Pittsburgh ranked HIGH in fun!!!!! (Philadelphia, California: buy, movie theaters, casino)

[guylocke]

I couldn't just add this to my Happenings thread. THIS deserves it's own thread.

Bizjournals just created a comprehensive formula to determine America's top 50 fun cities. It ranked in category's of shopping, food/drink, culture, popular entertainment, gambling, high-impact sports, and low-impact sports.

Guess what!! Pittsburgh made the TOP 10!!!!! Pittsburgh ranked 8th in the top 50 most fun cities in America, and what's even more significant, is that the cities before Pittsburgh are world-class cities such as NYC, Boston, Chicago, LA, Seattle, and San Francisco (another was St. Paul/Minneapolis which was surprising, but good for them)!!

Bravo for Pittsburgh!! That is a HUGE honor, I think.

We ranked 2 (only second to Boston) in shopping!! [I told you retail was doing well in Pittsburgh!]

Don't forget, we may rank even higher once we get a world-class green casino which would no doubt raise our "gambling" category quite a bit!!

Also to note, another Pennsylvania city made the list at number 9, and that's of course, Philadelphia. Only California and Pennsylvania had two cities listed.

Here is the blurb about Pittsburgh which got a special write-up due to it placing in the top 10.

PITTSBURGH
Why it's a fun place
Pittsburgh doesn't have a glittering image, to be sure, but its residents definitely know how to have fun. This is a great area for shopping; only Boston ranks higher in that category. And few places offer better options for golfers, bowlers, moviegoers or fans of live theater.
Category rankings (out of 50 markets)
Shopping: 2nd
Food and drink: 12th
Culture: 18th
Popular entertainment: 21st
Gambling: 21st
High-impact sports: 21st
Low-impact sports: 6th

Fun fact
The Pittsburgh area has 4.19 golf courses per 100,000 residents, the best ratio in the entire country.

Here is the actual top 50 list: bizjournals: Rankings for 50 markets

Here is their methodology: bizjournals: Methodology

[guylocke]

They mentioned this, too.

* No U.S. market, not even those in the Sunbelt, has a stronger concentration of golf courses than Pittsburgh's 4.19 per 100,000 residents. Pittsburgh's rates for retail centers, bars and bowling centers are among the six best in the nation.

Someone on these threads said it perfectly, I think. Pittsburgh is a very hard-working town. We stem from a long tradition of blue-collar workers, and although blue-collar jobs in Pittsburgh are on the way out, the mindset is here to stay. We may work hard, but we sure know how play harder. That's the truth!!

[Geeo]

I wasn't that surprised when I saw this story in the Business Times. I'm sure others probably were, though. We generally score very high on all the surveys that have to do with quality of life. It's nice that this story is running in all the city business journals around the country!

[guylocke]

I wasn't that surprised when I saw this story in the Business Times. I'm sure others probably were, though. We generally score very high on all the surveys that have to do with quality of life. It's nice that this story is running in all the city business journals around the country!

I love how they point out the fact that Pittsburgh and Providence might surprise you and then go on on to list why. That really draws people to our city's name instead of just skimming down the list.

[pghquest]

Seems like an odd study because..

It ranked in category's of
1) shopping - which exists everywhere
2) food/drink - I thought everyone had food, and most cities I travel to have bigger selections of restaurants that are mom/pop, vs the chaines we have so many of. Example.. How many real "mexican" restaurants exist? Drink.. Ok, people here do drink to get drunk.. Did that give us more points, or negative ones?
3) culture - ok.. I'll buy this one
4) popular entertainment - what entertainment do we have that others dont?
5) gambling - um.. we dont have full blown gambling.
6) high-impact sports - ok.. we nailed that one
7) low-impact sports - like what? Ice scating downtown?

[guylocke]

4) popular entertainment - what entertainment do we have that others dont?

We have a huge live entertainment sector. In fact, a few years ago, I think either Newsweek or Time or one of those up-to-date magazines listed Pittsburgh as "The Most Happening" city in America based on bars and live entertainment.

7) low-impact sports - like what? Ice scating downtown?

Are you for real? You don't know what low impact sports are? Try golf and bowling, to name a few.

Your post is very silly. What category's would you like them to use to determine fun? LOL. Because shopping and food/drink exists in every city does that make them equal? Did you actually read their methodology? They used a very well thought-out formula and defined it. I'm not saying they are completely accurate, it's just a ranking, most are meaningless, in fact.

But still, your whining is just silly, to be honest. LOL.

You honestly think shopping is a dumb category because you can "shop anywhere"

Wow..

just.. wow.

You do realize that rankings only exist due to the assumption that every city yields some form of each category to actually CREATE a rank?? ROFL. You can't rank things that are apples to oranges.

[pghquest]

Originally Posted by guylocke

We have a huge live entertainment sector. In fact, a few years ago, I think either Newsweek or Time or one of those up-to-date magazines listed Pittsburgh as "The Most Happening" city in America based on bars and live entertainment.

Are you for real? You don't know what low impact sports are? Try golf and bowling, to name a few.

Your post is very silly. What category's would you like them to use to determine fun? LOL. Because shopping and food/drink exists in every city does that make them equal? Did you actually read their methodology? They used a very well thought-out formula and defined it. I'm not saying they are completely accurate, it's just a ranking, most are meaningless, in fact.

But still, your whining is just silly, to be honest. LOL.

You honestly think shopping is a dumb category because you can "shop anywhere"

Wow..

just.. wow.

You do realize that rankings only exist due to the assumption that every city yields some form of each category to actually CREATE a rank?? ROFL. You can't rank things that are apples to oranges.

Most of our bowling is GONE.. Yeah a few of them remain but very, very few, even some of our movie theaters have closed. Try to find one near Monroeville or N Side Pittsburgh.

Golf.. We beat those cities out where you can golf all year round?

As for my post being silly.. I'm dead serious.. this city is full of people who drink, go to football games, with ballet on the side..

If you think that our city beats others in the examples you've listed, you havent traveled much.

[guylocke]

If you think that our city beats others in the examples you've listed, you havent traveled much.

It's just one ranking from Business Journal. LOL. Apparently THEY think otherwise. Contact them if you have a problem with it. :P

[gallacus]

most cities I travel to have bigger selections of restaurants that are mom/pop, vs the chaines we have so many of

I came here from Denver and I thought Pittsburgh had TONS of mom n' pop places in comparison! I think one would starve in Denver if they could only eat food from mom n' pop places.

Anyway, good for Pittsburgh! I have to say I agree with the top 10 ranking.

[fleetiebelle]

most cities I travel to have bigger selections of restaurants that are mom/pop, vs the chaines we have so many of

Sure, Primanti's, Mad Mex, Sharp Edge, and Eat n' Park are chains, but at least they're *local* chains. There are tons of independent restaurants in Pittsburgh--you can go for weeks without eating in a national chain if you don't want to. (I rarely do.)

And with Pittsburgh Filmmakers (which holds the Three Rivers Film Festival) and theaters like the Oaks, I can see how PGH rates highly in entertainment, as well.