5 ms·

Pittsburgh is the most liveable city in the U.S.

17 points by cwan 16y ago

ableal 16y ago
Again ;-). If memory serves, around 1985 Pittsburgh got that title (from Rand-McNally, publishers of Places Rated Almanac, I think).
- aothman 16y ago
  Pittsburgh's 1985 win (in the middle of the steel industry collapse) prompted a lengthy screed about how cumulative ratings are assembled from a UW psychology prof: http://www.briem.com/files/Loftus1985.pdf http://www.briem.com/files/Loftus1985.pdf Pittsburgh keeps winning most livable city awards today for the same reasons it won in 1985: it's a city that rates good or very good in everything and bad in almost nothing.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
jleyank 16y ago
By some criteria, I'm sure. But if you like Broadway shows, it's not the best choice. And while there's a river or two, the surfing's not all that good. I suspect there are better places weather-wise, too. And I might be interested in some of those criteria at some point, but it's like some article that said it was great to retire in Fayetteville, Ark...
jefflinwood 16y ago
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajbrustein/5222637962/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajbrustein/5222637962/ It's a shame about the grey, overcast winters and the muggy summers though. I went to college there for four years, and it's a great city, I just couldn't stand the weather.
rdouble 16y ago
D.C. is third and Detroit is 7. This might just be a trick to see if they can get anyone to buy their $500 report to see WTF they are talking about.
- edw519 16y ago
  I don't know about D.C. or Detroit, but here is my instance of the class "Pittsburgh": 85 year 2000 sq. ft brick house on 1/4 acre. 4 BR, 2 ba, 2 car garage. Totally gutted and modernized. 3 miles from downtown, 1 mile from Oakland (Carnegie-Mellon, Pitt, Carnegie Museum/Library, Schenley Park). Walkability index 92. Within one hour flying and 8 hours driving of 50% of the U.S. population. $160K. Same house in Miami: $500K. Same house in California: 7 figures + first born. 4 distinct seasons, but some people still don't like the weather. I prefer these thoughts: "Everybody complains about the weather but no one does anything about it." - Mark Twain (Looking at gray sky) "What a beautiful day, Herman!" - Lily Munster
  - steveklabnik 16y ago
    Or me: Here's my house: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=641+Maryland+Avenue,+Pittsburgh,+PA&aq=0&sll=40.455046,-79.930215&sspn=0.009372,0.01929&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=641+Maryland+Ave,+Pittsburgh,+Allegheny,+Pennsylvania+15232&ll=40.45516,-79.930215&spn=0.009307,0.01929&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=40.455066,-79.930189&panoid=kLaDfqOqymd2T-qvZoUkPg&cbp=12,48.95,,0,1 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&#38... I have the bottom floor. 3 bedrooms. 3 roommates. $1200/month rent, so I'm paying $300/month. (my girlfriend and I share a room.) I live in one of the more affluent neighborhoods in town. Yep. It's that cheap. 20 minutes walk from CMU, 30 from Pitt. Buses come either one block or 4 blocks away. CMU shuttle goes _past my house_. One block away: 4 bars. A restaurant. Two coffee shops. A bunch of other junk. A Japanese grocery store two blocks away, regular groceries about 5, a Whole Foods about 8. My two neighbors on either side are families. Pittsburgh is sweeeeet.
    - rdouble 16y ago
      Can you live there without a car?
tmarman 16y ago
We just moved from NYC and bought a house out here... it's not NYC, but it's a pretty nice place to live :)
whatusername 16y ago
Pittsburgh is the 29th most liveable city in the World.
alexophile 16y ago
Looking at the worldwide list it seems like access to healthcare plays a really strong part... which I guess makes sense if you're calling your metric "Livability"
jwatzman 16y ago
Pittsburgh, seriously? Between the small, crowded, pothole-filled roads and buses which are never on time, it's impossible for me to get anywhere around here. The Steelers football fanaticism drives me insane and the weather is terrible. I absolutely cannot wait to move away from here next year; the city's only redeeming quality in my eyes is the plethora of universities.
- Isamu 16y ago
  > Between the small, crowded, pothole-filled roads Well, the wide ones have potholes too. > buses which are never on time I wouldn't say "never"... > Steelers football fanaticism well, yes... > the weather is terrible Wait, what? I'll tell you what's terrible. Bright, sunny days all the time are what's terrible. Downright depressing if you ask me. > I absolutely cannot wait to move away from here Some people just don't like "livable". Go figure.
cyrus_ 16y ago
Pittsburgh can be a bit of a shock for the San Francisco set though. There are comparatively few of what I'll call "post-hippie" establishments here. They're around, don't get me wrong, but not like in the liberal bastions of the West coast (Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, etc.) One of the most celebrated places to eat around here, Primanti Bros., sells giant greasy, meaty sandwiches with fries and coleslaw inside. Froyo places have just shown up recently!

17 points by cwan 16y ago

Again ;-). If memory serves, around 1985 Pittsburgh got that title (from Rand-McNally, publishers of Places Rated Almanac, I think).

aothman 16y ago
Pittsburgh's 1985 win (in the middle of the steel industry collapse) prompted a lengthy screed about how cumulative ratings are assembled from a UW psychology prof: http://www.briem.com/files/Loftus1985.pdf http://www.briem.com/files/Loftus1985.pdf Pittsburgh keeps winning most livable city awards today for the same reasons it won in 1985: it's a city that rates good or very good in everything and bad in almost nothing.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

jleyank 16y ago

By some criteria, I'm sure. But if you like Broadway shows, it's not the best choice. And while there's a river or two, the surfing's not all that good. I suspect there are better places weather-wise, too. And I might be interested in some of those criteria at some point, but it's like some article that said it was great to retire in Fayetteville, Ark...

jefflinwood 16y ago

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajbrustein/5222637962/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajbrustein/5222637962/ It's a shame about the grey, overcast winters and the muggy summers though. I went to college there for four years, and it's a great city, I just couldn't stand the weather.

rdouble 16y ago

D.C. is third and Detroit is 7. This might just be a trick to see if they can get anyone to buy their $500 report to see WTF they are talking about.

edw519 16y ago
I don't know about D.C. or Detroit, but here is my instance of the class "Pittsburgh": 85 year 2000 sq. ft brick house on 1/4 acre. 4 BR, 2 ba, 2 car garage. Totally gutted and modernized. 3 miles from downtown, 1 mile from Oakland (Carnegie-Mellon, Pitt, Carnegie Museum/Library, Schenley Park). Walkability index 92. Within one hour flying and 8 hours driving of 50% of the U.S. population. $160K. Same house in Miami: $500K. Same house in California: 7 figures + first born. 4 distinct seasons, but some people still don't like the weather. I prefer these thoughts: "Everybody complains about the weather but no one does anything about it." - Mark Twain (Looking at gray sky) "What a beautiful day, Herman!" - Lily Munster
- steveklabnik 16y ago
  Or me: Here's my house: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=641+Maryland+Avenue,+Pittsburgh,+PA&aq=0&sll=40.455046,-79.930215&sspn=0.009372,0.01929&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=641+Maryland+Ave,+Pittsburgh,+Allegheny,+Pennsylvania+15232&ll=40.45516,-79.930215&spn=0.009307,0.01929&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=40.455066,-79.930189&panoid=kLaDfqOqymd2T-qvZoUkPg&cbp=12,48.95,,0,1 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&#38... I have the bottom floor. 3 bedrooms. 3 roommates. $1200/month rent, so I'm paying $300/month. (my girlfriend and I share a room.) I live in one of the more affluent neighborhoods in town. Yep. It's that cheap. 20 minutes walk from CMU, 30 from Pitt. Buses come either one block or 4 blocks away. CMU shuttle goes _past my house_. One block away: 4 bars. A restaurant. Two coffee shops. A bunch of other junk. A Japanese grocery store two blocks away, regular groceries about 5, a Whole Foods about 8. My two neighbors on either side are families. Pittsburgh is sweeeeet.
  - rdouble 16y ago
    Can you live there without a car?

tmarman 16y ago

We just moved from NYC and bought a house out here... it's not NYC, but it's a pretty nice place to live :)

whatusername 16y ago

Pittsburgh is the 29th most liveable city in the World.

alexophile 16y ago

Looking at the worldwide list it seems like access to healthcare plays a really strong part... which I guess makes sense if you're calling your metric "Livability"

jwatzman 16y ago

Pittsburgh, seriously? Between the small, crowded, pothole-filled roads and buses which are never on time, it's impossible for me to get anywhere around here. The Steelers football fanaticism drives me insane and the weather is terrible. I absolutely cannot wait to move away from here next year; the city's only redeeming quality in my eyes is the plethora of universities.

Isamu 16y ago
> Between the small, crowded, pothole-filled roads Well, the wide ones have potholes too. > buses which are never on time I wouldn't say "never"... > Steelers football fanaticism well, yes... > the weather is terrible Wait, what? I'll tell you what's terrible. Bright, sunny days all the time are what's terrible. Downright depressing if you ask me. > I absolutely cannot wait to move away from here Some people just don't like "livable". Go figure.

cyrus_ 16y ago

Pittsburgh can be a bit of a shock for the San Francisco set though. There are comparatively few of what I'll call "post-hippie" establishments here. They're around, don't get me wrong, but not like in the liberal bastions of the West coast (Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, etc.) One of the most celebrated places to eat around here, Primanti Bros., sells giant greasy, meaty sandwiches with fries and coleslaw inside. Froyo places have just shown up recently!