<p>How is the city of Pittsburgh itself?</p>
<p>It'd be helpful if anybody can compare Philly vs. Pittsburgh.... I wasn't too fond of Philly.</p>
<p>Philadelphia is more cosmopolitan, less provincial than Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>Compartmentalized into individual neighborhoods, each with distinct characteristics. Fairly safe. Big city cultural and sporting amenities. Friendly! Traffic not too snarley. Lots of colleges in the area and therefore lots of young adults. Many shopping and eating options. Good public transportation.</p>
<p>the city center itself is pretty dead at night. there is southside station square and the strip district for bars and restaurants. and shopping is all outside of the city...probably because of the malls in the area the downtown cant really support a shopping district. Shadyside is a nice area to go for upscale shops. Im not too sure what is that special about squirrel hill except that it is the jewish area but not too many students go there for a destination spot.</p>
<p>Pitt is located in Oakland, which is an awesome neighborhood that's really full of cultural activity (like museums), closeby to parks, and has lots of cool little eateries. It's not the place for clubbing or shopping though, but you can easily find that closeby. Oakland and probably the south side are the big student draws, but there are lots of other neighborhoods around which have their highlights.</p>
<p>Easy to get around by bus- my D lived there for 2 years by herself while she studied ballet in HS. If culture is your "thing"- excellent symphony, ballet, some theatre (it's not NYC, but then, they're on strike too), and if sports- it's the "Stillers". Shadyside has upscale shopping, lots of grad students.</p>
<p>I agree with the comments above. Pittsburgh is smaller than Philly, and each neighborhood in Pittsburgh has its own distinct "flavor". Oakland is the university & medical district (3 universities & several major hospitals). Oakland and neighboring areas (Shadyside, Squirrel Hill) have a lot of amenities (eateries, shops, bars, etc.) for students. There are also nice parks, libraries and museums. If you want to go to school in an urban area, you can't do much better than Oakland. Oakland is also much more ethnically diverse than most other parts of Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>As far as Pittsburgh vs. Philly, I'd sum it up by saying that Philly is "East Coast" while Pittsburgh is more "Midwest". Hope this helps.</p>