Stuck in Ohio... (Pittsburgh, Monroe: crime, neighborhoods, school districts)

[Degs99]

For anyone that complains about living in Pittsburgh, I would invite you to join in my hell and move to Cleveland.

I lived in Pittsburgh for 10+ years and it is truly one of the great cities in America. I moved to Cleveland for a promotion thinking it would be very similar. It's not even close.

Crime is rampant. Nice neighborhoods descend into very bad neighborhoods with little or no warning. The people are not nearly as friendly. The school districts on the east side are, for the most part atrocious, though there are some very good ones as well.

The neighborhoods lack the character of Pittsburgh's. The bar/nightlife scene doesn't measure up. There is nothing even close to east Carson street up here. People go nowhere near the city to go out. They prefer to stay in the suburbs because the downtown restaurant scene has fallen so far.

The city itself is ugly. We know that Pittsburgh is one of the prettiest cities in America, but Cleveland has to be in the bottom 5. No skyline, no views, no beauty at all.

The family and I are very unhappy with the place, and even though I love my job and my co-workers, we can't wait to get out when the right opportunity comes along. I don't know if it's the years of losing sports teams that have caused such a junk attitude among so many of the people, but their outlook on life is much more sour than your average Pittsburgher.

So when someone puts down Pittsburgh, or better yet, they tell you how nice Cleveland is, take it from someone who knows firsthand: Cleveland can't hold a candle to the Steel City, and I plan on finding my way back in the next 12 months, god willing.

If we don't get out of here soon, my family might go back to Pittsburgh without me...

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by Degs99

For anyone that complains about living in Pittsburgh, I would invite you to join in my hell and move to Cleveland.

I lived in Pittsburgh for 10+ years and it is truly one of the great cities in America. I moved to Cleveland for a promotion thinking it would be very similar. It's not even close.

Crime is rampant. Nice neighborhoods descend into very bad neighborhoods with little or no warning. The people are not nearly as friendly. The school districts on the east side are, for the most part atrocious, though there are some very good ones as well.

The neighborhoods lack the character of Pittsburgh's. The bar/nightlife scene doesn't measure up. There is nothing even close to east Carson street up here. People go nowhere near the city to go out. They prefer to stay in the suburbs because the downtown restaurant scene has fallen so far.

The city itself is ugly. We know that Pittsburgh is one of the prettiest cities in America, but Cleveland has to be in the bottom 5. No skyline, no views, no beauty at all.

The family and I are very unhappy with the place, and even though I love my job and my co-workers, we can't wait to get out when the right opportunity comes along. I don't know if it's the years of losing sports teams that have caused such a junk attitude among so many of the people, but their outlook on life is much more sour than your average Pittsburgher.

So when someone puts down Pittsburgh, or better yet, they tell you how nice Cleveland is, take it from someone who knows firsthand: Cleveland can't hold a candle to the Steel City, and I plan on finding my way back in the next 12 months, god willing.

If we don't get out of here soon, my family might go back to Pittsburgh without me...

Sad. Sounds like the situation I've had in the Kansas City area for years. In fact, until recently the experiences I had with the people in Cleveland closely mirrored that of the KC area. Rude, nasty and not too friendly at all. But in defense of Cleveland at least over the last couple of years when I had to stop there for a night or even a stop at a restaurant, gas station etc. people were suddenly more friendly and civil than in decades past.

I'd move to Cleveland but only if they make me Burgermeister of the city. Pittsburgh is definitely the better city in the region but Cleveland has made some strides in recent years. As bad as you think it is right now, you should have seen it in the early 1980's. Ugh.

[Uptown kid]

Yep Clevland... haha what a city!!! Eastside of Cleveland that's a rough area though!

[escilade18]

The city of East Cleveland is even worse. Pretty much a mini Chicago with all the corruption leading to the downfall of the once wealthy suburb

[bradjl2009]

The eastern half of Cleveland is not a nice area. The western and southern parts of that metro I hear are nicer (porbably becuase they are more desirable since there's much less lake effect south and west of the city). I've been to Cleveland a few times and don't think it's that impressive of a city, but the highways are better there I will say that (they are probably better almost everywhere lol).

[Degs99]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

The eastern half of Cleveland is not a nice area. The western and southern parts of that metro I hear are nicer (porbably becuase they are more desirable since there's much less lake effect south and west of the city). I've been to Cleveland a few times and don't think it's that impressive of a city, but the highways are better there I will say that (they are probably better almost everywhere lol).

Funny you say that. The best thing I've been able to say about Cleveland is that the highways are nice. I've yet to sit in any traffic since I got here. Of course, that could be because the highways were built to accommodate way more people than the city has due to everyone leaving.

[Craziaskowboi]

My parents recently visited Cleveland for a symposium at Case Western Reserve University. They said the area around the university looks nice, but between there and downtown Cleveland looks pretty bad. Cleveland has some nice skyscrapers, though, but they all seem to be a bit more spread out compared to Pittsburgh's. (Of course, that's because they have a bit more room to do so. I suppose.) They have one building that I don't know the name of but I think it's kind of cool; it's a white building that's round on one of its sides. Looks to be about 300' to 400' tall.

Whatever happened to The Flats? It seemed like the place to be back in the 1990's, but from what I've heard, that scene has virtually disappeared since 2000. They're not alone, though; Buckhead used to be Atlanta's big party district, but a combination of skyrocketing property values and new laws enforced by the city of Atlanta have put an end to that. It seems to me like East Carson Street developed more organically over time than either Buckhead or The Flats.

I think one advantage that Pittsburgh has over Cleveland is that most of the heavy industry in Cleveland was located in the city itself, whereas in Pittsburgh it was limited to the valleys both inside and outside the city. As a result, Pittsburgh neighborhoods that were located away from the rivers didn't suffer the same degree of disinvestment as many of the neighborhoods in Cleveland. On the other hand, this is part of why Cleveland has a larger concentration of nice suburbs than Pittsburgh has: a) because many of Pittsburgh's "suburbs" were actually factory towns, and b) because there wasn't a mad dash out of the city of Pittsburgh by people with money like there was in Cleveland.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by Degs99

Funny you say that. The best thing I've been able to say about Cleveland is that the highways are nice. I've yet to sit in any traffic since I got here. Of course, that could be because the highways were built to accommodate way more people than the city has due to everyone leaving.

I-376 between Pittsburgh International Airport and Monroeville desperately needs to be upgraded to AASHTO compliance.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Degs99

Funny you say that. The best thing I've been able to say about Cleveland is that the highways are nice. I've yet to sit in any traffic since I got here. Of course, that could be because the highways were built to accommodate way more people than the city has due to everyone leaving.

Yeah while I wouldn't want to ever see a need for 8 or more lane highways in the Pittsburgh area, 4 lanes is not enough on the Parkways.

[SteelCityRising]

So essentially Pittsburgh > Cleveland?