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I can see how someone from the BosWash corridor might feel a sense of isolation living anywhere outside that corridor. But Pittsburgh is not at all uniquely isolated compared to any other major metro outside the corridor.
Is Pittsburgh cloudy? Compared to a lot of places it is. Just not compared to Baltimore.
I have a friend at college here in Pittsburgh that used the Philly is close to everything argument why he'd rather live there. I wish I said "what is everything and how often do you actually go to places outside of Philly". Being close to places doesn't mean a thing if you don't actually go to those places more than once or twice a year.
Oh please. The difference in median age between Baltimore and Pittsburgh is a whole six months.
"Better weather" is also a tenuous claim. Baltimore has milder winters but Pittsburgh has milder summers -- I'll gladly take the latter. Baltimore actually averages more precipitation, and according to this site, Baltimore is one of the cloudiest cities in the U.S., one of a few to get 75% cloud cover more than 150 days a year while Pittsburgh doesn't even make the list.
So in short your rationale aren't adding up.
I think this information is false. How can every city to Pittsburgh's east and west be cloudier than Pittsburgh when it sits in the direct path of lake effect snow 5 months out of the year( until the lake freezes over).
I think this information is false. How can every city to Pittsburgh's east and west be cloudier than Pittsburgh when it sits in the direct path of lake effect snow 5 months out of the year( until the lake freezes over).
Pittsburgh is way too far south of the lake to get lake-effect snow. It's tough to find meaningful data on cloud cover or cloudy days or whatever, and many places that do provide data don't explain it very well: "X city has X number of cloudy days" they might say without any explanation as to what they mean by "cloudy" and what counts as a cloudy day. Does that mean it was overcast for an hour and clear the rest of the day? Or cloudy all day? Or for a majority of the daylight hours? If there's some clouds in the sky but still bright out, does that still count as "cloudy?" At least this site has definitions of cloud cover by percentage, which is something.
Pittsburgh is way too far south of the lake to get lake-effect snow. It's tough to find meaningful data on cloud cover or cloudy days or whatever, and many places that do provide data don't explain it very well: "X city has X number of cloudy days" they might say without any explanation as to what they mean by "cloudy" and what counts as a cloudy day. Does that mean it was overcast for an hour and clear the rest of the day? Or cloudy all day? Or for a majority of the daylight hours? If there's some clouds in the sky but still bright out, does that still count as "cloudy?" At least this site has definitions of cloud cover by percentage, which is something.
I lived in Pittsburgh for 15 years, and whenever the lake-effect snow machine got going, Pittsburgh would get occasional bursts of snow flurries, and the sun (moon) would peek through the clouds in between. We'd always get a dusting of snow from the lake. It was never enough to cover the grass. The significant lake-effect snow was always north of I-80. "Alberta Clippers" did more damage to Pittsburgh than any lake-effect snow ever did. (Alberta Clippers would normally give us 1" to 3" of fresh snow.)
Pittsburgh is way too far south of the lake to get lake-effect snow. It's tough to find meaningful data on cloud cover or cloudy days or whatever, and many places that do provide data don't explain it very well: "X city has X number of cloudy days" they might say without any explanation as to what they mean by "cloudy" and what counts as a cloudy day. Does that mean it was overcast for an hour and clear the rest of the day? Or cloudy all day? Or for a majority of the daylight hours? If there's some clouds in the sky but still bright out, does that still count as "cloudy?" At least this site has definitions of cloud cover by percentage, which is something.
I always wondered what they meant by that too. When they say party cloudy does it mean it'll be cloudy part of they day or part of the sky is covered. A lot of times in Baltimore, and most cities on the east coast, we get cumulus clouds. Cumulus clouds will turn a otherwise clear day into a party cloudy day...meteorologist definitions are too vague.
I also wonder if a day that's cloudy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon (or vice versa) is considered "cloudy." When I lived in Pittsburgh, I don't remember two thirds of the year being nothing but gray. I do remember plenty of mornings in the summer that started off with cloud cover that burnt off by about 10AM and became nice, hot, sunny days.
I kinda like the feel of Bmore. I like the rowhouses and its close to DC. It has 2 HBCUs and being close to DC gives it close proximity to other things. It is also Southish, and since I'm Southern I can dig it. I was torn between Bmore and Cincy. My gf is from Bmore so I'll be spending more time there, so that was the deciding factor.
Baltimore.
Close to the ocean, it has a top notch harbor, and it's fairly close to Philly and DC + I'm very familiar with the surrounding towns (Essex, Rosedale, and Dundalk) I love Maryland!
As others have mentioned, Pittsburgh is a bit south of the "lake effect" snow that inundates upstate NY ( Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany); Pitt's yearly snow totals are usually half ( or less) of the above cities..
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