Why are Pittsburghers so rude? (Philadelphia, York: chapel, house, school)

[mattolson]

Having just moved here I can tell you this city is overly nice. It reminds me of when I lived in Cinci. Everyone comments and wants to pat your dog during walks, people always say hi and are genuinely courteous, etc. This is great 50% of the time but I've been here almost two weeks and certainly am missing people just keeping to themselves.

Pittsburgh so far reminds me far more of a southern city than a northern one.

I do love my horn while driving.

[Salmonburgher]

Originally Posted by wood_lake

- Lack of racial harmony. Let me just be frank: whites, blacks, and latinos intermingle freely in Raleigh. That does not happen in Pittsburgh. Not only is there tension but we have heard some downright awful things said by the locals that I will not go into detail on.

This is a North vs South thing, largely.

I spent a lot of time in the South and I am always happy to see how the races mix more freely in much of the South relative to much of the North. Its a rather stark contrast. You even see it in bands from the South, which are often mixed. I've seen bands such as Elvin Bishop, The Marcus King Band, Trombone Shorty, and Leon Bridges in Japan at Fuji Rock, which I attend most years with several Brits and Canadians and Germans, and I always point out that these Southern bands are racially mixed and truly harmonious (Many Brits, Canadians, and Germans believe that the South is still pining for the days of Jim Crow and black slavery).

Years ago after my (Chinese) wife and I got hitched and we were living on the North Side until she could be naturalized, we and all our neighbors would sit out on the stoops on summer evenings and socialize. One night, there were a couple of black guys from a few streets down visiting and everyone was having a nice time. Somehow the conversation turned to inter-racial dating and marriage, and everyone, black and white, agreed that blacks and whites ought not to date and or marry. I just looked at everyone waiting for the light to go on, but, when it remained dark, I asked, "what about white or black dating or marrying Asians?" Everyone stopped and thought for a few seconds, and then, as if they all came to the same conclusion simultaneously, blurted out, "Oh, that's different!".

Also, Pittsburgh has a very small, relative to other large cities, black population, which is relatively segregated. The South, in contrast, has a large black population, which is quite integrated.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Yeah. If you say hi here, people will generally say hi back. They might not want to have a 10-minute conversation with a stranger, but they won't look at you like you have nine heads as they would have if you went up to a stranger and said hi back home in Connecticut.

This is a good description of how interactions with strangers here goes. I personally do not want to have a long chat with random people when walking down the street, but I will always give a hey and a smirk back to them.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by wood_lake

- Lack of pleasantries. I am used to saying sir, mam, please, thank you, asking how people's day is, good morning, and holding the door open for people. I might get someone to hold the door open once in awhile but thats is about it.

I have no idea what you're talking about here. I can't think of an occurrence where someone didn't hold the door open for me if I was right behind them. Are you looking for long conversations with random people when walking around in a park or neighborhood? That's just something you aren't going to get often in a large Northern metro. I've never really considered Pittsburgh to be exceptionally rude or polite personally, more of a medium between the two.

[Vanderbiltgrad]

Sounds more like West Virginia than Pittsburgh, although their culture is somewhat similar.

[wharton]

The difference that a two hour drive makes, inside the borders of PA. can be staggering. I live in the heart of Lancaster county. It's pretty rare to see a local here being a jerk to a random stranger. Holding the door, excuse me, thank you, all the things you would find to be normal in a civilized society are expected, and the norm. This is not to say that it's a culture of overtly friendly folks, or anywhere near the extreme of some of the faux southern sweetness I have experienced, just civilized. Head to Philly, and it's a whole other world. I grew up in the Lehigh Valley, which seemed to be a lot like Lancaster county when it comes to random interaction. I spent decades in the Poconos and watched it go from a tight knit good ole' boy culture that kept their distance from anybody that wasn't born there, to a place where the culture was heavily influenced by NYC transplants, and all the baggage that brings. As for the Pittsburgh area, my son is there as an oil field engineer. He is invested to the point that he owns a home there, but doesn't see himself being a western PA lifer. He claims that it's hugely different than what he was used to in the eastern half of the state, in every measure, and it's not for the better. Although he lives a bit south of the city, and does a lot of his work in some really backwards areas of southwestern PA, WV, and southeastern Ohio, which I'm sure is a big contributor to his opinion, LOL.

[safak]

Originally Posted by Salmonburgher

Also, Pittsburgh has a very small, relative to other large cities, black population, which is relatively segregated. The South, in contrast, has a large black population, which is quite integrated.

Really?

Raleigh, where the OP is from and is supposedly integrated with perfect harmony..



i guess its better than atlanta in that regard though.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by Salmonburgher

Also, Pittsburgh has a very small, relative to other large cities, black population, which is relatively segregated. The South, in contrast, has a large black population, which is quite integrated.

There's a joke about racism that's something like, "in the South, white people don't care if black people live nearby as long as they don't get too ambitious, and in the North white people don't care if black people are ambitious as long as they don't live too close."

[Katarina Witt]

There certainly are some predominantly black and white neighborhoods; it looks like the far SW side, the NW side and the east-central side are more integrated. I see a couple small Asian neighborhoods and lots of Asians scattered throughout. Hispanics seem to be integrated into the black neighborhoods more than the white ones.

[safak]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

There certainly are some predominantly black and white neighborhoods; it looks like the far SW side, the NW side and the east-central side are more integrated. I see a couple small Asian neighborhoods and lots of Asians scattered throughout. Hispanics seem to be integrated into the black neighborhoods more than the white ones.

yes its remarkable how few are really integrated isn't it?

Like say, Mckeesport, Hazelwood, West end neighborhoods and Mckees rocks, East Liberty up through Stanton Heights, Homestead and Duquesne, pretty much the entire east suburbs from the time you leave Wilkinsburg until you get to Norwin (as in, n versailles, turtle creek, pitcairn, wilmerding, braddock, e. pittsburgh, wilkins, penn hills, monroeville) Parts of Northside, Brighton Heights..

Guess we aren't so bad as the blanket statement the poster made earlier would want to make out ..