You should definitely give it another chance. The important thing about Pittsburgh is to "get around." There are areas which are sketchy, but then there are areas that show you why Pittsburgh is ranked as the most livable city in the US.

The sports teams are great, (we don't talk about the Pirates), there's world class education to be had at Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh has emerged as a leader in health care.

(This post sounds like a tourism campaign.)