I have friends in pittsburgh as I went to college nearby. I don't know it well but I can ask them. I can say that I was always fond of it and felt that the Steelers fanbase was similar to that of the Saints.
This. I think it's why it's so easy for Saints fans to root for the Steelers if it's a not a game against the Saints. Fanbases are very similar.
I spent a little time there doing research at Carnegie Mellon. It was only a few months, but here's my thoughts. Going from New Orleans to any city in the US that's not NYC, Chicago or LA is always going to be hard since New Orleans is the most unique place in the country. Even the 3 cities I named are different in the since that there's so many people there how could they not develop a personality. Pittsburgh felt genuine to me in a way that New Orleans does too. It doesn't have the identity crisis of Houston or pretentiousness of a Dallas or lack of culture that Atlanta has. It knows what it is and it's fine with that. The question is what is your family searching for in a city? You're not giving us much to go on.