Sunday, June 29, 2003

Pittsburgh: Week 1

I've been in Pittsburgh about a week now, so I wanted to record my initial impressions. The city is a strange blend my two "hometowns": Baltimore and San Francisco. Baltimore for the aging Rust Belt, Union-labor culture. San Francisco for the mighty hills. And both town for their many neighborhoods. The Burgh seems like a patchwork quilt of neighborhoods, broken up by hills and valleys and freeways. But it seems very manageable, very small-town. Just like San Francisco, in a weird way.

The people have been less friendly than I would have expected. Much more reserved. We've only met a few of our neighbors and that was mainly due to our approaching them. Maybe it's the famed midwestern reserve?

We've taken in some decent restaurants, a great ice cream shoppe, and have been discussing how french fries got into the salad here.

On the home front, we're mainly unpacked except for a room or two, although boxes still linger about. We found the local IKEA.

My music taste is apparently not so popular here. It took me four record stores to find the new Liz Phair album. In New York, my taste was practically mainstream pop. Here, I'm "alternative." Whatever that is.

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