Pittsburgh vs Savannah, GA Nightlife Culture (bar, club, music) (Lawrenceville: how much, neighborhoods)

[Port Pitt Ash]

I was wondering how Savannah nightlife compares to Pittsburgh's nightlife as far as the bar, club, and music scene goes.

Certainly there are more areas than this, but the majority of Pittsburgh's nightlife is concentrated along E. Carson St., Smallman St., and a bit in Station Square.

While it seems (I'm not very familiar with Savannah's nightlife) Savannah's is around River St., Congress St., and other areas in the Historic District.

From looking at a map they seem to both be concentrated along the length of a single street. I know Pittsburgh tends to be more of a bar city with a few musical offerings and an underground music scene that is usually decent.

So, would you say the nightlife between the two is the same, Better, or just different (and if so how)?

[ferraris]

The Strip and Station square are barely worth a mention in the night life column anymore. Lawrenceville, Downtown, and Shadyside, all have more nightlife than the strip or station square. Arguably some other neighborhoods too. I think the North Shore has chipped away a lot at the "big box store" version of nightlife that Station Square used to own.

As for Savannah, I doubt many people have experience enough with both cities to comment. Why are you comparing the two?

[TheYO]

They tore down the one row of clubs at Station Square a few months ago. What nightlife is still left there? Buckheads and Bar Louie? Anything else besides all of the chain restaurants (Hard Rock, Joe's Crab Shack, Bucca, Texas de Brazil, etc.)?

[Port Pitt Ash]

Well, I mentioned the Strip because in another post people were saying it got built back up. I haven't been in the Pittsburgh since June/the summer. Anyway, I figured I better throw in station square before somebody said something about leaving it out. Figured one of the two areas must still have a nightclub even though the city has never been big on them.

I thought since 11 million people visit Savannah each year maybe one of them came from the burgh.

I'm thinking about moving to Savannah and I'm trying to pin down the nightlife. In Pittsburgh lived on the Southside for a while (albeit not since 2009) and I figured if I could get a nightlife that's comparable it'll work for me.

I've heard mixed things about Savannah nightlife is the problem.

Some say it's just touristy and after you go to the bar a few times you're over it. While others have said it's like New Orleans, but more livable.

(It's in the south, but does that mean country music is big?)

Still others claim the music scene is starting to show signs of life like a baby sized Austin. Mainly I think because of one festival that reminds people of SXSW before it started going downhill.

So it's hard to get a read on the scene.

Although they do have "to go" cups allowing you to drink on the street and they have the second largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the country (Maybe the world?) so it can't be completely lifeless. And before you ask, no I don't know how they calculated that figure.

[steindle]

There are seven times more people in the Pittsburgh metro area than Savannah's, so I would have to imagine that just about everything there is significantly smaller in scope than in Pittsburgh.

If Carson Street is your baseline for a nightlife area, you are not going to find many cities that can match that in terms of density and total area -- especially not in the South. Like, Broadway in Nashville is known as a semi-legendary nightlife district, but in reality it's FOUR (short) BLOCKS LONG -- six, if you count 2nd Ave. The South Side literally has anywhere from two to six bars, per block, for almost 20 blocks. I spend zero time there and have zero interest in that particular brand of nightlife, but you kind of have to respect the sheer mass of it, in the abstract.

[dbsteel]

I've been to Savannah, a couple summers ago, and the entertainment area you are talking about is cool, in that its very historic with very old buildings, lots of rooftop bars, a cobblestone road, and its along the water. There was lots of shopping within a couple blocks. But it is VERY touristy and quite frankly was horribly crowded when I was there, making it a huge pain to even park. It was also expensive. And while there was lots there, I think it was way smaller than the Southside in Pittsburgh. I don't think it took that long to walk from one end to the other.

So it was fun to go, but I couldn't care less if I ever went back. Its not something I'd want to do every other weekend if I were younger and still partying........

Quite frankly, the Southside has a lot to offer. You hear of a place like 6th Street in Austin all the time, where I used to live, but its no where near as big as the Southside.

[AaronPGH]

Pittsburgh has a far more broad range of offerings than Savannah. I consider myself a bit of a nightlife fiend, and I haven't gone out in the south side for almost 4 years now*–*that's how much more than South Side there is.

PGH has one of the best underground music scenes in the US right now.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

PGH has one of the best underground music scenes in the US right now.

Pittsburgh's like a baby sized Austin.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by Evergrey

Pittsburgh's like a baby sized Austin.

In terms of the music scene, probably.

Anyway, to answer the original post, you won't find many cities with so much nightlife activity for such a long distance as Carson Street on the South Side. We're talking almost a mile and a half from South Stadium to the South Side Works lined with restaurants, bars, nightclubs and coffee shops. And that's just the most famous nightlife district. There's small to medium-sized pockets of nightlife in all the popular neighborhoods throughout the city, though I think the Strip District is dead as we know it. It was sort of like Pittsburgh's version of The Flats in Cleveland, with its heyday back in the 1980s and 1990s, but nightlife there has dwindled in the last 10 years or so, and the neighborhood is in the beginning stages of a transition to a more upscale residential area. I'm sure that nightlife in the Strip District can rebound eventually, but it'll likely be more low-key and professional-oriented than before. It won't be "bro central" like the South Side or "hipster central" like Lawrenceville either.

Savannah has good nightlife for its size, but Pittsburgh is another animal altogether. If you go to Savannah, try to go around St. Patrick's Day. They dye the Savannah River green. It's also when weather in the South starts to warm up, so a trip to Tybee Island or Hilton Head Island might be fun.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

I consider myself a bit of a nightlife fiend.

Aaron's theme song:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O9OmyV7BhY