easy and interesting place to live
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5/12/2008
Of all the places I've lived and spent time, I've found Pittsburgh to be the best place to live. The topography is beautiful - three rivers (Pittsburgh has more bridges than any other city in the world), hills (two of the inclines that used to dot its mountainsides still operate daily)and valleys. And very green. It's easy to live in the city itself. Blue-collar, white-collar, academics, professionals, and the wealthy all live in rather close proximity to one another. The medical system is top-notch: the Univ. of Pgh. Medical Center is always highly rated in U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT; there are numerous universities - some, such as Carnegie-Mellon, among the country's most outstanding. And all their campuses - I can think of 7 at least - are in the heart of the city. The Pittsburgh Symphony, ranked as one of the world's finest, is housed in a beautiful old movie theater (the first Nickelodeon was in Pgh) and a block away is another magnificent old movie theater where the ballet and opera perform. All are welcoming and easy to get tickets to. The Chamber Music Society brings first-rate groups from around the world to perform at Pittsburgh's original symphony home - the elegant music hall built by Andrew Carnegie that is housed in a complex shared by the Scaife (a Mellon donation) art museum (where the trieniel Carnegie International is now showing), the main branch of the Carnegie free library system, and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, home to one of the world's premier dinosaur collections. The National Aviary is in Pgh., as is an extensive zoo and aquarium, and a science center near the ball parks where the Steelers and Pirates play. Need I add that Pgh. boasts an abundance of sports and sports fans? (Penguins, anyone?) The housing is attractive and affordable. And the crime rate is low. Not only do regional parks surround the city, but there is extensive parkland right in the heart of Pgh. An hour's drive takes one to the Laurel Highlands, with skiing and Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, Fallingwater. And only minutes from the city lies a water park and an amusement park, Kennywood, that is a National Historic Landmark.
You would think that, with all these benefits, Pittsburghers would be quite proud, if not boastful, of their city. Thankfully, they are far from boastful, so they are modest and unassuming about their city's virtues. Their problem, in fact, is that they seem largely oblivious to its charms and are quite critical of its shortcomings. They seem to love the city, for the most part, but rather as a parent who assumes that her child seems pretty more because she loves her than because the world finds her beautiful.
Of course there are the problems that are endemic to cities, such as too high taxes and a school system whose costs exceed its quality. But the highly "desirable" suburbs I've lived in cost me a lot in taxes too, their political structures weren't more imaginative, and they offered none of the diverse attractions of city life. As for other cities, I've never found one that offered the combination of first-class amenities, ease, and affordability that Pittsburgh - the hidden gem - offers.
ann | Chevy Chase, MD