Why are Pittsburghers so geocentric? (Wilkinsburg, Beaver Falls: shop, moving, farms)

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

From my outsider perspective, I notice that theme wherever areas have all their amenities and can be self-contained.

If you are out west, people can easily drive 100 miles to buy shoes. I use to work at Yellowstone National Park, and it was quite common people would drive up to Bozeman, Montana to get basic amenities.

The more conveniences you have in your immediate area, the less likely you are to go longer distances, etc. This kind of sums up why so many people in NYC ever go to NJ. For that matter, even people in NJ, who seldom go into NYC.

That's the way I see it. If you have everything you need right where you live, why go to other parts of a city? In cities like Pittsburgh you also have many people who've lived in the area since childhood,so it's even more pronounced. The reason is simple, it's because you probably have a network of friends that you made in school (and thus live nearby). In other cities where people are moving in and out, you have to travel more to find new friends (because that's the nature of making friends. It's easiest to find friends right in your neighborhood when you're a kid and much harder after your 20s). So cities that have more people moving in also tend to have more people who travel around the city.

[Buckeye Burgher]

Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack

I think ethnic segregation plays a huge part. Many immigrants didn't arrive here until 1st half of the 20th Century and that's really not all that long ago. People tend to stick with their own culture in western PA, overall, not just Pittsburgh. One of my Catholic acquaintances says that his parents (WWII gen) say that the Catholic churches would actively discourage other ethnic groups from attending. There were Irish, Polish, Croatian, Hungarian, Byzentine, etc., all kinds of ethnic Catholic churches. He says his parents told him that if they went to confession at some other nationality's church they were likely to receive a far worse penance from that priest, compared to going to their own nationality's church.

Much outward migration and little inward migration, too. Cities with a lot of transplants have a more social vibe, imo. Towns with a lot of people who lived their their entire lives there feel small-town, to me.

The interesting part of that is all of us Catholics of various nationalities eventually ended up intermarrying with one another. I never understood how we could all attend the same Church and then go home and say those horrible things about one another.

Despite that advice, many people did travel across town to other Churches to go to confession, because they had something to confess and did not want to do it to a local priest who actually knew them and saw them all the time.

I had one great-grandfather who married a woman who was German, and.....a Lutheran!
It was apparently the major neighborhood scandal of 1905!

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Burgher

The interesting part of that is all of us Catholics of various nationalities eventually ended up intermarrying with one another. I never understood how we could all attend the same Church and then go home and say those horrible things about one another.

Despite that advice, many people did travel across town to other Churches to go to confession, because they had something to confess and did not want to do it to a local priest who actually knew them and saw them all the time.

I had one great-grandfather who married a woman who was German, and.....a Lutheran!
It was apparently the major neighborhood scandal of 1905!

Not from the area, but I had a great-great grandfather who was born in Sweden, and decided to skip out of his hometown and try to make a life as a sailor. Finally, he managed to make enough money to buy a ship in Philadelphia. The day after he bought it, it caught fire in the harbor, and he didn't buy boat insurance. Stranded in Philly, he met an Irish woman and got married. Although such a "mixed marriage" was scandalous back in those days, given they were both still single in their early 30s (gasp!) my great-grandmother's parents allowed it.

[Craziaskowboi]

The title of this topic asks why Pittsburghers believe that the earth is the center of the universe.

[Caladium]

Well, that's an easy one to answer. Why do Pittsburghers believe the Earth is the center of the universe? Because that's where the Steelers live!

[Copanut]

Maybe in your limited circles, but not in mine.

[Copanut]

kidding

[Copanut]

I currently live in McCandless, work at a home office, my wife works 6 miles away, 2 days a week. We hit the City for ballgames, concerts, plays(damn, stinks to be married), to each his own. I support the city and hope it does well, but I will never move there with its current tax structure and long time Democratic rule.

Hey, how about those Pens!

[pghdude28]

Originally Posted by Copanut

I will never move there with its current tax structure and long time Democratic rule.

A lot of companies and entrepeneurs feel the same way.

I want to get out of my niche here and experience other neighborhoods. It's like living in a box and this thread is inspiring me to be less provincial. Maybe I'll move next door to you in McCandless. You can come over and proofread my CD posts before I post them

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by pghdude28

A lot of companies and entrepeneurs feel the same way.

I want to get out of my niche here and experience other neighborhoods. It's like living in a box and this thread is inspiring me to be less provincial. Maybe I'll move next door to you in McCandless. You can come over and proofread my CD posts before I post them

You are welcome, as long as you are a Big Dumb White Guy, or Amish, hey, we take anyone.