Pittsburgh is ALMOST "America's Most Livable City"---AGAIN (Indiana: neighborhood, high school)

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by UKyank

I find pittsburgh to be quite satisfying until you hit a very high income range & then it starts lacking in comparison to many of the larger cities.

It's no question, Pittsburgh is still a solid "Middle Class" city, something that's becoming a rare find in America. Cities are becoming locals of either "haves or have-nots", they're either Ultra Expensive (NYC, DC, BOS, SF, LA, SEA, MIA) or they're more "Poor" leaning (DET, CLE, CIN, PHL, BAL, NOLA, STL, BUF)

Cities like the Burgh... MSP, DEN, PDX, AUS, SD, CBUS, ATL are cities in which the Middle Class still somewhat dominates the city's economic activities, aren't priced out of neighborhoods and/or partaking in majority of social amenities the local provides. This is becoming more and more RARE in America..... Not that this isn't true of the "Poorer" cities too, but the poorer cities tend to have more of their population living in poverty as opposed to "Middle Class" therefore Neighborhoods and Amenities that would be considered "Middle Class" still would be out of the reach to a majority of the population.

The one primary Outlier that I have is CHI... CHI has a sizable population of all 3 categories, no one group dominates the other 2..

Not really sure about DAL or HOU

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

It's no question, Pittsburgh is still a solid "Middle Class" city, something that's becoming a rare find in America. Cities are becoming locals of either "haves or have-nots", they're either Ultra Expensive (NYC, DC, BOS, SF, LA, SEA, MIA) or they're more "Poor" leaning (DET, CLE, CIN, PHL, BAL, NOLA, STL, BUF)

Cities like the Burgh... MSP, DEN, PDX, AUS, SD, CBUS, ATL are cities in which the Middle Class still somewhat dominates the city's economic activities, aren't priced out of neighborhoods and/or partaking in majority of social amenities the local provides. This is becoming more and more RARE in America..... Not that this isn't true of the "Poorer" cities too, but the poorer cities tend to have more of their population living in poverty as opposed to "Middle Class" therefore Neighborhoods and Amenities that would be considered "Middle Class" still would be out of the reach to a majority of the population.

The one primary Outlier that I have is CHI... CHI has a sizable population of all 3 categories, no one group dominates the other 2..

Not really sure about DAL or HOU

I agree, I've always found Pittsburgh to be much more of a middle class city than other places in the US.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Well, The Economist has once again bestowed our lovely city with the title of "Second-Most-Livable City in America", behind Honolulu.

Is anyone else bummed out that we can't regain our #1 ranking? What will it take to reclaim that position? A mass transit system that doesn't exclusively rely upon buses to serve the densest parts of the region? Bridges that aren't structurally deficient? A less stark income inequality? Lower violent crime rates in urban neighborhoods? More food trucks? More bike lanes? An end to the Great East End Housing Crisis (ducking stilettos). Yac moving here?

Well, it's Honolulu! You'd need to move Pittsburgh into the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and still even...it wouldn't work.

I think the reality is that these types of surveys like to spread around the love every year. So, it would be unlikely they'd give any city the title two years in a row.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Well, it's Honolulu! You'd need to move Pittsburgh into the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and still even...it wouldn't work.

I think the reality is that these types of surveys like to spread around the love every year. So, it would be unlikely they'd give any city the title two years in a row.

If I'm not mistaken this is Honolulu's second year in a row.

[bradjl2009]

I think Honolulu would be a fun place to live, but the isolation from the rest of the country and cost to travel would be too much for me.

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

It's no question, Pittsburgh is still a solid "Middle Class" city, something that's becoming a rare find in America. Cities are becoming locals of either "haves or have-nots", they're either Ultra Expensive (NYC, DC, BOS, SF, LA, SEA, MIA) or they're more "Poor" leaning (DET, CLE, CIN, PHL, BAL, NOLA, STL, BUF)

Cities like the Burgh... MSP, DEN, PDX, AUS, SD, CBUS, ATL are cities in which the Middle Class still somewhat dominates the city's economic activities, aren't priced out of neighborhoods and/or partaking in majority of social amenities the local provides. This is becoming more and more RARE in America..... Not that this isn't true of the "Poorer" cities too, but the poorer cities tend to have more of their population living in poverty as opposed to "Middle Class" therefore Neighborhoods and Amenities that would be considered "Middle Class" still would be out of the reach to a majority of the population.

The one primary Outlier that I have is CHI... CHI has a sizable population of all 3 categories, no one group dominates the other 2..

Not really sure about DAL or HOU

Umm...are you talking about Pittsburg, Kansas? Pittsburgh, PA is no longer affordable for the middle class. Maybe 5 years ago.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

If I'm not mistaken this is Honolulu's second year in a row.

Well, Honolulu IS a pretty cool city! I mean, what city can honestly compete with it?

Additionally, the population keeps understanding, I think I read somewhere that it's now the 10th or 12th largest city in the U.S. and I think it's also the 10th largest economy...something like that.

It's so far off people's radar, so it makes it quite an interesting place.

If ONLY it were affordable, and the cost of living could be more easily met!

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

Umm...are you talking about Pittsburg, Kansas? Pittsburgh, PA is no longer affordable for the middle class. Maybe 5 years ago.

What US cities do you consider affordable for the middle class? I believe the median home price in the US is a little under $200k and the median in Pittsburgh is around $150k. Property taxes are high here compared to some parts of the US and salaries are lower, but it seems like Pittsburgh would still be affordable for most middle class families. It is not the bargain it was when the steel industry collapsed, but the economy is better now. Coming from the SF Bay Area, it seems quite affordable to me, but I am used to $1 million+ for a 3 bdr, 2 ba ranch style home.

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by Goodjules

What US cities do you consider affordable for the middle class? I believe the median home price in the US is a little under $200k and the median in Pittsburgh is around $150k. Property taxes are high here compared to some parts of the US and salaries are lower, but it seems like Pittsburgh would still be affordable for most middle class families. It is not the bargain it was when the steel industry collapsed, but the economy is better now. Coming from the SF Bay Area, it seems quite affordable to me, but I am used to $1 million+ for a 3 bdr, 2 ba ranch style home.

Most cities in the Midwest.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

Most cities in the Midwest.

The Midwest has much worse weather.