Is PA depressing? (Pittsburgh, Scranton, Harrisburg: house, to buy, tax)

[claremarie]

Pittsburgh is very depressing. The sun rarely shines, even in the summer (only 60 days a year are cloud-free -- check Places Rated Almanac). There is a 50% chance of precipitation on any given day (PRA, again). The housing stock is old and crumbling, particularly in the City of Pgh and the older suburbs. It is filled with old folks who were born and raised in and never left the city and cannot for the life of them understand why ANYONE else would want to flee. The economy is stagnant. The last full-service bookstore (a Barnes and Noble) downtown is closing. The accent is horrendous (Dahntahn) and people are actually PROUD of their Pittsburghese. There aren't enough new vocations to the Catholic priesthood to go around, and parishes are closing or merging because the population is declining.
I couldn't wait to leave.

[turboredcart]

Clar, that is interesting. I really dont know much about Pitt..

Endless cloudy days would bother me.

Is it cloudy in Sharon/Mercer County ????

[covebound]

Cloudy days! I am looking so forward to cloudy days again. After being in the south with the sun blarring in your face almost 365 days a year, you could go blind. Why do you think so many of the edlerly down in the south wear those tremendous black glasses? That is depressing.
With the change of seasons up in Pennsy, you always have something to look forward to. The sounds of spring for instance. The snow falling to the ground at Christmas time. You don't have to be a shut-in either.
You can bundle up and go out and about to venture through your glorious gardens in the winter months. You can plant trees and shrubs that bring winter interest. Fall- Ah Fall, you have to enjoy the beautiful leaves. Gold, red, yellow, brown and other colors inbetween.
The smell of the fires buring in the fireplaces..
I say give me the cloudy days any day of the week, for when the sun shines you will appreciate what you have.

[claremarie]

If you like cloudy days, you will love Pittsburgh. However, if you enjoy blue skies and sunshine on a semi-regular basis, you will be very depressed there. I have vivid memories of sitting next to the swimming pool at North Park and freezing in July because it was overcast and 70 degrees.
There are many places in the U.S. where you can experience the change of seasons without the perpetual rain and gloom of Pittsburgh. And there are plenty of old folks in Pittsburgh who wear those huge dark glasses....

[paintballer1708]

I find Western Pennsylvania very depressing. My brother lives near Philly and i can say that Western and Eastern Pennsylvania are like two different states. Im originally from Pittsburgh, and when i go back there i see very little change. People are starting to complain about the raising taxes. Western Pennsylvania is facing a lot of problems. What im really starting to wonder is when the population decline is going to come to an end?

[covebound]

I guess the elderly like that kind of fashion. It does protect their eyes from the sun and are also good for their cataracts.

NEPA is beautiful. Pittsburg is nice. I was there on a sunny day. The rolling hills are very pretty also.
Sun, clouds, what the heck, you can't have everything.

[twistedsister52]

I live in South Western Pa. It is beautiful here. Tons of farm land and wild life so close to the city. You can be in the hussle-bussel of the city one moment and if you know which roads to take you'll find yourself on a beautifully wooded road with little traffic. Within 40 min you could be snow skiing, whitewater rafting, antiquing, or visiting Fallingwater. What more could one ask for?

[dullnboring]

Originally Posted by dullnboring

Not the entire state, but pockets of it certainly are, which holds true in every state across the nation due to wide variance within a state in economics, weather, and many other factors. I have a good number of family members scattered across small towns in Eastern Pennsylvania and find some of those places in Cambria County to be horribly depressing in terms of the atmosphere (old coal-mining towns, few jobs, lots of decrepit homes and boarded-up businesses, except for bars) and the people.

Whoops. I had meant that most of my family members were scattered across Central and WESTERN Pennsylvania as opposed to Eastern. The weather in Western PA is definitely more grey and dreary than it is in Eastern PA.

[PPG]

I am from Pittsburgh and I am very depressed!

[ScranBarre]

Life for Scrantonians has gone from DESPONDENT to NEUTRAL. We've gone from being a city where everyone spouted out nothing but negativity and anger over being "stuck in that dump" for decades after the collapse of the mining industry to being a city where people are becoming encouraged by recent revitalization efforts and have upgraded themselves to a "wait-and-see" approach. I think, in a few more years, the general mood of the populace will grow happy again. Just look at the optimistic NEPA residents on this forum, including ConorsDad, WilkesBarreAdvocate, WilkesColonel, and myself, among others, who all see nothing but glorious, endless POTENTIAL in our area's renaissance. With Wall Street West, a new medical school, a new high-speed commuter rail line to NYC, a new film office, and being host to "The Office", among other current and upcoming attractions, how could you not be excited for NEPA? It's another beautiful day here--the rain has moved out, and the clouds are thinning!