Pittsburgh Misconceptions (Oakland, Penn: movies, high school, taxes)

[Katiana]

Per city-data:

Races in Pittsburgh:

White Non-Hispanic (66.9%)
Black (27.1%)
Two or more races (1.6%)
Hispanic (1.3%)
Chinese (0.9%)
Other race (0.7%)
American Indian (0.7%)
Asian Indian (0.6%)
5.6% Foreign born (2.4% Asia, 2.2% Europe, 0.6% Latin America).

DC:

Races in Washington:

Black (60.0%)
White Non-Hispanic (27.8%)
Hispanic (7.9%)
Other race (3.8%)
Two or more races (2.4%)
American Indian (0.8%)
12.9% Foreign born (6.5% Latin America, 2.3% Europe, 2.2% Asia, 1.6% Africa).

and just for fun:

Denver:

White Non-Hispanic (51.9%)
Hispanic (31.7%)
Other race (15.6%)
Black (11.1%)
Two or more races (3.7%)
American Indian (2.2%)
Vietnamese (0.8%)
96,601 residents are foreign born (12.3% Latin America, 2.3% Asia, 1.8% Europe).

Both DC and Denver have more than twice the percentage of foreign-born residents as Pittsburgh (all numbers for city proper, Denver is a city and a county)

[subdivisions]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

Per city-data:

DC:

and just for fun:

Denver:

Both DC and Denver have more than twice the percentage of foreign-born residents as Pittsburgh (all numbers for city proper, Denver is a city and a county)

Interesting stats. Although I guess it depends on the definition of diverse one is using (most foreign-born? most non-white? most Hispanic?), I think I'd actually call Denver "most diverse" of those three, not DC, because of it's high percentage of Hispanic and foreign-born residents. Although I agree that Pittsburgh is the least diverse of the three, I still don't think those stats indicate a total lack of diversity, as was implied by the OP. 30% non-white is more diverse than US racial composition as a whole (~25% non-white in 1999 according to this website: http://as.nyu.edu/docs/IO/1043/Pop.Comp.IESBS.2001.pdf)

Now, if you want to see non-diverse, try Fargo, ND at 93% white! http://www.city-data.com/city/Fargo-North-Dakota.html
Pittsburgh's no DC, but it could be worse. That's assuming you think that non-diversity is "worse". Some people out there undoubtably think that 93% white sounds perfect (not me, but to each his own, I guess).

Why were we comparing DC to Pittsburgh anyway? Did someone claim that DC was less diverse than Pittsburgh? I didn't make that claim. I just take exception to the claim that Pittsburgh is completely white-bread.

[Katiana]

I'm not quite sure, even after reviewing the thread, why we were comparing Pgh to DC. And then I had to go and throw in Denver! I just thought since we were on the topic, I'd post the stats. It's something I enjoy.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by subdivisions

Why were we comparing DC to Pittsburgh anyway? Did someone claim that DC was less diverse than Pittsburgh? I didn't make that claim. I just take exception to the claim that Pittsburgh is completely white-bread.

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

I'm not quite sure, even after reviewing the thread, why we were comparing Pgh to DC. And then I had to go and throw in Denver! I just thought since we were on the topic, I'd post the stats. It's something I enjoy.

See Beth Ann's post on page three. Gerbil quoted her on page 6 which caused Clairmarie to carry the DC torch in Beth Ann's absence.

I'm amazed at how often our Pittsburgh threads end becoming DC discussions. It's getting old.

Some people who live in DC/Virginia seem to think DC discussions belong in the Pittsburgh forum instead of the DC forum.

But DC really has nothing to do with Pittsburgh.

[claremarie]

I just take exception to the claim that Pittsburgh is completely white-bread.

It's not. There is a substantial black population, mostly in the city and some close-in suburbs.
But that's it for diversity. There is virtually no other ethnic group represented in the greater Pittsburgh area beyond a token number (fewer than 2% each) of Asians, Hispanics, and Indians, and most of them are probably temporary residents affiliated with one of the universities.
And most of the suburbs of Pittsburgh ARE almost entirely white.

[Seattle Guy]

Originally Posted by subdivisions

Well, my husband and I for one thing. Between the two of us, we're making about $20K more here than we were in Colorado in the same fields. Neither one of us is a cop, teacher, or on the public payroll. We're not in healthcare either, if that's what you're going to say next.

Great, Pittsburgh needs someone to move there and contribute who isn't on the public payroll because the only people it seemed who were moving there were teachers from NY or NJ or people who became teachers and/or ended up on the public payroll.

A common misperception of Pittsbugh is that it is a blue colllar town when in fact it is a service town with the exception of the bloated public employee unions who are bleeding western PA of its blood. Pittsburgh (AKA western PA) is quickly becoming a basket case like Buffalo, NY and the only solution (for starts) is for the city government to dissolve itself.

It is not that cheap to live there anymore. Only housing prices are low but the homes need repairs even though they are sturdy homes.

This site reeks of real estate people here who want to cover things up.

[Seattle Guy]

Originally Posted by claremarie

[
...beyond a token number (fewer than 2% each) of Asians, Hispanics, and Indians, and most of them are probably temporary residents affiliated with one of the universities.
And most of the suburbs of Pittsburgh ARE almost entirely white.

Immigrants will only come to Pittsburgh if they can make some money there. The are forced to deal with inordinate business costs (which feed too many public employee union costs) just as the Pittsburgh-born population is.

Pittsburgh does in fact need some business-oriented immigrants because it is fast becoming full of old, white people living outside an expanding ghetto but can these immigrants make a living there when so few native people have a chance of a worthwhile jobs which enables them to spend their money at busineses these immigrants could bring?

[pghlibrarian]

Originally Posted by Hopes

See Beth Ann's post on page three. Gerbil quoted her on page 6 which caused Clairmarie to carry the DC torch in Beth Ann's absence.

I'm amazed at how often our Pittsburgh threads end becoming DC discussions. It's getting old.

Some people who live in DC/Virginia seem to think DC discussions belong in the Pittsburgh forum instead of the DC forum.

But DC really has nothing to do with Pittsburgh.

I am guilty of injecting some "DC-ness" into discussions on this forum, and for that I apologize. Since I spent some time living in DC, and that is where I lived just before coming to Pittsburgh, I make comparisons. But you are right comparing Pittsburgh to DC is like comparing apples to oranges.

[RockLobster]

I have lived in Colorado, South Florida and the Northeast. Pittsburgh has the best affordability out of any city I have lived in. It's not even close when matching up housing prices with most other major cities. We all know culture is good here in Pittsburgh and of course the sports teams are given great following. And the outdoor scene is pretty solid for an urban area. Downtown development is encouraging and the private sector seems to be empowered to a certain extent. Politically, the young mayor will be tested like no other very soon as he must face one of the worse financial tangles of any city in the country. The city pension crisis and the huge amount of debt of the city can no longer be passed on to the next mayor as been the case for years in Pittsburgh. Mark Dasantis the write n GOP for mayor will force this issue in the upcoming months. And it's a good thing as this is a huge issue that will stop Pittsburgh's growth in many ways until a working plan is underway to turn the financial crisis around. It's a good time to be in Pittsburgh as it seems we maybe starting to see the seed's of a great city fall in place following decades of decline. A true testiment to the strength of Pittsburgh being what is still in place is substantial despite all the hardship of the past.

[Gerbil]

I was not trying to claim Pittsburgh is as diverse as DC. I thought I made that clear. What I was saying is that it's misleading to claim Pittsburgh *lacks* diversity. To say we lack it implies that everyone here is white. I realize that the minorities here are in smaller numbers than most cities, but that doesn't mean they aren't here. You walk around in Oakland, for instance, and you will hear many languages and see all kinds of people. We have diversity. Not in every neighborhood, but we have it. It's unfair to imply that we don't.

Here's an example of what I mean (this is random, but I hope it gets my point across). Let's say there are two people. Bob and Jim. Bob owns twenty cars and Jim owns one. Bob has more, certainly, but it would be incorrect to say that Jim hasn't got any cars. (The numbers of cars I mentioned are totally random, by the way; they aren't in any way based on numbers discussed in this thread). Cars are much more tangible than "diversity" of course. It's hard to *lack* something as subjective as diversity.