I'm about to turn 39... and save the 5 years I lived in Blacksburg + about 2.5 years I was in the Phoenix and Sacramento areas, I've spent the rest in the Pittsburgh area. I'm a native, so I might be biased... but the constant high rankings on lists of places to live or to raise kids is justified.

The list of "why"s is pretty long, but I'll give it a try. Friendly people (except the Pitt students you'll encounter at the game Thursday night - sorry in advance. No Mountaineers or Terps, but no Aggies or Cornhuskers, for sure!). Affordable housing and cost of living. A diverse economy - big in oil and gas, healthcare, with a technology niche. A thriving restaurant and microbrewery scene. Good art and theater scenes and museums. Major sports teams. Fantastic public schools, outside the city. We have our quirks that make us unique, too (miles of urban stairs, our own language, etc.) It does rain a lot here, but you're only an hour from skiing in the mountains, a trip to a great state park with lakes you can boat on, or any number of other great outdoor recreation options in the Allegheny or Laurel Mountains.

A lot of what makes Pgh unique is our geography and communities. With apologies to you Hokies who live in master-planned places in northern Virginia and other metropoli, our rolling hills naturally led to small communities in both the city and the suburbs that have their own uniqueness to them. Pittsburghers are like Hokies in that they are fiercly proud of whence they came, and that makes for a generally happy place to be.