Cleveburgh (Pittsburgh, Erie, York: apartments, hotel, universities)

[CLEJoe]

Hey Pittsburghers!

I took the lady out to Pittsburgh (her first visit) this past weekend for a piece I'm working on regarding the idea of a "Cleveburgh" I first read about in the Plain Dealer/Post-Gazette.

I just wanted to say we had an amazing time in the 'Burgh, had a great host at the Fairmont Hotel with help from Visit Pittsburgh, and we can't wait to explore ways to further promote our region in order to better promote our region as one.

That said, I thought it would be interested to see what Pittsburghers' thoughts are on the topic. I saw many similarities between our two cities as I took a closer look and the differences I saw weren't necessarily cons to either city, but rather a reason to visit one another.

Personally, I'd love to see more made of the Cleveburgh concept. Instead of butting heads (leave that to the Browns/Steelers twice a year), working together can only benefit our cities and the areas in between (Youngstown in particular).

Any thoughts, friends?

Cheers,
Joe

[rhondee]

Yes! I wholeheartedly agree with you and I don't understand why Cleveland is not included in an existing regional economic alliance (P32) that already has many eastern Ohio counties in the group along with Allegheny County and Pittsburgh region.
Here is an example of a Cleveland entity that will be welcomed by many Pittsburghers. Rumors have been buzzing for awhile now. We'll see what happens:
West Penn Allegheny Health System seeks financial advice from Cleveland Clinic | Pittsburgh Business Times

[CLEJoe]

Great read! Would be great to see some sort of CLE-Pitt alliance in any regard, but especially with our medical communities.

The representative we had breakfast with at the Fairmont in Pittsburgh came up with the great idea of providing a list of 10 things for Pittsburghers to do in Cleveland through Visit Pittsburgh and vice verse at Positively Cleveland. I'm going to try contacting the folks I know in both of those organizations and see what they think.

The possibilities are endless for both of our great cities if we start to work together more!

P.S. As a thanks to the kindness many Pittsburghers showed us over the weekend, I'd be more than happy to show off Cleveland to any and all travelers. I'll be moving downtown to Welcome | The Residences at 668 - Apartments in Cleveland within the next couple of months.

[progmac]

other than cleveland, there aren't any cities anywhere near pittsburgh. cleveland, on the other hand, has many more cities within a couple of hours. being so isolated, pittsburgh may want to position itself as a standalone destination, perhaps.

[CLEJoe]

Originally Posted by progmac

other than cleveland, there aren't any cities anywhere near pittsburgh. cleveland, on the other hand, has many more cities within a couple of hours. being so isolated, pittsburgh may want to position itself as a standalone destination, perhaps.

Pittsburgh has the same cities within a couple of hours that Cleveland does, except for Toledo. Akron, Canton and Youngstown are all right in that proposed "Cleveburgh" region. Obviously one thinks of those cities as "Cleveland's" cities, because they're in Ohio, but I think it's time we look past state lines.

Both Cleveland and Pittsburgh have suffered population loses. It's seems to me that more people will be likely to relocate to either Cleveland, Pittsburgh or somewhere in between if the region is more successful. For instance, I see being 2 and a half hours away from Pittsburgh as a benefit to living in Cleveland. If Pittsburgh weren't a great place to visit, than Cleveland would lose a positive. Conversely, a successful "Cleveburgh" would mean cities that are struggling even more (Akron, Canton, Youngstown) would improve, thus improving the quality of life in the region. Being close to those cities would become a "plus" for relocating to Pittsburgh.

If Pittsburgh isolates itself simply because the cities nearby happen to be in Ohio territory, I think that hurts its case in convincing folks to relocate, not to mention garnering tourism from those nearby cities. Pittsburgh (nor Cleveland for that matter) isn't big enough to justify isolating itself, like a New York City or Chicago. And I personally chose not to live in those cities because they are isolated.

Those are just my thoughts. Also it's worth mentioning that some of West Virginia fell into the "Cleveburgh" map drawn out by the original author.

[WestLibertyAve]

I also think Erie should be considered a part of the "Cleveburgh" idea.

I think such an alliance would only help our two cities as well as the many smaller ones in between. It could also help bolster our cause for a high-speed rail line linking us to Cleveland and points beyond. HSR would be a great asset to places like Steubenville or Canton, essentially turning them into commuter suburbs for both cities.

[Hopes]

Please call it something other than Cleveburgh!

[progmac]

Originally Posted by CLEJoe

Pittsburgh has the same cities within a couple of hours that Cleveland does, except for Toledo. Akron, Canton and Youngstown are all right in that proposed "Cleveburgh" region. Obviously one thinks of those cities as "Cleveland's" cities, because they're in Ohio, but I think it's time we look past state lines.

Within 3 hours, Cleveland has Pittsburgh, Columbus, and Detroit, three top tier metro areas. Plus there are secondary metro areas like Toledo, Akron, Youngstown, Canton, etc.

Pittsburgh has one top tier metro in the same radius - Cleveland.

Just additional pepper for the discussion, I'm not saying the Cleveburgh is a bad idea.

[CLEJoe]

WestLibertyAve - I'm down with Erie! I'd also be a supporter of HSR (or any rail for the time being, for that matter) linking the cities. My dream scenario for Cleveland is HSR rail from Chicago, to Cleveland, splitting off there with one route going through Erie, Buffalo to Toronto and the other going south through Akron/Canton, Youngstown to Pittsburgh, Philly and New York City.

Although not the dream, the MegaBus route recently added between Cleveland, Akron and Pittsburgh is great. I hope Pittsburghers use it to come up here as I just did to visit the 'Burgh!

Rail would, indeed, make those cities commuter suburbs. We really need to look past state lines, as many people who work in NYC have. How many folks live in Connecticut and Jersey, but work in NYC? The same thing can happen with our region.

[Hopes]

Speaking of looking past state lines, many of Ohio's universities offer Ohio state resident tuition rates to western Pennsylvanians.