What do Native Pittsburghers Consider Themselves?

[ainulinale]

Originally Posted by supersoulty

No, good one from you. That link leads no where, and your claim directly contradicts this wikipedia link

Mid-Atlantic States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Check the link again buddy...it's right there.

Originally Posted by supersoulty

Ummmm... no. Your claim was that they would identify with a strict definition of "West Coast" and that they see commonality with L.A. Again, I was contradicting the premise of your claim. You're not used to that are you, people completely not agreeing with your statements?

I didn't know you can read minds! This is what I said: Try telling someone from San Francisco he is not from the West Coast because his culture isn't like LA's.

Explain to me how you contradicted the premise of my claim. Where did I say strict definition of West Coast? My point was if culture defines an area enough to remove it from Eastern status, then wouldn't it have the same effect on the west coast?

Actually I deal with disagreements all the time...it's what I do.

Originally Posted by supersoulty

You claim that the row houses grant Pittsburgh some sort of connection to the East Coast. I don't see how you have demonstrated this connection.

That is the connection! If 90% of the row houses are on the East Coast and Pittsburgh has many row houses, then that is a commonality of Pittsburgh and the East Coast. It's sort of like someone saying Pittsburgh is socially conservative politically liberal, the Midwest is also socially conservative politically liberal, Pittsburgh is close to the Midwest, therefore Pittsburgh is like the Midwest in this respect.

Originally Posted by supersoulty

Sorry if I question the scientific varsity of an internet poll with 40 participants.

Not the point...you accused me of attacking your free speech...this is something I did not do.

Originally Posted by supersoulty

I'll simply repeat what I said, which is that politics are a reflection of culture and identity.

And I'll repeat what I said: Politics does not define a city as Northeastern or Midwestern.

Originally Posted by supersoulty

Ummm... Alright.

Okay then.

[MaryS80]

I think of it as the Northeast, or the East Coast, even thought its not near the ocean. I come room two generations of native Pittsburghers, and even to them Appalachia has a negative connotation. Pittsburgh may not be the biggest, most cosmopolitan city, but it has a lot of culture.

Not to rag on poor old W.Va too much, but you have not seen poor until you have seen W.Va poor.

I've also heard that Pennsylvania has Pittsburgh on the west side of the state, Philly on the east, and everything in between is Pennsyltucky..

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Birmingham was called the "Pittsburgh of the South" because it had a lot of steel mills.

Correct, but there was a reason it had a lot of steel mills. In fact, it was specifically founded in 1871 to be a steel town, and was located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains for that purpose.

[Katiana]

OK, you guys. With a whopping 14 votes in, the opinion on Chicago is this:

Midwestern Cities:

Chicago: 14 votes
Cleveland: 11
Pittsburgh: 2
Buffalo: 1
Omaha: 7
Detroit: 12

Some comments from Chicago:

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Definitely Chicago, Detroit and Omaha. West of Omaha gets into the plains within 100 miles. East of Detroit starts getting to the "East" before too long.

Growing up in Iowa, I can see how people think Omaha might be "plains", but it's certainly still the geographic, cultural and weather patterns that are still very much Midwest.

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I don't think Pittsburgh is in the midwest, but it certainly has a lot in common with many midwestern cities--as does Buffalo, which is really pretty far from the midwest. I think the great lakes cities like Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, etc. have more in common with each other than they do with places like Indianapolis or Minneapolis. Although Chicago definitely stands alone in that group as a cosmopolitain world-class metropolis!

[BrianTH]

I agree the Great Lakes places really are their own region, and that the Great Lakes region probably should include Buffalo, making it a region that extends outside the traditional "Midwest" (for that matter, you could arguably include Canadian cities like Toronto, making it a region that extends outside the United States). But I don't think Pittsburgh is a Great Lakes city, even though during its steel town days it shared certain economic characteristics with some of the Great Lakes cities.

[magyar4321869]

I have been born and raised in the Burgh and I NEVER considered myself anything else. Since I met up with few transplants, anyone that I met knew someone that I knew. My neighborhood was solid, safe, and very friendly. Time changes some things but a Burgher is a Burgher and is not concerned with being anything else.