What Do Young People Think about Pittsburgh?

In its next act, Pittsburgh will be repopulated by bright young minds who will bring forth new technologies and the green sensibility required for 21st century living.  Or so we think.  But what of the young people already here:  do they like it? are they gonna stay? or will they mumble and grumble in search of a better place?  The answers reflect the awareness that young Pittsburghers have about our city and their place in it.

At the opening night reception for the 3 Rivers Film Festival, I ask Sarah Lee, a social worker and native Pittsburgher whose husband is from Portland (Oregon) how she feels about the city.

"I like it!" she says with glee.  "There's so much to do.  The low cost of living is phenomenal.  We have a house on Squirrel Hill, we eat at amazing restaurants and have lovely neighbors.  We can afford to do all sorts of things.  My sisters in D.C. and L.A. can't do half this stuff."

Conflicted is Laura Jean Kahl, another Pittsburgh native and manager for the Harris, Melwood and Regent Square Theaters.

"I have a love/hate relationship with Pittsburgh," she tells me.  "There are moments when I'm happy to be here and times when I don't like being from here, when I think I should be a new person somewhere else.  But I'm so lucky to be here with my job.  I started out at the Harris selling popcorn and now I manage three theaters.  Things aren't handed to you here, you have to work for them."

Working hard in service of Pittsburgh is Abby Sadowsky, a communications specialist with the Allegheny Conference whose Pittsburgh roots have been tested yet proven resilient.

"My experience of growing up here is that a lot of my classmates left.  I went away to college but came back to family and to look for work.  Being in non-profit marketing has made me more aware of how awesome Pittsburgh is.  Tonight alone, there's the 3 Rivers Film Festival, Forty Under Forty and a Quantum Theater premiere!  And I've gotten involved in the young professionals scene with things like The New Pittsburgh Collaborative, which helps facilitate partnerships.  I live in Friendship and love it and can see that those of us who've stayed here have found our niches."

Coming and going is Lauren Elmer, a photographer and Philly native who studied at Pitt then left for New York City and better opportunities in independent film.  A return visit rekindles fond memories.

"I came here for college because it was close enough to home yet small enough that I felt I could navigate it.  Then I fell in love with it as a photographer.  It's a beautiful, industrial city to shoot and has a great arts community.  And the cost of living!  It's so affordable.  It was easy to spend money on my studio because rent was so cheap."

Feeling a greater pull to New York City is Freeson Wang, a CS student at CMU.

"Pittsburgh is cool," he says, "but I come from New York so I'm spoiled.  Of course, Pittsburgh isn't as great as New York – New York is New York!  Here, I go out at night and I don't see any people on the street."

"So will you go back to New York City when you're done at CMU?" I ask.

"I have to go back, to family."

Feeling the love for Pittsburgh is native Ben Hernstrom.

"I love the earnestness it has," he tells me. "New York doesn't have to fight to keep young people. They come in droves and stay as long as they can. Pittsburgh, as a city has to fight pretty hard to keep young people here and it creates certain perks and opportunities that you might not find anywhere else right now. There are people who make a living trying desperately to get you to stay here and if you find ways to take advantage of their labors, you can do some fantastic things.

So Pittsburgh will fight for you? "Pittsburgh will fight for you. If you have something that you're really serious about, something you're willing to fight for, there are groups and people here who will help. Places like NY, it can really seem like you're on your own. But there's something about the adversity that Pittsburgh has gone through that seems to have brought a lot of people together to fight for the same things. We learned awhile ago that this city won't thrive on its own momentum. And everyone knows it. So I think that has made it simply and clearly necessary for everyone to care whether or not your neighbor succeeds. If the guy on your block in NYC makes it big, it's kind of like "So what? What has that got to do with me?", but here, Girl Talk gets huge and it feels like the city got huge."

Over at 21st Street Coffee in the Strip, barista Drew Von Arx is a third-generation Pittsburgher with an appreciation for things big and small.

"There's so much spirit within the histories of the city.  I like walking around and taking the time to look at the architecture – I'm always surprised by something.  There's a lot of pride and potential in the city and it's starting to show up now.  Give it a couple years."

At Espresso a Mano up the street, Nathan Vaughan, co-owner of City Cafe in Lawrenceville, sees the yin and the yang of his adopted city.

"What I don't like is how everything closes so early, especially downtown" he tells me.  There isn't much evening culture outside of a bar.  But it's easy to do things here – you can own a cafe when you're really young.  There are lots of opportunities – we're still waiting to get what Chicago and New York are already fed up with!  And there are so many good-looking girls here.  Not many cities are better looking."

Charles Cook, owner of Uptown Fitness Studio and a D.C. native, agrees – and disagrees – with Nathan.

"Pittsburgh is very much up and coming but I'd like to see downtown nightlife grow.  But the city is like the Mississippi of the North, very underdeveloped in terms of fitness and nutrition.  It's one of the fattest cities per capita in the U.S.  People know very little about working out, which is why I'm here."

More of that Pittsburgh push-pull comes from Camille Clarke, a personal trainer who lived in New York before coming to Pitt to play hoops.  She has stayed on post-college though it's not clear why.

"It's slow here, not metro, not fast-paced.  There's a lot to do if you're an artistic person but I'm a big basketball fan and there's no NBA team here.  And there aren't many venues for hip-hop music, it's more of a jazz scene.  There's not much for me to do as an African-American.  There's no urban radio station at all, nothing calling us out.  But it's beautiful here in the fall, especially in the North Hills around Sewickley."

Summing things up for the younger generation is Jonathan Hill, marketing manager at thoughtform, a communication and design consultancy.  The Johnstown native and longtime Pittsburgh resident decamped to Florida and returned two years ago.

"Pittsburgh is an underrated city.  It rivals the best metropolitan areas in culture, education, sports and cost of living.  But it has yet to fulfill its potential.  It needs a vibrant downtown and improved public transit, especially light rail and train service."

Is there work to be done?  Sure.  Is the journey a good one?  You bet.

New Girl In Town Elaine Labalme is passionate about Pittsburgh, so she's already acting like a native.

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Pictured: Nathan Vaughan; Abby Sadowsky, Ben Hernstrom; Drew von Arx, Charles Cook

Photographs copyright Brian Cohen