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Pittsburgh and St. Louis are 2 cities that peaked in the 1950's then steadily lost population year after year. Also, both cities have had their fare share of problems.
However, despite this, both of these cities seem amazing.
Also, I hear that both cities are turning around and people are moving back to the city cores.
Which of these cities has the best chance of making a comeback and which one currently is the most vibrant and livable?
Pittsburgh is less isolated, being solidly east of the Mississippi. It's more scenic. It has two top universities (STL just has WU), CMU being a major tech uni. It is more scenic, with a far more interesting topography. It has less racial tension, being a super-white city. And STL has much worse crime problems.
Overall, Pittsburgh is better positioned. Both have great history and architecture. Both are great cities with a bright future.
Pittsburgh is less isolated, being solidly east of the Mississippi. It's more scenic. It has two top universities (STL just has WU), CMU being a major tech uni. It is more scenic, with a far more interesting topography. It has less racial tension, being a super-white city. And STL has much worse crime problems.
Overall, Pittsburgh is better positioned. Both have great history and architecture. Both are great cities with a bright future.
I obviously love St. Louis a lot but I like Pittsburgh a lot too. You're right that Pittsburgh might have St. Louis beat on the education front. WashU is really really awesome but it might not be more awesome than Pitt and CMU put together. Pittsburgh also has the head start on getting tech and robotics development, although St. Louis has historically been a hub of engineering with McDonell Douglas and Boeing among other companies.
Weather is also all about what you're into. I don't like the snowy winters of the northeast so the twice or thrice a year snowstorms of St. Louis are almost perfect for me. St. Louis also gets more sun than Pittsburgh and the great lakes region. Summer is hotter but its honestly not terrible. You're working inside in AC conditions during the day and by most evenings, its cooled down enough to walk through the park or watch an outdoor movie or musical pretty comfortably except for a 2 or 3 weeks in July and August.
As for isolation, its all about what you're into and where your roots are. If you're solidly east coast, than Pitt is closer. If you're from the midwest or the south, then St. Louis is closer. People from the coasts like to joke that we're in "flyover country" but its surprisingly cheap and easy to fly from its central location to just about anywhere. When I lived on the east coast, it was hard to justify vacationing in California but since I've moved to the midwest, its almost just as easy as flying east. Few people from the coasts have been to St. Louis but the people here who make a decent living are surprisingly well traveled.
Pittsburgh's downtown is denser and is a big employment center. I like it. St. Louis's downtown is unfortunately no longer the giant employment center it once was. Jobs have diffused throughout the metro region and to the "second downtown" of Clayton. Downtown St. Louis is showing a pulse again within the last decade though. I was just down there last night and the addition of lots of residential units has been transformational. They can't convert the old warehouses and office buildings fast enough and there are actually waiting lists for most of the buildings now.
As a tangent, I've long dreamed of the chain of Pitt, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City developing into a midwest megalopolis like the northeast chain of Boston, NYC, Philly,Baltimore, DC, Richmond, and Hampton Roads. Such a development would be good for the great lakes and midwest in keeping population and reviving the cities, and good for the country as well in taking advantage of the efficiencies and talent building that comes with active healthy cities.
Last edited by JuanHamez; 06-27-2013 at 10:51 AM..
St. Louis might have marginally better weather, but it's dependent on preference. Frankly, they're not all that different. Both have four well-defined seasons.
St. Louis is closer to the Midwest and the South? Depends what parts. Pittsburgh is at the border with West Virginia (which is considered part of the South) and Ohio (which is in the Midwest).
The reason I said St. Louis is isolated (relative to Pittsburgh) can be summed up with a satellite image:
Pittsburgh based on location and the turn around it's been making over the last decade. Pittsburgh has a better downtown. St. Louis has better suburbs. Pittsburgh edges St. Louis out in quality of life. St. Louis still has the larger and better economy.
I haven't yet been to Pittsburgh, but I always thought it was similar to Saint Louis in that STL is the "gateway to the west," while Pittsburgh is sort of a gateway to the Midwest.
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