Four Ways the Burgh is not Georgetown

It's hard to imagine life in Pittsburgh being any more different from life in Georgetown. Sure, there are some similarities. For instance, people are generally friendly in both places. Church buildings are all over the place (although a lot of the ones in Pittsburgh now house bars, restaurants and apartments while many Georgetown's are repurposed box stores). The local news channels in Pittsburgh and Lexington (and, so, Georgetown) talk about the weather ad nauseam. I'm sure there are more, but that's all that comes immediately to mind. Even taking those things into account, in many ways it's like living in another country. Here are four differences I've noticed so far:

1) People here exercise waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy more. A 2013 ranking of most and least active U.S. cities put Pittsburgh in the middle of the pack at #53. Lexington, the closest 'major' city to Georgetown ranked 95th out of 100. Sure, we're no Portland or Boise, but we're doing pretty well. Everywhere you go in Pittsburgh, regardless of time of day, weather, traffic, or other factor, you'll see folks running, walking, riding bikes, skateboarding (yes, sometimes right down the middle of the street with traffic, which is a little disconcerting the first few times a skateboarder screeches to a halt behind you at a stoplight). It's not that people don't participate in these activities in Georgetown, they do, and I did. But, they do so at a far greater rate here. And, you're a lot less likely to get honked at or flipped off when you do.

I imagine there are numerous contributing factors for this, but here are a couple I'd guess make a big difference:

• Pittsburgh is constructed in a way that encourages exercise. Stuff is closer together. The population in Pittsburgh is denser; 5,540/sm while in Georgetown it's 1,873. While lots of people drive, tons of people walk, bike or use public transportation. Georgetown has no public transportation, and many streets have no sidewalk or shoulder to walk on. Sometimes is just makes more sense to leave your car parked. For instance, we can ride the bus to/from Pirates games at PNC Park. Including walking to the bus stop this takes about 30 minutes. If you're not going to the game you can drive to the stadium in about 10 minutes. But, if you are, you can plan on sitting in traffic, looking for a place to park, etc. You'll pay any where from $8 - $20 to park, plus the cost of the gas you burn. A round trip bus ride is $5, stress free, and often provides the opportunity to have a conversation with a new friend at the bus stop.
• Pittsburgh has awesome parks, all of which can easily be reached on foot, bike or public transportation. Scott County does have nice parks, but getting there on foot is quite the adventure (unless you like walking or jogging on streets with 45-55 mph speed limits). And, no offense Georgetown friends, Scott County Park simply does not compare to Frick, Schenley or Highland Park when it comes to trails, tennis courts, ballfields, ice skating rinks, or zoos. It does have nicer fishing holes, though.

2) Major League Sports. Pirates, Penguins, Steelers. All within 4.5 miles of our apartment. In Georgetown, Reds and Bengals, both 70 miles from our apartment. In my book, not much beats an afternoon or evening at the ball park with Denise. Enough said.

3) I pick up a lot more dog doody. I doubt this one's going to turn up in any travel magazines, but it does point to a couple of things: the absence of privacy fences in Pittsburgh and the much larger backyards in Georgetown. In this regard, it's probably important to stress that I am talking about the city of Pittsburgh and not the 'burbs. Pittsburgh's burbs are like any other burbs with gated communities of McMansions on ginormous lots protected by privacy fences and alarm systems. But, houses in the city, while generally much closer together and on far smaller lots, don't have many privacy fences. I can't think of more than one or two in our neighborhood. And, believe me, because our apartment has no yard, I've followed Howie and Henry up and down every Lawrenceville street picking up pile after pile of Howie's excrement.   

4) The 'man made' beauty. Both cities are beautiful in their own way. Georgetown wows with it's rambling horse farms, tobacco and corn farms; Pittsburgh boasts an amazing skyline and surprisingly wide array of architecture.  Both were carved out of thick forests. But, what was carved out is radically different. To illustrate; compare the picture above with this one of Kentuckiana Farms. This horse farm was one of the highlights of my favorite running route in Georgetown and will always be what I see in my mind's eye when I think about the town.

Part of the fun living any where is getting out and experiencing it, meeting people and getting to know what that city's all about. I'm not great at the meeting people part. I'm working on it. The diving in and seeing what's up - that's a different story. I'm loving me some Pittsburgh.