What is the deal with Pittsburgh? (Cleveland, Oregon: school, place to live, professionals)

[silviodante]

Originally Posted by Puddy4LyF

It's just that as a whole, there is a larger sampling of people in Pittsburgh with less of a window to the outside world. What I mean by that is this: Cleveland, since losing many of its manufacturing jobs, has grown more in the industries of medicine and tech than has Pittsburgh. There is a greater diversity in Cleveland in modern times, and in fact, there always was greater diversity. Cleveland also is in the top 5 in the country for lawyers -- essentially, it's a hub and because you can't hire EVERYONE from the University of Akron, CSU - Marshall, and Case-Western, there are many lawyers from around the country who relocate to Cleveland for its job market (Squire-Sanders, Jones-Day, Bennish, McDonald-Hopkins, etc).

..

Hahaha, Cleveland is not in the top 5 for lawyers in the country. New York, DC, LA, San Fran, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago at least have far larger legal markets. I attended a top law school, and I can tell you that no one would think of going to Cleveland.

Not to be mean, but you rust belt people really need to get out more and see the rest of the country. There's a reason people are leaving there in drovessss. Crappy cities, crappy weather, crappy scenery. Why live there when the US has sooo much to offer. Life is short.

Word.

[Mikieo415]

Originally Posted by silviodante

Not to be mean, but you rust belt people really need to get out more and see the rest of the country. There's a reason people are leaving there in drovessss. Crappy cities, crappy weather, crappy scenery. Why live there when the US has sooo much to offer. Life is short.

Word.

I can't agree more.

[llowllevellowll]

Originally Posted by silviodante

Hahaha, Cleveland is not in the top 5 for lawyers in the country. New York, DC, LA, San Fran, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago at least have far larger legal markets. I attended a top law school, and I can tell you that no one would think of going to Cleveland.

I preface my response by saying that I COMPLETELY AGREE that Cleveland would be a ridiculous place to CHOOSE to live. Go find any of my posts and I'd concur. I also guarentee that without a shadow of a doubt, I've traveled more in my 21 years than you have, both nationally and abroad -- simply, I agree... however...

Cleveland has a fantastic market for lawyers. Surprisingly, CERTAINLY per capita, they rank as with the most jobs in the country. I guess someone is considering Cleveland since overall they rank 12th for most quality in the law market place. (They fell back slightly in the rankings when Jones-Day relocated their headquarters)

I think I understand what Clevelander17 meant. Despite a good comment, you reached to ad-hominem status and completely obliterated the city and the region in general -- what did that have to do with the topic? Wellll, not real sure yet. Maybe it was logic and reasoning like that which helped you score a 170 on the LSAT and get into one of the "top" law schools (Whatever the hell that means...)

[pghcleak]

Originally Posted by silviodante

Not to be mean, but you rust belt people really need to get out more and see the rest of the country. There's a reason people are leaving there in drovessss. Crappy cities, crappy weather, crappy scenery. Why live there when the US has sooo much to offer. Life is short.

Word.

See...this is the whole point people are trying to make...some people ARE happy in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Life IS too short and maybe being near their family in or around one of these cities is how people want to spend their days.

[BelieveInCleve]

Originally Posted by silviodante

Hahaha, Cleveland is not in the top 5 for lawyers in the country. New York, DC, LA, San Fran, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago at least have far larger legal markets. I attended a top law school, and I can tell you that no one would think of going to Cleveland.

Not to be mean, but you rust belt people really need to get out more and see the rest of the country. There's a reason people are leaving there in drovessss. Crappy cities, crappy weather, crappy scenery. Why live there when the US has sooo much to offer. Life is short.

Word.

I have been to cities in almost every part of the country. The city proper and some areas around Cleveland may be very decayed and depressing but as far as the whole area I havent found many places traveling that could match up to the metro area, actually I cant think of any off the top. The weather in Cleveland is great most the time from April to October, especially May to September and there are a lot of places with a lot worse weather. A lot of people have family here and maybe thats the reason why they want to stay. The people that are bashing it all the time and leaving are only doing it because they are running away from something and thinking other places are better, but most of them will end up back where they grew up anyway, or Florida.

[CortlandGirl79]

Originally Posted by pghcleak

See...this is the whole point people are trying to make...some people ARE happy in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Life IS too short and maybe being near their family in or around one of these cities is how people want to spend their days.

Shoot! I'm happy in the Youngstown suburbs! I must be totally crazy!!!

IMO, some people think that happy people in this area are wearing "rose colored" glasses. I think the grouchy ones that hate it and bash it must be where "gray or black" tinted glasses. The truth is in the middle somewhere. It's all about attitude.

[Steve36]

I attended a top law school, and I can tell you that no one would think of going to Cleveland

I can tell you one reason law and medical professionals come to Cleveland: acquisition of wealth. Take a look at the salaries paid by top legal and medical employers in Cleveland and compare those to the salaries elsewhere. Now factor in cost of living. You'll see that, in the right field, one can earn nearly as much in Cleveland as in much more expensive cities yet the cost of living here is a fraction of most major metros. When I left Ohio for my first real position I thought the only way I'd ever return was kicking and screaming (and to visit family during the holidays). I went to DC, then LA and then briefly to Houston before returning to Ohio. Along the way my priorities changed. My salary here is ~90% of what it would be in LA but it my living expenditures are at least 40% less. Same for my wife and our situation is not unique, we have a very good friend at Jones-Day, her staring salary at the Cleveland office was 90% of what it would have been if she went to the New York office. That's what brought her to Cleveland. I'm not saying Cleveland is right for everyone, or even most people, but as you get older and are no longer just worried about taking care of yourself, your priorities may change too. Places like Cleveland might then start to seem more appealing (or at least less repugnant). We miss LA (well, my wife more than me) but there are more important things for us now like being able to take care of our parents, have a college fund for our soon to be child, retire early, afford a boat and nice vacations and maybe even a second house and most importantly we don't really have to fret about money anymore.

[llowllevellowll]

Originally Posted by Steve36

I can tell you one reason law and medical professionals come to Cleveland: acquisition of wealth. Take a look at the salaries paid by top legal and medical employers in Cleveland and compare those to the salaries elsewhere. Now factor in cost of living. You'll see that, in the right field, one can earn nearly as much in Cleveland as in much more expensive cities yet the cost of living here is a fraction of most major metros. When I left Ohio for my first real position I thought the only way I'd ever return was kicking and screaming (and to visit family during the holidays). I went to DC, then LA and then briefly to Houston before returning to Ohio. Along the way my priorities changed. My salary here is ~90% of what it would be in LA but it my living expenditures are at least 40% less. Same for my wife and our situation is not unique, we have a very good friend at Jones-Day, her staring salary at the Cleveland office was 90% of what it would have been if she went to the New York office. That's what brought her to Cleveland. I'm not saying Cleveland is right for everyone, or even most people, but as you get older and are no longer just worried about taking care of yourself, your priorities may change too. Places like Cleveland might then start to seem more appealing (or at least less repugnant). We miss LA (well, my wife more than me) but there are more important things for us now like being able to take care of our parents, have a college fund for our soon to be child, retire early, afford a boat and nice vacations and maybe even a second house and most importantly we don't really have to fret about money anymore.

Excellent point, Steve. I think what the "top law school" kiddo may have failed was Economics.

Best example, there's a gorgeous home in Bath, Ohio for 283,000$. 5 bedroom, 5 bath, beautiful brick exterior sitting on an acre with what appears to be lovely fauna and plants.

Same house, even in what is probably the best buy on the market today in the west, Henderson, Las Vegas? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 550-650,000$.

Imagine the same house in Los Angeles, SF, Orlando, etc.

(I also mention that I am gearing myself to move out west, but still, I won't be bashing Clevelanders on the way out!)

I'm still dying to know what this top law school was too lol

[stasia]

It always makes me a little sad to hear people say their experiences living in or visiting Pittsburgh have been negative. The city has so much to offer, especially because each of its neighborhoods are so distinctive.

That said, the suburb that the OP lives in (Peters) is also its own breed ... and just far enough away from the city itself that the OP may never have actually experienced Pittsburgh yet; just the South Hills. I grew up in a neighboring suburb, and my impressions as a high school student of Peters weren't necessarily positive. So I hope that the OP will branch out and really take in the city ... and also make the best of the choice made to live in Peters. Pittsburgh's arts are positively booming right now! So get out of the 'burbs and to a museum or theatre!

Good luck! I hope you all finally get settled in.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by silviodante

Hahaha, Cleveland is not in the top 5 for lawyers in the country. New York, DC, LA, San Fran, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago at least have far larger legal markets. I attended a top law school, and I can tell you that no one would think of going to Cleveland.

Not to be mean, but you rust belt people really need to get out more and see the rest of the country. There's a reason people are leaving there in drovessss. Crappy cities, crappy weather, crappy scenery. Why live there when the US has sooo much to offer. Life is short.

Word.

I'd say with the headquarters of Jones Day and IMG being in Cleveland, the city more than holds its own when it comes to attracting lawyers. However I'd love to see statistical comparisons of different cities because as of now all we have to go on is anecdotal evidence from you and the previous poster.

The rest of your post is purely subjective. The weather isn't great in Cleveland, but it isn't terrible. No natural disasters, unlike the Carolinas (for example).

I've been all over this great country. I don't find anything significantly better or worse about cities in the Humidity Belt. Most are riding an economic wave that is based on the smart policies of their local politicians, others receive an inordinate amount of federal funding. Others have previous infrastructure like (big oil) providing the backbone of their economies. People go to these places because that's where the jobs are at the moment. However there is nothing inherently better about the cities themselves. People that can find jobs in the Northeast and Midwest are just as happy as their counterparts in the South. Maybe you're the one that needs to get out a little more?

Word.