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I've been researching Raleigh and Pittsburgh lately. My wife and I recently had a baby, we are currently in Northern Virginia (DC). My career is in tech.
I'm curious about your (Pittsburg ex-pats) take on the Triangle, why you left P, what you think the main differences are, if you have any regrets, if you'd like to return to Pittsburgh some day, or why you think the triangle is better. I understand that Pittsburgh has cleaned itself up into this high quality of life, gorgeous city focusing on high tech, science, medicine and academia (similar to Raleigh area). I've visited it recently and was VERY impressed. It's been getting press lately as "best place to live" (just like Raleigh was). It appears that (at least on paper) Pittsburgh has everything that the Triangle has (tech, med research jobs, friendly people, nice suburbs, great colleges) but has much more city infrastructure (impressive downtown w/ gothic architecture, world class museums, pro sports, gorgeous unique geography, housing with character, a variety of styles of houses including modern and experimental, unique neighborhoods, large art and music scenes, film industry presence). I've seen that the population of Pittsburgh (at least urban) continues to slowly decline, which I'm not sure I understand. I think Pittsburgh's job market might not be too great? It seems like Pittsburgh already has a huge cache of assets that the Triangle will have to build from scratch (and unique things to Pittsburgh that the Triangle will never have). I get the impression (possibly wrong) that too many people flocked to Raleigh and it's job market is overstaturated and the boom is pretty much over. As much as I love Raleigh (have family and friends there), it's seems like a pleasant, suburban place to live, but unlike Pittsburgh there's no real reason for tourists to go there (many travel books have brief descriptions of the Triangle). What am I missing here?
Last edited by VASpaceMan; 09-11-2013 at 08:23 AM..
We lived 70 miles north of Pittsburgh for years. I could easily live in Da 'Burgh. I miss local pro baseball and a local pro football team.
Except for winters, and for me they are a deal breaker....
This is from a National Geographic write up about Pittsburgh:
Three rivers. One reinvented city. On all counts, the Steel City’s transformation over the past quarter century qualifies as revolutionary. Its mourning for its industrial past long concluded, this western Pennsylvania city changed jobs and reclaimed its major assets: a natural setting that rivals Lisbon and San Francisco, a wealth of fine art and architecture, and a quirky sense of humor.
Pittsburgh’s century-wide swath of architectural styles persuaded British film director Christopher Nolan to use downtown as a stand-in for Gotham City in this summer’s Dark Knight Rises. Sustainable design has transformed Victorian landmarks like the glass-domed Phipps Conservatory and created contemporary ones like the swooping waterfront convention center (above). Best Trips 2012 -- National Geographic
The only thing I can think of is that people might not like the weather, but I actually like snow in the winter. I'm wondering if there's something I'm not seeing that's holding Pittsburgh back, or if it's about to really bloom.
This is from a National Geographic write up about Pittsburgh:
Three rivers. One reinvented city. On all counts, the Steel City’s transformation over the past quarter century qualifies as revolutionary. Its mourning for its industrial past long concluded, this western Pennsylvania city changed jobs and reclaimed its major assets: a natural setting that rivals Lisbon and San Francisco, a wealth of fine art and architecture, and a quirky sense of humor.
Pittsburgh’s century-wide swath of architectural styles persuaded British film director Christopher Nolan to use downtown as a stand-in for Gotham City in this summer’s Dark Knight Rises. Sustainable design has transformed Victorian landmarks like the glass-domed Phipps Conservatory and created contemporary ones like the swooping waterfront convention center (above). Best Trips 2012 -- National Geographic
The only thing I can think of is that people might not like the weather, but I actually like snow in the winter.
I'm wondering if there's something I'm not seeing that's holding Pittsburgh back, or if it's about to really bloom.
Pittsburgh is not unlike Raleigh, in that both are basically "big small towns." Pittsburgh has more of an urban and gritty side, due to the heavy industry past.
The city really got slammed economically in the '70's and '80's with the near demise of the steel industry and the reputation of being a hard-core union town, even in the face of awful unemployment.
Here's something contradictory that I found. A report showing Pittsburgh as #1 in the US for livability in a list of best cities in the world to live, but they go on to say:
"..Of course, there was that survey by the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project, which found Pittsburgh one of the least popular of places to live -- in the bottom 10 of 30 cities surveyed -- with only 17 percent of those surveyed saying they wanted to live there. And Business Week magazine reported that Pittsburgh is the 14th "Most Unhappy City" in the nation."
So wierd.
I think you can find a contrarian opinion on any topic.
There is a lot of pride in Pittsburgh.
I have two nephews who went to Pitt from NEPA and stayed in town afterwards because they love it.
And, if you don't mind snow, you have the luxury of two great cities to consider.
[LEFT]They go on to talk about the problem about "livability" surveys and also mention North Carolina (Charlotte). I'm not sure I'd agree with that "Charlotte is in total collapse" comment, but you guys would know better than I would.
From the article:
"Livability is in the eye of the beholder," he said, noting surveys tend to overvalue cultural institutions -- which benefit relatively few people -- and undervalue economic indicators such as job growth and low taxes, which benefit many. Places like Charlotte, N.C., attracted people for that reason, he said.
"I would think that livability would have to do with finding a good job. If you're just looking at cultural things, sure, Pittsburgh is a nice place to live, if you can afford to send your kids to private schools or live in the suburbs and pay high taxes for good schools, but people tend to go where they can find work."
Nonsense, said Mr. Onorato.
"No one is claiming Pittsburgh is perfect," he said, noting that Mr. Haulk "bragged a few years ago about how great Charlotte is, and now Charlotte is in total collapse."
I was born and raised in Pittsburgh . . . . . Greentree, actually. Left once I graduated from college (Penn State) and moved to TX. Now I've lived in Raleigh for the last 7 years. I prefer Raleigh to Pittsburgh and can say with certainty that I would never move back. I haven't even been back there to visit in the last 8 years. The winters are the reason at the top of the list. I also think that the Triangle is more beautiful.
Regarding this comment from that article:
"I would think that livability would have to do with finding a good job. If you're just looking at cultural things, sure, Pittsburgh is a nice place to live, if you can afford to send your kids to private schools or live in the suburbs and pay high taxes for good schools..."
Is this really that different than the Triangle? I get the feeling from reading what you guys have been writing here on city-data that the whole "cheap housing in the Triangle" thing is overblown or maybe even false advertising.. because, correct me if I'm wrong, but in order for your kids to go to a good school you need to live in pricier areas (like Chapel Hill) where the housing prices aren't that much different from Northern Virginia.
Hi NewUser, can you be more specific on how the Triangle is more beautiful?
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More beautiful?
