Philadelphia vs Pittsburgh (Washington, Liberty, Hawthorn: housing, yard, ranking)

[wpipkins2]

I love Philadelphia by the way. Everything about it I should add. No hate or shade on my part.

[Pine to Vine]

Before I moved here, if asked to identify any images of Philly, the choices were many: the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, City Hall, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rocky statue, and the LOVE sculpture. If asked conjure any similar images for Pittsburgh, I would have drawn a blank, except perhaps the knowledge that it was once a steel manufacturing hub. The point is that Philly occupies a spot in the nation's cultural psyche. Pittsburgh, not so much.

When drawing up a list of cities to explore as our potential new home, Pittsburgh didn't even warrant a visit. Philly is simply on a different tier. We didn't have to visit to know that downtown Pittsburgh can't begin to compare with Center City, for starters. Check out their forum page sometime. There is nothing equivalent to the Philly 2035 thread or our retail thread. All that said, I really want to visit sometime. It looks like a great place to spend a long weekend.

No hate. Just some random thoughts.

[wpipkins2]

That is your ignorance. Bridges as far as the eye can see from atop of Mt. Washington which is one of the best views in the US. Inclines (funiculars) climbing Mt Washington over looking the city. The Any Warhol museum,The Carnegie museum of Natural History, Three Rivers,Point State park and fountain, urban renewal, rough and challenging terrain to name a few. I should also mention the tunnel entrances into the city. Pittsburgh is unique in many ways.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

That is your ignorance. Bridges as far as the eye can see from atop of Mt. Washington which is one of the best views in the US. Inclines (funiculars) climbing Mt Washington over looking the city. The Any Warhol museum,The Carnegie museum of Natural History, Three Rivers,Point State park and fountain, urban renewal, rough and challenging terrain to name a few. I should also mention the tunnel entrances into the city. Pittsburgh is unique in many ways.

I don't think people outside of Pennsylvania are aware of those things.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

LA is not slow in any way shape or form. I am very familiar with all east coast cities with the exception of Boston. There is a pace within the urban core and it drops off suddenly unlike LA that goes on and on like the energizer bunny. I disagree. I did not find Philadelphia to be any more fast pace than DC or Baltimore. Philadelphia has nothing in NYC period. NYC is its own animal then there are the other east coast cities.

A) I didn't say LA was slow, I said east coast cities are faster.


B) I never tried to say Philadelphia was faster or as fast as NYC.


C) Don't confuse semi-urban sprawl with fast paced living. If you travel out to the very mature and wooded Main Line or Chestnut Hill communities, those areas are not slow, they are just very pretty, which can lead one to think wow this is a cute slow paced area. The semi-urban (someone soulless sprawl you see outside of LA with cars and parking lots galore may lead one to think, wow there is so much going on, when really there isn't)


I think the development and setup of East Coast vs West Coast/Southern cities can throw people off sometimes.


Pace wise I would say NYC...........Boston/Philadelphia/DC/Chicago...LA/San Fran..Baltimore...others

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

I don't think people outside of Pennsylvania are aware of those things.

Exactly, its not a shot toward Pittsburgh's beauty, but on a national scale no one thinks about Pittsburgh or has an image in mind. Go to any corner of the country and people know about Philadelphia and usually think of history (the biggest one), museums, food, or the very unfortunate Rocky.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

That is your ignorance. Bridges as far as the eye can see from atop of Mt. Washington which is one of the best views in the US. Inclines (funiculars) climbing Mt Washington over looking the city. The Any Warhol museum,The Carnegie museum of Natural History, Three Rivers,Point State park and fountain, urban renewal, rough and challenging terrain to name a few. I should also mention the tunnel entrances into the city. Pittsburgh is unique in many ways.

I never said Pittsburgh lacked things to see or do. I just shared that it really conjures no broadly recognized iconic images. I suspect the average American would place the Liberty Bell or the Rocky statue in Philly but might not link "bridges as far as the eye can see" or Mount Washington for that matter, with Pittsburgh. As a confirmed urbanite, however, I can correctly iifentify your skyline, and as I said, I look forward to visiting one day soon.

I said no hate. If you choose to label me "ignorant," that's on you.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by cpomp

A) I didn't say LA was slow, I said east coast cities are faster.


B) I never tried to say Philadelphia was faster or as fast as NYC.


C) Don't confuse semi-urban sprawl with fast paced living. If you travel out to the very mature and wooded Main Line or Chestnut Hill communities, those areas are not slow, they are just very pretty, which can lead one to think wow this is a cute slow paced area. The semi-urban (someone soulless sprawl you see outside of LA with cars and parking lots galore may lead one to think, wow there is so much going on, when really there isn't)


I think the development and setup of East Coast vs West Coast/Southern cities can throw people off sometimes.


Pace wise I would say NYC...........Boston/Philadelphia/DC/Chicago...LA/San Fran..Baltimore...others

I'm am not referring to sprawl. I am referring to inner city pace and LA has Philadelphia beat by a mile within the urban core. Have you been there lately? I will assume not.

Boston is not faster than San Francisco by any stretch of the imagination. The limited experience that I have with Boston did not beat DC in terms of bustle. Again I am referring to the inner city.

I prefer the east for its density, pace and architecture.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Exactly, its not a shot toward Pittsburgh's beauty, but on a national scale no one thinks about Pittsburgh or has an image in mind. Go to any corner of the country and people know about Philadelphia and usually think of history (the biggest one), museums, food, or the very unfortunate Rocky.

I don't think people associate Philadelphia with "museums" the way they do DC or NYC. I think the "Rocky Steps" are iconic and that those steps happen to lead to the building that people may or may not know (most probably do not know) is the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Otherwise, I don't think the PMA would have much of a profile on its own merits.

[wpipkins2]

Originally Posted by BajanYankee

I don't think people associate Philadelphia with "museums" the way they do DC or NYC. I think the "Rocky Steps" are iconic and that those steps happen to lead to the building that people may or may not know (most probably do not know) is the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Otherwise, I don't think the PMA would have much of a profile on its own merits.

I remember as a young child maybe 4 or 5 (1981) my older brother made me run up the Philadelphia Art Museum steps with my fists up. It took years for me to figure out that the scene from the movie was on "those" steps.