Live in Columbus but Work in Pittsburgh? (house, buying)

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by _Buster

Not true, the closer midwest cities are smaller than Pgh in MSA size (which is what counts). The larger cities are closer to the east (DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC). That's what a lot of us on here don't get... the stuff that most people travel to the biggest cities for are closer to the east, not the midwest, but a lot of people like to push the midwest narrative or the Ohio narrative. It really doesn't offer much of anything Pittsburgh doesn't have (except for Chicago, which is far away). And the benefits of "partnering" with other cities is nebulous- in general, cities compete with each other and that's just part of human nature, its not going to change.

Agree! Other than Cleveland, which Pittsburgh people may travel to just for a change of scenery, there is nothing between Pittsburgh and Chicago that can compete with the four large cities to our east, which are all closer than Chicago. The Megabus experience showed us all we needed to know. The eastbound buses are full, while the westbound ones ran empty, and had to be discontinued.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by _Buster

Not true, the closer midwest cities are smaller than Pgh in MSA size (which is what counts). The larger cities are closer to the east (DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC). That's what a lot of us on here don't get... the stuff that most people travel to the biggest cities for are closer to the east, not the midwest, but a lot of people like to push the midwest narrative or the Ohio narrative. It really doesn't offer much of anything Pittsburgh doesn't have (except for Chicago, which is far away). And the benefits of "partnering" with other cities is nebulous- in general, cities compete with each other and that's just part of human nature, its not going to change.

That's what the Hyperloop would be changing, though. People don't care about miles, they care about minutes. If you can get to Columbus in 15 minutes and Chicago in 30, personal and economic connections between those two cities and Pittsburgh would grow rapidly.

And what Pittsburgh wants is really a moot point. Columbus is the city of focus according to the article. We are just lucky enough to be in close enough proximity to be a potential destination.

[_Buster]

Originally Posted by ferraris

That's what the Hyperloop would be changing, though. People don't care about miles, they care about minutes. If you can get to Columbus in 15 minutes and Chicago in 30, personal and economic connections between those two cities and Pittsburgh would grow rapidly.

And what Pittsburgh wants is really a moot point. Columbus is the city of focus according to the article. We are just lucky enough to be in close enough proximity to be a potential destination.

Well I wasn't really responding to that loop thing (which I don't foresee happening in our lifetimes anyway). It was more a side discussion with Smileyjoe wondering why people in Pittsburgh tend to shun any focus toward the midwest.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by _Buster

Well I wasn't really responding to that loop thing (which I don't foresee happening in our lifetimes anyway). It was more a side discussion with Smileyjoe wondering why people in Pittsburgh tend to shun any focus toward the midwest.

Because "Ohia and ain't nuttin' great aht there".

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by krogerDisco

I can't think of a reason to go to Columbus.

They have a really nice mall.

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by Smileyjoe

And you understand the point I'm trying to convey. Columbus is a finalist for this money. Columbus asked Pittsburgh. I don't recall any other city ever asking Pittsburgh to be a part of something like this. Nobody can answer why this would be a bad idea and why Pittsburgh shouldn't participate in this. Columbus could've bypassed Pittsburgh for D.C. Hopefully the politicians are a little more open minded than posters on this board. NYC, philly, Baltimore and D.C. Are connected now. I could see the complaints now of a Chicago / Columbus line now completely bypassing Pittsburgh for D.C. What would yinz all say then?

The Midwest cities may be a little smaller than Pittsburgh, but Columbus is on pace to eclipse 3 million people in the metro. It will eventually be the largest city in between Chicago and Pittsburgh.



The business partnerships would be incredible as a result of this. I only see good coming from this.

To me, it would be dumb for this to come to Pittsburgh if it weren't going to continue on to either DC, or NYC.

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by Smileyjoe

Why? We have a great record of spending transportation money. That's probably why we lost out to Columbus on the smart city grant a few months back. We dug a billion dollar tunnel to go less than two miles under the river. Our history handling transportation money and projects has been lousy at best.

You will see this project before you see an Oakland/ downtown connector. Our booster leaves office in 6 days. No president in recent memory visited or tried to help boost Pittsburgh more than obama. The G-20 was huge. We need to try and capitalize on partnerships wherever we can. I fear we are going to fall back into the shadows, like how it was before obama.

What good are connections to a place few want to go. As I pointed out before, no one rode the megabus when it went west. The buses are crowded going east. It might cost more to go east, but that's where the riders are.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Herodotus

What good are connections to place few want to go. As I pointed out before, no one rode the megabus when it went west. The buses are crowded going east. It might cost more to go east, but that's where the riders are.

What bus can travel 700+ mph? 30 minutes to Chicago instead of 7 hrs would be great.

[ForYourLungsOnly]

How did I know the defensive "Pittsburgh is NOT connected to the Midwest so why build a rail line that connects to Columbus...OHIO sucks!...Why would I go to Ohio?!" tropes would come out fairly quickly on this thread. People seem to miss the big picture here. Perhaps this line, which actually starts (or ends, depending on how you look at it) in Chicago, is part of a bigger picture. Chicago has classically been the transit hub of the nation. Perhaps Pittsburgh is a great stopping point from Chicago to the NE corridor for the first phase of a broader vision of hyperloop rail across the nation. With the success of the CHI-CBUS-PIT line, what then prevents another line being built from Chicago to Denver...or from PIT to NYC? 30 minutes from Pittsburgh to Chicago is unbelievable. Half the amount of time it takes to fly, not including your time spent at the airport. Like it or not, Chicago is one of the largest economies in the world, and Columbus is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Yes, even though "they're in the Midwest" (which Pittsburgh is 2 hours by car from). A connection from Pittsburgh to NYC would likely be more costly secondary to terrain. Go ahead and keep saying "but why would you go to Columbus?" and miss the big picture and wealth of opportunity this could present. Maybe in 10 years after construction of phase one, you'll be able to go from Pittsburgh to Denver in an hour and 15 min. Be a shame to lose that because "Ohio sux".

As an aside..I also realized recently that I don't really hear many people say "why would I go to this or that place" from people here in Chicago. They seem to be pretty open to traveling to different cities, big or small, new or old. The defensive provincial attitude of "Ohio SUX!" is one thing I don't miss about Pittsburgh (though I do miss other things, before someone goes off the rails).

[Katarina Witt]

^^I have to say, these last few posts are more evidence that Pittsburghers do not consider themselves or their city part of the midwest.

I will also say that midwesterners have a reputation of love of travel.