People who moved to PA and hate it (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: transplants, condo)

[Ilikesurfin]

Hi,

I'm researching on where to move. PA is on my list, but I've read some posts from the transplants that paint a negative picture for PA, I see that PA has a lot of NY and NJ transplants. I'm all about saving money, but if my life is boring and I'm around mean, rude and unfriendly people forget it. Any info would be helpful.

Gus,

[ki0eh]

There are hugely different places within PA. I moved to PA 11 yr ago, leaving upstate NY 13 yr ago only because there was no work. Since I moved to a more prosperous spot than where I grew up, and more wooded area than where I was in the meantime (eastern Iowa), it seems ok in the Harrisburg area. Since I've traveled around to more sprawling cities I'll take the smaller city. My wife and I would prefer smaller town atmosphere than this but we both know the smaller towns have no jobs. This forum can be a great resource but you have to take things with a grain of salt. (Maybe thoroughly salt encrusted like a properly prepared Hinerwadel's potato. )

[SteelCityRising]

Pennsylvania is a relatively sizable state, so obviously attitudes and atmospheres are going to change as you advance from one part of the state to the next. The eastern 1/3 of Pennsylvania (generally I-81 on eastwards) is decidedly the most fast-paced area with the greatest influx of transplants from NYC and NJ. South Central PA is growing moderately thanks to the spill-over growth from Baltimore/DC. The western 1/3 of PA tends to be more laid-back and slower-paced; even Pittsburgh, while a relatively large city in its own right, felt more like a large patchwork of friendly small towns intertwined together than a fast-paced city. North Central PA (generally I-80 and points northwards) is very relaxed, laid-back, and genteel.

I suppose it all comes down to, Gus, what you feel is important in your new home community. What do you do for a living? What sort of housing budget do you foresee being able to work with? Are you looking for a rural, suburban, or urban environment? The very busy NEPA sub-forum is comprised roughly 75% of transplants, and all but a couple of members like NEPA better than their former home states, so there are some bright spots as well.

[Ilikesurfin]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Pennsylvania is a relatively sizable state, so obviously attitudes and atmospheres are going to change as you advance from one part of the state to the next. The eastern 1/3 of Pennsylvania (generally I-81 on eastwards) is decidedly the most fast-paced area with the greatest influx of transplants from NYC and NJ. South Central PA is growing moderately thanks to the spill-over growth from Baltimore/DC. The western 1/3 of PA tends to be more laid-back and slower-paced; even Pittsburgh, while a relatively large city in its own right, felt more like a large patchwork of friendly small towns intertwined together than a fast-paced city. North Central PA (generally I-80 and points northwards) is very relaxed, laid-back, and genteel.

I suppose it all comes down to, Gus, what you feel is important in your new home community. What do you do for a living? What sort of housing budget do you foresee being able to work with? Are you looking for a rural, suburban, or urban environment? The very busy NEPA sub-forum is comprised roughly 75% of transplants, and all but a couple of members like NEPA better than their former home states, so there are some bright spots as well.

I'm in IT, I want to be in an area that has many restaurants (not chains), shops, stores and with many things to do. I have no children and would like more adult oriented activities. I would like to be close to excitement but still close to parks and wooded areas. I wouldn't mind living in a condo or townhouse.

I also would like to be around diversity and different groups of people, I have lived in backward areas of the country before and I do not want to experience that again.


Gus.

[pman]

There are two big cities in PA you probably know where they are. they have the most nightlife. i'd bet you're more likely to find a downtown IT job in Pittsburgh than Philly but Philly is much bigger and has more non-chain restaurants, shops, & stores. Then there are places in between those two places though it sounds like you want big city living. PA is fine. I'm sure some people hate it but not everyone. and don't confuse PA complaining with actual hate. we like to complain here.

[Ilikesurfin]

Originally Posted by pman

There are two big cities in PA you probably know where they are. they have the most nightlife. i'd bet you're more likely to find a downtown IT job in Pittsburgh than Philly but Philly is much bigger and has more non-chain restaurants, shops, & stores. Then there are places in between those two places though it sounds like you want big city living. PA is fine. I'm sure some people hate it but not everyone. and don't confuse PA complaining with actual hate. we like to complain here.

How would you rate the surrounding towns of Philly? I don't need to be right in the city, just close to fun activities and such.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Ilikesurfin

I'm in IT, I want to be in an area that has many restaurants (not chains), shops, stores and with many things to do. I have no children and would like more adult oriented activities. I would like to be close to excitement but still close to parks and wooded areas. I wouldn't mind living in a condo or townhouse.

I also would like to be around diversity and different groups of people, I have lived in backward areas of the country before and I do not want to experience that again.


Gus.

My best suggestion right now for you would be the Lehigh Valley (Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton area). From here you'd be a quick drive to either Philadelphia or New York City for the fast-paced action of the city, but you'd also be only roughly a half-hour from the rural serenity of the Pocono Mountains. There should be ample IT opportunities in Central NJ, and many people make the commute via I-78 into NJ from the Lehigh Valley on a daily basis. The area is not very diverse, but the diversity measure is increasing (especially on the Hispanic front). There's also a very sizable LGBT community in the Lehigh Valley; Allentown has a very popular annual Pride Festival. There's more than a fair share of newer housing developments, strip malls, chain restaurants, big-box stores, etc. in the Lehigh Valley, but there are also plenty of independent businesses as well (Downtown Bethlehem is especially nice). The Lehigh Valley (comprised of Lehigh and Northampton Counties) tends to be very Democratic and leans left of center.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre would fail you on the IT job front, the diversity measure, and the "backwardsness" aspects, so it would probably be best to rule it out. Ditto North Central Pennsylvania and Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia is a good option and is certainly forward-thinking. The city has many crime-ridden areas, but it also has many wonderful neighborhoods that many of the forum's Chicken Littles often overlook (Roxborough, Manayunk, Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, Center City, Far Northeast, etc.) The city is pretty diverse (less diverse than NYC), and you'd be a quick Amtrak ride away from NYC, Baltimore, DC if you wanted to enjoy a day-trip in any of these areas. Philadelphia is very densely-populated, but Fairmount Park is still a real treat to enjoy.

Pittsburgh isn't quite as progressive as Philadelphia, but to me it is a good city in which to reside because the city is only a fraction of its former size, giving you all of the big-city amenities (professional sports, symphony, theater, museums, etc.) without all of the big-city crowds and congestion. In many aspects Pittsburgh reminds me of a large network of small towns that have been banded together to form one city as each neighborhood retains its individual character, identity, and charm. I'm unsure of the IT industry prospects in Pittsburgh.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Ilikesurfin

How would you rate the surrounding towns of Philly? I don't need to be right in the city, just close to fun activities and such.

The towns surrounding Philadelphia are generally very, very expensive, but there's a wide array of places in which to live. You can take the PATCO and live across the Delaware River in Southern New Jersey (Collingswood, Cherry Hill, Moorestown). You can live just south of the city in Media, Delaware County, which I think is a very nice area. Just west of the city you enter the "Main Line" which is a string of very upscale communities with highly-ranked public school districts---this is where much of Philadelphia's elite suburbanites live. Bucks County is nice as well.

[lialleycat]

^^^^There's a lot of posts on the towns around Philly on the Philly forum. All I seem to know is that South Philly can be a bit sketchy, the rest seem pretty good as possibles. I've been looking into that area myself. I have a few friends out that way that love it. I like the idea that it's near a big city - which I think is great for those of us that need to work for a living and maybe want to get out once in a while, but is also a short hop to the country if you need to wind down and travel some country roads.

Also, being a 'city', I think there is more of an acceptance of outsiders than what I'm hearing from areas around Lancaster. I'm hoping to find a happy medium between the two. I know I have strikes against me already since I'm a single female that doesn't have or want kids or a husband and I'm from Lawn Guyland New Yawk.

[ki0eh]

The Harrisburg area might be worth considering as well. Certainly plenty of IT jobs with the state, state contractors, and locally headquartered corporations such as Harsco, Rite Aid, and Hershey. Don't know how many are hiring, not my field. The state has some horrendously old mainframes they won't yet pay to replace but still need to keep running.

Other forum members might soon weigh in on the compact area of center city and resurgent Midtown urban neighborhoods, but Harrisburg also puts you close to the Appalachian Trail and large tracts of state-owned forest land (there is a 25,000 acre tract that starts six miles from the City of Harrisburg) to the north and west. SATC - Hiking Southcentral Pennsylvania Choice of two highways or Amtrak to head to NYC and two of the choices go through Philadelphia as well. Two hour weekend drive to either Baltimore or DC.