Reddit reviews Beyond Rust: Metropolitan Pittsburgh and the Fate of Industrial America (Politics and Culture in Modern America)

I have a not-so-secret love affair with Pittsburgh. I grew up in Portland, OR. I now live in upstate NY for grad school. But I swear, I'm going to "start my life" in Pittsburgh. I can come up with all sorts of rationalizations for it, like housing costs, job opportunities, and long-term environmental stability... but the truth is that I feel an insane connection to the city. I've read everything I can find on this history of the city (holy fuck, btw), and spent countless hours looking at every square inch on Google Earth (to the point where I'm worried I might be "on the spectrum"). I have only visited once, mainly to see CMU, but I plan on coming back in this spring to check out some neighborhoods. Maybe I can meet up with some of yinz when I get the chance to come out.

I agree with OP, there's something about the "bones" of the city that makes it insanely charming. Some combination of the hills and all the industrial vestiges make it an urbanist's wet dream.