Trip to Cincinnati Last Weekend (Pittsburgh, Upper St. Clair: houses, neighborhoods, school)

[fr8train03]

My girlfriend and I took a trip out to Cincinnati for the weekend last week to see some of her family. Besides the hazy parts that included a party bus, a hot tub, and a trip to Kings Island, I made a concerted effort to compare the city to Pittsburgh. This was not our first trip and every time we visit I notice how starkly different Cincy can be from Pittsburgh. First off I wish Pittsburgh had a beltway like they do. I have a hard time getting used to being able to get anywhere in the city in a matter of minutes. I'm sure a Cincinnatian would notice the difference here as well. "You can't get there from here" is definitely pure Pittsburgh! At the same time Cincinnati is full of sprawl. I've never seen so many malls and chains in my life. I'm not sure if it's due to the beltway system but I felt a lot of the city lacked some of the character our neighborhoods have. All in all though a great, fun city with some beautiful downtown areas we really enjoyed stumbling through. Have any of you guys been out that way? And what do you think we could learn from them and vice versa?

[gameguy56]

I feel like Cincinnati definitely has some similarities to Pittsburgh. Did you get to hang out around Mt Adams? I think their downtown might be a little bit more developed than ours. Pittsburgh neighborhoods definitely beat out Cincinnati though. Pittsburgh's East End > Clifton/Northside. However if Over-The-Rhine ever gets cleaned up they'll have a truly magnificent urban neighborhood.

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by gameguy56

I feel like Cincinnati definitely has some similarities to Pittsburgh. Did you get to hang out around Mt Adams? I think their downtown might be a little bit more developed than ours. Pittsburgh neighborhoods definitely beat out Cincinnati though. Pittsburgh's East End > Clifton/Northside. However if Over-The-Rhine ever gets cleaned up they'll have a truly magnificent urban neighborhood.

Over the Rhine could definitely give the St. Louis trio of Soulard, Lafayette Square, and Central West End a run for their money as the best urban neighborhood in the Midwest outside of Chicago if they ever get it totally cleaned up.

[SteelCityRising]

I quite like Cincinnati and can't wait to return! They have Skyline Chili, Graeter's Ice Cream, a cool laser tag place that I want to patronize again, and a newer gourmet grilled cheese restaurant that makes my mouth water. I still can't believe I've now lived here for nearly a year and have yet to jaunt into Ohio even once.

[Craziaskowboi]

The four things that Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have in common are the built environment, the terrain that makes for nice vistas, universities named after the city with sports teams in the Big East, and NFL teams in the AFC North.

On the other hand, Cincinnati didn't seem to "feel" a whole lot like Pittsburgh to me. It seemed a bit sleepier, and didn't seem to have as much ambiance. (Part of that could be that much of the nightlife is across the river in Kentucky.) Honestly, and I've said this before, Baltimore felt more like Pittsburgh to me than Cincinnati did.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Honestly, and I've said this before, Baltimore felt more like Pittsburgh to me than Cincinnati did.

Coincidentally I was at Target today stocking up on some groceries and had a brief conversation with a cashier who had moved here recently from Baltimore. She said the people up here were much more pleasant, and I wholeheartedly concurred. I've spent a considerable length of time in and around Baltimore, and I suppose I just don't see the resemblance. I'm not saying you're "off" or anything, but my eye is just a bit untrained perhaps?

I would think Pittsburgh would have the most in common with St. Louis.

[fleetiebelle]

I'm from Cincinnati, and part of the reason why I was attracted to Pittsburgh in the first place is that the cities are similar. I think Cincy is more of a palpably conservative Midwestern city, which is why I always scoff when people say that Pittsburgh is Midwestern. My dad also believes that Pittsburgh has much better defined neighborhoods than Cincinnati, but there are some similar ones: Hyde Park=Shadyside, Northside=Bloomfield, Clifton=Oakland, Indian Hill=Sewickley, Newport, KY=Southside. I do miss an I-275 beltway equivalent (or even a Cross County highway,) though.

Since I live and work in the city, sometimes my family wonders if Pittsburgh is all urban, because they never see the areas that are the most like where they live, but I figure they didn't come to visit me to go to Upper St. Clair or Peters Township.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by gameguy56

I feel like Cincinnati definitely has some similarities to Pittsburgh. Did you get to hang out around Mt Adams?

I once stopped in Cincy during a drive back from Louisville and visted the Mt. Adams neighborhood. It sort of reminded me of a Mt. Washington/Shadyside hybrid. I had a great lunch at Mt. Adams Bar & Grill.

[SammyKhalifa]

I like the city, but it's way more socially conservative than here. I remember when I was back in school, they wanted to push immoral "dirty" magazines out of the city, while at the same time the Klan was there for a demonstration.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

I like the city, but it's way more socially conservative than here. I remember when I was back in school, they wanted to push immoral "dirty" magazines out of the city, while at the same time the Klan was there for a demonstration.

Yes, Cincy is more conservative leaning than Pittsburgh. But there are areas of the city that also lean quite liberal especially around the colleges.

Klansmen can be found in many non conservative areas as well. For a while in the 1980's the head manure salesman aka Grand Lizard for the Klan lived in southern Connecticut in a blue collar, democrat controlled town.

A lot of the housing stock in both cities is similar. Granted Pittsburgh has row houses which is typical of older east coast cities but a lot of the older single family homes look like carbon copies of the neighborhoods in some areas of Cincinnati like Covington and Newport, KY among others.