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I am just wondering with so many lets face it cities that copies of one another, boring places and cities with little potential. Why dont these three cities get on the trumpet and blow on it loud. They are great cities and they seem to fall short about promoting the fact about how great they are.
I mean do people around the country really have any idea the extent of the urbanity, art galleries, cultural offerings, offerings, different groups of people, architectural types on High Street in Columbus. So many phony fake streets all around the country that are manufactured when High street is the real thing. Also the largest university (some years it is) is on High Street with well over 100 nationalities in that neighborhood every day.
Its always been shocking to me how even the people who run Columbus think of it as a normal city when its far superior to a vast majority of cities in the country and it is much more affordable then a vast majority of cities also.
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Another, one is Pittsburgh. Its one of the biggest college-towns in the country, its one of the biggest hospital-towns in the country, its one of the bigges-corperate towns in the country, its one-of the best restaurant towns in the country look at all the density restaurant there compared to other cities. Its topography-setting is much, much more appealing then Denver's and I am a Colorado native and its a real city of neighborhoods. Alot of cities tout the fact that they have three or four unique, appealing neighborhoods, Pittsburgh has many that seem to cover a majority of the city.
If that isnt enough it has one of the best nightlifes in the country isnt Carson Street in Pittsburgh one of the longest nightlife strips in America.
It also has housing values about a third of the national average and is close to West Virginia which probubly means rather affordable energy costs and it also has very good public transit.
It just seems like while Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Columbus get very little attention alot of plastic, fake and manufactured out of nothing cultureless new cities seem to get all the attention. Which is good because maybe it will keep the real gems cheap for decades to come, while the artificial new metropolis just keep sprawling out and out.
Its sad, really, that wonderful cities like those are shunned. All the hard work and history down the drain just because its trendy to move somewhere warmer. I love it when people ache to come back, kinda like a "I told you so" scenario. I give major props to those who stay and try and make things better for the city and themselves, because the places and people like that are the truly special places in this country. The soul of America can be found in places like that, not in places like North Las Vegas...
MattDen: Doubt your going to get your wish anytime soon. People are searching for a better quality of life than those cities have to offer. Cities like
the Raleigh-Cary area offer a greener, cleaner, safer quality of life. Not to mention better schools, healthcare, jobs, and plenty of culture, night life....ect.
Example: Pittsburgh, PA to Cary, NC
Quote:
Yippee.....We made it! After weeks of packing, planning, and preparing, my family finally moved from Pittsburgh to Cary this week. So far, everything has gone really well for us. Almost too well....(fingers crossed).
A few observations/tips for other soon-to-be tranplants:
- Yes, Cary is absolutely as nice as they say. I keep finding myself shaking my head and saying "I can't believe people live like this". The trees, the bike paths, the shopping centers around the corner, and the happy people.....it's all here.
- Be prepared for bugs, mosquitoes, and lots of other four-legged critters. I'm not sure we were expecting the bugs to be this bad....but we're managing. Bite by bite.
- Label your boxes well. I repeat.....label your boxes well. Enough said on that.
- The Cook-Out drive thru restaurant off of Walnut Street (?) rocks!!! Their hushpuppies and vanilla milkshakes are a must. As is Pei Wei's beef teriyaki....
- I read a few prior posts about NC'ers not using turn signals. Unforunately, that's turned out to be true....and mildly annoying.
- The pine needles are a little overwhelming. If you're moving to a house with pine trees, be prepared.
- What?!! No brick cheese at Harris Teeter's deli counter? Maybe it's a northern thing.
- Finally....tie your new house key around your neck, until you get the lay of your new land!!! Our only "oops" incident so far was me locking us our of our house while unloading the truck....just two short hours after we arrived. Of course, it was after 11:00pm, and all of our neighbors were asleep....except for one friendly woman who let us use her telephone to call a 24-hour locksmith. $135.00 later, we were thrilled to be back inside.....as were our pets, who sat inside watching the whole event.
That's all that I have to report for now. Just wanted to share those thoughts. My break is over......I've got lots more boxes to unpack!
St. Louis is going through the exact same thing as these three cities (Pittsburgh, Cincy, and Columbus)....frankly these cities are all quite similar in culture and attitude to each other so it's not surprising they are all treated relatively the same way although I think the way in which they are treated is completely uncalled for.
I have been to Pittsburg and agree with you totally. It is a very nice city. Unfortunately,it does not receive the attention it deserves, despite having professional football, baseball and hockey franchises is....PHILADELPHIA.
If not for Philly, Pittsburg would be right up there with the names of other great American cities.
To promote yourself you have to have a substantial budget, and you have to make a concerted effort and have the will and the drive to do so. Geoff Daniels is pushing the business climate in Michigan right now here in Las Vegas of all places, and I hear Virginia is for lovers! The only city I know of that promotes itself unlike any other in the history of this realm is N.Y. Two tickets to New York, anyone?Look, a smiley face!
Well, Columbus for one doesn't seem to have much difficulty promoting itself. Its population has been growing steadily since, well, about the beginning of time. Columbus is now the biggest city in Ohio by a long shot, though its MSA lags behind Cleveland and Cincy.
Speaking of which, it seems Cincy is poised to overtake Cleveland as Ohio's largest MSA by the 2010 census.... fascinating. Though does it count as "Ohio's" largest MSA if a big chunk of it is in Kentucky?
MattDen: Doubt your going to get your wish anytime soon. People are searching for a better quality of life than those cities have to offer. Cities like
the Raleigh-Cary area offer a greener, cleaner, safer quality of life. Not to mention better schools, healthcare, jobs, and plenty of culture, night life....ect.
Example: Pittsburgh, PA to Cary, NC
i swear everytime i see you post you brag about raleigh or Charlotte
those cities aernt that great with hardly any history involved with them
Re: Pittsburgh: I'm not sure if it has the highest or even one of the highest college student populations in the country. Look at Boston, for example. Hospitals? Look at Chicago; it probably has at least as many hospital beds per capita. Omaha as well. Two medical schools to serve a state of 1.7 million people. There was a thread about Carson St. and the South Side of Pittsburgh recently, lots of different opinions. IMO, it's mostly a bunch of bars and upscale chain retailers. I don't think the neighborhood thing is much different than Denver's, though I admit that is one of Pgh's strengths. 2-3 "trendy" neighborhoods, the rest kinda ho-hum. Matt, I seem to recall in one post you said you spent about 4 days of your entire life in Pittsburgh, that is not enough time to evaluate a city. Probably the major reason Pittsburgh is not promoting itself to the public, is that there are essentially NO jobs there. Which is a component of quality of life.
Aren't Cincy and Pittsburgh part of the Rust Belt? There's problem #1.
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Look, a smiley face!
