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Median home price: $149,900.
The Steel City is having a huge cultural renaissance lately. Everywhere you turn, there’s a new round of one-of-a-kind shops, art galleries, breweries, and jazz clubs. It’s also a rising center for major film production (serving as New York City and Gotham City stand-ins for, respectively, “The Avengers” and “The Dark Knight Rises”), contributing to the city’s economy as well as its pop culture cachet.
Hip neighborhoods such as Lawrenceville, Mt. Washington, and Shadyside offer a wide range of cutting-edge mixology bars for adventurous drinkers. And Pittsburgh made No. 10 on Zagat’s list of the top U.S. food cities, which cited a James Beard-nominated restaurant as well as “incredible sandwiches”—some notably stuffed with fries and coleslaw. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.