Pittsburgh or Raleigh-Durham?

[Anonymous]

I have family in both. I like to visit Pittsburg, I don’t like to visit Raleigh. Raleigh is too hot, brown (the topography), southern, boring. Pittsburgh is green, beautiful, and there’s lots to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh is the past. Raleigh is the future. It's that simple. Go to where the growth is. If because you'll find way more people who moved there for professional opportunities and open to welcoming new friends while Pittsburgh is a closed market where everyone sticks to their high school friends.

I do like Pittsburgh and architecturally it's great, but North Carolina is a no brainer for me. You're also closer to the coast and the beaches.

Have you ever lived in Pittsburgh? This is so far off. And its got 3 major universities and is a major medical hub. There is a lot, professionally and culturally, going on in Pittsburgh.

Same complaints are very common for Philadelphia and Philadelphia is much bigger with more universities and medical hubs.

Some cities are just easier for people to move to than others.

What's your point? I lived in Pittsburgh for 4 years. Has a ROBUST arts scene. Lots of fun neighborhoods, all of which their own, unique feel to them. Schenly Park. You can get all sorts of "diverse" exposure to culture: white, black, mediterranean, african, East Asian, South American, etc. etc. I had them all there. There is a huge LGBTQ+ population, even back in the stone ages when I was there. Lots of sports, too.

The weather isn't great but it is a GREAT place to live. And an easy transition from another city (I came from the boonies, which I would argue is a much tougher transition).

This isn't unique to Pittsburgh. Every city above a certain size is going to offer all of what you described. Including Raleigh-Durham.

But having moved to a few cities in my life, due to work, certain types of cities are going to be much easier on transients and relocating families than others. I wouldn't rank Pittsburgh as one of them, although if you put in the effort to establish roots through community institutions like churches or synagogues, it can be easier.

No, not all cities offer these things. i've lived in several cities as well. I will also say that I found Pittsburgh very easy on "transients" or people new to the area. So I heartily disagree with you there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Raleigh Durham. Cleaner, newer, warmer. More job opportunities. Better educated population. More nature.

And completely uninteresting. Unless you like cookie cutter McMansions.

[Anonymous]

I can only speak of Raleigh.

Pros:
- 2.5 hours from the beach, 3.5 hours from the mountains (including skiing!). 4.5 hours to DC.
- Lots of transplants, you’ll be welcomed and find diverse interesting people here
- Relatively low cost of living (compared to DC, no idea about Pittsburgh)
- Good airport
- Purple state (dem gov, rep senate… not sure if that’s a pro or con for you but seems good for moderates on both sides)
- UNC school system is great
- nice lakes nearby if you are a lake person
- Hospitals are good and the Duke hospital system in Durham is excellent if you need serious care. People travel hours from neighboring states to get treated at Duke.
- Trying to be the next tech / research hub (in connection w Durham). Lots of growth, lots of smart professionals moving to the area

Cons:
- not a great place for foodies - you’ll need to travel to Durham/Cary/CH for dining options if you’re really into food
- not that interesting a city.
- hockey is our only major league team - no basketball, baseball, football
- sometimes big exhibits skip Raleigh in favor of charlotte (2.5 hrs away)
- Museums are fine but not amazing. No zoo. Limited children’s museums / children’s activities (they are there, like Marbles and Museum of Life and Science, but you’ll do them on repeat).
- traffic can be bad (tho maybe that’s any city)
- we don’t do public transportation here (I mean the city does, but you know what I mean!)

[Anonymous]

Oh I forgot about the schools in Raleigh! There are some well known, good private schools. The public schools in Wake County are not known to be especially bad or especially good. I think they are probably similar to public schools in most second tier large cities. Chapel Hill, Cary are known for good public schools, likely due to the wealthy professionals / college professors in those communities. Durham magnet schools have good reputations too.

If you are working from home enough, it might make sense to look at Durham, CH and Cary in addition to Raleigh, due to the (arguably) better school options there. They also have quality private schools too.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Pittsburgh and loved it, got a great education and made wonderful friends. Enjoying going back to visit and seeing how the city has changed.

[Anonymous]

Pittsburgh way sexier

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh is the past. Raleigh is the future. It's that simple. Go to where the growth is. If because you'll find way more people who moved there for professional opportunities and open to welcoming new friends while Pittsburgh is a closed market where everyone sticks to their high school friends.

I do like Pittsburgh and architecturally it's great, but North Carolina is a no brainer for me. You're also closer to the coast and the beaches.

This is so not true in regards to a closed market for outsiders. CMU, UPitt, Duquesne, and Chatham are all located in the city and bring in new people from all over. Many students remain after graduation due to the strong employment opportunities.

OP I lived in both places at different times in my life. They both have minuses and pluses. Good schools can be found in both cities. Both Pennsylvania and North Carolina have a vast public university system. If any of your children are not DCUM 4.6 GPA students, but good or average students, Pennsylvania has a public university that will fit your student’s needs. As you get closer to retirement, Pennsylvania is better for your purse. North Carolina has better weather, but I really enjoyed some of my Pittsburgh April wintry weather days. I don’t think you could go wrong with either. GL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Raleigh Durham. Cleaner, newer, warmer. More job opportunities. Better educated population. More nature.

Why do you think Raleigh’s population is better educated?

[Anonymous]

Just a heads up, UNC-CH and NCSU instate tuition are only $9k/year.

Pitt and Penn State instate tuition are $20k, and Temple is $17k. One of the PA public universities, West Chester (where I went), is about $10.5K/year, but it is in no way comparable to UNC or NCSU.

When I say tuition, I am not including room & board.

[Anonymous]

1. Durham
2. Pittsburgh
3. Raleigh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Raleigh Durham. Cleaner, newer, warmer. More job opportunities. Better educated population. More nature.

Why do you think Raleigh’s population is better educated?

More Indians

[Anonymous]

I lived in the Triangle for ten years (Chapel Hill-Carrboro). Loved the area where we lived. I remember feeling very happy we didn't live in Raleigh-Cary because of the school busing situation. Kids being bussed miles across town for schooling. It made zero sense. Durham is more gritty (or was) but had an up-and-coming downtown core. I always got lost driving in downtown Durham, though. Got all turned around. Anyway, I did enjoy our time there. Late July-first few weeks of August are hell's front porch, though. I called it my winter because just going outside was uncomfortable and I took three quick showers every day just to rise the sweat off (I worked at home). But the rest of the year is great, weather-wise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I lived in the Triangle for ten years (Chapel Hill-Carrboro). Loved the area where we lived. I remember feeling very happy we didn't live in Raleigh-Cary because of the school busing situation. Kids being bussed miles across town for schooling. It made zero sense. Durham is more gritty (or was) but had an up-and-coming downtown core. I always got lost driving in downtown Durham, though. Got all turned around. Anyway, I did enjoy our time there. Late July-first few weeks of August are hell's front porch, though. I called it my winter because just going outside was uncomfortable and I took three quick showers every day just to rise the sweat off (I worked at home). But the rest of the year is great, weather-wise.

It’s so that schools don’t become super economically & racially segregated/to avoid having concentrated poverty in particular schools.

[Anonymous]

Some of these comments are out of left field. Someone described Raleigh's topography as ... brown? The Triangle/North Carolina in general is the greenest place I've ever been except for possibly Hawaii or somewhere tropical.

Wake County's reason's for busing are to avoid segregation, so that's a good thing. The area is growing by leaps and bounds so it's becoming more difficult logistically to manage those long bus rides. You can be rezoned but it's been much more stable lately. There are certain areas I wouldn't move to if stability in school assignment is important to you (Cary west of 55, Holly Springs) but it's honestly not as big of an issue as many people make it out to be. Bigger issues are: underfunded schools/teachers, not enough buses, some of the older school buildings need work.

The politics here are a concern. While there is a Democrat governor, the state legislature and the courts are republican and are making some big decisions right now that are against what many of their constituents want. There is a big problem with gerrymandering. You will find that the Triangle is mostly blue but the more rural areas are pretty red.

Weather - I love the winters. Summers can be intensely hot and humid. Fall and spring are gorgeous.

Food - there's plenty of food scene and interesting restaurants everywhere in the Triangle.

and btw, I live in an area with a lot of Indian people and we love it.