Returning to the blogosphere
So the other day, a friend in Reno mentioned that I had moved 2500 miles from my most recent home (Portland) and that he thought that, since I had a blog, it might be nice for me to update it now and again. I didn't really think much of it because I only know two people who EVER read this damn thing and that is him, and my former roommate in Portland. But who knows, maybe there are more. If not, then the former roommate and my friend in Reno (the admiral) will at least be kept up to date. So here comes my first blog in over a year:
Recently, I returned "home" after an absence of over 15 years. "Home" is in quotes because I grew up near where I am living now and not actually here. Here, is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and it is not as good as Portland (my favorite city in the US) or as bad as advertised. Pittsburgh is not as much a large city as it is a bunch of small boroughs and burgs thrown into the same geographic area. It is a real change from what I got used to in P-town. Here you go to different neighborhoods and get different things. And the blue collar and white collar neighborhoods have this invisible line in a street that seems to seperate them like a wall. I was always amazed by friends who lived in the Portland suburbs who didn't know where something was downtown. In Pittsburgh, if it is not in your neighborhood, you may not know it though it is only 4 blocks away.
No one walks in Pittsburgh apparently. A few weeks ago, the wife and I walked from Station Square (South Side of the Ohio River (I think)), to the other side of downtown. A distance of maybe 2.5 miles (maybe). The wife still gets amazed and astonished looks from people when she tells them where she walked. As long as the snow remains off the ground, I think we will be walking.
There is a light rail here and the train is interesting. You pay when you get off, not when you get on. Also, for those of you who are in Portland and like your public transit......NEVER, EVER, EVER, MOVE ANYWHERE ELSE!!! You will be sorely disappointed by any other transit system. Even the Metro in Paris can get a bit confusing, but Pittsburgh's transit system as a whole (even when not compared with Portland) is the 4th circle of Dante's Inferno.
On the good things about Pittsburgh front. Housing is CHEAP. I live in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the city, have a 3 bedroom house with a finished attic for an office (big attic too), and pay less rent than I did in Portland for a 3 bedroom townhouse which was about half the size.
The nightlife is pretty good in Pittsburgh. You have to look for it, but when you find it, you cannot help but be impressed. We found a place called the Altar, which is a bar in a converted stone church. We walked the South Side, which has more interesting places to be in a 20 block stretch than anywhere outside of Europe (sorry, but there are great stretches of bars in Rotterdamn and Brussels). We found Station Square, trendy but there are block parties every Friday. We found Squirrel Hill, an eclectic mixture of trend and old world (and great Jewish Soul Food). Speaking of REAL food, we found a GREAT (and I mean FANTASTIC) West African restaurant (Safari Restaurant) which had the best goat I have had in years. (Not to mention beans and rice and lobter croquets etc. etc.) Seriously, we will take you when you come to visit.
Anyhow, that is my brief introduction to Pittsburgh. It's where I live now. We will see if I can eventually call it home.
Recently, I returned "home" after an absence of over 15 years. "Home" is in quotes because I grew up near where I am living now and not actually here. Here, is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and it is not as good as Portland (my favorite city in the US) or as bad as advertised. Pittsburgh is not as much a large city as it is a bunch of small boroughs and burgs thrown into the same geographic area. It is a real change from what I got used to in P-town. Here you go to different neighborhoods and get different things. And the blue collar and white collar neighborhoods have this invisible line in a street that seems to seperate them like a wall. I was always amazed by friends who lived in the Portland suburbs who didn't know where something was downtown. In Pittsburgh, if it is not in your neighborhood, you may not know it though it is only 4 blocks away.
No one walks in Pittsburgh apparently. A few weeks ago, the wife and I walked from Station Square (South Side of the Ohio River (I think)), to the other side of downtown. A distance of maybe 2.5 miles (maybe). The wife still gets amazed and astonished looks from people when she tells them where she walked. As long as the snow remains off the ground, I think we will be walking.
There is a light rail here and the train is interesting. You pay when you get off, not when you get on. Also, for those of you who are in Portland and like your public transit......NEVER, EVER, EVER, MOVE ANYWHERE ELSE!!! You will be sorely disappointed by any other transit system. Even the Metro in Paris can get a bit confusing, but Pittsburgh's transit system as a whole (even when not compared with Portland) is the 4th circle of Dante's Inferno.
On the good things about Pittsburgh front. Housing is CHEAP. I live in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in the city, have a 3 bedroom house with a finished attic for an office (big attic too), and pay less rent than I did in Portland for a 3 bedroom townhouse which was about half the size.
The nightlife is pretty good in Pittsburgh. You have to look for it, but when you find it, you cannot help but be impressed. We found a place called the Altar, which is a bar in a converted stone church. We walked the South Side, which has more interesting places to be in a 20 block stretch than anywhere outside of Europe (sorry, but there are great stretches of bars in Rotterdamn and Brussels). We found Station Square, trendy but there are block parties every Friday. We found Squirrel Hill, an eclectic mixture of trend and old world (and great Jewish Soul Food). Speaking of REAL food, we found a GREAT (and I mean FANTASTIC) West African restaurant (Safari Restaurant) which had the best goat I have had in years. (Not to mention beans and rice and lobter croquets etc. etc.) Seriously, we will take you when you come to visit.
Anyhow, that is my brief introduction to Pittsburgh. It's where I live now. We will see if I can eventually call it home.
posted by Sited at 06:18
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