East and West Pa. Different or the same? (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: neighborhood, public schools)

[katmar37]

Originally Posted by W-B proud

Eastern and Western Pennsylvania are like two completely different states. Different demograghics, different kinds of people, different accents ect. If you were King or Queen for the day, would you divide the state into two halves? It's a dumb question, but I'm coureous to see the responses. East and West Pa. truely are two very distinctly different areas.

Of course NOT!!! I have lived in Phila and Pgh and I prefer Pgh way above Phila in terms of "nice-ness" of the people. I now live in NY and there's no comparison of Long Island to Buffalo. Long Island should be it's own state.....state of chaos that is.

[toobusytoday]

Aren't all states different - upstate, downstate or as in PA, East to West? I don't think the differences are anything uniquely Pennsylvania's. I grew up in lower Delaware and we felt that we were very different then the Northern section and the distance between upstate and downstate was miniscule. Ask a person about LA how they feel about San Francisco or someone in Alexandria Virginia how they feel about Roanoke. I think the differences in the state are what makes Pennsylvania so interesting. How boring it would be if it was all the same.

[mams1559]

Originally Posted by BPP1999

I'm not sure how you can have a Bible quote under your ID then say something so deragatory (hypocrite), but I expected a comment like this one early on.

What was so derogatory as to call me a hypocrite? Did you look up the verse to see what it says? What, I'm not allowed to jest or joke because I'm a believer?

Originally Posted by rainrock

Lots of baggage for sure and there are a hundred thousand or so people, a dozen neighborhoods/public schools of Philadlephia I'd like to see disappear too but it easily blows the doors off of every other city in Pennsylvania.Not to mention just about every other city in the usa except perhaps NYC,Chi,and SF.

You could combine the downtowns of Pittsburgh,Erie,Harrisburg,Bethlehem,Allentown,Scr anton and they still would pale in comparison to Center City Philadlephia. Center City boasts 100,000 residents, 250,000 office workers, 50,000 students,5 million tourist, 750 retail + restaurant establishments,9 of the states top 10 night clubs (liquor sale receipts.)

8 Fortune 500 companies. The #4 ranked academic university in the usa(Penn). The #1 ranked Childrens Hospital of Pennsylvania in the USA. One of the best Medical colleges in the usa(Thomas Jefferson University)The First fill in the blank_ _ _ of the United States.Independence Hall,Liberty Bell,Constitution center,Philadelphia Museum of Art,ben Franklin Parkway,Fairmount Park,chestnut Hill etc etc etc..

I certainly wouldnt want to give all that away to New Jersey. Despite its problems Philadelphia is still the economic,cultural, and entertainment center to the 4th largest metro economy in the USA.

Yes, I know all this as well. Just because I'm from the western part of the state does not mean I don't know the multi-faceted importance of Philly. My goodness.. people sure are touchy about Philly.

Originally Posted by Duderino

Furthermore -- although I'm not necessarily referring to anyone on this forum -- I also detest what I've perceived as a resenting attitude that generally rural Pennsylvanians have toward Philadelphia and environs because it may not represent the rest of the state demographically (read: not white enough, too poor/rich, and too liberal). This is where our state began, folks, and if you're going to culturally isolate Pennsylvania's most important economic, educational, and cultural center (even in jest), then you're slighting not only our great Commonwealth's history, but its future, as well.

Race or economic standing or the liberal tendancies of Philly didn't even enter my mind when I posted what I thought was a joke. You all need to lighten up.

So I guess no one had a problem with PA (including Philly) annexing Delaware? That's all good, but don't pick on Philly. Okay. Got it.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by mams1559

So I guess no one had a problem with PA (including Philly) annexing Delaware? That's all good, but don't pick on Philly. Okay. Got it.

Your comment about annexing DE seems to be a compliment to DE, not an insult.

Please tell exactly what your commment about Philadelphia was supposed to mean if it wasn't an insult.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by mams1559

Race or economic standing or the liberal tendancies of Philly didn't even enter my mind when I posted what I thought was a joke. You all need to lighten up.

So I guess no one had a problem with PA (including Philly) annexing Delaware? That's all good, but don't pick on Philly. Okay. Got it.

Please don't misconstrue my point. Note where I said, "although I'm not necessarily referring to anyone on this forum." Thus, I didn't take issue with what you said at all.

My point is that -- while the rural-urban gap is hardly unique to PA -- there seems to be some real political animosity that rural residents have about having to "share" the state with a large city that is perceived as "soaking up" tax dollars and supporting measures (i.e., gun laws) that don't necessarily jive with other areas of the state. I'm simply saying that we're all integrally part of Pennsylvania's fabric, regardless of our differences.

So, go ahead -- I rescind my original statement about "even in jest," so long as you are only joking.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Duderino

what I've perceived as a resenting attitude that generally rural Pennsylvanians have toward Philadelphia and environs because it may not represent the rest of the state demographically (read: not white enough, too poor/rich, and too liberal).

Just an observance from someone who's lived at both ends of the state: I don't think the attitude is solely one of demographics but also economics. I've heard people in other parts of the state equate Philadelphia to one very large drain which sucks in a good deal of the state's resources.

And while that view may have basis in fact, it doesn't take into account that the Philadelphia area also has a good chunk of the state's population.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

And while that view may have basis in fact, it doesn't take into account that the Philadelphia area also has a good chunk of the state's population.

Not to mention a huge chunk of the state's total corporate tax revenues, as well as a large chunk of the state's personal income tax revenues, transfer tax revenues, alcohol tax revenues, cigarette tax revenues, etc. The list goes on. The school district might "suck" more than it's share of $, but I think city businesses and residents are certainly contributing their share of other taxes.

The thing that bothers me about the anti-Philadelphia contingent is that their communities are not exactly bastions of job creation or economic development, either. Most of PA is an economic swampland, and were it not for the Philadelphia region, PA would have little wealth and luster.

So, yes, there are differences in the state, and more than just east/west. Most areas have some or many positives (cost of living, beautiful scenery, friendly people, colleges & universities, tourist attractions, unique architecture, etc.) and some or many negatives (abandoned industrial sites, people unwilling to think outside the box, people waiting for the steel mills to re-open, narrow-mindedness/resistance to change).

Of course all parts of PA share certain negatives: inadequate/outdated/collapsing infastructure, ridiculous licquor laws, corrupt and largely useless politicians, high business taxes that drive jobs away and hurt growth potential.

[Bodie1120]

Originally Posted by FightinPhils

It seems that the Philadelphia area has the most in common with NJ, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is similar to upstate NY, southwestern PA is very similar to WV, and northwestern PA is simiar to Ohio.

I live in southwestern PA within the Appalachians and its much like WV and Kentucky, we generally have a southern type of dialect with our own mixed in as well such as "yins" like in Pittsburgh or "crick" instead of "creek". Most of western PA is very hospitable which resembles more of the south, eastern PA represents more of a northern way of living. The state is clearly different on each end but it's everyones personal opinion of how and where they would like to live within the state.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Just an observance from someone who's lived at both ends of the state: I don't think the attitude is solely one of demographics but also economics. I've heard people in other parts of the state equate Philadelphia to one very large drain which sucks in a good deal of the state's resources.

And while that view may have basis in fact, it doesn't take into account that the Philadelphia area also has a good chunk of the state's population.

It's bunk. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia subsidize most of the rest of the state. The real money pit is the rural swath in the middle.

Originally Posted by Bodie1120

I live in southwestern PA within the Appalachians and its much like WV and Kentucky, we generally have a southern type of dialect with our own mixed in as well such as "yins" like in Pittsburgh or "crick" instead of "creek". Most of western PA is very hospitable which resembles more of the south, eastern PA represents more of a northern way of living. The state is clearly different on each end but it's everyones personal opinion of how and where they would like to live within the state.

No, there is nothing Southern about western Pennsylvania. The dialect is a permutation of the Midland dialect, not the Southern dialect. One or two similarities between dialects does not make them the same. (For the record, I've never heard "creek" pronounced "crick" in Georgia.) Furthermore, the pace of life in upstate New York is the same "speed" as it is in western Pennsylvania, and the pace of life in northern New England is even slower, yet they're not Southern in the least, so why would western Pennsylvania be?

All of Pennsylvania represents a Northern way of living, and always has. You want to find the South? You can start by finding a place where at least a plurality of people are Baptist, and then make sure that freshly-brewed sweet tea is available at most restaurants. Those are the two easiest places to start.

And before anybody even starts, please spare me the "I SAWED A CONFERDATE FLAG IN LEWISTOWN LOLOL!!!!!!!!1" crap, because that doesn't define the local culture. Culture can be imported. I can find Catholic churches, Cape Cod houses, and restaurants that serve Buffalo wings throughout northern Georgia; that doesn't mean they define Georgia's culture, or that northern Georgia is Northern in any way other than its location within the state. The Catskill Mountains aren't part of Israel even though lots of Jews live there.

Western Pennsylvania and upstate New York are part of the interior Northeast, which is slightly slower-paced and less chaotic than the megalopolis, but still Northern nonetheless.

[pman]

Hah! Yeah pittsburgh is in the south now.
I feel dumber for having read this thread.