Everything Pittsburghers miss when they move away

From being ranked for one of the best retirement, affordable and smartest cities, Pittsburgh truly offers a lot for those who can get passed the fact that it’s surrounded by small towns and woods. On the other hand, for those who were born in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas awards and high rankings are only one layer to why these hometowners love Pittsburgh. These are the characteristics that make up Pittsburgh that can’t just be found anywhere else and are missed by Pittsburghers once the Pittsburghers move away from Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh’s unique and panoramic skyline

The city offers views from all over the city. Some of the most iconic views come right after exiting the Fort Pitt Tunnel and from the lookouts on Grandview Avenue in Mount Washington. However, you can get just as perfect of a view from on top of a parking garage in the North Side.

Pittsburgh’s small town/big city vibe

Pittsburgh may have thousands of citizens, but the city is small enough to feel like a small town even as a big city. Simply stated, no matter where somebody is in town, whether at a Bethel Park Blackhawk football game or getting a drink at Grill 36, they’ll run into somebody else they know.

Primanti Brothers

Even if a Pittsburgher doesn’t like the taste of the famous slaw and fries combination, they cannot help but appreciate what Primanti Brothers has meant to the city and the people over the years. From designing restaurants with paintings of famous Pittsburghers and others on their walls in the Strip District and being founded by Pittsburghers, to spreading its locations around all of Pittsburgh’s different areas, Primanti’s is more than just a household Pittsburgh name, but a landmark.

Pittsburgh’s bridges

Going along with the panoramic view, Pittsburgh has a lot of bridges. Not only are they mostly color coordinated black and gold, but they equal 446, one of the highest bridge totals for a city in the world. Even when the city thought about painting the bridges another color, Pittsburghers banded together, because of their love for their team-spirited bridges, to keep them as is.

Pittsburgh’s steel mills

Part of loving Pittsburgh is knowing its industrial past. Once known as one of the biggest steel producers in the country, the legacy of Andrew Carnegie lives on through the steel mills and factories  that still stand in multiple parts of town. Although the work has declined and the U.S. Steel Building is now a part of UPMC, steel is still an object labeled with the current Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh’s accents

“Are yinz gowen to go dahntahn to watch da stillers play da Birdies,” is something most will shake their heads at for grammatical chaos; however, for Pittsburghers, this is a common sentence heard every football season. One of Pittsburgh’s biggest trademarks is the accent natives carry. Sure, it’s semantically and syntactically questionable, but it is also a comfort to most Pittsburghers that you’ll rarely hear it once moving away from the area.

Pittsburgh’s team spirit

And it’s not just the crowds of fans playing cornhole down in Heinz Field’s parking lot for a 1pm Steelers’ game versus The Ravens. You’ll miss walking to PNC, Heinz and Consol and seeing the massive mini-wolf packs that make up Steelers, Pirates and Penguins Nation. Sure, there’ll be a Pittsburgh sports bar in a few towns such as Buxy’s Salty Dog in Ocean City, Maryland and a burgh-themed casino in Vegas, but nothing beats the real thing.

Pittsburghers

Last, but most important, Pittsburghers will miss other Pittsburghers. No matter where a Pittsburgher goes there is nothing like family and friends. You can’t replace those accents and crazy Steelers’ fans for anything in the world.