Does Pennsylvania have more in common with New York or Maryland? (living in, moving)
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to me is a tough one, really could argue both ways Not surprising as these two make up the largest borders for PA
to me the appalachian connection is stronger between PA and MD if I had to find one aspect making two most similar but am really torn here personally
I think if forced to pick I would go with MD as leaning more similar to be honest on the whole, as where I live it feels most like Jersey (but I can see NJ from my house) but viewing the state as a whole would say MD slightly more than NY then probably WV (Yes the appalachian portion is undeniable as a state), NJ, DE (Though DE is so small its hard to compare and contrast really) and last OH for border states if ordering
Last edited by kidphilly; 04-01-2015 at 08:59 PM..
Maryland is more similar to Pennsylvania over Virginia, though. However, this is pretty tough. I'm tempted to say Maryland, but I know the majority of Pennsylvania is probably more similar to Upstate New York. However, there are definitely similarities between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Some people call Philly "Mid-Atlantic."
Maryland is more similar to Pennsylvania over Virginia, though. However, this is pretty tough. I'm tempted to say Maryland, but I know the majority of Pennsylvania is probably more similar to Upstate New York. However, there are definitely similarities between Baltimore and Philadelphia.
I dunno to me this is where I find the most connection with MD - PA has a large portion more appalachian I don't see in NY which is the part to me that leans MD (of which western MD is appalachian)
Philly and Baltimore also have similarities as do Philly and NYC so to me more a wash on the large cities in each Pittsburgh has no real equivalent in either IMHO - there actually may be no perfect comparator city for the burgh
the strongest difference for the PA/NY connection is the great lakes
As someone from South Central Pennsylvania who lived in upstate New York for 3 years the answer is obviously Maryland. Pennsylvania and New York don't have near as much in common with each other as they do some with there other neighbors. People look at the border and think they are really similar to each other because of the size of the border but the truth of the the matter is the Pennsylvania/New York border is sparsely populated. Outside of the Twin Tiers region New York and PA lose commonality. New York has far more in common with the New England states then it does with Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania has far more in common with Maryland than it does with New York.
It makes sense to when you think about it since most of Pennsylvania's population lives south of Interstate I-80 and east of Interstate I-81 meaning a lot of Pennsylvanians live close to Maryland. Where as most of New York's population in upstate New York lives closer to Canada and New England and NYC is closest to New Jersey and New England. New York really isn't a Mid-Atlantic state since it's not tied to Baltimore and DC the way south central Pennsylvania is. Pennsylvania really doesn't have a relationship with New England either since it doesn't border New England and has more in common with it's southern neighbors (and Ohio for that matter) than it ever will with New England.
I would say Maryland. The small cities of south-central Pennsylvania (e.g. Reading, York) feel much more like the small cities of west-central and Western Maryland (e.g. Hagerstown, Cumberland) than they do with anything in New York. Philadelphia kind of splits the difference between New York City and Baltimore, so that's a wash. But once you move west of those cities, the rest of the Keystone State (excepting the Pittsburgh area, which to me feels somewhat more like a hillier version of Ohio) feels much more like Maryland.
It is true that, as a previous poster said, Maryland's Eastern Shore finds no equivalent in Pennsylvania. But neither is there an equivalent with New York State. The Eastern Shore is almost like a separate entity, which to me feels more like near-coastal North Carolina than it does anything in the Northeast. But when one considers the rest of Maryland, it seems like a better match with Pennsylvania than Upstate New York does.
I definitely acknowledge the similarities between MD and PA, but as a PA native living in MD and visiting NY countless times, I'd have to lean towards NY.
Here's a few distinct differences, in my opinion, that more align PA with NY:
- A larger and more diverse ethnic white population in PA compared to MD--and within that, a much larger blue-collar white population, similar to many parts of NY. Conversely, MD has a much larger native AA population.
- PA is less of a transient/non-native state; the DC/Baltimore areas truly dominate MD, and this greatly lessens the deep-rooted, "established" feel that is widespread in NY and PA. Significant portions of MD feel much newer compared to PA.
- Just as the Alleghenys/Poconos are a huge part of the landscape in PA, the Adirondacks/Catskills are similar for Upstate NY. This landscape is far more dominant in both of these states than Maryland, a very significant portion of which is coastal plain.
- Much more of PA has a post-industrial feel compared to MD, which is similar to the feel of many towns/cities in NY.
The OP probably should have given some criteria. That helps frame the discussion a bit better imo.
Maryland is not just the counties that sit along the Pennsylvania border. The part of Maryland from Prince George's County down is obviously distinct from Pennsylvania in several important ways. There's no equivalent of that in either Pennsylvania or New York.
The part of Maryland that has the most in common with Pennsylvania is western Maryland, which was settled by Germans moving across the PA border. That part of the state also shares some of PA's mining heritage.
The biggest landscape difference may be, as Duderino mentioned above, how old and industrial Pennsylvania and New York feel compared to Maryland. Pennsylvania and New York (along with Massachusetts) have some of the oldest housing stock in the United States. There's also an industrial heritage that's more readily apparent in NY and PA.
New York has far more in common with the New England states then it does with Pennsylvania
I agree with this, though to most New Englanders, it is considered a heresy punished by being buried up to the neck and then having bricks piled onto your head until death.
New York is really a transition between New England and Pennsylvania, that one can analogize with the Netherlands (New York) being a transition between Britain (New England) and Germany (Pennsylvania).
And I will stand by that anoalogy even if it means being drawn and quartered by Pennsyvanians, repeatedly dunked in an ice-cold well by New Englanders, or having my hands crushed under a wagon wheel by New Yorkers.
As far as Pennsylvania's similarity to Maryland, I think it applies primarilly to southeastern PA and the interior Appalchian region. I am not sure what kind of uncannily horrific torture that opinon warrants.
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