10 Reasons Why We Love Living in Pittsburgh

A Little, Big City

One element of Pittsburgh that new residents quickly love is that we are more a collection of 90 neighborhoods which come together to form the city.

Another way we've heard this described is that Pittsburgh is a little, big city (or a big, little city, depending on your perspective), and for very similar reasons.

We really like this thought because Pittsburgh itself isn't a sprawling grid that expands out from the central business district downtown, with some interesting districts thrown in here or there. But, rather, Pittsburgh is a collection of neighborhoods that each have their own business districts, architecture styles, charm, and more.

This isn't to say that each of Pittsburgh's 90 neighborhoods has amenities for those exploring the city- many don't. In our experience, about a third are primarily residential. But we have many spots like Lawrenceville, the Strip District, Highland Park, Squirrel Hill, East Liberty, South Side, Mount Washington, and more that are all unique neighborhoods (or a collection of a few official neighborhoods, like Lawrenceville- made up of Upper, Central, and Lower Lawrenceville, respectively) with their own ambiance that makes many corners of Pittsburgh feel unique.

As such, when you're out exploring the city, you can, at times, feel like you are in a completely different place while still remaining inside the city limits. Throw in the fact that the city is quite small overall, and it just makes the feeling all the better.

• Want to learn more? You can take a deep dive in our Pittsburgh neighborhood guides!

Two Degrees of Separation

As a tangent to that, despite having 300,000 citizens in the city and north of two million in the metro, Pittsburgh's small-city feel also means you run into people you know regularly, and, in our experience at least, it seems like everyone is at most two degrees of separation from each other.

We've lost count of the number of times we've driven across the city to grab a bite to eat or a drink at a bar only to run into a neighbor or friend. There are also countless cases where we start talking to someone we just met, and we find we have a mutual connection through a very random set of circumstances.

This isn't a case where Pittsburgh's small size means there is a lack of things to do such that everyone goes to the same three spots (the opposite is true, which we'll talk about next), but rather that the community itself is much more connected than most might think- insofar as you put an effort in to meet people, at least.

You'll Never Run Out of Things to Do

We often hear a complaint about Pittsburgh is that there is nothing to do. But if our site has proven anything, you can explore this city for over a decade and never run out of new experiences. We're up to 1,500+ experiences since founding this site in 2015, even wrote a book on the best things to do in Pittsburgh, and at times still feel like we have so much on our list to check out!

Truly, Pittsburgh punches above its weight class with acclaimed museums, hidden gems, more parks than we can count, and weekly, monthly, and annual events aplenty- and that's all before you leave the city and explore the many wonderful boroughs and suburbs within the greater metro region.

There is a lot going on, but also not too much going on that you ever feel overwhelmed. It is a nice balance that we really enjoy. (Okay, fine, January and February can be sleepy- we'll give you that.)

But while it took us over a decade to feel comfortable in saying that we've done the region justice, the small nature of the city also means that some more focused interest themes (like music venues, sports experiences, niche museums, etc.) are also finite in quantity. Yes, we may not have a lot of [insert your specific niche interest here] compared to a larger city/market, but we'll bet that we have a decent handful worth exploring all the same for variety, and that certainly counts for something.

I suppose this is the part where we say if you are bored in Pittsburgh you should just read our site more, because we have you covered.

A Massive Food & Dining Scene

There is also another trend amongst cities of all sizes these days to throw out that “we've got an amazing food and beverage scene!”

While we run the risk of repeating the same cliché terms, Pittsburgh really does have an amazing food and beverage scene with more excellent restaurants than most will likely be able to try (again, ask us how we know).

There are the Pittsburgh-famous food and restaurant institutions, but also a wealth of international cuisine that is improving with each passing year. The city is starting to get recognized with James Beard nominations (rightfully so), and chefs are starting to push the boundaries of cuisine to give the city a reputation as a delicious food destination. And don't get us started on our stellar beer scene (move over Asheville) and our award-winning distilleries, too.

Part of this stems from the fact that southwest Pennsylvania has excellent agriculture, and was an early adopter of the farm-to-table scene that we'll be the first to admit is becoming an overused buzzword today. As avid home cooks, we buy a great deal of our produce, fruit, and animal products locally, as there is a massive assortment of regional farmers doing things not only well, but on a completely different level. (A now-closed lamb farm was famous for being a staple on the menu at The French Laundry in Napa for many years before farm-to-table became trendy- it is kind of like that.)

So even if you're not dining out at our stellar restaurants, don't overlook the wonderful food finds in local CSA's, farmers markets, and our nearby farms- the quality will make you fall in love with food all over again.

• Overwhelmed by all the food options? Start with our top 10 restaurants in Pittsburgh or our guide to where we personally shop for food!

Other Major Cities Are Nearby

We don't want to run the risk of saying a perk of living in Pittsburgh is that you can leave. But, at the same time, we are in close proximity to many other great cities, so our location in southwest Pennsylvania is a bit strategic, all things considered.

In two hours by car, you can be in Cleveland and Erie. In three hours, you can be in Columbus, Buffalo, or Harrisburg. In four to five hours, you have Cincinnati, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington DC, the Finger Lakes, and Philadelphia. Pushing six hours, you can make it to New York City, Toronto, or Richmond without traffic.

With this comes one downside worth noting, however- our long-distance train services are lackluster and incredibly slow. But for those who have a car and want to do some regional exploration, there really is a lot to see within a short driving radius. So whether you are taking a longer vacation or simply want a short weekend trip out of town, there are many options nearby worth checking out. (And we hear from our friend UncoveringPA that the rest of the state outside of southwest PA is pretty cool, too!)

A City of Rivers

As far as cities are concerned, Pittsburgh's geography is a bit unique. Yes, we have hills. Yes, we have a river passing through downtown, as most cities do. But in fact, we have three rivers, and that makes Pittsburgh truly special.

For a quick history lesson, Pittsburgh was founded in colonial days for the strategic advantage of being at the confluence of three rivers, the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio, respectively (the Ohio River begins at the confluence where the former two rivers converge, now Point State Park). The city was considered the Gateway to the West because we were at the western edge of colonial outposts, and everything west of the confluence was just “the west.”

Nowadays, we know the West is much bigger than was thought in the 1700s (later giving rise to the marketing term “Midwest” for areas that are west but not that far west– which starts just west of here in Ohio), but the rivers remain. Pittsburgh's downtown center was built around the confluence in what is now known as the Golden Triangle, with all the beautiful skyscrapers and excellent skyline views visible from nearby Mount Washington and many other areas of the city.

While we wish that Pittsburgh had more river amenities (which we touch base on more in a separate article about things we don't like about Pittsburgh), the rivers are one of the crown jewels of the city with many bike trails and water experiences out there to enjoy when the weather is nice.

Could Pittsburgh really be Pittsburgh if it wasn't for the rivers? We'd argue- probably not.

Four Seasons of Fun (Well, Some Years)

Another great thing about Pittsburgh is that we have a four-season kind of climate. Spring and fall can be mild. Summers can be warm. Winters can, in many years at least, bring snowfall.

We aren't the deep south where there are only two temperatures- hot and oppressively hot. We aren't the extreme north where it is freezing cold and less cold. Our climate, all things considered, is fairly mild and, dare we say, pleasant. We have very defined seasons, and we are quite okay with that.

We do have to caveat this one, though, as, admittedly, sometimes our seasons can get a little wonky. A passing cold snap in spring or fall can kill off beautiful flowers or cause beautiful fall leaves to drop overnight, causing the effective season to feel like it ended just as quickly as it began. We do have some summers with stretches of extreme heat (and don't get us started on the humidity). We even have some winters with very little snow, even over in the Laurel Highlands where our bigger ski resorts can be found slightly higher in the mountains.

But despite these instances, Pittsburgh is still a four-season destination, and we can find something to do for all seasonal interests.

• You may be interested in our seasonal guides to winter, spring, summer, and fall!

Affordable Relative to Other Cities

You probably are well aware of the near-endless studies that call Pittsburgh one of the most affordable cities in the USA.

We don't like these at all, because they often takes a kernel of truth (sometimes off of a single data point without context) and makes a far bigger deal out of things than it should be.

But the trend remains that, for a city of its size, Pittsburgh is still relatively affordable. Even with rampant inflation hitting every city and region in this country, Pittsburgh is clinging on to some forms of affordability, and that certainly counts for a great deal.

• We will be the first to recognize that the national/global inflation in recent years is hitting everyone and is hitting many in Pittsburgh, too. We're not trying to discount the current affordability crisis here at all, as many are struggling, but rather just stating that, on a national level, Pittsburgh is still holding on in many regards. Both can be true.

We're Not a Tourist City (But Those Who Visit Love It)

If you travel a lot as we do, odds are good you know a lot of the concerns that are associated with over-tourism. Housing is being taken over by short-term rentals. Tourists are outpacing locals, raising prices and resulting in lines everywhere. We could go on.

Pittsburgh is one of those cities where this is not so much a problem, yet, at least.

By many estimates, our county gets about 20 million visitors a year. This includes those coming back to visit family, those attending sports games, concerts, conferences, or just spending a weekend in the city to check out all of the awesome experiences we have, to name a few.

On one hand, that figure sounds like a lot. 20 million visitors to Allegheny County is a solid jump when considering our entire metro of several counties is about 10% of that. But on the other hand, you really can walk around the city and not feel overwhelmed by visitors in the slightest (outside of, perhaps, select events, like Picklesburgh or Light Up Night, or near obligatory visitor stops like the Duquesne Incline which can get particularly busy on weekends).

Yes, visitors are everywhere. And yes, everyone who lives here is typically super cool and helpful to ensure out-of-town guests have a great time. But Pittsburgh itself doesn't feel like a tourist city, and that is a very important distinction. We are a livable city that also happens to have visitors- many of whom fall in love with the city and consider moving here after visiting.

Just the way we like it!

Pittsburgh's Best Days Are Ahead

Finally, perhaps our favorite thing about Pittsburgh is that we have a very bright future ahead of us.

The city itself has had some hard times, from the collapse of steel in the late 1900s to struggles with the global financial crisis and the pandemic (which, admittedly, didn't hit the city as hard as other places, particularly due to the diversification effort after the steel industry collapsed). But Pittsburgh itself has a bright future ahead of it.

Our population decline has bottomed out and is seemingly on the upswing. Business investments are rising. Decaying houses are being replaced or rehabilitated. New restaurants and experiences continue to come out to push the city forward. Tourists are starting to discover the city as an excellent domestic vacation spot. We could go on.

Where other cities feel like they are already bursting at the seams and future growth comes with many downsides, Pittsburgh's upward trajectory still looks bright, and we cannot wait to see what the future may hold!

We will be the first to admit there are far more than 10 reasons to love Pittsburgh, but if you are considering moving here, these are some of our favorite as residents of the city. We're sure many of these will be your favorites, amongst countless others, once you get settled in, too!

Looking for a real estate agent in Pittsburgh Get in touch with our partnered agents at the previous link!