10 things I hate about Pittsburgh! (Philadelphia, York: shopping mall, manufacturing, residential)

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

he's riding bikes around Copenhagen and Malmo with his buddy Fitz and dreaming up ways to waste $200 mln on on unnecessary bike lane.

Bike lanes are costing $200 million? Two hundred million dollars?

[joekalasky]

Most of these complaints could apply to any medium sized city in America. But there are particular things that Pittsburgh does very, very badly. One of them is mass transit. Having lived in a series of 'rust belt' cities, I can tell you that the buses here are truly appalling: overcrowded, rarely on time during peak hours, and, yes, overpriced. Then there's the strangely hostile, 'chip on the shoulder' attitude of many long-time locals. This is partly justified by recent history; this is a city that had its heart ripped out along with its manufacturing base. Nonetheless, it often feels provincial and unfriendly to outsiders, especially those of us who - shock! - couldn't care less about football. Nothing bespeaks desperation in a town more than obsessive over-attachment to a sports team.

What's come to replace the old Pittsburgh is not much to boast about. Two good universities only go so far, as do good hospitals, especially given that these encourage a transient and unengaged younger population. This is no college town; there's none of the buzz and vibrancy that even Buffalo or parts of St. Louis have. What cultural energy there is is fatally diffused across too many different neighborhoods. I get the impression Pittsburgh is neither one thing or the other, and it suffers for it: it's neither a true midwestern city, with the close-knit warmth and Southern cultural influences that this often entails, but neither is it a sophisticated, cosmopolitan East Coast city. It falls between the cracks, and it ends up feeling exhausted and drab.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Bike lanes are costing $200 million? Two hundred million dollars?

Good catch, thanks.

Sorry I was tired and meant to type bus lanes. Referring to the Bus Rapid Transit system proposed between Oakland and Downtown.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by joekalasky

Nothing bespeaks desperation in a town more than obsessive over-attachment to a sports team.

I guess one would classify Boston as a desperate city, or is there some sort of clause for Boston that exempts it? How about New York? Philadelphia?

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

Good catch, thanks.

Sorry I was tired and meant to type bus lanes. Referring to the Bus Rapid Transit system proposed between Oakland and Downtown.

Unnecessary? That's the link between the two largest job centers in the area.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

I guess one would classify Boston as a desperate city, or is there some sort of clause for Boston that exempts it? How about New York? Philadelphia?

The affinity Pittsburgh has with the Steelers is no different than the affinity Boston has with the Red Sox or St. Louis has with the Cardinals.

By the way, if he wants to see what overzealous football fans really look like, he can spend some time in an SEC college town during the fall. He can also witness the conference-wide circle jerk that takes place during the first week of January, for that matter.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

The affinity Pittsburgh has with the Steelers is no different than the affinity Boston has with the Red Sox or St. Louis has with the Cardinals.

By the way, if he wants to see what overzealous football fans really look like, he can spend some time in an SEC college town during the fall. He can also witness the conference-wide circle jerk that takes place during the first week of January, for that matter.

I call Armstrong County on Joe

[sskink]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

The affinity Pittsburgh has with the Steelers is no different than the affinity Boston has with the Red Sox or St. Louis has with the Cardinals.

By the way, if he wants to see what overzealous football fans really look like, he can spend some time in an SEC college town during the fall. He can also witness the conference-wide circle jerk that takes place during the first week of January, for that matter.

I can't speak to St. Louis as I've never lived there. But I have lived in Boston. And no, the Sox are nowhere are huge in Boston as the Steelers are here.

Boston is a big professional sports town, no argument there, but the Sox are just one team in a metro that has four, all of which have been successful in recent times. Pittsburgh is a football town and whatever sport is in second place is a very distant second. While New England may be a baseball area - and it could be said that southern NH and ME are very Sox-obsessed - Boston itself follows the Sox in the summer, Pats in fall, Bruins and Celtics in winter/spring. You don't hear about the Pats or Bruins or Celtics in the summer, nor do you hear about the Sox in winter. Quite unlike Pittsburgh where you hear about the Steelers all the time.

I would venture to guess that outside of Green Bay, Pittsburgh is the most football-centric of all American metros. And in that regard is as close to an SEC environment as one is going to find in the North.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by sskink

I would venture to guess that outside of Green Bay, Pittsburgh is the most football-centric of all American metros. And in that regard is as close to an SEC environment as one is going to find in the North.

I think that's wrong. The Huskers were bigger in Lincoln than the Steelers are here. Maybe you aren't counting that as a metro, but I think the Huskers were bigger in Omaha than the Steelers are here also.

[steindle]

Originally Posted by joekalasky

Most of these complaints could apply to any medium sized city in America. But there are particular things that Pittsburgh does very, very badly. One of them is mass transit. Having lived in a series of 'rust belt' cities, I can tell you that the buses here are truly appalling: overcrowded, rarely on time during peak hours, and, yes, overpriced. Then there's the strangely hostile, 'chip on the shoulder' attitude of many long-time locals. This is partly justified by recent history; this is a city that had its heart ripped out along with its manufacturing base. Nonetheless, it often feels provincial and unfriendly to outsiders, especially those of us who - shock! - couldn't care less about football. Nothing bespeaks desperation in a town more than obsessive over-attachment to a sports team.

What's come to replace the old Pittsburgh is not much to boast about. Two good universities only go so far, as do good hospitals, especially given that these encourage a transient and unengaged younger population. This is no college town; there's none of the buzz and vibrancy that even Buffalo or parts of St. Louis have. What cultural energy there is is fatally diffused across too many different neighborhoods. I get the impression Pittsburgh is neither one thing or the other, and it suffers for it: it's neither a true midwestern city, with the close-knit warmth and Southern cultural influences that this often entails, but neither is it a sophisticated, cosmopolitan East Coast city. It falls between the cracks, and it ends up feeling exhausted and drab.

So sad you've had a bad experience here! Interestingly, I've never had a problem finding peers who aren't football-obsessed, and have no trouble finding a buzz / vibrancy in the city of Pittsburgh. You'll tend to find both of those things in any region with 2.4 million people.