Work and Play in Pittsburgh PA For Remote Workers

This is the first in a series of blog posts I will be doing on cities for remote nomadic workers. This series will include great locations within the United States that are perfect for work AND play. Recently I had the pleasure of working with the Visitor’s Bureau in Pittsburgh PA and Wyndham Hotel in Oakland, PA. The hotel is less than a 10-minute drive to downtown Pittsburgh.  The question today is: Is work and play in Pittsburgh PA for remote workers possible?  Well, let’s see.

Wyndham Hotel offers rooms equipped for work. They offer free WiFi for their guests. They have a great desk that you will be able to set up your laptop and other equipment needed. The room also has a full bathroom with a nice sizeable tub to relax in.

A Business Center is in their lobby area where you can print, copy, scan and fax documents that are needed for your business.

The Wyndham also offers meeting rooms if Pittsburgh area happens to be where your clients are. You will be able to reserve a room and will have access to an Easel with Flip Chart/Markers, Microphones, Screens and Whiteboards.

For some downtime, the Wyndham has a heated pool and a gym for your daily workout.

So your work day is done and it is TIME TO PLAY! There are many fun things to do in Pittsburgh. My son, who is also my photographer, and I enjoyed several venues around the area. I was actually surprised how relatively close everything was from Point A to Point B. I’m going to add in here that I did cheat of course, and used Waze. I normally use google maps, but my son put Waze on and we were moving. One of the times we were heading from one place to another, we ran into traffic. Let me tell you, with Waze, I didn’t even have to slow down. It got me to where I needed to go with no hesitation in its directions.

If there are places you want to see within a three-mile radius, Wyndham Hotel offers a shuttle to take you there. Most everything my son and I did was further out than that, so we did drive ourselves around. We went to the Duquesne Incline. This was a fun thing to do and was pretty low in cost. $5 parking for two hours and $2.50 each way on the cable car to the top and back. The Incline is also part of the transportation system in your commute.

Isn’t that view amazing?  I stood up there for quite awhile just looking out at everything. I may be a country gal at heart, but I can’t deny that a city line view and water view can be just as peaceful from this location :).

We had lunch at Primanti Bros. They are well known in the Pittsburgh area and have several locations. We attempted the downtown location, but there was a line out the door, so with everything being pretty close, we drove back to the Oakland area by the hotel and were able to get a seat right away. I ordered the Ham and Cheese Primanti sandwich.

Yes, that is slaw and fries on the sandwich as well.  And Oh.  My.  Goodness…. It was very good!  Even the teen, who was skeptical and not really a ham eater, said it was delish!  We ended up sharing. He ate the other half and I ate half of his Maple Chipotle BBQ boneless wings.

The next day we visited the Andy Warhol Museum. This museum is seven floors of absolutely amazing art. You could easily spend a few hours in there. Actually, I’d highly recommend you spending several hours there.  Between the art on the wall, there are some motion pictures as well and a commentary movie on his life in the theater on the first floor.

We also went to the Mattress Factory. This was an experience to see some great art from students. The Mattress Factory is in multiple buildings. One of the buildings is for Dennis Maher alone. Three floors of the construction of a house. I was amazed at the detail that went into this work! On the weekends, you do have to reserve a time slot because it is a smaller building. In the main building, you start on the top floor and work your way down. The artwork is rotated annually. On the 2nd floor, you can only enter from the elevator because the James Turrell’s work is based on darkness. It’s three rooms. One of the rooms is in complete darkness and can take up to 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust, so you need to reserve time for that room as well.

                                 

These locations are just a few of the many things you can do while you’re in Pittsburgh. This post is one in the series of cities for remote workers, but as you can see, Pittsburgh is a city that anyone can visit and have a great time in. There is such a variety of things to do. Since I had the teen with me, I couldn’t really experience much of the nightlife, but there is also a Dave and Buster’s there in the Waterfront district. They are open until later at night. A lot of cafe’s and restaurants closed earlier than normal or closed for the day for Memorial Day weekend. Which I actually loved seeing. It shows the employers allowing their employees that work/life balance that I am always advocating for!

So, as a location, to work and play in Pittsburgh PA for remote workers? I give Pittsburgh an A+! There is a great balance that allows the gypsy workers, roaming the country and seeing different sights to get a great feel for what Pittsburgh really is about. The history, old and newer is there, waiting for you to come and learn and experience it in all its glory.

Have you visited Pittsburgh as either a remote worker or on a family trip?  What are your thoughts? Share them in the comments below or on my Facebook Page! You can also see other images on my Instagram page.

Disclaimer: This trip was sponsored by Wyndham Hotel and the Pittsburgh Visitors Bureau. However, all opinions are 100% mine.