Where I live: pros and cons

As I stated in my introductory post, I live in a small town in western Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh is the nearest metro area and the region is generally identified with the city and surrounding suburbs. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, I'd like to present what's good about this part of the USA....and what's not so good.

The Pros of western Pennsylvania/Pittsburgh:

1. This is a family-oriented region. People are generally friendly and if you're in trouble, they're relatively eager to help out.

2. Excellent educational resources. Namely the universities, including, in order of prominence: Carnegie Mellon, Penn State (sorta western PA), Pitt, Duquesne, IUP and Robert Morris. That doesn't even include several small private colleges such as, Grove City, St. Vincent, St. Francis and Westminster.

3. Excellent cultural amenities. The Carnegie Museums, Symphony and Ballet are world-class. Falling Water is a national treasure and the Pittsburgh Zoo is a fun day out. Throw the sports teams here as well. The Steelers are one of the best-run organizations in sports, while the Penguins, assuming they stay in Pittsburgh, have the most promise. The Pirates....well....let's just say they have a long and storied history that, until 15 years ago, actually included winning seasons and championships once in awhile. *heh*

4. Scenery - This is beautiful country. A favorite, and cheap, way to spend time with my wife involves just going for a drive down a road we've never been on before. The farms are generally well-kept and even the burnt-out coal towns are interesting. Pittsburgh itself has a beautiful skyline, with Downtown and Squirrel Hill being the most attractive neighborhoods.

5. Cheap Living - Housing has not become outlandishly expensive like it has in much of the country. Having a declining population is a big reason for this. The same reasoning applies to most other necessities as well. Gasoline is usually below the national average.

6. Good Healthcare - I list this last, because I fear this may change as UPMC (that's University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) continues to gobble up hospitals and practices and the effects of PA's horrendous lawyer-driven malpractice laws further discourages doctors from opening practices in PA and drives others out of state. Despite this Pittsburgh, which is where many folks with serious illnesses end up, generally rates pretty well when it comes to the quality of its hospitals and doctors.


Now for the Cons. There aren't as many, but they're still very important.

1. Economy - Since the steel mills began shutting down in the 1970s, western PA's economy has been either contracting or lagging behind most of the rest of the nation. Diversification has begun to happen in fits and starts, as banking, finance, health care and high tech have assumed greater importance. Some manufacturing has returned as well in recent years, attracted by the educated, hard-working workforce. I have some ideas to improve the area's economic prospects, but as this is supposed to be a summary, I'll move on.

2. Government - This covers a lot. In large part, I blame government interference in the economy for the region's inability to sustain economic growth. High taxes, excessive business regulation and a lack of will to do the things that make the most sense are all pervasive on the state level as well as on the local level in Pittsburgh proper. A lack of political will to change PA into a right-to-work state has hurt the region's economic prospects more than anything else. It's why so many businesses move to the Southern US or overseas. But again, this is a summary so I'll move on.

3. Government Corruption - Ok, maybe I'm not moving on just yet. It's one thing to support economically-flawed policy and projects, which #2 basically covers, but it's a whole other ballgame when you consider the rampant corruption that is endemic at various state agencies (PennDOT, Turnpike Commission, anyone?) and in certain municipalities (City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County; do I hear a second on that motion?) The amount of government waste in this state is unbelievable. But let's move on. (I'm not kidding this time.)

4. Roads - PA's roads are notoriously bad. And western PA's are generally worse. Much of this is weather-related and I respect that, however #3 comes into play here as well. (Ok I lied again, so sue me. At least this is a nice segue way to #5.)

5. Weather - Depending on where you live, the typical PA resident has to deal with floods, tornadoes, hurricanes (in the Phillie area), hail, blizzards (the whole state) and, yes, even earthquakes (NE PA gets them every so often.) The weather isn't for the faint of heart, but it's not like Florida or the Gulf Coast, nor is it as snowy as western NY or as cold as Michigan. In fact, it's not that bad, but it's not that nice either. Hell, I'd probably make this a pro if I was posting this in the summer.

So there you have it. Where I live. I'm one of those people who believe that where one lives can say a lot about what they are all about. I will, or course, be going into more detail, especially about the cons, as time goes on and events warrant.