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Posted Mar 10, 2018, 12:35 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Portland
Posts: 722
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Pittsburgh | PGH is the new PDX
In 2009 I moved to Portland looking for the polar opposite of South Florida. Looking for a city with a good food scene, character, a unique local identity and culture, decent transit and walkability Portland seemed to fit the bill. Fast forward roughly 10 years Portland no longer felt like the city I had once fallen in love with.
With the influx of new people changed the culture and I felt like all the "New Portland" restaurants and bars felt pretentious and uptight. My rent went up by $600 a month in a year and my wages lagged far behind the average for an urban planner. Traffic became insane and transit unreliable. My commute often pushed two hours to drive the 9 miles from Tigard to inner SE Portland. Many of my friends were priced out or had to work so much to afford to remain in Portland my social life became abysmal. I had enough and decided to make a change.
While I didn't want to leave the Pacific Northwest, no jobs seemed to work out for me in the region so I expanded my search nationwide and ended up moving to Columbus, Ohio. I thought moving to Columbus would give me an opportunity to explore a new part of the country I've never seen before. The first city I wanted to check out was Pittsburgh.
Growing up in South Florida, there are a ton of Pittsburgh transplants and I was always struck by their unique way of speaking . In planning school it was used as a case study of how to decline gracefully then bounce back revitalizing the city through tech, healthcare, and higher education. The historic neighborhoods always looked appealing with many retail main streets similar to Portland along with pretty topography. The food scene is great and after visiting the people were awesome and the city definitely has a local culture that sets it apart from the average American city of a similar size. I think I've found my new Portland, but the only thing that worries me is that if Amazon picks Pittsburgh it will have the same problems Portland is going through down the road with affordability and out of control homelessness and gentrification. Whatever happens, lets all wish the best for Pittsburgh because it really is a special place.
• Video Link
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
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Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
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Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
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Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
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Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
Untitled by Philip Bradford, on Flickr
I can't wait to go back and explore the city even more. These photos are what I was able to capture on a short weekend trip. Hope you all enjoyed.
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