Rank Pittsburgh's Quality-of-Life (Portland, Penn, Mexico: public school, living in, young professionals)

[Goodjules]

Groceries do seem expensive here, and I'm glad I'm not the only one to have noticed that. Gas prices also seem relatively expensive, as I can travel to a lot of places within an hour's drive of the city and pay much less for a gallon of gas. The "provincial closed-minded locals" are dying off in droves, thankfully, and are being replaced by a fresh wave of locals who are more worldly, progressive, and cultured. As far as the lack of restaurants are concerned I think that's just specific to you because you settled on the west side of the city, which is the least-densely-populated. The East End/East Hills have numerous great places to dine.

I've met plenty of young "provincial closed-minded locals." But even they are more open-minded than their parents. The West Side doesn't have the dining options of the East Side, I agree. But SF has one of the highest per capita number of restaurants in the nation, the East side pales in comparison. That said, the trend here is in the right direction, but it has a long way to go.

I sometimes wonder if I wouldn't prefer the weather in someplace like Nashville, where I'd imagine the ratio is reversed with seven months of prime weather and five months of wintry weather.

Haha! I considered and rejected Nashville for the very reasons you like it. I went there in June and thought I was going to die every time I ventured outside, it was soooooo hot. I could live with this winter weather even longer if it meant shorter hot humid summers. Spring and Fall are best IMO.

[gg]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I must say I've noticed the litter issue here improving since I moved here in 2010. We went from what I would consider an above-average amount of litter for a city of our size, in my humble opinion, to an average amount of litter for a city of our size. Naturally I'd like to see further improvement, but we're heading in the right direction on that front.

I also never understood this commentary about Pittsburgh being "very polluted". We have far fewer "Ozone Alert Days" in the summer than many other cities. Even since 2010 I've noticed fewer and fewer Hummers, Chevy Suburbans, and GMC Yukon Denalis in the city proper and more and more SmartCars, Honda Civic Hybrids, Toyota Priii, Honda Fits, and other smaller more fuel-efficient (and less polluting) vehicles.

While you're correct that the cycling infrastructure here continues to be lacking I've also noticed an UPTICK in the number of people cycling since moving here, which is only going to make things safer for everyone as more drivers become more familiarized with cyclists and the concept of "sharing the road." We also have a new mayor in the city proper, and he happens to be in favor of expanding cycling infrastructure. Some of the grievances cyclists have are born of their own ignorance of what is available to them. For example, I always see so many people pedaling up and down Fifth Avenue in Shadyside. Why? Ellsworth Avenue roughly parallels Fifth Avenue and is a much more bike-friendly street. People still insist on cycling on Penn Avenue through Point Breeze when Reynolds Street and/or Meade Street are much safer alternatives. Why? Some cyclists have the "it's MY right..." attitude when it comes to cycling on Penn Avenue or Fifth Avenue, but that's meaningless when you're being carried into the back of an ambulance.

I agree there is less litter in East Liberty than years ago, but there is a ton of it around still. Downtown Pittsburgh is pretty good though.

We still have a lot of air quality issues. Keep in mind how low our bar is set considering our past. It has improved and there are a little less giant SUVs running around the city, but BOOM when you hit the suburbs it is full of them like no other place.

Cycling is on the upswing for sure. WAY more cyclist than ever before, but that is due in part by college grads just having about no extra money, so they ride a bike. You know that pesky little $100K loan they have to start their young lives.

As far as cyclists riding on parts of Penn or 5th, that is their right. You won't see me riding on those roads. I do ride on Penn in some areas, but no way around that 5th Ave area. That is a highway and I would go out of my way to avoid it except on Sundays during church because there are cars parked on it.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

I've generally found Pittsburghers to be no different or friendlier than people in other cities. What cities have you found to be more polite than Pittsburgh Aqua?

Here's a decent sampling:

Friendlier big cities (US): Des Moines, Cincinnati, Asheville, Chicago, Toledo, Columbus, Burlington, Manchester, Los Angeles

Friendlier big cities (foreign picking 1 city per country): Tokyo, Reykjavik, Dublin, Stuttgart, Vienna, Brno, Toronto

Worse big cities: Philadelphia, Hartford, Boston, New York, Washington DC, Budapest, Paris

I'm leaving out tons of the smaller areas, but you get the idea.

[doo dah]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Here's a decent sampling:

Friendlier big cities (US): Des Moines, Cincinnati, Asheville, Chicago, Toledo, Columbus, Burlington, Manchester, Los Angeles

Friendlier big cities (foreign picking 1 city per country): Tokyo, Reykjavik, Dublin, Stuttgart, Vienna, Brno, Toronto

Worse big cities: Philadelphia, Hartford, Boston, New York, Washington DC, Budapest, Paris

I'm leaving out tons of the smaller areas, but you get the idea.

Ooh, that was not my experience in Vienna! Of course, maybe the rude people were other (non-English-speaking) tourists.

Strangely, I haven't had anyone be rude to me in NYC. I've had people go out of their way to be nice, every time I've gone there. (I am DOOMED next time! )

Rudest I've experienced was in Baltimore.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Some tourists can be downright rude. I ran into some really terrible Dutch tourists in France and some totally disrespectful Chinese tourists in Japan. The worst was when I ran into 3 guys at a bar in Ireland. They were talking about throwing their pint glasses at the bartender just to start a brawl. A person in our group approached them and they basically told her to f*ck off. They were 3 guys from the US Air Force.

I went to Baltimore as a kid but don't really remember much to form an opinion. I'd like to visit it, I'm sure it's nothing like The Wire.

[gg]

Originally Posted by doo dah

Strangely, I haven't had anyone be rude to me in NYC. I've had people go out of their way to be nice, every time I've gone there. (I am DOOMED next time! )

This has been my experience as well, but I can't say it was like that in the early 90's. NYC has changed quite a bit. It has pulled together more since 9/11 and I think people appreciate things at a different level than in years past. Most are proud of their city and will take time if they can to help out with directions. It is hard to compare NYC with Pittsburgh because of its size.

I don't care for the DC area as far as friendliness goes. I love to visit and enjoy the city, but it isn't personal and driving there is always a drag because people are so aggressive it blows my mind. What about the OP's question though. Is the quality of life better in DC? What if you have a lot of money and live in a really good location with all the bike trails and you don't have to drive on the beltway? You walk or bike to work. DC has better weather and way more amenities than Pittsburgh. I think we can create our own quality of life, but many times it takes money. If you live in Pittsburgh and are able to walk or cycle to work would create WAY less stress on a daily basis. Heck some people can walk home for lunch. How nice would that be?

I answered the question on a more non personal basis. If I answered it for myself only, I would have to bump it up a bit higher. I cycle to work and my route isn't horrible. That is HUGE! If I need to drive, it is ultra fast with no traffic. Lots of potholes though.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by doo dah

Ooh, that was not my experience in Vienna! Of course, maybe the rude people were other (non-English-speaking) tourists.

Strangely, I haven't had anyone be rude to me in NYC. I've had people go out of their way to be nice, every time I've gone there. (I am DOOMED next time! )

Rudest I've experienced was in Baltimore.

I've lived in quite a few cities during my career, and have family in a dozen or so others. So I feel I'm pretty familiar with maybe 20 or 25 cities. My experience is most cities have about the same number of friendly people and the same number of jerks.

Despite being busy cities and thus supposedly being unfriendly, I've met plenty of friendly people in NYC, Vienna, DC, SF, etc. don't buy the idea that big city means all the people there are unfriendly. Sorry that SCR had bad luck during his short stay in Reston, but I had a completely different experience when I lived there. The people I knew were great, and in fact even though I've retired and moved to the beach, I frequently go back just to do things with my friends there.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Many people are in one way or another. We as humans are highly adaptable and over time we will get desensitized to what goes on around us. Some of us don't realize that things should be much better than they are. Others might only realize it later in life. But there are other folks like myself who never get "used to it". I can't ever get desensitized to so many people being cold/confrontational/unfriendly and what have you. It's not just a few bad apples that spoil the bunch either.

I'm not alone in feeling this way either, but considering where we are all posting I am not likely to find others that share my viewpoint (and I'm totally cool with that).

I wonder if it's even possible to pin down what makes the perceptions on this so different? I know it's a discussion that has come up before and I am aware of your take from this and earlier threads. I'm sure your experience is your experience, but it just so different than anything I can point to or think of.

I find it difficult to even imagine that I would be desensitized to people being cold/confrontational/unfriendly. That kind of stuff affects me. I realize that I have resided in this area for 22 years and am open to the idea that this is, despite my protestations, what has happened. But I remain doubtful.

One theory could be that I just don't interact with nearly as many people in such a way that I find out that they are cold/confrontational/unfriendly. Another would be I just have a different yardstick of what constitutes such.

Who knows.

I will note I spent many weeks (including a month-long stint 20 years ago) staying and working in Columbus and didn't find it different in this regard. You do know you're in the midwest when you see ads for ag products on TV though.

[pghdude28]

I would describe quality of life here as somewhat "Poor." I do have a decent job, however I voted "Poor." There's no need to reiterate what I have posted extensively about in the past. I think most are familiar with my perspective on this region. All one has to do is look outside their windows, drive around, interact with the locals, speak with young professionals, etc. to see what I'm talking about. If you don't notice it, I can't help you. This region has no real path to anywhere and lacks vision for the future. It's not worth rambling about. As the saying goes, "You can't fix stupid."

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Aqua Teen Carl

Here's a decent sampling:

Friendlier big cities (US): Des Moines, Cincinnati, Asheville, Chicago, Toledo, Columbus, Burlington, Manchester, Los Angeles

Friendlier big cities (foreign picking 1 city per country): Tokyo, Reykjavik, Dublin, Stuttgart, Vienna, Brno, Toronto

Worse big cities: Philadelphia, Hartford, Boston, New York, Washington DC, Budapest, Paris

I'm leaving out tons of the smaller areas, but you get the idea.

When I went to Chicago in the fall of 2012, I didn't notice much difference between them and Pittsburghers but I'm going back in 5 weeks for that outdoor pens game so maybe I'll notice better. I will agree with you about Toronto, they are the friendliest people I've ever seen in a city that size.