Pittsburgh, PA vs Cincinnati, OH, which is better to live in? (living, cost)
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I am looking at moving to either Pittsburgh, PA or Cincinnati, OH in the coming months and I am torn on which one to choose. What city do you think is better for the criteria?
Good restaurants
Low cost of living (I have a high home budget so I mean stuff like taxes and inflation)
Cool neighborhoods
Geography features (like hills, rivers etc)
NOTE: I work remotely so jobs aren’t an important factor for me but I am a computer scientist so if something happens to this job than it would be good for something to fall back on but it isn’t a big factor. Also, I like the Bengals better than the Steelers so I’m wondering if I won’t be able to get any friends in Pittsburgh for not liking the Steelers.
Well, they're both plenty hilly and they're both river towns, though Pittsburgh has three rivers versus Cincinnati's one. All of Cincinnati proper and a substantial portion of its metro area all sits on one side of the river, whereas the rivers in Pittsburgh divide the city itself as well as the metro area into several distinct areas. This creates several smaller neighborhood commercial and entertainment districts, each with their own distinct vibe, as opposed to one or two big districts mostly clustered around downtown.
I've been to both and found Pittsburgh to be more appealing with better and more diverse nightlife by a fair margin. Keep in mind it's been almost 15 years since I've been to either so I can't account for how much things have changed in the interim.
Both are fantastic medium-sized, urban, and scenic cities. Both have some super cool neighborhoods. In my opinion, Pittsburgh nudges out Cincinnati in all categories except CoL, in which according to salary.com, Cincinnati is 5% cheaper.
I spent my first year after college outside of Cincinnati and really liked the city. However, I don't think I ever saw scenery as magnificent as the view of Pittsburgh from Mt. Washington, nor were there neighborhoods that spoke to me as much as Squirrel Hill and Southside Flats.
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are very much alike. As a Pittsburgher I always enjoy my visits to Cincinnati. As has already been mentioned Pittsburgh has three rivers while Cincinnati has one. Both are "cities of neighborhoods" where there are numerous quaint walkable business districts to explore.
Cincinnati's Mt. Adams is like a hybrid between Pittsburgh's Mt. Washington (the skyline views) and Shadyside (the snobby vibe). Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine is like a hybrid between Pittsburgh's Strip District (old brick warehouses converted into lofts and markets) and Mexican War Streets (handsome brick rowhomes and brownstones). Historically Pittsburgh has been marginally safer than Cincinnati overall; however, now that Cincinnati has a larger population than Pittsburgh and is only slightly more violent it might be a wash. Traffic seems to flow more smoothly overall in/around Cincinnati. Pittsburgh is snowier than Cincinnati. Cincinnati is warmer than Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh's "eds and meds" neighborhood (Oakland), to me, at least, is indeed superior to Cincinnati's "eds and meds" neighborhood (Clifton/Corryville). Downtown Cincinnati and Downtown Pittsburgh are both primarily flat and extremely walkable. Both Downtowns are okay but have room for improvement. Metro Cincinnati leans more red politically than Metro Pittsburgh. Cincinnati's Hyde Park neighborhood is very cute and reminds me in many ways of a smaller version of our Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh.
I do agree with the above that Pittsburgh seems slightly more expensive than Cincinnati across the board---might be because PA is a more expensive state than OH.
Overall I don't think you could go wrong with either city. I prefer to live in Pittsburgh, but if my job took me to Cincinnati I would just as happily live in Over-the-Rhine.
Both are fantastic medium-sized, urban, and scenic cities. Both have some super cool neighborhoods. In my opinion, Pittsburgh nudges out Cincinnati in all categories except CoL, in which according to salary.com, Cincinnati is 5% cheaper.
I spent my first year after college outside of Cincinnati and really liked the city. However, I don't think I ever saw scenery as magnificent as the view of Pittsburgh from Mt. Washington, nor were there neighborhoods that spoke to me as much as Squirrel Hill and Southside Flats.
I really liked South Side Flats and the Carson Street district when I visited Pittsburgh some 15 years ago, but from what I hear lately, things have gotten quite out of hand along the Carson Street corridor.
Interesting to hear about Over the Rhine. The last time I was in Cincinnati it was still mostly a bombed-out husk of an inner city neighborhood but you could tell there was a concerted effort to turn it around. It looked like Pittsburgh's version of Uptown, only from what I gather, Uptown hasn't seen the kind of turnaround a lot of people have been hoping for. It's hard to fathom how a neighborhood like Uptown with a combination of solid bones and open spaces to work with, situated as the bridge between two of Pennsylvania's largest and most vital districts, and home to a decent-sized university of its own, remains as distressed as it is. That is, unless I'm not up to speed on its progress any more.
I really liked South Side Flats and the Carson Street district when I visited Pittsburgh some 15 years ago, but from what I hear lately, things have gotten quite out of hand along the Carson Street corridor.
Interesting to hear about Over the Rhine. The last time I was in Cincinnati it was still mostly a burned-out husk of an inner city neighborhood but you could tell there was a concerted effort to turn it around. It looked like Pittsburgh's version of Uptown, only from what I gather, Uptown hasn't seen the kind of turnaround a lot of people have been hoping for. It's hard to fathom how a neighborhood like Uptown with a combination of solid bones and open spaces to work with, situated as the bridge between two of Pennsylvania's largest and most vital districts, and home to a decent-sized university of its own, remains as distressed as it is. That is, unless I'm not up to speed on its progress any more.
When were you last in OTR, the 90s? I mean, I find my visits to OTR a bit underwhelming from a vibrancy perspective but it is not at all a "burned out husk".
When were you last in OTR, the 90s? I mean, I find my visits to OTR a bit underwhelming from a vibrancy perspective but it is not at all a "burned out husk".
It certainly was when I drove through the area circa 2007. The part closest to downtown was a mixed bag at worst but things deteriorated quickly as you went up the hill.
So my family told me that Pittsburgh is one of their favorite cities but I realized how much it rains there and how gloomy it is overall. Are you guys able to deal with the rain? Six months of it might be too much for me but I might eventually get used to it.
Coming from AZ, I doubt you'll notice any appreciable difference in the weather between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
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