Now, for some paradoxes about where we choose to live.<\/p>\n
Greater Pittsburgh (more accurately, the region north of Pittsburgh), as a community, has proved to be a great place for my wife and me. The region, which includes parts of West Virginia and Ohio, offers excellent opportunities for people like us. But, those opportunities come with a cost.<\/p>\n
Before reviewing the physical and emotional tolls I pay for working in Pittsburgh, I wish to list the amazing benefits of the Steel City:<\/p>\n
But, cities still exhaust me<\/strong>. As a result, I commute an hour or more each direction so we can live in the exurbs. People consider where we live to be “country” though I consider the country to be what we see as we enter Ohio: open fields, rolling green hills, and cattle.<\/p>\n A recurring theme of this blog is my deep distaste for dense urban environments<\/strong>. I hate cities. It is no mere dislike; cities leave me physically and emotionally traumatized<\/strong>. It can take me weeks, not hours or days, to decompress from the sensory overload of a commute into the urban core where we live.<\/p>\n One reason we had to leave Minneapolis was the dense nature of the urban neighborhoods. Although the neighborhood in which we lived features single-family homes with small patches that pass for yards, the density was too high for my nature. I have detailed the misery of that experience.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh is worse. Much, much worse than Minneapolis. It is an old city, dating back to pre-Revolutionary days. The row houses resemble New York or, with the steep hills, the core of San Francisco. Driving in Pittsburgh is a nightmare<\/strong>, unlike anything I’ve experienced anywhere else. Walking is also more difficult.<\/p>\n As I approach the city, my anxiety increases. My stomach churns. My head aches. I dread the city.<\/p>\n Leaving the city is as stressful as entering. Paths in or out require navigating bridges, tunnels, and left-hand exits<\/strong>. People honk their horns and gesture, believing my 65 to 70 mph speed in the left lane is merely to annoy them. I have witnessed the shock of these drivers as they realIze the “fast lane” is actually a short, 20 mph hairpin exit to another freeway. The sounds of screeching brakes sticks with me. One woman in a white compact car flashed her lights, used her wipers, gestured, and was definitely screaming at me, and then realized we were in a left-hand exit to a busy suburban street. She skidded into the middle lane.<\/p>\n The city itself is noisier than Minneapolis. The abundance of hospitals explains the endless sirens.<\/p>\n Once in the city, I do much better because I’m learning how to avoid the very things that make it urban. I like the park, the conservatory, and the quiet pockets that resemble small towns within the city. I do not like the financial district or the entertainment district. I’d rather stick to the quieter spaces.<\/p>\n But, I am a playwright and a professor \u2014 both of which require traveling through and working within the urban core at times.<\/p>\n At least I know that at the end of any day in the city, I get to return to the peace and quiet of our “country” home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Now, for some paradoxes about where we choose to live. Greater Pittsburgh (more accurately, the region north of Pittsburgh), as a community, has proved to be a great place for my wife and me. The region, which includes parts of West Virginia and Ohio, offers excellent opportunities for people like…<\/p>\n