Can anyone compare and contrast Columbus and Pittsburgh? (Economy: job market, neighborhoods)

[greytercel]

I am curious about Pittsburgh and what people think of the atmosphere there in terms of personalities, culture, the mentality of the area....when I say culture I don't mean art galleries and symphonies; I mean, you know, what's it like?! I grew up in Steubenville, and, believe it or not, have spent very little time in Pittsbgh....genuinely curious.

[sheplovr]

Pittsburgh is the 13th largest city and I think it is great. I am like forty minutes north of it, but love to go into the city. I love Hockey, getting new arena, love Football.

Seems you can run into most anybody in Pittsburgh, nice people, nice streets. One end is kinda bad, will not mention that part. For the most part it is a great city to live in or near.

[guylocke]

LOL. I saw your post asking us to answer you greytercel! I will try.

I think if there is one thing Pittsburgh has far more than Columbus, it's personality and character. It's a very old city, it's very eclectic, charming, and unique. Columbus, another city I like, is very much a cookie-cutter-city and is essentially built upon urban sprawl.

I'm not saying that makes Pittsburgh better, some people like cookie-cutter-cities, but I personally do not. Columbus has a growing population and economy (at least from what I know, I COULD be wrong) and Pittsburgh, much like Cleveland and Cincy, has been having population decline for a while.

Although actual GDP output and exporting is improving in Pittsburgh (that is, to say, the actual ECONOMY of Pittsburgh as a city is doing markedly better than actual job growth and our technology and medical sectors are booming), the actual WORKFORCE in Pittsburgh is fairly stagnant. We aren't creating many new jobs. The jobs that ARE being created are lucrative ones in growing sectors, but still, it's something to think about before you would ever uproot your life.

Otherwise, on a purely cultural sense, I think most people really like Pittsburgh. There is an overabundance of people in the city that love it and want to stay and even people wanting to come to Pittsburgh. Depending on your field, the job market is just too tight in Pittsburgh and some are forced to move away while others are thwarted from relocating here. I am personally convinced that if Pittsburgh was able to create the jobs, the people would be coming and staying. Also, I personally believe Pittsburgh has turned a corner. The housing market is very stable, our most valuable industries are industries of the future and are growing exponentially. Downtown and much of the outlying neighborhoods are being revitalized. These are things I don't think people would have imagined even ten years ago.

The cost of living is very reasonable and the city is lively on many levels, full of culture, sports, and friendly people. It's a wonderful place to raise a family and offers a lot of amenities and uniqueness that I think a lot of other cities of its size don't match. I also think that Pittsburgh is a much more beautiful city and topography than Columbus from a purely aesthetic point of view.

There are good things about Columbus, too. My brother lived there for several years and really liked it (he is back in Pittsburgh, though). Does that help?

[greytercel]

thanks so much. hopefully i'll hear more, too.

[burghgirl]

Hi - I started a thread comparing Columbus to Pittsburgh a few months ago. Here it is if you are interested:


https://www.city-data.com/forum/pitts...lumbus-oh.html

[zip95]

Originally Posted by sheplovr

Pittsburgh is the 13th largest city

22nd largest metro....57th largest city

[igo]

Originally Posted by zip95

22nd largest metro....57th largest city

Yeah, 13th largest didn't seem right to me (maybe in the 1940s).