Your Opinion of why PA sucks so bad... (Lancaster, Harrisburg: employment, buy)

[sithlord72]

I just came fromt he Lancaster area and would consider moving there...cheaper prices, lower property and sales taxes, change of season...low crime, nice rural feel....

then again. I grew up in and lived in NYC for a little over 30 yrs and I think of it as the armpit of the USA....perhaps the OP grew up in and was raised in PA for a large chucnk of his life and just needed to get out...I need to get out of NY State , just like the other 1.6 million people that have since the year 2000.

[pman]

Originally Posted by mercurythewise

Is it the potholes in the road?
Is it the neverending road construction projects?
Is it the below-average salary in most job areas?
Is it the uneducated idiots with a chip on their shoulder?
Is it the fact that it only has one semi-modern city?
Is it the high murder rate of Filthadelphia? Reading?
Would you vacation here for more than a day?
Is it the awful regional cuisine?
Is it the dumb dutch culture? (I use the word 'culture' sparingly)

And to those who moved out of PA, how long did it take you to Detox
PA from your system? Don't be afraid these hicks can't harm you anymore.

Exactly.

it's people like you

[jeepejeep]

Originally Posted by sithlord72

I just came fromt he Lancaster area and would consider moving there...cheaper prices, lower property and sales taxes, change of season...low crime, nice rural feel....

then again. I grew up in and lived in NYC for a little over 30 yrs and I think of it as the armpit of the USA....perhaps the OP grew up in and was raised in PA for a large chucnk of his life and just needed to get out...I need to get out of NY State , just like the other 1.6 million people that have since the year 2000.

Amen to this. NY is the pits to me.

[Raena77]

Pa isn't that bad. It has great country and close neighbors. It has four seasons although I could use only one month of winter. I like Lancaster a lot. Skipback area is pretty. Every place has it's ups and downs.

[psulions2007]

Pennsylvania is the best overall state in the nation. I miss it quite a bit.

[teachbeach]

Lots to love about PA~open spaces, historic architecture in many small towns, green valleys, mountains, cost of living, proximity to major cities (if not Philly or Pittsburgh, you are probably close to NYC, Baltimore), the number of colleges/universities/schools for higher education. Did I mention cost of living? Living is somewhat laid back, and there is a strong sense of family values.

Came here from central New Jersey (NYC suburb) where taxes were high, property was higher, roads were always crowded, and the attitude of entitlement (me first above all else) was pervasive. However, there was far more tolerance for different cultures than I have found in PA.

Many who leave PA do ultimately return to retire...according to one study, PA has the highest birth to death rate of any state in the nation, the number of people who are born here and die here. Interesting....

[bs13690]

I grew up in Ebensburg and my opinion on why it "sucks" is mostly based on the people. They were just so insular and small minded where I grew up it drove me nuts.

There's a line in the song "Small Towns" by JCM that has always driven me nuts. It goes "I can be who I want in a small town...". My experience is the exact opposite. If you are not someone who falls in line with everyone else, then you are a pariah.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by bs13690

I grew up in Ebensburg and my opinion on why it "sucks" is mostly based on the people. They were just so insular and small minded where I grew up it drove me nuts.

There's a line in the song "Small Towns" by JCM that has always driven me nuts. It goes "I can be who I want in a small town...". My experience is the exact opposite. If you are not someone who falls in line with everyone else, then you are a pariah.

Yeah and in a small town everyone knows your name and your business, that's small town PA. Not to mention Xenophobia, probably without a doubt I experienced that more in parts of PA and being a native I found this odd, one can move from one region in PA to another and people there will treat you like an outsider.

[toobusytoday]

Unless you have lived in every small town in the state, I don't know how you can say that they are all a certain way. We moved to our small town almost 14 years ago. After the first year, I felt right at home and now have a hard time getting out of one of the two grocery stores in town in a short amount of time because there is always someone in there I know who wants to talk.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

Unless you have lived in every small town in the state, I don't know how you can say that they are all a certain way. We moved to our small town almost 14 years ago. After the first year, I felt right at home and now have a hard time getting out of one of the two grocery stores in town in a short amount of time because there is always someone in there I know who wants to talk.

Yeah, it kind of baffles me when people imply that 12,702,379 (and growing) different people can all have the exact same mentality simply because they live in a certain state. Ironically, these tend to be the same people who complain about simple-mindedness.

By the way, I know a guy who moved from Tifton, GA to Hershey, PA, and he's doing well and enjoying himself. He runs his own business and has a giant house near Blue Mountain.