Most Affordable City in the US - Pittsburgh - The Straight Talk Pros and Cons
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 มิ.ย. 2024
- Pittsburgh is one of the few places left where people spend on average just 20% of their income for a place to call home. US News ranked Pittsburgh as one of the top affordable places to live in the US. In this video, we show you whether we think Pittsburgh would make a great place to live, both the pros and the cons.
Thanks to @CityNerd who put Pittsburgh at the top of his list for affordability and walkability and also thanks to @GeographyKing who said it was one of his favorite cities. It was because of your videos that we decided to check it out.
0:00 Introduction
0:25 History
2:04 Affordable Housing
5:36 Biking
6:44 Walkability
7:23 Public Transit
8:46 Food
9:29 Entertainment
11:32 Sports
12:08 Education
12:40 Health Care
13:05 Progressive
13:23 Crime
13:46 Conclusion
14:31 Be Sure to Subscribe - Thanks! 👍😊
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I've lived in many parts of the U.S. and I have to say that Pittsburgh residents are some of the friendliest folks I've met.
Thanks for sharing! 😊👍🏻
Absolutely agree. Several Generations of my ancestors are from Pittsburgh. I've lived all over the world, but when I hear the Pittsburgh accent I hear love and kindness.
until they're driving...
Hahaha . That's funny.
I live in Pittsburgh (Squirrel Hill) and bike almost everywhere. Love living and biking here, the hills will whip you into shape in no time and most yinzers aren't afraid to tackle them. The fact that I can walk out of my front door, hit the GAP and go for a weekend of bike camping is an amazing thing to have in a city. Public transit needs some work but it's come a long way and depending on where you live in the city depends on how good it is for you. For example, if you live in the South Hills (like Mt. Lebanon) you have much better T access. You could also take to the South Side stop and hop right on the Mon incline and that will get you to Mt. Washington real quick. Most locals don't spend a lot of time downtown unless you're going to a game, there is a summer festival or you work there. There are 90 unique neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, all with their own feel. Definitely come back and check out places like the Mexican War Streets, Polish Hill, etc. I've lived here all my life, moved back after living in NC for ten years and the vibe and spirit of the city is infectious. You won't meet a more real and friendly group of people than the ones from the 'Burgh!
Thanks for your comment! Love that you can bike everywhere including those hills we saw….👍🏻⭐️
I used to live in Pittsburgh
MT LEBANON
Pittsburgh is walkable within its many neighborhoods. Not inbetween the neighborhoods though.
This is it, yeah, I found Pittsburgh to be eminently walkable, within certain parameters. I lived in Allegheny Center from 1999 to 2001 and walked everywhere to get around, and walked across the Clemente (Sixth Street) Bridge to get to class at the Art Institute. Within the Golden Triangle, you could get absolutely anywhere on foot, and you could also walk to adjacent neighborhoods, like the Strip District, if you really wanted to. But to go beyond that, like say to Oakland or Mount Washington, yeah, take the bus or the T if you wanted to go somewhere in its route.
Exactly!
do I need a car if I decide to stay in Bloomfield for a week?@@RobCamp-rmc_0
Well put! Yes, walking in downtown, Oakland, Shadyside, squirrel hill, South Side, East Liberty or even burbs like Mt Lebanon, or Dormont, no problem! But Pittsburgh on the whole, you really need a car. Public transit is very nice in some cases (to and from South Hills and downtown) but generally insufficient. Biking again is great in some places, but it's really not safe in others. The many steep hills are not conducive!
@@kmonyt What about in Bloomfield?
We visited Pittsburgh for a week last year and just scratched the surface. We loved it and are looking forward to going back Great balanced opinions in your videos Subscribing now!
Thanks for watching and subscribing. Really appreciated!
I'm not surprised that you stayed downtown on your first visit, but I recommend you stay somewhere like Shadyside or East Liberty during your next stay (eg. The Maverick; Hyatt House; Hotel Indigo, etc). You'll find it more walkable and neighborhood-like.
Then you will need a car, which not everybody brings when they visit.
My deceased dad worked in Pittsburgh, PA for 11 years (1958 -1969) as a civil engineer specialized in Steel Construction. I and my sister were born in Pittsburgh. ❤ and enjoyed the video. There has been no better happiness and joy that I had somewhere else in my life time but in Pittsburgh.👍
Thanks for sharing! Really appreciate your nice comment.
im from buffalo and visit pittsburgh 4 times a year and love it,now im in cleveland and also love it
We’ll have to check out Cleveland someday. What do you like about living there?
i just visit but i would live here,alot going on downtown@@ShouldWeLiveHere
Excellent Coverage
Well, compared to other cities this looks pretty walkable and bikeable to me. I plan on checking it out. Thanks for the video!
And thanks for watching! Cheers….
Pa is Ranked number 1 place to retire.
Pittsburgh is very much a car city for a couple reasons that make sense here. The winter is long and cold, and flat roads are few and far between. You wouldnt want to ride a bike through a winter here and even in summer biking up our hills is a chore and youll be a soaked by the end.
Even when they tried to put more bike lanes in, the go largely unused and are disliked by residents who think they just increase traffic.
Thankfully traffic in Pittsburgh is not bad at all.
I think you should give Pittsburgh another chance. I'd recommend visiting Dormont & Mt Lebanon in the South Hills & Bellevue in the North Hills.
Thanks for the tip. Will definitely check them out next time we visit.😊
The research paper VIOLENCE IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY AND PITTSBURGH sums up Pittsburgh pretty well.
My sister lives there now (Cranberry Township) and I LOVE visiting the city core when I'm around! Love the architecture and it looks like a postcard everywhere you look. I feel like the affordability is going to quickly become a thing of the past...
Thanks for your comment. Much appreciated!
Sadly it has. Rent is really high and home prices are as well. Taxes in Allegheny county are very high. Pittsburgh is a great city. I'm a proud resident. But the cost of living here is getting crazy.
I lived in Pgh for over a decade and found it to be very bikeable. There are trails throughout the city that connect many neighborhoods. Being an older city, a lot of bike routes are normal city roads, however, many are low traffic and well marked for bikes. If you know the bike routes, you can get around very easily. Living in Shadyside, I could bike to anywhere in the city in a half hour, often faster than driving/parking.
Your comments on public transit are spot on, it's quite poor.
Overall, it's a lovely city to live in, especially for 20 and 30-somethings.
Thank you for your comment. Nice to know that the bike routes are doable. Cheers!😊
Pittsburgh native here. I moved away but I will say it's a nice city to visit and a very affordable place to live and really good public transportation. You definitely don't need a car there. The Steelers are king there even with the Pirates and Penguins in town. Squirrel Hill and Shadyside are the nicest neighborhoods. I recommend Primanti Brothers as far as food. Also stop by Pamela's, good food there too.
Thanks for sharing!
Try the South Hills.That's where I live. I can walk down my street hop on any inbound T and be downtown in about 20 minutes.
Unfortunately, Pittsburgh roads always seem to be under construction. As someone who relied on public transportation to get around, it can be really frustrating.
While cars are still king here in Pittsburgh, traffic is nothing here compared to just about any other city ive been too. I think that deserves a positive point when describing the city. I think you hit things at the wrong time, and you managed to find a tent camp, homeless populations seem to eb and flow with the season, no idea how true it is, but Ive heard from people traveling thru that homeless travel seasonally from NYC to warmer climates in the south pan handling there way south, where pittsburgh is one of the stopping points.
Pittsburgh is very walkable, unless you are wanting to experience the entire city. With its makeup of neighborhoods, you have everything that you need right around you.
Is Squirrel hill or Bloomfield better to stay in?
time for an update on this
What else do you suggest we cover? Thanks for watching!
Time to update for the new police dept policies. Need to warn people.
@@fuqoff8583You have the perfect username for people who parrot Fox talking points. If you're so scared of life, don't come and enjoy your third world red state.
A Toilet in every basement and a Potato in every food dish but don't forget about the narrow congested roads so you'll never travel outside of your town unless you wait an hour into the tunnels to pittsburgh - I moved to Tennessee , you don't have to live like that people!
I think you caught some bad breaks in terms of transit. The fact that you didn't mention the three existing busways (and the new one on the way between Oakland and downtown) suggests that you didn't see the best of it -- they are fast bus-only superhighways that move at 55 MPH even when surface roads are crawling with bumper-to-bumper traffic. Also, you went to Mt. Washington but didn't take the incline? A quick light rail ride and then a few steps to the incline, and you're there (looks like you took buses?). PGH driving is stressful for sure -- you're 100% right there! Please come back and stay somewhere other than downtown next time
Thanks! We will come back someday…
I just moved to the area this past spring. So far I like it a lot, but the public transit definitely needs some investment. It'll get you to most places, but it's usually not the easiest or most efficient way to get to those places. That's probably the biggest downside. Apart from that, the city punches way above its weight terms of what it offers, and I think the next 20 to 30 years will see some significant growth and big improvements to liveability and accessibility. It has a long way to go, but things are starting to move in the right direction.
Glad to hear that you’re overall enjoying your new life in Pittsburgh. We’re looking forward to returning one day…
It's sad that this city has doubled down on buses and decided not to extend the light rail instead. They always use the excuse that it's too expensive, and yet they don't even bat any eye at spending millions on new sports stadiums🙄
Motorboating?
Pusher props.
@@bradleyschmidt7190 Extend the light rail? The light rail is terribly slow once you leave the downtown area. I can't imagine anyone using it to commute to and from the city.
I’d stay away from that $650 apartment in McKeesport. Lots of great people still live there but the area’s seen better times.
I live in Dormont which is the first suburb to the south of the city and it is walkable. I do many errands by foot, plus I live a 4 minute walk away from the light rail. Plus, we have a 5yr old and we live 2 blocks away from a nice park/playground and the county’s largest swimming pool.
Thanks for your comment!
Very nice and pretty accurate.
Public transportation is FAR worse than reported here. The "T" is down again in various parts (it NEVER works) and the buses constantly break down or are very late (15-20 min). 97 score? More like 9 OR 7!
WORST public transportation I have seen in any major city. Ever.
Thanks for your comment….
I walked from the point to pitt University which was wild
HAHA You would have walked through some...very DIFFERING neighborhoods!
If Ingo to Pittsburgh for a week on vacation, can I get around with public transportation or walking? Thank you in advance
It depends where you want to go. We found a car was needed to get to the places we wanted to see or else it would have taken hours.
@@ShouldWeLiveHere Thank you!
@@Mongoose-ct6usrent a car…..I’ve been here my whole life……our buses and trolleys suck
@@thomasreto2997 Can the Pittsburgh public transportation be worse than NYC?
@@Mongoose-ct6us don’t know as I’ve never used it when I was there
you didnt visit the south side flats?
I just read about the area. We missed out!
@@ShouldWeLiveHere There's no way to fully take the city in with just one visit, unless it's a verrrrry long one. The other posters who've made the point that it's a city of neighborhoods which are wonderful in and off themselves (but sometimes without enough connectivity between them due to the "hollers" and hills) are 100% correct. So many of the individual neighborhoods are amazing, with wonderful civic spirit.
What was the reason that people staying in tents were yelling at you?
I got to close when I was checking out some flowers…nice city though!
Thank you for the real assessment of whether the city is walkable with a real person actually walking ithere.. I notice places on a map (and that City Nerd hypes) often fail in reality. The map and statistics are not the territory.
For instance a place is not walkable if there are aggressive homeless every ten feet on the sidewalk, or construction blocking off the sidewalk entirely (various locations in Denver Oct 2023) FOR YEARS; the buses stop at 5 or only go from downtown to the university once an hour until 5 pm, no one shovels the sidewalk in the winter because everyone else drives and you are an idiot for walking, reckless drivers pull out on in front of you because they can't bother you to walk past as cars wait to leave a parking lot..
Cities like PDX like to hype how green and walk friendly they are yet the first five months I was there while walking on sidewalks cyclists crashed into me from behind, when they were turning a blind corner and so on.. Now with scooters here in Denver people ride as fast as possible ON THE SIDEWALK and in groups of five expecting pedestrians to jump out of the way. Cyclists and those on ebikes do the same. Making walking like being in a war zone because it is up to you to preserve your life as scooters and cyclists on the sidewalks have a death wish and like the thought of taking you with them..
It is not enough to have a map .. a tell of a good city are if people in wheel chairs, the blind and elderly are walking around rather than sequestered in a nursing homes in the boonies.
In the 1980s going to and fron school I would see elderly people and blind people walking around NYC. In the 1990s there were be elderly,, blind and people in wheelchairs taking the bus or on the sidewalk. I would say those were the two best cities for the most vulnerable members of our country.
Now with public use elevators I notice many are broken like ihere in Denver or in NYC ... even though we KNOW things are supposed to be ADA compliant and cities get funding assuming they are up to par, it is a lie.
We really wish more places were truly walkable. We just checked out some places in Tennessee and Florida and we saw almost no one walking snd six lanes of traffic even in smaller towns. Mexico City was walkable but the sidewalks were in terrible shape for someone in a wheelchair.
Pittsburgh is above the National average in crime and since our police chief have announced that there will only be 20 police officers working between the hours of 3 & 7 AM their should be a spike in crime. But, don’t worry it will only be during those hours.
If you come to Pennsylvania, stay in the cities.
House prices in areas with "good schools" (great schools ratings) are sky high (just like anywhere else in the nation). Traffic is horrendous for the actual # of cars on the road (they don't time the lights (which ultimately creates even more emissions!) and there are ALOT of "no turn on red" in places where it makes no sense whatsoever, some people who are "conservative" won't like it TOO "progressive".... It is pretty walkable though, the weather is mild (but cloudy), the people are friendly, and the surrounding hills and nature are beautiful. For now, it's home.
Thanks for the feedback! I wish traffic lights were timed everywhere….
High Property taxes. Taxavania.
I live in Pittsburgh. And I love my city. But it is not as affordable as this video says. At least not anymore.
It’s affordable because it’s not in high demand. People aren’t beating down the doors wanting to move to Pittsburgh. It’s gray, dismal and bleak a significant portion of the year. While the air is no longer black like it was when all the steel mills and other industries were running it still has some of the worst air pollution in the country. Allegheny county is in the top 1% for cancer risk from toxic air pollutants.