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How would those who have experience both cities compare the cities of Tacoma and Bellingham in size, cultural amenities, layout, vibrancy and general vibe to the city of Pittsburgh, PA? While nothing quite gets close to visiting the city itself, I'd like to hear people's thoughts - prominent features of Pittsburgh to me include how walkable it is in the east end and south side, how progressive it is with biking, and how it is rapidly becoming more of a food city with plenty of other cultural options. Does Tacoma compare in these aspects, or is it much smaller and different? I imagine Bellingham to be smaller, but I really have no idea. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I don't have personal experience with Pittsburgh, so my comment speaks only from what I known about Tacoma, Bellingham, and general history.
Tacoma and Bellingham are both rather charming mid-sized cities in their own right. Tacoma, in particular, has enormous potential in my opinion as far as urban amenities go (Tacoma will also be getting a huge light-rail expansion within the next couple decades which will be a boon for the city). That being said, whereas Tacoma and Bellingham were established roughly between 1850-1900, Pittsburgh was established way back in 1750-1800. Pittsburgh was more populated in 1950 than Seattle is today. While Pittsburgh's population has plummeted since that time, it was and is still a major city and is more comparable to Seattle.
Tacoma is an older city that's now a satellite of Seattle.
Pittsburgh is closer to a Seattle than a Tacoma. It's a big city with some vibrant urban neighborhoods. On the other hand it also has large-scale abandonment in many areas, which is like that aspect of Tacoma x10.
Tacoma is on big hills but Pittsburgh is on a ton of tall/narrow hills, so the latter feels much hillier. And somehow its hillsides and wooded ravines make the half-demo'd townhouse vibe look good.
All three have spectacular if not attractive settings. Pittsburgh is leaps ahead of the other two in the arts.
Recreation is very abundant in the west coast cities. All three have similar amounts of overcast days.
(An acquaintance told me that parts of Tacoma and parts of Seattle reminded her of ..... Philadelphia [not the subject of this thread, but it says something.])
How would those who have experience both cities compare the cities of Tacoma and Bellingham in size, cultural amenities, layout, vibrancy and general vibe to the city of Pittsburgh, PA? While nothing quite gets close to visiting the city itself, I'd like to hear people's thoughts - prominent features of Pittsburgh to me include how walkable it is in the east end and south side, how progressive it is with biking, and how it is rapidly becoming more of a food city with plenty of other cultural options. Does Tacoma compare in these aspects, or is it much smaller and different? I imagine Bellingham to be smaller, but I really have no idea. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
First off where are you coming from? Tacoma is not a huge city but it's growing in population and is working to add nightlife and vibrancy to it's Hilltop/Stadium district neighborhood. Cultural Amenities Pittsburgh wins because of it's size but tacoma has a strong theater district, the largest automobile museum in the nation, world famous museum of glass, and a few other museums. If you are into Native American history there is a lot of little historical points around the area. Tacoma also is only 30 miles south of Seattle so you can get the best of both world's. Tacoma is starting to show signs of being more foodie. Recreation wise cant beat any city but I would say Bellingham and Tacoma are tied and Pittsburgh is behind both of those.
This is an interesting comparison. Pittsburgh is the main city in a large metropolitan area, Tacoma is a secondary city in a large metropolitan area, and Bellingham is the center of a small metropolitan area.
I don't spend much time in Tacoma, but I agree with posters above that the potential for the city is very high- especially as transit continues to better connect it to Seattle. It's gentrifying and at times industrial and run down, but it has inexpensive, existing housing stock and pockets of new development. And while surrounded by natural beauty, much of the town is not separated by it, unlike Seattle and Pittsburgh, where geography can cut off and isolate certain parts and make getting from neighborhood to neighborhood a challenge, at times. But Pittsburgh and Seattle have a lot more going on, and much more happening little areas, in general. That said, I could easily see Tacoma becoming the equivalent of Oakland in the future, and I get the feeling that Tacoma would be a great place to invest in property, as it's next logical option for millenials that want a semi-urban lifestyle in the area without paying Seattle prices or living in the burbs, which aren't cheap, either.
Back to the three cities being compared, Bellingham is the odd man out, and tough to compare to the other two. (Caveat: we love it and just bought a house, for the sake of conversation my wife is from outside Pittsburgh). It's a smaller city in a small metro, but very much self-contained with its own identity- it's not a suburb by any means. It's more progressive than the other two and quite transit-friendly. It doesn't have the big city amenities of the other two (or, at least in Tacoma's case, a combination of their own attractions plus the proximity to many of Seattle's) but it has a very local-focused food scene, is quickly being regarded as a big-time beer town/destination to Seattleites and Vancouverites, as it's actually much closer to Vancouver and their BC suburbs. And while there aren't a ton of big-time arts attractions, it's worth pointing out that Bham has the 2nd highest per capita employment of arts-related jobs (behind Santa Fe, I believe). Bellingham also has better access to natural beauty, wilderness and the mountains than the other two and (IMHO) feels like a sleepy mini-Portland. But the best part about Bellingham is the fact that I don't have to battle traffic every day. There's some, of course, but NOTHING like we've experienced with Pittsburgh's weird and confusing roads and Seattle's nightmarish gridlock.
I was at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma last month. It's a good museum and worth visiting along with the nearby Washington State History Museum. The Tacoma Art Museum is also apparently good, near the other two. Good neighborhood with UW Tacoma spreading through historic buildings across the street and a good tourist/transit/student vibe.
However MOG is "world famous"? I imagine it's one of the best glass museums, but my bar for "world famous" is far higher. I question whether the Pike Place Market is really world famous.
All three have spectacular if not attractive settings. Pittsburgh is leaps ahead of the other two in the arts.
Recreation is very abundant in the west coast cities. All three have similar amounts of overcast days.
(An acquaintance told me that parts of Tacoma and parts of Seattle reminded her of ..... Philadelphia [not the subject of this thread, but it says something.])
I have never been to Pittsburgh however I do know that Tacoma's art scene is to me, impeccable. The local/ underground art scene here is huge, not to mention the museums, old Victorian architecture, dramatic cliffsides lined with those homes or apartments, the second largest urban park in the nation that transports you 200 years back in time to a magical land. It's an easy place to become inspired. Most of my coworkers are either in bands or artists themselves, glassblowing is huge here, it's a really great time to be here and the community just became stronger after sending a powerful message to China that we didn't want the world's largest methanol plant constructed in our port. It took months, and a lot of people power to convince, not only Northwest innovation works, but our mayor, city council, governor, and federal government that our community would not allow this. I feel like Tacoma is on the edge of something amazing. Sorry for the tangent but it's the place to be if you know the locals. Extremely underrated.
Depends on if Tacoma is on par with Seattle as far as the arts go because even Seattle has a hard time matching Pittsburgh in the arts. In the city alone there are 4 art museums. Five if you want to count The Frick.
Obviously there are other areas that Seattle has that are better.
San Francisco is a better match up when you're talking a out west with comparable arts (talking overall Denver is about where Pittsburgh is for comparison). In the East Cleveland is a good match for the arts.
Where Tacoma might be closer with Pittsburgh is galleries and the local scene. At any given time over 1% of Pittsburgh's city population is made up of artists. Although surprisingly there aren't a whole lot of galleries like you might expect.
Last edited by JMT; 05-27-2016 at 06:10 AM..
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