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Here is one advantage Denver has over Pittsburgh for a newcomer:
Denver is a city of transplants. Look at the stats re: birth state for both. Most Pittsburghers were born in Pittsburgh. Most have several generations of family there. Going to Sunday dinner at grandma's is something a lot of families still do. This sounds great, unless you're the one left out.
Denver, by contrast, is a city of transplants. Everyone is from somewhere else. You won't feel odd person out there.
Denver is actually pretty expensive (for housing, at least), for an inland city. It looks cheap to those from the coasts, but if you live reasonably far from either coast, it's going to look kind of expensive. At one point it was supposedly "the most expensive real estate not on a coast" -- though presumably what they really meant was not within about 200 miles of a coast of an ocean or one of the great lakes (e.g., Chicago)! Still, Pittsburgh would be MUCH more affordable COL than Denver. Californians move to Denver and think of it as low cost of living, but it only seems that way relative to where they came from.
I like Denver, but I would say that the Rockies would have to really excite you to make it "worth it" to live here. The prices of the housing here have the Rockies priced in, much like the coasts have access to the ocean priced in. And for that, if you want to ski/hike/climb on the weekends in the Rocky Mountain West and still have a decent paying job M-F, the Denver turns out to be an excellent choice. But if that's not what you're into, then there's lots of other options, Pittsburgh being a pretty good one, I think.
I grew up in Pittsburgh and have lived in Denver these past 29 years. I have had family continuously in Pittsburgh and go back every so often to visit.
Housing looks less expensive in Pgh b/c there are some really small, older homes in some of the old mill towns especially (considered part of the MSA) that you could probably write a check for. However, for anything most people would want to live in, old, new, or inbetween, you will pay just slightly less than you'd pay in Denver.
If you can get a similar job with good pay in Denver, i would easily pcik that. The mountains are close and other outdoor ammenities. Pittsburgh, believe it or not, has its advantages: within a few hours drive of some of America's great cities: 3 hours or so to DC, one and a 2 hours to Cleveland, probably 5 to Phily, and the proximity to outdoor activites in PA itself.
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