Greensburg vs Johnstown? (Pittsburgh, Uniontown, Jeannette: cliquey, hotel, home)

[Beav2012]

I'm a mid 20's single HR professional debating to relocate to Greensburg. I've been born and raised in Johnstown where I'm bored of lack of culture and clichy people. I understand that Greensburg is not Pitt, but I couldnt handle all the traffic in Pitt every day. Is Greensburg better than Jtown related to new, open minded people, more culture, more things to do? Or is it just the same? Are there young professional groups to join? I've read some stats on it, but I'd rather get personal opinions from the pros. I need honest opinions to make this decision, otherwise there's no point to moving.

Thanks for your help!

[bradjl2009]

Greensburg is considered by many posters as a nice small town with a lot to offer for its size. Popuation wise, Westmoreland County has a little more than double the population of Cambria so I'm sure it has a lot more to offer and plus you're only an hour away for all the fun things to do in Pittsburgh if you want to come in for a night or a weekend day.

[speagles84]

I agree with Bradjl here. Although population-wise Greensburg has less people than Johnstown, Greensburg is a small city within Pittsburgh's orbit giving much more opportunity than Johnstown.

[escilade18]

Actually, Hempfield Township (in which Greensburg is in) is the largest "suburb" of Pittsburgh population wise: Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The city of Greensburg itself is only 4.2 sq miles which contains around 15,000 people, but there is a good amount of development along the rt. 30 corridor to the east of the city. I personally love Greensburg and I believe that it would be somewhere worth checking out

[neurodistortion]

I'm a mid-20s guy who lives in Greensburg so I can give you an honest idea of where you might stand considering your age. Granted, I was born and raised here so my opinion of the area may be a bit harsher so to speak but I want to be direct and not give you a wishy-washy assessment.

Greensburg as a city contains some 15,000 residents but Hempfield Township (and its smaller associated towns) which surrounds the city has some 50,000 residents so the entire region population-wise if you take into account Greensburg and Hempfield is larger than the entire Johnstown metro area. Westmoreland itself is pretty vast but the western portion of the county is where most of the population is located. As far as your age is concerned, one thing that you might be concerned with as you had already pointed out is the open-mindedness of people and the cultural amenities offered in the area. My general consensus is that Greensburg is truly a mixture of open-minded people as well as people who fall in between the two spectrums, and then those who are still living in the 1970s. Of course, the younger population and the college crowd are going to be more accepting and open-minded to those around them than the older, established population who are set in their ways. This is not limited to Greensburg as I find it to be more of a Pittsburgh regional attitude. You will likely find cliquey people but that's dependent on those you associate with, I don't think it's going to be much of an issue though, they can even be found in Pittsburgh, let alone Greensburg. Of course, Greensburg is light-years ahead of say Fayette County where 80% of the population are still focused on the JFK era.

The one main advantage of Greensburg is the local culture. For starters, we have the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, which concentrates on the art of Southwestern PA and is arguably the premier museum of its kind in the Pittsburgh area. An expansion is currently planned which will double the size of this museum. If you're into live entertainment, the Palace Theater is a first-class performing arts venue located downtown. It usually hosts nationally-known musical performances, cultural Broadway-type acts and the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra a few times a month. A newer attraction is the Seton Hill Performing Arts Center which is located adjacent to the Palace and hosts various performances as well during the academic year.

In addition, there's SummerSounds in Downtown Greensburg every Friday and Saturday nights during the summer months at St. Clair Park. It's a nice way to enjoy the summer evening and listen to live bands at the park's amphitheater. If you're hungry, there's also food vendors in addition to souvenirs sold in the park. There's also smaller "coffee shop" performances and open mic nights at various independent art galleries throughout the area including DV8 and the Keynote Cafe in nearby Jeannette, the only thing is that this might be a little more youthful and hipster-oriented than what you might want. The Ramada Hotel and Convention Center in Hempfield also hosts entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights with live bands and performances amid a large crowd if you want something more relaxed and in-tune with your preferences. Even with all these options right at your footstep, you still have many other opportunities for entertainment and culture in nearby Pittsburgh; the drive into the city is actually not that bad during the evening hours, you can make a quick trip into the city in as little as 40-45 minutes with little to no traffic.

Greensburg is also home to a series of county parks including the picturesque Twin Lakes Park and nearby Mammoth Park in Mount Pleasant Township. Mt. Odin Park and St. Clair Park are city-owned parks. We also have the Five Star Trail which is bike-friendly and connects Greensburg to the Great Allegheny Passage in the Laurel Highlands. There's also Ohiopyle about 45 minutes to the southwest in Fayette County and then there's all the other amenities that you're probably familiar with in the Laurel Highlands such as Seven Springs. Shopping and dining are also plentiful as we have several shopping centers as well as Westmoreland Mall. Restaurants not represented in the Johnstown area that are in Greensburg include Smokey Bones, Red Robin, TGI Fridays, IHOP, Longhorn and others. There's also a series of upscale restaurants and boutiques in Downtown Greensburg such as One Eleven, J. Corks, Oliver's Pourhouse and the Rialto to name a few. If you need more information just go to Think Greensburg's Facebook page which I've linked below.

Think Greensburg! - Non-Profit Organization - Greensburg | Facebook

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by neurodistortion

Of course, Greensburg is light-years ahead of say Fayette County where 80% of the population are still focused on the JFK era.

Is that a fact?

Uniontown has the same amenities that Greensburg has.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Is that a fact?

Uniontown has the same amenities that Greensburg has.

But not quite the same drug problem.

To the OP, having spent time in both areas, I'd take G-burg hands down.

[neurodistortion]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Is that a fact?

Uniontown has the same amenities that Greensburg has.

Uniontown as a region certainly has some great amenities, for instance Nemacolin is definitely a world-class four seasons resort and Ohiopyle, Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob are in their own right worthy of recognition. There's also some decent architecture downtown. I'm safe to say that Uniontown can give Greensburg a run for the money if need be. But I must say that Fayette residents (mind you, not all of them, I have some friends from that area) are some of the most backwards-thinking people anywhere, and that's not an exaggeration.

[Copanut]

Fayette-Nam

[Evergrey]

Greensburg vs. Johnstown? Does this question even need to be asked?

Look deep into your heart... and I think you'll know the answer.