What makes Pittsburgh culture unique? I mean, besides the usual black and gold and weird reverence for tomato condiments. It’s an odd question and may not have a satisfactory answer. Some combination of hard-earned Rust Belt blues, rugged Appalachian topography, and East Coast grouchiness, per haps. Here’s one idea: Pittsburgh is a place where caring about your neighbors is almost a civic religion. Maybe a Mister Rogers-type could have come from anywhere, but he actually did come out of here (or, well, Latrobe). Not everyone gets a patron saint who was actually saintly, but we did. We’re also #23 (out of 100 cities) in Wallethub’s “Most Caring Cities” list, which compiles things like volunteer rates and working in professions that help others (we’re #9 in that; we’ve got a lot of nurses). It’s also a place where Not Caring What Others Think is a pretty standard outlook on life. I mean, people here wear Franco Harris jerseys to funerals. Our status symbols are largely tailgating-related. There’s a guy on my street who hasn’t worn a shirt in 10 years. My son went to shovel snow off driveways and sidewalks in our neighborhood last week, and a guy literally yelled “FAAHRR TOMLIN!” at him. (Then, he gave him a few bucks to shovel). These aren’t the actions of an overly self-conscious people, trying too hard to be liked. We care a lot. And we don’t care what you think — the yin and yang of Yinzerdom (?). For sale: 2252 Milligan Ave., Swissvale, $250,000. The dark gods of Zillow are cruel and capricious, but perhaps they heard my silent pleas: more snow pics, please!  It’s 11 degrees this week, colder than the bus ride back to the ‘Burgh after a loss to Baltimore (thankfully avoided). We’re not a sun-dappled preserve of pure spring, and our house pics should reflect that. This little white house sleeping under a snug blanket of snow looks ready for a Hallmark movie, or whatever my mom is watching on basic cable tonight. 2353 E. Beckert Ave. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow For sale: 2353 E. Beckert Ave., Spring Garden, $200,000. What’s Spring Garden like in the winter? Well, take a look here; it’s not so bad. Living in Pittsburgh requires making your peace with winter, even if it always overstays its welcome and degenerates into an ugly cold brown season — my actual least favorite time of the year.  But some vestigial remnant of my brain remembers the joy of a Snow Day, and wonders if that yard is worth sledding down. Though let’s be real; somebody needs to shovel those stairs if you don’t want them to ice up and send the pizza guy tumbling arse-over-teakettle before you get your pie. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow For rent: Carson Street Commons, South Side, $1,410/month. What’s this? Brick and the barest hint of ornamentation? Isn’t this a crime? Can’t we slap some corrugated metal on this to make it look presentable? I really wish that neotraditional aesthetics hadn’t been hijacked by fascists and people who just hate cities (usually due to racism), because sometimes classic forms are classic for a reason. The formal rigor of modernism is great if Walter Gropius or Richard Neutra is designing your house, not some contractor trying to cut corners on materials by making everything out of garbage. Anyway, this nice-looking development has SouthSide Works next door, which is a dumb name that I’ve made my peace with. The Venue Apartments, 625 Stanwix St. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow For rent: The Venue Apartments, 625 Stanwix St., Downtown, $1,485/month. I try not to dwell on things I hate here, because who even cares? But whoa, I feel the pull of the Dark Side when I see an apartment building with a stupid name like “The Venue.” Venue for what? Look, maybe all the good names are taken, but you could also name it after any random Pens forward and it would be better than this. (I, for one, would be first in line to live at Ziggy Palffy Manor or Jarko Ruutu Estates). Otherwise, it’s nice that this very tired mid-century tower got an update, because it looked less inviting than the Civic Arena bathrooms for a long time, and now it looks pretty nice. 1156 Pemberton St. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow For sale: 1156 Pemberton St., Brighton Heights, $124,500. “NO ACCESS OR VIEWINGS of this property. Please DO NOT DISTURB the occupant. Take a drive by this three bedroom, one and a half bath home and see if it may be your next investment. ‘As is’ cash only sale with no contingencies or inspections. Buyer will be responsible for obtaining possession of the property upon closing.” What in the name of Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala is going on here?Look, I’m a sucker for a weird home listing, but pitching “Do your own evictions!” as a positive — while darkly hinting that the current occupant will respond with rage — is a bridge too far for me. In fact, I think I will avoid this street from now on. (I still love Brighton Heights, though). 1869 West, 1869 Chessland St. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow For rent: 1869 West, 1869 Chessland St., Crafton, $1,034-1,184/month. “1869 West” is a perfectly acceptable name. So is “Chessland Street,” for that matter. We can change stupid apartment building names! I’m feeling the momentum after our war on Sad-Greige Interiors has been so successful. Except, well, here. Yeah, I know it’s easier to imagine your own stuff here when it’s a blank slate, but I’m so bored with this trend that I can’t even finish this sent… The post Affordable-ish Housing in Pittsburgh: Yin and yang of Yinzerdom edition appeared first on Pittsburgh City Paper | News, Dining, Music, Best Of, Arts, Film. ...read more read less