Pittsburgh Friendliness: Hoax! (Penn Hills, Fox Chapel, Homestead: wood floors, chapel, how much)

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by hnsq

Have you been to any other city? I moved to Pittsburgh directly from Philadelphia, and was floored by how friendly everyone is.

Try living in another city around the country and you will start to appreciate how incredibly friendly people around Pittsburgh really are.

This is the quintessential Pittsburgh response. If you criticize the city-- or especially the people here-- the de facto response is always "try living somewhere else" or "you must not know what you're talking about" or some blend of the two.

The fact of the matter is that I've lived here for two years. Coming from "somewhere else" (Minneapolis), yes: you guys ARE less friendly, and you DO suck as motorists when it comes to pedestrians...

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by srsmn

This is the quintessential Pittsburgh response. If you criticize the city-- or especially the people here-- the de facto response is always "try living somewhere else" or "you must not know what you're talking about" or some blend of the two.

The fact of the matter is that I've lived here for two years. Coming from "somewhere else" (Minneapolis), yes: you guys ARE less friendly, and you DO suck as motorists when it comes to pedestrians...

Then I guess it's all relative. Pittsburgh ain't "Minnesota nice," but it's easier to deal with than any of the cities on the coast.

[sealie]

Originally Posted by srsmn

This is the quintessential Pittsburgh response. If you criticize the city-- or especially the people here-- the de facto response is always "try living somewhere else" or "you must not know what you're talking about" or some blend of the two.

The fact of the matter is that I've lived here for two years. Coming from "somewhere else" (Minneapolis), yes: you guys ARE less friendly, and you DO suck as motorists when it comes to pedestrians...

Nonsense. Minnesotans are more polite and less friendly. People who notice this refer to it as Minnesota Ice. Very helpful if you get your car stuck in the snow but really not what you call gregarious.

[Booger Smoot]

Hi all. I've been reading this forum for a long time and this is the one that gets me to post. I guess I'm a 'Burger at heart since complaining really is just the way most people start conversations in this town! Just jaggin.

I moved back home to Pittsburgh in 2007 and drivers are much more kind to pedestrians now. Back in the 70s and 80s when I was growing up I was basically trained to RUN across the street even with the light and crosswalks because cars would not stop. Scary stuff back then. My first two years in California in the early 90s my friends would laugh at me running across the street when the crossing light would turn green. It took a long time to break that habit!

Now the main gripe I have against drivers here is that in the suburbs everyone drives like it is a country road. The double yellow doesn't mean anything as they cut corners so they don't have to turn the steering wheel. Since I ride motorcycles, on the track only now, that line cutting drives me nuts. People that cut corners on these roads are psycho and will wind up killing themselves or someone else down the road. So to speak....

[sealie]

Also SCR is right - maybe nobody here can drive but that has eff all to do with how welcoming they are. One of these days I'm going to post asking for nominations for the silliest c-d Pittsburgh thread ever, this one would make my personal short list.

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by sealie

Nonsense. Minnesotans are more polite and less friendly. People who notice this refer to it as Minnesota Ice. Very helpful if you get your car stuck in the snow but really not what you call gregarious.

Not in my experience, and I lived there for my first twenty-some years.

People here lack manners in social situations compared to there-- not everybody, obviously, but as a rule of thumb. Pittsburghers are less friendly and outgoing by a long shot, too.

[srsmn]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Then I guess it's all relative. Pittsburgh ain't "Minnesota nice," but it's easier to deal with than any of the cities on the coast.

One thing I'll give it is civic pride, which is refreshing. When people do do something nice for a stranger, there is an understanding here that this is Pittsburgh, and that's just the way we do it. The "random acts of kindness" or even "common courtesy" here is pretty few and far between compared to back home, however.

I can't really compare it to most places on the coast.....it is definitely friendlier than Boston, I'll give you that, but that's not particularly hard.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Society OVERALL is much more aggressive and self-absorbed than it was back in "the good 'ole days". People left tight-knit city neighborhoods where people walked everywhere and knew and cared about one another and flooded out to insular newer subdivisions in the suburbs where people wave and smile from their SUVs before pulling into garages and lying on the couch. People now have much longer commutes and have to sit in traffic just to get to the grocery store, which gives them less free time to destress. Sure, some people's suburban enclaves certainly break the mold, but I'd wager $5,000 that the Homewood of 1953 was 10 times more desirable from the socialization perspective than the Cranberry Township of 2013.

I'd wage that you'd lose. Even then, Homestead was going downhill. Your stereotypical view of the suburbs is not in touch with reality and insulting to suburbanites. We all just lie on the couch, eh? Well, what are you doing? You're posting on the computer, you're not out helping the neighbors or having a barbecue or potluck with them. It is not necessary to have all this "walkability" to know your neighbors. People meet through their kids and through shared activities. My own suburban neighborhood is far more friendly than any city neighborhood where I have lived, including in Pittsburgh.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Society OVERALL is much more aggressive and self-absorbed than it was back in "the good 'ole days". People left tight-knit city neighborhoods where people walked everywhere and knew and cared about one another and flooded out to insular newer subdivisions in the suburbs where people wave and smile from their SUVs before pulling into garages and lying on the couch.

You realize there's 40 to 50 years between people's "leaving tight-knit city neighborhoods" and "smiling from their SUVs," don't you?

[sealie]

Originally Posted by srsmn

Not in my experience, and I lived there for my first twenty-some years.

People here lack manners in social situations compared to there-- not everybody, obviously, but as a rule of thumb. Pittsburghers are less friendly and outgoing by a long shot, too.

You don't really have experience of being a newcomer in both cities then. Besides, it's easier to make friends in the first twenty some years. My experience is that people here are more prone to strike up conversations with strangers rather than stare like you're breaking some social taboo. Your experience is obviously different and I'm not saying it's invalid, but it's nowhere near the universal truth you seem to think it is.