Pittsburgh is a surprisingly awesome town. And cheap. I like cheap. I hear it is friendly, but I found at times it is not (people are not good at saying hello). There are lots of great views of Downtown. That surprised me. I thought the city would be a bit fugly. And there are lots of great neighborhoods. My favs: Strip District, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill.
Pittsburgh is famous for its blue collar food, especially sandwiches from Primanti Brothers. But I do not like Primanti Brothers. I want my food separated (sandwich separate from slaw which is separate from the fries...not all on the same sandwich which is what you get at Primanti Brothers). But it is also the land of the pierogi and I love pierogi. Cannot get enough of them...
Pittsburgh is also famous for being a sports town. Steelers and Penguins reign...but not the Pirates. While everyone wore Black and Gold on games day, I never did. I never converted. Hockey was fun to watch, but I am not a Steelers fan. Never ever. While I am not a massive football fan, I think the Seahawks (they have been my team since I was a wee one) were robbed of the Super Bowl against the Steelers a few years ago. Say what you want, Steeler Nation. Go Hawks!
PIT is a great airport since it is never busy (short lines), but a horrible airport for being delayed (winter = snow and ice, summer = storms) and thus I frequently had to run to make connections in other cities (since Pittsburgh had few direct flights to the places I was traveling), particularly Detroit and its massive concourses.
In sum, I wish I could have explored Pittsburgh and its surrounding area more, but my job limited my ability to. But it is a great city with lots to do, great quality of life (except for the weather every now and then), and good job and education options (model for other cities). But a new opportunity has presented itself elsewhere and thus to Texas I go. Farewell, Pittsburgh!
