If you don't like PA, that's fine, but there's no need to get hysterical. All the histrionics just make some of those complaining about PA in an over-the-top way seem like pretty immature people. I think the pro-PA people have represented themselves as very mature and nice people (way to go! That makes me proud of the classy people who identify themselves strongly with PA).
I can appreciate that some parts of PA are economically depressed, but so are some parts of ANYWHERE. I live in DC, and believe me when I say there are parts of DC that are VERY economically depressed. I personally LOVE PA, grew up near State College, wherein many people are highly educated and work for the university at high-paying jobs. It's clean, quiet, pleasant, and the people are extremely friendly.
DC, while it's not a bad place, for me pales in comparison to PA. For one thing, I live 3 miles from my job in DC and it takes 45 minutes to commute. Yuck. In PA I lived 5 miles from my job and it took 5 minutes to commute. In DC, you can forget about customer service unless you have plenty of money and/or "know somebody" (ugh, I am tired of the poor customer service here). In State College, I have had the best service anywhere except for when I lived in Japan (yeah, they do a good job there!). In DC, I can't see the stars at night and I choke on exhaust when I walk on the street. In State College, I can see every star in the night sky, and I can walk outside and breathe central PA's clean air and hike in the woods. State College doesn't have gangs, but within a year of moving to DC, my car had been stolen by a gang
. Oh, and murder rate in DC? about 200 times that of State College. These things all matter to me, but might matter less to others.
Would I ever go on a forum and bash DC? No. I'm sure many people love it, if that is their thing. I am content to live here for a while, and even having been the victim of an actual crime I wouldn't be as childish as some of the posters I saw on this board. DC has positives and negatives, but for me, the positives of PA win out. If it weren't for my spouse's job being located only in DC, I would move back to PA in a heartbeat.
Bottom line: You should live somewhere where you like the majority of things that matter to you. I like quiet, clean air, friendly people, lots of personal space, mountains, forests, rivers, stars, educated people, skiing, hiking, low/no crime, four seasons, horseback riding, and many of the other things State College offers more than I like the city, crowds, the excitement, and being close to everything, and the crime that DC offers. I would love to have my window open at night here without my neighbor's lights and the voices from the street streaming in. Can't wait to get back to PA so I can be lulled to sleep by the spring peepers and crickets!
See all you PAians soon, I hope!
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03-20-2007, 03:59 PM
Of course, you have discovered that there are NO football teams in Raleigh/Durham.... The mantra is "Wait 'til basketball season!"
I can't wait to return to PA!
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