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!
@@andrefjbernardothere are many artsy hoods in the 412, such as Lawrenceville and Allentown, but even several bordering Boroughs like Millvale and Homestead have a bit of artsiness to them. The music scene offers something for everyone. Personally I really love the Carnegie music hall in Homestead or there's always a show at the City Winery in the Strip. I really love Pittsburgh. But I'm always perplexed about the "warm and friendly" description we always seem to get. People are generally kind, but I wouldn't call most Pittsburghers warm and friendly. I live in a very rough part of the South Side and my car has been broken into a dozen times - literally windows were smashed to search for valuables. Warm and friendly is definitely not what you think of in my neighborhood.
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.
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!
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.
@@mikeymutual5489Shadyside and east liberty are super walkable and have some of the best transit connectivity in the city, so no, a car will not be needed to stay there.
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!
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.
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.
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.👍
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
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.
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.
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🙄
@@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.
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 one of our favorite places and we will be coming for another visit this summer. We do wish the public transit and walkability was better. As far as driving you are braver than we are! See this article: www.edgarsnyder.com/resources/pittsburgh-ranked-one-of-the-least-safe-driving-cities
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.
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.
The no turn on red encourages walkability. It’s a good thing and you don’t lose much time unless it’s one of those lights where it cycles through each side of a 4-way intersection, but I don’t see many of those.
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.
@@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.
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 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.
Pittsburgh is terribly boring. Especially compared to places like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami. Don't waste your time going back. There's really nothing there.
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...
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.
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.
@@Mongoose-ct6ussquirrel hill has better transit connectivity for most of the east end of the city. Bloomfield is cooler. Squirrel hill is a family-oriented part of town. Bloomfield is a denser part of town with more multi-family housing and hipsters. Both places are probably some of the best in the city for food, tho.
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.
Unfortunately, Pittsburgh roads always seem to be under construction. As someone who relied on public transportation to get around, it can be really frustrating.
@@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.
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.
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.
Idk. I find it very reliable and much more reliable than Boston’s where I lived for two years before moving to Pittsburgh last August. Buses in the east end run on schedule and are frequent, especially between Oakland and Friendship, where I am. It is no surprise that’s the case, since most students don’t have cars, so this would be the part of the city best served by transit as opposed to the suburbs where the T takes you.
