Pittsburgh Misconceptions (theater, public schools, universities)

[Katiana]

Tallysmom:

I never picked up the Pittsburgh accent, but I can be easily identified by my non-use of "to be". The cars needs washed.... we drop the to be all the time.

Same here, till my ex-husband decided it was his calling in life to teach me to speak properly. (He was from upstate NY) Is there any wonder we are no longer married?

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by boylocke

I wanted to ask you all (notice YOU ALL) about something.

Originally Posted by South Range Family

I'm from Ohio. I say, "you guys".

There's no need to spice it up with "all" or "guys" added to the end either.

Originally Posted by IHATEPA!!!

Just rude, obnoxious, ignorant people everywhere!

Hmmmmmmm.........the pot seems to be calling the kettle black.

Originally Posted by IHATEPA!!!

And I DO intend to move from PA very soon!

We certainly don't want to keep you here a moment longer than you need to be here!

I hope something suitable turns up for you soon!

[tmorrisn]

My husband's family is from Cheswick, which seems pretty blue collar to me. I hear "yinz", dangling prepositions, and lack of "to be" all of the time.
My husband still says "where are you at?" and "the bed needs made". It gets on my nerves, but you pick your battles.
I need to distinguish between "you" and "you all" when in a group setting. Here (on this forum) it's a moot point, but in life, I think you may need to differentiate so that people know who you're talking to. (I guess I dangle my prepositions too.)

[Mugatu]

HA! One of the first things I noticed after moving up here from Florida (besides the "yinz and yunz" and "Car-NAY-gie") was that EVERYONE drops the "to be." In the mail room at my job, there are even bins that say "Stamped Mail" or "Needs Stamped."

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by IHATEPA!!!

plenty of "shot and a beer" tough guys who are always looking to start s**t with people just for the hell of it.

Try driving through town with Ohio plates and a Cleveland Browns bumper sticker on your car ... Wonder what kind of reaction I'll get now that I have Pennsylvania plates and the Cleveland Browns bumper sticker?

Originally Posted by boylocke

People constantly berate yinzers... but do Pittsburgher's even say it still?

My aunts, uncles and cousins do (one of them, I think, says it just to irritate my sister and me, LOL), frequently. Whether or not they say it at work or in public settings I dunno, but around the family patio they say it plenty.

"Stamped Mail" or "Needs Stamped

Love it!!! I'm not sure if I picked this up from my Pittsburgh native parents, or if it's pervasive to all of Western Pennsylvania, but I'm just as guilty!

[kpoeppel]

Probably the biggest misconception about Pittsburgh is that it is smoky, dirty, polluted, and ugly. I (briefly) had a job just north of San Francisco, CA before moving back to western PA. While in CA, I told one of my co-workers that Marin County (where he lived) reminded me of Pittsburgh. He was shocked and appalled. "Ouch!", he said, as if I had insulted him. I told him I intended my remark as a compliment! I then explained how Marin County reminded me of Pittsburgh because of its small, tightly-packed neighborhoods nestled among the steep hillsides, forests, and winding streams. Many Californians (and others) consider Marin County to be one of the most beautiful/desireable places to live in the entire U.S.

[Seattle Guy]

It's a disgrace that so many gorgeous brick homes that were built about 50 years ago are falling into disrepair around the eastern part of Pittsburgh because of population decline, a lack of worthwhile jobs for people to afford these homes, and an expanding of Pittsburgh's inner-city problems which causes people to leave these nice homes and move futher outside of Pittsburgh or Allegheny County.

What a disgrace that these older brick home which are still new in a sense are going to be ruined in a short time. Who is making a decent income in Pittsburgh other than cops, teachers, and other people on the public payroll?

[Drover]

Oh, I dunno, the doctors, the lawyers, the nurses, the private-sector educators such as those who work for CEC or CMU or Robert Morris or Chatham, the accountants, the consultants, the bankers, the financial advisors, insurance salesmen, the white-collar employees at any of the numerous Fortune 500 companies operating in the area, et cetera -- you know, the same professionals who make a decent income in just about every other city in America. There's a market for these folks in Pittsburgh too, you know.

[Hopes]

Too funny, Drover! It's clear that Seattle Guy doesn't know the Pittsburgh economy very well!

[Seattle Guy]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Too funny, Drover! It's clear that Seattle Guy doesn't know the Pittsburgh economy very well!

Public housing and public employee unions are too much of this esoteric Pittsburgh economy you know of.