pgh's paint-peeling economy: a street artist's view of the jobs scene
so i’m staring at a half-finished octopus mural in the strip district, spray can in hand, and the guy from the bakery next door is telling me about his second job. again. that’s pittsburgh for you-a city where the air smells like fryer oil and possibility, but the possibility usually comes with a side of ‘but you’ll need a roommate.’
look, i love this rust-belt phoenix or whatever, but let’s talk real. the unemployment rate here is what, 3.8%? sounds low, right? except that number doesn’t count the ten people i know teaching yoga on twitch or selling prints at the southside flea market. the ‘real’ job market is ugh, a ghost. it’s healthcare, robots, and ed-tech. if you’re not building a medical device or writing code for some startup in station square, you’re basically volunteering. i heard-and this is pure bar-stool gossip-that even the big hospitals are cycling through travelers because they don’t want to pay bennies to full-timers.
Overheard at Lovett’s: ‘My kid graduated from carnegie mellon and works remote for a seattle firm. smart, because the local design scene? it’s dead, jim.’
and don’t get me started on rent. i pay $725 for a ‘bedroom’ in a house in allentown that has a door to the porch but the porch door doesn’t lock. my buddy in bloomfield got a ‘renovated’ basement for $850. ‘renovated’ means they painted over the mold. the pittsburgh subreddit is just people posting ‘found this dump for $1200!!’ and then 50 comments saying ‘run.’ but where you gonna run to? cleveland?
*the weather today is perfect pittsburgh: a humid, gray blanket that makes the graffiti look extra melancholic. it’s the kind of day where the sky looks like a wet paper bag, and you can smell the monkey park from the hill. my neighbor from mexico says it’s like a constant light drizzle in your soul.
neighbors are a short drive away, which means you can escape to the actual mountains or the lake, but most of us are too broke for gas. philly and dc feel like different planets with higher rents and worse attitudes. cleveland’s like our weird, older cousin with a better lakefront and worse sports teams.
so what’s actually growing? not the trees, definitely not my income. health care, baby. and logistics. u.p.s. has that giant hub out by the airport, and amazon’s got a footprint the size of a small country. my cousin drives a forklift there, makes $28 an hour, and hasn’t seen the sun since 2019. that’s the new blue-collar dream: be a robot’s babysitter.
whispered in a coffee shop line: ‘my brother-in-law says he can’t find a welder for under $35. Crazy, but then i think, good for the welders. bad for everyone else.’
and the art scene? it’s surviving on coffee shop walls and paint fumes. i got a commission from a brewery in lawrenceville that paid in beer and exposure. exposure is great if you’re a plant. i check yelp for ‘art commissions pittsburgh’ and it’s just therapists and dentists asking for a mural for their waiting room. $200. i’d need a mural the size of a football field to pay rent.
safety? it’s a patchwork. i’ve got spray paint stolen off my bike in east liberty, but i can leave my laptop at a table in a cafe in squirrel hill. the rule is: if the houses look like they’re from a hallmark movie, you’re probably fine. if they’re missing vinyl siding, watch your back. but even the ‘nice’ neighborhoods feel… tense. like everyone’s one paycheck from being the weird guy on the corner.
the real talk* from the street is this: pittsburgh’s ‘growth’ is a numbers game. they’ll tell you about ‘quality of place’ and ‘innovation districts’ at the tribune-review, but they’re not talking about the baristas with two degrees or the grifters selling ‘authentic experience’ walking tours.
sitting on a bench in frick park: ‘it’s a company town, always was. now the companies are algorithms and hospitals. at least Carnegie gave us libraries.’
so yeah, come here. move here. make art, make noise. but bring a remote job or a trust fund. the city’s got soul cheaper than a six-pack, but that soul’s getting squeezed out by condos with ‘tenant amenities.’ i’m just trying to paint a wall that doesn’t get power-washed before the paint dries. the economy’s a mural nobody agreed on, and half of us are just tagging over the bad parts, hoping someone notices.
ps. if you see a ‘for rent’ sign with ‘owner financing’ or ‘handyman special,’ run. that’s code for ‘the roof is a suggestion.’ you’re welcome.
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