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I'm from the greater Pittsburgh area and have always had a love/hate relationship with it, depending on the day (and season). Sometimes I feel like I'm living in one of the safest, most down-to-earth, friendliest regions of the country, and sometimes I feel like it's an open pit of gloom and despair populated by some of the dumbest, most idiotic human beings that exist in modern times. Again, it depends on the day, what part of the region I'm in, the time of year, etc.
I'm curious as to how non-natives perceive this region. Be brutally honest. I know I can't make rules for a thread, but I'm hoping to hear outside perspectives here. Not the same "We're #1" rhetoric and flaming from over in the Pittsburgh forum.
pittsburgh is in fracking country. there have already been reports of contaminated water in the area, and some residents worry that more fracking will lead to further contamination. i considered moving there but now i avoid it due to fracking.
I'm from the greater Pittsburgh area and have always had a love/hate relationship with it, depending on the day (and season). Sometimes I feel like I'm living in one of the safest, most down-to-earth, friendliest regions of the country, and sometimes I feel like it's an open pit of gloom and despair populated by some of the dumbest, most idiotic human beings that exist in modern times. Again, it depends on the day, what part of the region I'm in, the time of year, etc.
I'm curious as to how non-natives perceive this region. Be brutally honest. I know I can't make rules for a thread, but I'm hoping to hear outside perspectives here. Not the same "We're #1" rhetoric and flaming from over in the Pittsburgh forum.
If you're curious about how non-native Pittsburghers perceive Pittsburgh, then you really can't discount the opinions of those on the Pittsburgh forum, considering half of them aren't Pittsburgh natives.
I'm not going to name anybody specifically, but off the top of my head I know of one from California, one from Connecticut, one from Florida, one from Illinois, one from Massachusetts, two from New York, one from Ohio, one from West Virginia, two from elsewhere in Pennsylvania, one from Canada, one from the U.K., and one from Australia (via Washington) who are all at least semi-regular contributors on the Pittsburgh forum. For that matter, I was born in New Jersey, so I'm not exactly a Pittsburgh native either.
On the other hand, I know of six Pittsburgh natives off the top of my head, including yourself, and I'll assume that the four others whose history I don't know or don't remember are natives as well, so that brings us to 10 natives and 14 non-natives on the Pittsburgh forum. There are also three natives who now live elsewhere and still contribute, and three non-natives who lived in Pittsburgh for a time but now live elsewhere, including myself. There's even one who's never lived in Pittsburgh but contributes sometimes.
Don't worry, though; I'm sure a couple of people on this board will come along and say nasty things about Pittsburgh, and then you can cite them as "truth-tellers" while pretending that the only people capable of enjoying Pittsburgh are Pittsburgh natives, as those who don't like Pittsburgh inevitably do.
I'm curious as to how non-natives perceive this region. Be brutally honest. I know I can't make rules for a thread, but I'm hoping to hear outside perspectives here. Not the same "We're #1" rhetoric and flaming from over in the Pittsburgh forum.
I don't know if I qualify, but I'll offer my borish intarweb opinion . . .
I lived in Mt. Lebanon from '65 to '73. I had an idyllic childhood, like Leave it to Beaver or something . . .
I spent lots of time in Pittsburgh. I absolutely loved it. Moving to the Philly region was a brutal culture shock..
I remember riding that rail thing from Lebo into the city, trips into Oakland, and going into antique shops with my Mom, the waterfront all lit up by the fire and lights from the mills and barges. It was great! So, fast forward to ow, my Wife and I have lived in many places but settled in Louisville KY based partially on the feeling I get from some neighborhoods being exactly like my memories of Pittsburgh. Obviously Pittsburgh has gone through a few changes since then, but where I live now seems just like where I came from back then. This summer, I am going to get a hotel room down town and just walk around the park, ride the incline, etc . . . See all the stuff from my childhood. OK, Im rambling on now, but to this outsider, I have a very romantic view of your city
I'm curious as to how non-natives perceive this region. Be brutally honest. I know I can't make rules for a thread, but I'm hoping to hear outside perspectives here. Not the same "We're #1" rhetoric and flaming from over in the Pittsburgh forum.
I generally like Pittsburgh. It's a pretty city. Having said that, it has always felt to me like a semi- drive-through city on the way to somewhere else like Niagara Falls or Cleveland.
Just being brutally honest. I'm coming from the Washington DC area by the way.
pittsburgh is in fracking country. there have already been reports of contaminated water in the area, and some residents worry that more fracking will lead to further contamination. i considered moving there but now i avoid it due to fracking.
Fracking is definitely a practice that needs much greater study, attention and regulation, but you should also be cautious of media sensationalism -- not to mention, fracking is pretty removed from the urban area of Pittsburgh.
pittsburgh is in fracking country. there have already been reports of contaminated water in the area, and some residents worry that more fracking will lead to further contamination. i considered moving there but now i avoid it due to fracking.
I spent all of two days there on a job interview trip, so what I saw was really limited. It was also in February, probably one of the worst times to visit. I loved how green and hilly it was. The grey weather was a concern for me. I lived north of Seattle for a while and grew up in MN, and I was never fond of long periods w/o the sun. I'd lived in sunny places for 10 or so years when I went to Pittsburgh and I'd gotten accustomed to that. I felt like there was a similar down to earth vibe in the people there to what I'd grown up with in MN. Obviously, in two days my impressions were pretty superficial, but overall I thought it was a good place to live.
Went there once. SMELLY, old, dirty, polluted, grey, run down, stinky, crime, and boring . NOTHING TO DO! Nowhere to eat or shop! Never again! My only praise was being able to leave!!!!!!!!
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