Pittsburgh Misconceptions (State College, Milton, Bellefonte: apartment, houses, restaurants)

[Drover]

OK, time to unsubscribe from this thread...

[Gerbil]

So if we're about 66% white and Minneapolis is about 62% white, they are diverse and we're not? LOL

Just because a place is less diverse than some other places doesn't mean it's not diverse at all. I reiterate that I don't give a crap about the suburbs. Visitors to the city (be they tourists, people here on business, or students) spend most of their time in the city proper, in neighborhoods where they will see diversity. They won't see as much as they would in DC or NY, but they certainly won't be seeing 90% white people on the street.

People who live here can choose to live in any neighborhood they like, and if they don't want to see mostly white people then they don't have to live in Cranberry or whatever.

Finally, I want to echo what someone else said: Why does it matter if we're not as diverse as some other city? It's not like we're running people out of town or something. Our demographics just worked out the way they did, and I'm sure in time we'll become more diverse again. In the meantime, anyone who wants to see diversity has neighborhoods they can go to and see it.

[JoeP]

The issue has already been discussed.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by subdivisions

Sorry, but 67% White is not "extremely non-diverse". And we never defined diversity as "having a huge Hispanic population" or "having a huge Asian/Indian population".

I for one am tired tired tired of diverse and not diverse... it is a truly meaningless thing. You can either get along with people that you live with or not.

If you're seeking diversity you can probably get along with people and if you're not seeking diversity you probably can't get along with people -- because diverse/not diverse means to me you're either tolerant or not tolerant. The people I know that don't want diversity are NOT tolerant people.

USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

According to the US Government Census the UNITED STATES is 80 percent white. The whole country is not really all that diverse. I think it's time to get over it already!

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by JoeP

The issue has already been discussed.

Honestly, Joe, most of the issues on this forum have already been discussed. You do not have to be part of the discussion if you don't want to be. And no, Gerbil, my point was not that Minneapolis is diverse and Pittsburgh isn't. If you look at Mpls' stats, you can see they have a lot more [i]variety[/I, as CarolinaOnMyMind defined diverstiy, than Pittsburgh. I simply thought it was an interesting comparison. Drover, you do not need to participate either, if you don't like the discussion.

[staggerlee]

i hate when people put at on the end of a sentence. What makes it worse is the fact that Cowher said it all the time at his press conferences and Wannstadt (wann-stache) says it all the time as well. Oh well I'm going to go get a cold arn - where are you guys at?

[Ken_B.]

Just wanted to put in my 2 cents. I grew up near Philly, lived near Kansas City for two years, have lived in Boston for 5 years, traveled to NYC, L.A., SanFran, Baltimore, etc.

I just returned from a few days in Pitt, my first trip. It is not as diverse as Boston or NYC, it's not racially divided like Philly and Baltimore - but it's JUST FINE. The people I met there where some of the nicest ANYWHERE I have been.

I found the city very clean and when I came through the west tunnel (forget the name) the city opened up before me and it was beautiful. I happened to be at the top of the inclines at dusk as the buildings and bridges started lighting up - WOW.

I guess you could say I enjoyed - I'm moving there in December.

[RowJimmy]

Glad you liked our town, and you are moving here. I lived near Philly on the main line for a while. Philly sure is racially divided. There were discussions on this board how divided Pittsburgh was. I just laughed it off. The people posting surley never lived in Philly where there are literally streets seperating races.

This is the first time I saw this thread and wow. People really do beat dead horses on this board. I lived in Altoona, State College, Denver, Pittsburgh, and Philly. Honestly the most diverse place I've been is State College and Oakland in Pittsburgh because of all the foreign student population that doesn't count in population statistics. I read about how adding black people didn't count or something. Living in Denver it felt like everybody was either white or hispanic, but they are more diverse I guess. This isn't N.Y.C., Boston, San Fran, or LA. Its not going to be. Pittsburgh is still diverse. I went to the Shadyside arts fest last weekend and saw people of all different colors and heritage there.

[Katiana]

Honestly the most diverse place I've been is State College and Oakland in Pittsburgh because of all the foreign student population that doesn't count in population statistics.

This is not true. I have posted several times on several forums about how college students are counted in their college towns. They are just still a very small percentage of the Pittsburgh population.

Facts About Census 2000 Residence Rules

[RowJimmy]

I don't believe that at all. If you counted student population at state college that town would go from 30,000 to about 100,0000. Look at the State college population stats. It just counts the people that live there. Never once, when I lived in State college at an apartment did I ever fill anything out that said I was a resident of State College. I was considered a resident at my parents home in suburban Pittsburgh. I just find that very unlikely and very untrue. I had a few friends in college that lived there full time, had mail come to their place, etc. Most students there were living in apartments paid by mom and dad, and were not accounted for.