The “Steel City” has long taken a beating in the court of public opinion for being a boring, blue-collar town with little going for it besides it sports teams (a Super Bowl and Stanley Cup in one year, maybe?)

As it turns out, though, Pittsburgh has been doing better than average during this recession, having actually gained jobs during 2008, and having one of the lower unemployment, bankruptcy, and foreclosure rates nationally. Furthermore, although the city’s population has been declining for 50 years, the metropolitan area has not declined at nearly the same rate, and still ranks among the largest in the country. Although Pittsburgh ranks 60th in total population nationally, its skyline– which is something of an indicator of business health in the city– ranks a surprising 13th nationally, and  it ranks 25th overall in raw number of jobs. Most optimistically, the job density (per square mile) in Pittsburgh ranks 6th nationally.

Last, Pittsburgh is affordable. I moved here to begin a business in web design– something I could not have afforded to do in many places– especially ones that offer so many amenities.