Literally my dad (but in 1982) Despite the immaculate vibes, Pittsburgh was not doing well. Unemployment in Pittsburgh was 17%, almost the worst ever in history for a major city (only the pandemic and Detroit in 2009 were worse) There were no jobs. A generation of young people left. Though my parents loved Pittsburgh, we had to leave too (but were able to come back a few years later). The comeback has been great though. Pittsburgh is the rare example of a post-industrial city that actually diversified successfully. From that 17% in 1983, Pittsburgh's unemployment is now 3.5%, among the lowest in the country. A lot the transformation has been driven by Pitt and CMU. There are 7 unicorns (more than Miami!), 5 of them are AI companies (Skild AI, Abridge, Stack AV, Gecko Robotics, Aurora). Old factories that were vacant for decades have literally became robotics labs and Google offices. The photos below: LTV Coke works, formerly employing 12,000 people, now housing CMU robotics labs An old Ford factory that made Model T's, now a cancer research center. A small part of a steel mill where they serviced train engines (remember those things were vertically integrated), now a coworking space Lots of cool adaptive reuse in Pittsburgh for people who love that sort of thing (like me!) - check it out!