Philly Wannabe's (Pittsburgh, Denver: employment, vacation, car)

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Well, not to stump for the "other team"... but in Northern Virginia you'll find a resilient, often job market, albeit with a higher cost of living. The Richmond and Hampton Roads areas aren't doing too bad, either.

While I'm not suggesting to anyone that Virginia is the "best place to live"... but as someone who feels "stuck", you may want to know that there are alternatives nearby.

Of course I'm aware there are alternatives,that's why I feel stuck because I can't get to them

As for VA,of course I'm not talking about the huge metropolises of northeast VA...I wanna go back to the hills of SW VA!

[juniperbleu]

Originally Posted by Tone509

I am a proud Philadelphian (whether or not I lived within the actual city limits for the majority of my life).

Originally Posted by StuckPA

Yes it's much easier to be a Philadelphian from hundreds of miles away
Does that mean I can call myself a Virginian again?

I still say that I'm "from Philadelphia." I like DC and love Virginia, but it has yet to be a "home" for me. My roommate considers herself to be from Colorado despite having moved away from there when she was 8. She just didn't identify with Richmond or small-town central PA and felt that most of her formative years were spent in CO anyway.

If you loved SW Virginia, go back. It's cheap and gorgeous. Granted, I like it more as a weekend trip, but I'm a city person. You can also give Charlottesville a shot, there might be more job opportunities out there than further south and it's cheaper than NoVa.

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by juniperbleu

I still say that I'm "from Philadelphia." I like DC and love Virginia, but it has yet to be a "home" for me. My roommate considers herself to be from Colorado despite having moved away from there when she was 8. She just didn't identify with Richmond or small-town central PA and felt that most of her formative years were spent in CO anyway.

If you loved SW Virginia, go back. It's cheap and gorgeous. Granted, I like it more as a weekend trip, but I'm a city person. You can also give Charlottesville a shot, there might be more job opportunities out there than further south and it's cheaper than NoVa.

It would just feel weird saying I'm from Virginia being that I spent most of my life in the northeast,plus I tend to have more of a Jersey way about me than anything else. Although when I lived in VA I kind of picked and chose where I wanted to say I was from depending on who was asking...if they looked like hardcore locals then I'd say I was from Roanoke. But then again I knew they could tell so sometimes I said Pennsylvania(which was closer to the mason dixon than NJ was)

As for job opps,I originally went to Lynchburg but everyone told me Roanoke was where the jobs were and probably still are for the most part as that is the biggest city in SW VA.

[toobusytoday]

I tell people I grew up in Delaware, but we've lived in Pennsylvania for the last 20 or so years. Unless we're having a longer conversation I don't mention our stints in upstate NY, WV and Virginia. I too really like SW Virginia. Did I tell you Stuck PA, that our son goes to college at Roanoke College and that we lived there for a year? I think the small town of Salem where his college is actually located is very similar to ones here in the Lehigh Valley except the locals have that cool Southern accent and drink sweet tea.

[ainulinale]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

I tell people I grew up in Delaware, but we've lived in Pennsylvania for the last 20 or so years. .

So did you actually grow up in Delaware? Just wondering because I met someone from the Philly area who refused to say he from Philly, but told me he was from a part of PA that "very close to Delaware." Not sure why he was so reluctant to mention Philly or even PA, but made it clear to me it was almost in Delaware.

[welder]

I bet you if that guy was from 'Pittsburgh', he wouldn't have been RELUCTANT to say so! I can see him hiding that fact that he was from Philly though. Probably was a 'closet' Eagles fan too. Not like he could walk around proudly displaying the BLACK and GOLD like a Pittsburgh'er could.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by ainulinale

So did you actually grow up in Delaware? Just wondering because I met someone from the Philly area who refused to say he from Philly, but told me he was from a part of PA that "very close to Delaware." Not sure why he was so reluctant to mention Philly or even PA, but made it clear to me it was almost in Delaware.

Yes, I certainly did grow up in Delaware. I've even lived in every county of the state - all three of them. Born in upstate, moved downstate when I was nine and lived there until I moved and married at age 20. When we lived in Delaware county 11 years ago our house was on the actual state border between Delaware and PA, so we could walk off our property in the backyard and be in Delaware. You can guess where we did all of our shopping.

[juniperbleu]

Originally Posted by StuckPA

It would just feel weird saying I'm from Virginia being that I spent most of my life in the northeast,plus I tend to have more of a Jersey way about me than anything else. Although when I lived in VA I kind of picked and chose where I wanted to say I was from depending on who was asking...if they looked like hardcore locals then I'd say I was from Roanoke. But then again I knew they could tell so sometimes I said Pennsylvania(which was closer to the mason dixon than NJ was)

As for job opps,I originally went to Lynchburg but everyone told me Roanoke was where the jobs were and probably still are for the most part as that is the biggest city in SW VA.

I feel it does somewhat depend on the area you're in and who you're talking to. I have a friend from NY/NJ who is getting a PhD at UNC and likes to say he's from North Carolina. Nothing really wrong with that, until he's talking to a Southerner who then finds out he was born and raised in North Jersey. In Virginia it wasn't as big of a deal, I think because there's so many military and diplomatic families around who have moved all over the place. I went to school with a lot of these kids, and most just picked a spot they liked best as where they're "from."

I've heard good things about Roanoke. My SW VA experience was limited to the Blacksburg/Christiansburg area, but many of the Tech students/graduates I knew were working/interning in Roanoke.

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

Did I tell you Stuck PA, that our son goes to college at Roanoke College and that we lived there for a year? I think the small town of Salem where his college is actually located is very similar to ones here in the Lehigh Valley except the locals have that cool Southern accent and drink sweet tea.

I wouldn't compare VA and LV but I understand what you are trying to say

I think I actually did a temp assignment at Roanoke College in Salem once.

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by ainulinale

So did you actually grow up in Delaware? Just wondering because I met someone from the Philly area who refused to say he from Philly, but told me he was from a part of PA that "very close to Delaware." Not sure why he was so reluctant to mention Philly or even PA, but made it clear to me it was almost in Delaware.

Probably Upper Darby or some other trashy area of Delaware county.
Believe it or not some areas around here actually can have a bad rep