Pittsburgh ranked tops in U.S. by The Economist (Most Liveable City)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | June 10, 2009 | Mackenzie Carpenter

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato was calling -- no, crowing -- from his cell phone, in full, gleeful, salesman-for-the-region mode, ticking off the number of recent surveys declaring Pittsburgh the nation's most livable city (four or five); the number of front-page New York Times stories about Pittsburgh in the past three months (two) and the value of such publicity to the Pittsburgh area (priceless).

Given that abundance of good publicity, the news that Pittsburgh once again is the most livable city in the United States -- and 29th worldwide -- in a 2009 survey by British magazine The Economist was "great news, but not a surprise," Mr. Onorato said.

"This is now the fourth or fifth independent survey from outside the region talking up the Pittsburgh metro region. You have the stories in The New York Times, the president picks us to host the G-20 summit, now you have this magazine, plus others over the years. It's amazing."

The Economist Intelligence Unit -- which publishes numerous surveys and studies for paying clients -- has ranked Pittsburgh first in U.S. livability ratings since it started measuring them in 2005, said Jon Copestake, editor of the survey.

[B-Chan]

Yinz should be proud.

[rahbert]

Penguins winning the Cup should help make it more livable.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

If they lose, it will be intolerable.

[ladyjane]

Wow. I’m dying to move to Pittsburg. A cool ocean breeze in the summer. Skiing close by in the winter. World class symphony. Excellent schools. Oh wait, that’s Boston.

[gr8eman]

I wish. The same wishful thinking applies to anywhere in Pennsyltucky...it’s one big rat hole! Ask Fast Eddie!

[softengine]

What are these retards smoking? I have to travel to this city for work and no amount of GPS will help you find your way around. The roads look like they’ve all been bombed,... repeatedly. Road signs are incorrect, or not in place at all. And there is litter and debris all over the place. Its a dirty and overpopulated city.

I refer to it as the armpit of America.

[Carley]

Excellent colleges, excellent cultural events.

Don’t know it if you haven’t been there lately.

[editor-surveyor]

"I refer to it as the armpit of America."

Not the rectum?

[shove_it]

If the NYT says so, it must be true.

[Red in Blue PA]

Hope you don’t plan on having any firearms to protect yourself up there.

[Carley]

LOL......do they still have the one way lanes for buses.........that go AGAINST the traffic?

And getting lost is part of the fun, yes??????????

[gigster]

“If they lose, it will be intolerable.”

My Wings win it fairly often, and Detroit is always intolerable!

[2banana]

You know why Pittsburgh is the most livable city?????

Because it is cheap. And outside the city, taxes are low.

Pittsburgh is nice, but NOT that special for a city. There are plenty of other cities that are much "better".

But you can buy a nice house on one average middle class income and not be taxed to death - so you have money to make life livable.

[xsmommy]

if you can stomach legal gay marriage and liberals galore, i guess Boston might be bearable, maybe...

[Brookhaven]

Nothing personal against Pittsburgh, but if Pittsburgh is the answer, then they asked the wrong questions.

[massgopguy]

Business Week picked Malden, MA.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

As well as high taxes and having to get a permit and a union worker to do any kind of repair/remodeling in your own house.

[xsmommy]

is that a conservative publication?

[duckworth]

Bah! It’s a great city for the first five years or so. Then you just can’t wait to get out. I went back for the Steelers “one for the thumb” victory parade in Feb. 2006. Half the dawntahn was boarded up. Pittsburgh is a blast in small doses, which is how I suspect these magazine writers experience it. For the people who live there, even Primanti’s gets old after your first 10 times.

[bdeaner]

I LOVE PITTSBURGH!

[steelyourfaith]

Beautiful town. From the airport the drive enters a tunnel under a mountain emerging on a bridge with a view down on the town and the three rivers.

Friendly people.

[Right Wing Assault]

These awards are so stupid. They depend upon what the authors think is important. The suburb I live in was always highly rated. They built a very upscale shopping mall, which draws car thieves. The ratings went way down for the whole suburb due to auto theft in this parking lot.

The other day there was an international ranking. I think the highest us city came in 35th. Guess who? DC!

[bdeaner]

Pittsburgh’s downtown area is being revitalized in a big way. Penthouse apartments are moving in. The Cultural District is something to behold. And Point Park University has bought up a big chunk of the south end of the downtown area, and will be developing the whole area into a showcase. They’re even getting a new fountain. Pittsburgh is definitely on the rise, once again. Don’t sell it short.

[Right Wing Assault]

I guess this is the same rating. I must have missed Pittsburgh.

[xsmommy]

i am originally from Pittsburgh but have lived in NoVA since law school. i wouldn’t live in Boston on a dare. i may be surrounded by libs, but: gay marriage is illegal, VA is a right to work state, there is open carry, and we have some of the top public schools in the nation [though mine are all in private, Catholic schools] including universities; our winters are better and i am only 4 hours from Pittsburgh, to be able to go up to visit.

[bdeaner]

Wow. I’m dying to move to Pittsburg. A cool ocean breeze in the summer. Skiing close by in the winter. World class symphony. Excellent schools. Oh wait, that’s Boston.

Boston is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!!! Pittsburgh has just about everything Boston can provide, culturally, but without the cost of living. Pittsburgh is very affordable. Just about anyone can afford a house, if you have good credit and some savings.

[martin_fierro]

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[Petronski]

Pittsburgh? Overpopulated?

ROFLMAO

[GeronL]

satire?

what a useless ‘study’

[bdeaner]

[pburgh01]

Titletown baby! Boston, please....still even though 0-6 six this year still a Yankee b*tch.

[RS_Rider]

Downtown Pittsburgh is a liberal utopia. It is almost entirely composed of lawyers, government and non profits. They have chased out almost all manufacturing and most all of the corporate headquarters that deemed it the “Golden Triangle” have left. We have lost 50% of our population in the past 40 years. It’s a taxpayer funded failure, what’s not to like for a Marxist.

[mak5]

World class colleges, world class hospitals, world class symphony, skiing close by in the winter, inexpensive living, low taxes (except in the city). That’s what makes Pittsburgh more livable than...well, the archrival city that I live in now.

On the other hand, the city schools are not good, but there are some good school systems in the suburbs and transportation is awful (the bus system never was any good, and the roads are horrible).

[Big Horn]

My daughter just moved out of Pittsburgh, with their high taxes because they are run by the Democrats. You see block after block of empty homes because of high taxes and lack of good jobs because the labor unions and Democrats have run many businesses out.
It is a beautiful city with some very nice people all destroyed by the liberals.
She had a good job, but her life is much improved with her move.

[bdeaner]

Because it is cheap.

Yes. But it also has great sports teams, tons of culture, many excellent colleges and universities (Pitt, CMU, etc), a beautiful cityscape, and lots of beautiful rolling hills and country surrounding it. It has some of the most top-notch medical care in the country, thanks to UPMC.

The biggest downside is the weather. A lot of clouds and rain. But if you are not a sun worshipper, it's not a big deal.

[Carley]

LOLOL.....it’s not all bad. Living in NJ I can assure you there are far far far worse cities.

[Stentor]

Friendly people.

A little tetched.

[bdeaner]

My daughter just moved out of Pittsburgh, with their high taxes because they are run by the Democrats. You see block after block of empty homes because of high taxes and lack of good jobs because the labor unions and Democrats have run many businesses out.

You can say that about almost every major city.

[Oldpuppymax]

Boston? Leave your rights behind and move to Boston, huh? Yeah boy, what a town. The British disarmed the citizens of Boston in 1775 and the left disarmed then a couple hundred years later.

[Stentor]

They’re even getting a new fountain.

Now that's funny. What? Bernini come back from the dead or something?

[bdeaner]

I have to travel to this city for work and no amount of GPS will help you find your way around.

That's our way of keeping people like you out. ;)

Seriously, once you figure out the terrain, it's pretty easy to get around. But you're right, GPS is not going to help you much.

[HamiltonJay]

The down side of this is more NY liberal types will keep moving in thinking we should be doing things the NY way.

That’s ok, we’ll just dump em in the river anat.

[HamiltonJay]

N'@

[bdeaner]

I'm talking about the big fountain at Point Park, which is the visual center of the cityscape.

Here's a close-up



Here is a wide shot



I like to refer to it as the "PENIS OF PITTSBURGH." LOL. We're definitely a male city.

[andy58-in-nh]

The answer is to live here in Southern New Hampshire - you still have easy access to Boston and environs, but without the crime, taxes, corruption or restrictive gun laws.

[SoothingDave]

Are you still upset about Ulfie taking out Cam Neely?

[Red in Blue PA]

Indeed. Any state which does not allow me to protect myself is not a state in which I would ever live.

[bdeaner]

Did yinz see my pitchers of Picksburgh N’@ up air in the thread? Yinz need ta red up this thread of the Picksburgh bashers.

[dfwgator]

Pittsburgh would be one of the rare cities to have two major sports champions at the same time if they could pull off Game 7. Boston did it last with the Sox/Patriots a few years back. And I think one year the Steelers/Pirates were also concurrent champs.