Is PA depressing? (Reading, York, Penn: low crime, stores, gangs)

[Retired Law 08]

Originally Posted by pinetar10

anywhere you go is what you make of it. you can be depressed anywhere or happy anywhere. make the best of where you are, and i believe you can be happy in pa. there's plenty of things to do everywhere. things in cities to do, lots of outdoorsy things to do everywhere

very well put.There are plenty of things to do,If you choose to do them, you have hiking,fishing,hunting,sking,wine tasting trails(wineries) flea mkts.,festivals,casinos,minor league baseball and hockey,boating,photo shoots of scenery and so on....And It is true just like life It is what you make of It.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by danwxman

*Yawn* Good hospitals can't be the only reason people from New Jersey are flooding into PA by the thousands.

They're attracted by the low cost-of-living mostly.

[lexmark]

I Will Tell You, Since I Have Been Here I Have Dated A Bipolar And Alcoholic Person. Now Not All Bipolar People Are Bad. And I They Are Getting Help, Thats A Plus. But I Tried To Help This Person
(this Person Is Also A Alcoholic). But In The Area That I Live In,
Since I Not From This State,people In This Area Think That It Is Me

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by ElizNJ

IMO the only good things about PA are the excellent hospitals in Philadelphia. Take them away and you have a third world country.

I've been in all parts of the state and cringe whenever we cross the bridge.
I told my DH that I would follow him anywhere --- except Pennsylvania.

Oh, for Pete's sake! A third world country? I don't think so.

[lisapapp]

NO - PA is not depressing because my family is here. I have many good memories here. In Central PA there are so many beautiful things to see. The mountains changing in the fall, clean air (at least where I am from) and lots of Historical places to visit. I am not rich nor poor. I felt as though I had received a great education with caring teachers. My children are going to a wonderful school. I have everything I need to be happy.

YES - I HATE the TAXES in this state! What I would be the most depressed about is the fact that there is a whole other world out there to see and be a part of. To know that I have spent my whole life living in one state would be very depressing to me.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by George Johnson

Scranton< Pa., the end of the world, i will spell it out for you. Crappy Jobs,
Low wages, High Taxes, Bad Roads, Diseased Trees, bad schools, high drug problems, high cost of living, bad weather, (everything wrong in Scranton is always someone else's fault) High prices for housing, nothing to do, no entertainment. I great place to go eat at the Olive Garden, or the Red Lobster, then go home and die. Their is nothing to do here. It is the worst place i have ever lived.

You are full of crap. High cost of living? Scranton/W-B has pretty much one of the lowest costs of living in the country. High home prices? are you kidding? You can still buy good homes in good neighborhoods for less than $100,000.....that's unheard of in most places. Nothing to do? We have the best of outdoor recreation and city amenities within minutes. We're only a 2 hour drive from both New York City and Philadelphia, and 3 hours from the ocean.

And your comment about Olive Garden and Red Lobster being good places to eat is how I know you have your head stuck up your rearend. The Scranton area is loaded with locally-owned mom and pop restaurants...especially Italian restaurants. The Olive Garden is an insult to real Italian food.

Bad schools? Just about every school in this area is good. Some may be better than others, but none are horrible. Scranton schools were rated as the best urban schools in the state.

Bad weather? I like that we have 4 seasons here. And it looks pretty nice out there today. 70 degrees and sunny in April looks good to me.

Crappy jobs? The economy may not be the best, but I found a good job in this area.

[backinpa08]

Originally Posted by chinenjim

Western PA is depressing and miserable. Pittsburgh is the center of this misery. The city has a nice skyline, but the rest of it looks like an atomic bomb hit it. It is a stagnet, vice-filled cesspool.

The weather sucks in Wesern PA as well, but is much nicer in centeral and eastern PA. The people are different in the central and eastern part of the state as well. The difference is amazing. Even the weather out in Harrisburg and Carlisle is 100% different than the weather here in hell. Amazing.

So as a whole, PA is a nice state. Just AVIOD anything west of the Chestnut Ridge and you are ok.

I have to agree, I grew up in Shippensburg PA then moved to Holidaysburg in 1978 and then the whole area went to crap. Moved to Carlisle in 1980 and then to Harrisburg in 1998. Moved from Harrisburg to Delaware in 2005 then to Ohio in 2008. I am now moving back to Shippensburg this June. So I can say that Eastern, Pa is very nice with Seasons.

[steelers01055]

I like the 4 seasons. Fall in pa is beautiful. Summers hot, but not to hot. winter is bad sometimes but i dont mind it. PAs def. not depressing, ive been all over the US and pa is one of the most beautiful places youll ever see.

[jrice]

Not living there now, but will be in a few months. Dont think it will be depressing at all, especially considering where I am moving from (Vegas). The 4 seasons, much lower crime, better housing market, etc. Vegas is nice to visit but terrible to live in (especially if you are married with kids)

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by ElizNJ

IMO the only good things about PA are the excellent hospitals in Philadelphia. Take them away and you have a third world country.

I've been in all parts of the state and cringe whenever we cross the bridge.
I told my DH that I would follow him anywhere --- except Pennsylvania.

I can't believe I just read that. We just got back from China where the standard of living is so much lower then what we have here. ElizNJ, you really need to get out of the US if you think any part of the US resembles a third world country.

I don't quite understand how one can feel such animosity about a neighboring state - the geography is exactly the same in some places in Northern PA near the Delaware Water Gap and I can't believe the people are all that much different.

At one point my husband was working in Southern Jersey and we were deciding whether to stay in PA and move closer a bridge or just to move to NJ. You know who decided it for us? My cousin who taught in (South) NJ for 25 years, and she said our kids would get a better education in PA.

For those of you that live in PA and are depressed - move out. Why stay in a place where you are unhappy?