Where to: Pittsburgh vs. Seattle vs. Kansas City vs. NC or..? (living, best)
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Ok here's the scoop. I'm a 19 year old male and have taken the year off of school to work and save up some money. I plan on enrolling into a community college before transferring to bigger school to finish out the other 2 years needed for a bachelors degree which I'm still deciding on what I want to do. I inititally was going to move to Pittsburgh and go to a community college while finding a job to continue saving money for 2 years and then possibly transfer to the University of Pittsburgh or Washington although I really don't want to have to pay the out of state tuition so I would then have to resort to taking another year off of school to be eligible for the in state tuition if I were to go that route.
I'm trying to leave the west suburbs of Chicago which I strongly dislike and just really feel it's time for a change of scenery. If you haven't been here, downtown Chicago is a beautiful place in the summer but I really hate the way the area around it is laid out. You have the hood bordering it and then the further out you get you have your various suburbs and I believe it has to be one of the most segregated places on earth. I hate the severely cold winters and to a lesser extent, the extremely hot summers and too many people here are stuck up and snobby as I see it.
I want an area with a population that is less segregated, more down to earth, laid back, yet hard working and goal-oriented.
I have never been to any of those places but would really like some advice on which cities to lean towards and make plans to visit.
I love the look of Pittsburgh simple yet unique downtown with the hilly landscape surrounding it. I'm also attracted to the affordability of Pittsburgh and it would probably give me the best chance of saving up some money.
Seattle is beautiful from what I've seen. I love mountain ranges after growing up in the flatlands and Seattle looks amazing and I even prefer it's skyline to that of Chicago's. From what I've heard, people there are highly educated which is super sexy in a city yet it kind of scares me off as I'm afraid people there are too goal-oriented and it'd be hard forming relationships with people. I'm also weary of Seattle because I feel like it's a city where people come to settle down and raise a family while I'll be searching for that girl to maybe one day settle down with.
Kansas City I also saw on a list of best places to relocate to and the economy of North Carolina intrigues me although I'm not sold as I don't know much about these places.
Which place out of these, and you can throw in your own recommendations do you think would give me the best opportunity to be successful yet happy?
Seattle has Pittsburgh's scenery and Chicago's cost of living. Kansas City has Pittsburgh's cost of living and Chicago's scenery. Go with Pittsburgh. It offers the best combination of scenery and cost of living.
Seattle has Pittsburgh's scenery and Chicago's cost of living. Kansas City has Pittsburgh's cost of living and Chicago's scenery. Go with Pittsburgh. It offers the best combination of scenery and cost of living.
I've never thought about it like that before but it makes perfect sense. Great post my man.
For what it's worth I'm 24 and live in the western suburbs of Washington, DC, and I feel the same way here as you feel about the western suburbs of Chicago---lots of sterility, snobbishness, expense, lack of character, etc. I'm in the process of relocating to Pittsburgh after an exhaustive nationwide search for a new city because the Steel City offers the "punch" of a very large city while still being small enough to retain a down-to-earth persona about it. Pittsburgh has an aquarium, NFL team, NHL team, MLB team, aviary, zoo, amusement park, casino, water park, museums, excellent universities, great health care options, a gorgeous skyline, verdant surroundings, historic appeal, and offers it all at a fraction of the cost-of-living of many other areas.
Seattle? Chic. Cosmopolitan. Beautiful. Expensive. Kansas City? Meh. I'm not very familiar with it, but I have a feeling Pittsburgh would blow it out of the water.
For what it's worth I'm 24 and live in the western suburbs of Washington, DC, and I feel the same way here as you feel about the western suburbs of Chicago---lots of sterility, snobbishness, expense, lack of character, etc. I'm in the process of relocating to Pittsburgh after an exhaustive nationwide search for a new city because the Steel City offers the "punch" of a very large city while still being small enough to retain a down-to-earth persona about it. Pittsburgh has an aquarium, NFL team, NHL team, MLB team, aviary, zoo, amusement park, casino, water park, museums, excellent universities, great health care options, a gorgeous skyline, verdant surroundings, historic appeal, and offers it all at a fraction of the cost-of-living of many other areas.
Seattle? Chic. Cosmopolitan. Beautiful. Expensive. Kansas City? Meh. I'm not very familiar with it, but I have a feeling Pittsburgh would blow it out of the water.
Kansas City is underrated too. Not as underrated as Pittsburgh, but underrated nonetheless.
Seattle has Pittsburgh's scenery and Chicago's cost of living. Kansas City has Pittsburgh's cost of living and Chicago's scenery. Go with Pittsburgh. It offers the best combination of scenery and cost of living.
Pittsburgh is a beautiful place. And it's cheaper than Seattle. But Seattle's beauty transcends the cost. It's simply spectacular that way.
Kansas City? Meh. I'm not very familiar with it, but I have a feeling Pittsburgh would blow it out of the water.
Not so fast. What do you claim to know about Kansas City? Is your "meh" reaction because the city's name has the word "Kansas" in it and you envision wheat fields? Actually, KC has dozens of neighborhoods that you'd love, based on how you've described your tastes in the NoVA forum.
Dunno if you're much of a foodie, but Kansas City chefs have won four (4) James Beard Foundation awards (plus double that many nominations) since '97. Guess how many James Beard awards Pittsburgh chefs have ever received? ONE.
Last edited by Alicia Bradley; 11-03-2010 at 11:28 PM..
Kansas City's scenery isn't as good as Pittsuburgh or Seattle but it's not as flat as Chicago. There are some nice rolling hills in the area. Country club plaza is probably the nicest outdoor shopping/dining area I've seen in the entire us. Beautiful spanish architecture with an urban feel. Also, wesport is very cool too. Power and light district downtown is next to the sprintcenter which gives something to do before or after a concert. I've not been to any city in the us that didn't have areas that I was unimpressed by, and KC isn't exempt. However if you move to the right areas there is plenty enough going on to keep you busy while in school.
What would the OP be studying while going to college would narrow things down. What about nightlife, city size, 4 seasons, location, etc...?
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