Char typically writes the kind of bittersweet and occasionally (ok, often) sarcastic observations that we absolutely must have to get through the day over at Pittsburgh Pist-Gazette. In her contribution to the Primary Pittsburgh Project, she does not disappoint:
In her day job, Char sells real estate:
When I deal with newcomers to Pittsburgh, I’m forced to look at our city anew through their eyes. Forced to realize that in this day and age all books are judged by their covers and ours sometimes doesn’t make the best first impression.
She quickly gets to the punchline:
So when newcomers inevitably ask me why I like it here so much … I’m sometimes hard pressed to adequately express, in three words or less, the real inner-beauty that makes Pittsburgh Pittsburgh. If they only have time for the three-word answer, my reply is “It’s the people.”
Click through to read Char’s story about “Mr. Science,” the man who bought a house under foreclosure in the Upper Northside so that he could live closer to kids who he often worked with in nearby Northview Heights.
A funny thing about Pittsburgh is that our housing market is not so impacted by national market trends. Property values are growing, but housing remains affordable. But why do people choose to locate or stay in Pittsburgh? More often than not, the answer is “it’s the people.”