Pittsburgh: What's Your Perception of This City? (McKeesport, Wilkinsburg: public schools, living)

[Hopes]

I wonder where this thread was originally posted. It clearly didn't start in the Pittsburgh forum.

Darn shame it wasn't left where it was. It's always nice to hear other people's points of views. Now we'll only hear the same points of views we always hear.

[bethany12]

Rust belt city with the attitude of Philly. Unlike most of the posters I do live here. Worst place I have ever lived.

[Urban_HillBilly]

Thanks atlantagreg. Your intellectual capacity intrigues me. I hope one day to be a person who can also control internet threads. It will be an accomplishment of personal empowerment.

[Nomadic9460678748]

Originally Posted by TheSquills

Thanks atlantagreg. Your intellectual capacity intrigues me. I hope one day to be a person who can also control internet threads. It will be an accomplishment of personal empowerment.

It's important to dream.

[badguykc]

I love Pittsburgh. It's my home base, I grew up in the region, and I enjoyed my time in that city.

I learned to drive in Pittsburgh. That alone prepared me to deal with the world's worst drivers.

Friendly folks as well. Great food, great history.

However, as a lifelong Cincinnati Bengals fan (and proud Steeler-hater), I found that talking football with the locals didn't get me too many high-fives and thumbs-ups. Middle fingers, on the other hand, were plentiful.

[TelecasterBlues]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I wonder where this thread was originally posted. It clearly didn't start in the Pittsburgh forum.

Darn shame it wasn't left where it was. It's always nice to hear other people's points of views. Now we'll only hear the same points of views we always hear.

Yeah I had this originally posted in the "General U.S." forum specifically to get comments and thoughts from people who aren't really from Pittsburgh or the SWPA/Tri-State area. Kind of a "hmmm...so what does the born and raised West Coast native, the Southern gen-y modernist/old school traditionalist, or the Northeastern buisness man tend to think when they hear 'Pittsburgh' considering their regional background and personal exposure" type of deal. Just looking to gain some insight into present national oppinion for us natives. I/We pretty much know what everybody who lives in Pittsburgh/frequents the Pittsburgh forum thinks of the city, so I guess that's that.....

Nice while it lasted, I got a couple pages of responses at least before the interweb watchmen rained on my Yinzer parade.

[Heit]

One very important benefit to living in The Burgh and the Pittsburgh area that often seems to be overlooked on this forum, is the fact that Pittsburgh has one of the best(some feel THE best) health care systems in the country/world! Local, top-notch universities produce many new health care providers yearly and the terrific local hospitals benefit from it. It truly is a win-win-win, for the universities(graduates), hospitals and people of Pittsburgh.

Sadly this FACT seems to get lost in the shuffle with the endless moaning about the weather here. The reality is that there is NO perfect place to live. There is always going to be give & take, positive & negative regarding any city. It's ALL what YOU make it. Life is short, "grow where you are planted".

[BrianTH]

I also enjoyed the fresh commentary, so thanks to the OP for getting us at least a couple pages of it.

[jazz06]

Well as someone who has frequently visited the Pittsburgh forum for a few months now, I feel that I should provide my perception of the city itself.

It seems to be a hidden gem in my opinion. It definitely has a beautiful skyline and I can't wait to see it! (3 more weeks!!!!) From what I've gathered, the people of Pittsburgh will welcome you to their city whether it be with open arms or not.

The reason I am moving to Pittsburgh is because of the health care system. It is by far the best program that I've found to my liking and it's ranked #7 in the country. I hear good and bad things about the UPMC Monopoly, but that's happening pretty much everywhere and trust me I can tell you of hospitals that are far worse than that.

I'm excited that I convinced my friend to choose Pittsburgh over L.A.! I can't wait to go to football games either! I'm from the South and football is a way of life in Alabama and I am a Steelers fan!

[rmkiefer07]

I'm orignally from Austin/Houston and now live in Seattle (19 years). My partner is from Westfield NY (near Erie PA) though grew up in Yakima WA. His family lives back in the Westfield area.

Never thought of Pittsburgh until a few years ago while visiting his family. The parents are getting old and want us closer. That's when we started looking at Pittsburgh (close but not too close). I have since been following this board to get a sense of the city. We made our first trip there last May.

I think Pittsburgh is under-rated. We were pleasantly surprised. We drove around exploring the neighborhoods and enjoyed the "familiar" of the hills and houses built on the sides with swaths of woods between. Saw the wild turkeys and deer that I heard about. We walked the Strip, Carson street, and Downtown. There was a positive energy. Most people we encountered were a bit reserved, but friendly. Some areas appeared depressed, but this occurs in all cities. Pittsburgh was a lot cleaner than I expected. That's not to say we didn't see grime and grit, but not what we expected (though when we first arrived, we grabbed something fast at an Arby's in Oakland and it was a pigsty - had us worried LOL). All in all, a beautiful city with a lot of potential. We will be going back to visit the family in October, and will definately stay in Pittsburgh as our base camp again. I want to see more. Whether we move there or not, I will always be rooting for it.

Thanks to the OP for giving us outsiders an opportunity! The only reason I found this thread is because I watch this board regularly. The dialogue on this board has provided me with a lot of insight. It gives me a feel of what's going on in Pittsburgh. It's been good to see some of the contentious discussion in that a lot of the personality of the place has come out. As long as people are talking, there is always hope. I've seen a lot of pride for your city exemplified here and that's a good thing in my book. It's too bad this thread was "localized". I think it belongs on the general forums. Perhaps C-D should create a forum for this purpose? Not another City vs City (lord knows there's enough of that) but a format designed to solicit outsider feedback.