Pittsburgh needs Oprah. It needs Oprah to tell it that it’s really and truly good enough to stand up with all those flashier cities that it feels so inferior to. And maybe to buy it a car, or whatever. Because Pittsburgh has a self-esteem problem, and I never noticed it until I had to start telling people that I just moved from Austin.
By now, I’ve developed a standard response to the inevitable gushing of a Pittsburgher who has heard such wonderful things about Austin and was it just wonderful to live there? I’ve developed an even more extensive standard response to the Pittsburgher who reacts to the news that I moved deliberately, on purpose, to Pittsburgh from Austin in the same way that I might react if someone informed me that they have given up eating Roland’s hot lobster rolls in favor of eating dust bunnies.
My response consists of discussing the traffic and crowding problems in Austin, the general sense of smug ennui there, and the fact that I never could have bought such an unbelievably awesome turn-of-the-century Victorian row house there – because 1) it wouldn’t even exist there, and 2) mere mortals can’t afford property there. It consists of extolling the incredible beauty of the city of Pittsburgh, and its wonderful sense of history and identity, and its down-to-earth authenticity that is okay with me being both a compassionate and sensitive servant of humanity and a beer-swilling psychotic sports fan freak. I wrap it up by just shrugging and saying I guess I wasn’t hip enough for Austin, which is the only lie in the whole spiel and inevitably the only part accepted as truth.
I don’t like the underlying principle that this phenomenon seems to suggest – that Pittsburgh’s image problem comes just as much from its own apparent self-loathing as it does from bad PR. The bad PR problem we can overcome, and to some degree we are, if the steady stream of love from the New York Times is any indication. But all the good press in the world can’t save the city from its bad self-image.
Pittsburgh, you need an Aha! moment.
(Note: The above link is brought to you by me googling “Oprah catch phrase.” Perhaps I shouldn’t write about a celebrity if I know absolutely nothing about her. Oh well, what’s done is done.)
I agree that The Burgh is one of the best places on earth, but I also think that Austin is too. Having lived in both places, I can honestly say that Austin is a truly wonderful city for so many reasons. So what if you can’t buy pumpkins and the leaves don’t change. You can swim in Barton Springs in January, eat breakfast tacos at Guero’s, watch live music at the grocery store (and don’t forget about SXSW even if it *was* better 15 years ago), buy art at Yard Dog, watch the crazy TX legislature do their “work” at 3am, and party with some of the best people on earth. Each city fed my soul in different ways and I would never speak ill of Austin, Texas. I now live in DC and there are too many ways to talk about how ill this place is!!!
Wife and I moved to Pittsburgh from Boston twenty two years ago. We got the exact same reaction.
Maybe Pittsburghers just don’t pay attention. We have bike/running trails to rival Boston, a mellower vibe, cheaper housing, a cool East End and just about as many college students as they do.
We have raised two kids here and have no regrets…
I own a small restaurant that is occasionally accused of being hip. We seem to get a lot of folks like you in here–I am often told that our place reminds out-of-towners of (insert homey little cafe in your fave city here). I say to them what I will say to you. Welcome home. We missed you, and Pittsburgh needs you.
Thanks for your fresh eyes!
Melanie
@E – I appreciate your input about the good things in Austin, and I know there are a whole lot of people there that agree with you. It just wasn’t my kind of place. I want to buy groceries at the grocery store, and hear live music at a concert. And maybe if I were more inclined to party with anyone, let alone the best people on earth, I would have never wanted to leave Austin. But I’m a Pittsburgh kind of girl, albeit one with some pretty great memories of breakfast tacos! Oh, and the best ones are at Mi Madre’s!
@Melanie Evankovich – I love the Gypsy Cafe and am so glad you stopped by to visit me here. You and I already know what hopefully more people are learning – that there’s so much more to Pittsburgh than meets the eye, and it can give you everything you want in a home.
Great post…I couldn’t agree with you more. Earlier this year, when I was still living in DC (E–I totally agree, DC sucks on so many levels), I sent an email to the PG’s Diaspora Report echoing much of the same sentiment. By the time it went to press, much of the sentiment was lost and the reporter largely missed the point, but nevertheless…
I just moved back to Pittsburgh 4 months ago, and just bought a house in Mt. Lebanon in July. I’ve been all over the country, and I can’t imagine a much better place to live…especially given the cost of living. The house I bought for under $200k here would’ve easily gone for close to a million in the DC suburbs.
While in DC, I met a lot of folks from other cities who had nothing but good to say about the city, and a lot of young 20-somethings who had a hard time saying anything good. The funny thing was, you’d run into those 20-somethings a few years down the road, and nearly all of them were trying to move back. I guess the grass isn’t always greener…
…20 something former Pittsburghers, that is…
A friend just forwarded me a link to this blog after I posted a link to a 104 year old beautifully restored Victorian WITH central air in Pittsburgh listed for $100,000, on Facebook with a comment about how insanely cheap the real estate market seems now that I’ve lived in Austin for almost 5 years. (Imagine the sticker shock I had when I moved here after living in the ‘burgh for 11 years). I now own a 5-year-old bungalow that is a hair bigger than the basement of the house I owned in Pittsburgh, and yes, paid twice as much for it.
Your blog was spot on wrt the things I miss about Pittsburgh. There’s also a ton of innovative stuff happening in Pittsburgh that Austinites could stand to learn from. What? Pittsburgh… more innovative than Austin? I blogged about it after returning from a visit in May – http://greenlightsnonprofit.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/learning-from-the-town-of-steel/.
The only thing the ‘burgh has going against it, honestly, is its weather. But then, that’s why everything is so lush and green in Pittsburgh. Try having a vegetable garden in Austin when its 100+ degrees for over two months, and there’s no rain.
As someone raised in the South Hills, lived in downtown Pittsburgh for school (Point Park Univ.) and now living in Charlotte w/ family, I can’t tell you how much I miss it. Weather – shmether! Seattle and New York get the grey skies and rain, too, so I don’t want to hear it. The difference between NYers and Pittsburghers is that NYers actually open their newspapers and online listings to see what’s new and what’s happening based on personal preference of activity.
Charlotte likes to think that it’s progressive but is sadly mistaken since it’s arts scene is rather tragic, the GLBT scene less-than-existent and those banks that moved here are failing; the city is now the 4th worst for Unemployment in the U.S. And yet, there are a ton of Pittsburghers here! They even have Steeler bars in Uptown Charlotte. My biggest piece of advise: DO NOT MOVE DOWN SOUTH! Stay in Pittsburgh and work with your communities to bring about change and more opportunities.
More than likely, once my financial situation improves, I will be making the move BACK to the ‘Burgh next spring – just in time to do that 1/2 Marathon.
So to you pessimistic Pittsburghers – open the City Paper, the Thursday WeekendMAG of the Post-Gazette or go online! Having traveled to NY, S.F. and Atlanta, I can assure you, you’re just as good, if not even better.