 'Burgh felt very closed in and sort of dreary after the vitality of the capital.

I know Pittsburgh is much much cheaper to live in, but I have to give the edge to DC as far as where I'd rather live.

Feel free to discuss!

[Elder18]

Oh yeah, and it didn't help that after driving through half of Pennsylvania in sunny, blue sky weather as soon as we got to Pittsburgh it began to rain. And then it began to thunder.

Seriously, is Pittsburgh cursed or something? I mean, what the hell??

[kettlepot]

Well that makes sense that DC is livelier. DC is the capital and the heart of the #5 metro area in the country. Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh and ranked about #20. Perhaps a fairer comparison would be to metro areas similar in size. Now, whether Pittsburgh would measure up or not to similar sized areas, I don't know. But best to compare apples and apples.

[JoeP]

They are different on too many levels to compare like this.

[gallacus]

Depends on what you're looking for. Pittsburgh is definitely less metropolitain, more like a small town with big-city amenities. If D.C. is what you're looking for, why did you come to Pittsburgh and sign a lease?

Regarding the rain you hit, I don't think it is attributed to a curse, maybe just an overall sense of pessimism? Pittsburgh's weather has been consistently beautiful for the past couple months (aside from a few days here and there). I spent last week on the Jersey shore in the high fifties with unrelenting cloud-cover while watching the U.S. Open's beautiful weather on TV. Its all in the eye of the beholder I suppose.

[zip95]

I just came from a Pirates game and went straight to a Mt. Lebo girls highschool softball game.

Let me tell ya: I'm sorry, Mt Lebos, but it seems like the Pirates are so much more open and exciting than Mt Lebo.

The 'Lebo felt very closed in and sort of dreary after the vitality of the Pirates.

I know Mt Lebo spends less money, but I have to give the edge to the Pirates as far as what I'd rather watch.

Feel free to discuss!

[NewBurg]

During my last visit to D.C. I was annoyed by the sprawl and shocked at how my friend spent 300,000 for a little townhouse that was about an hour's drive from anything interesting. Then I returned to the nice, Victorian house in the cute Pittsburgh neighborhood where everything was affordable and walkable.
Feel free to discuss.

What's to discuss? It's personal preference. Start sending out resumes.

But one thing is for sure... a visit is far different from living somewhere. I loved my last visit to NYC, but my life there would be far different and far removed from my Manhattan adventure.

[claremarie]

Oh yeah, and it didn't help that after driving through half of Pennsylvania in sunny, blue sky weather as soon as we got to Pittsburgh it began to rain.

This seems to happen to us just about every time we drive from DC to Pgh. But the "curse" is just Pittsburgh's location between mountains and Lake Erie, I think.

[Elder18]

We went from DC to Gettysburg, and from there we took 30West most of the way to Pittsburgh.

There is some great scenery and it really takes you through rural Pennsylvania.

We had Hank Williams (Sr.) playing on the radio and it was quite a drive.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Elder18

Oh yeah, and it didn't help that after driving through half of Pennsylvania in sunny, blue sky weather as soon as we got to Pittsburgh it began to rain. And then it began to thunder.

Seriously, is Pittsburgh cursed or something? I mean, what the hell??

Once you've lived here for a while, you'll welcome these early evening rains. Just when the heat and humidity start to feel uncomfortable, the wind kicks up in the late afternoon or early evening and a storm cools everything down. I really miss the storms when they aren't here because there's no break from the heat. The weather here has been BEAUTIFUL for the past months. I could live in this weather forever. We haven't even turned on our AC yet this year! It's only rained the past two evenings---after 6pm on both nights. It always happens just when my garden is starting to wilt too. The weather is perfect for growing vegetables or flowers!

As for the main discussion of this thread, I really could care less. If you like D.C., good for you. I like D.C. too. Pittsburgh's where I live. I like it here. In the end, I think I'd enjoy my life in just about any city. I think what we have with us within ourselves is what makes us happy, not the city.