moving from England - help please (Scranton: place to live, eat, rich)

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by slasher

Most high schools in Pennsylvania are closed during the first day of deer season. That should give you an idea of the mentality of Pennsylvania.

Not all of PA have schools close for the first day of deer season. My cousins in the Philadelphia area always though it was funny that our schools closed for hunting....I think they made some kind of redneck jokes about it.

[sausages]

and cannot stand the hunting here - it is terrible - seems to me it is open season all year round and they only have one or two wardens to patrol.

On t.v they show dads sitting with sons with a bear or deer on front of them dead. If you live in the suburbs you just have to post "no hunting" signs all over your property - the reality of it is you can hear the shooting all around when it is hunting season. Although I do understand the need to keep the deer pop.down because if they do not you will see dead deer all over the roads - sadly some people think it is a sport to hit them with their car/truck also. Then you have goose/duck hunting. That could be worse they do "dove" hunting in Texas !!!

That being said this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever lived in and I have lived in many countries in the world. The people are nice and there is a very relaxed feeling here - down south people start work earlier and here it is common to go to work at 9am.

Alot of Italian/Irish and Polish people live here which in my opinion makes for a great combination. The food is great here also.

So if you can overcome the hunting and remember most "good hunters" only hunt when they are allowed you can move on. It is a few idiots that think it is a sport to shoot anything that moves at any time that cause upset amongst animal lovers.


On a final note you can get a fabulous house with land here for about 1/3 or what you would pay in England.


Thanks

[Tama]

Gremmo I grew up in PA and I hate hunting. I don't see it affecting you unless you still have people tying the carcass to the roof of the car and driving through town--does that still happen? I don't think hunting need affect you in any of the suburban areas.

I visit often and never have heard a shot or seen a dead deer (except on the highway) in decades. That is in the Lehigh Valley area. If you are careful about your choice it won't be "in your face" and there is no reason to discuss your feelings with anyone. However, I never felt when growing up that I couldn't express my opinion about hunting but again it was in the eastern part of the state. I remember talking about it all the time with cousins and classmates--we all agreed. One cousin said "Why don't they just go buy a chicken?" I don't know what happens elsewhere. Just giving you one perspective--to add to the info you are getting.

No one, however, needs to know your personal views until you get to the point where you are an integral part of your community and it won't make any difference. I certainly wouldn't start off in a new place openly dissing the locals pursuits.

Re:veggies--I don't see how in the world that could be a problem? Not in any area of PA I have lived. Again no need to announce your eating habits to the world but I just can't see it--not in the Lehigh Valley or Philadelphia suburbs at least. I know lots of PA vegetarians and vegans--I rarely eat meat.

Visited England often in the 80s and 90s because my husband worked there in the summers. It is not so different from PA--at least eastern Pa-- at all.

I didn't know England banned hunting?! I thought the royal family hunted?
How do you keep the deer population in control.

[okaydorothy]

as an Irish person, I love NEPA. While we do not live there full time, it is defiantely a huge possibility when we retire. I love the fact that it is so diverse, friendly and accepting.

Good luck
d

[pryorla]

Well, you will see a lot of camoflage (sp?) clothing but you don't have to be exposed to hunting. Although you should realize that PA has a wonderful wild life population which has been preserved and protected and encouraged to thrive by the hunters here. I am not one of them but I do appreciate them for their environmental work.
Being a vegetarian is not difficult here, especially if you want to buy local produce. We have plenty of farmer's markets and most groceries have organic produce as well. More farms are becoming "organically" certified all the time.
Ifyou don't make a big deal of being anti-hunting or anti-meat, people won't harass you about it. You will get more comments about how they like your accent, then you will get about why you don't eat meat.

Originally Posted by gremmo

Hi there - I'm new to all this so bear with me. I am thinking of moving to Pennsylvania and am very interested in certain parts of the Lehigh, Lackawanna, Delaware, Montgomery and Bucks Counties. I have read so many threads over the last 6 months concerning these areas.

This may irritate loads of you however I have to ask. I am really anti hunting and I know this is big in the states. How big is it really and do I have to be exposed to it or can I avoid it? Also how is it for veggies? Will I come up against abuse for the way I feel? May seem silly but it is a big issue!

[I LOVE PA!]

Originally Posted by sausages

Although I do understand the need to keep the deer pop.down because if they do not you will see dead deer all over the roads - sadly some people think it is a sport to hit them with their car/truck also.

I doubt there is a soul in Pennsylvania who points their car/truck at an animal merely to kill it. Believe it or not...it actually causes quite a bit of damage to your car, which you then have to have repaired and PAY for.

[skijmpr]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

As another poster stated, not much of what is shot ever gets wasted, and hunting is vital for keeping the deer herds in check.

That may be true for deer, but what about other animals? Such as bear. Last I knew the best anyone ever did with a bear they shot was turn it into a rug or mount the head on the wall; the rest of the animal goes to waste. (I've never heard of anyone eating bear...but I'm sure a few have tried)

[I LOVE PA!]

Everyone I know who hunts bear does it for the food. It is very expensive to make that bear skin rug.

[skijmpr]

Originally Posted by I LOVE PA!

Everyone I know who hunts bear does it for the food. It is very expensive to make that bear skin rug.

That's reassuring to hear. Reason I said what I did is because I was just up there visiting my folks this past weekend and had this very conversation with my father, who still hunts deer. He wasn't aware of anyone really using bear that they killed other than as "trophies".

[blip]

not sure why this thread resurfaced, but found it amusing.

anyhow, if the original poster (gremmo) is still around-- i'm veggie and moved to scranton from nyc 5 months ago. still haven't met anyone who's talked about hunting, or had anyone look at me funny if i asked if something on the menu was vegetarian at places that aren't explicit.

it takes a little effort to find (healthy, tasty) veggie food every day here, but it's doable. there are no vegetarian restaurants (that i know of), and only a handful that have a vegetarian section on the menu. there are a few good grocery stores in the area, and a new indian grocery store downtown.

from what i've heard about bucks county, it may be more your speed-- sounds a lot more prorgressive in many ways than here. but, i bet your pounds would go a lot further here.