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As a native Philadelphian, even I have to acknowledge that the Philadelphia area isn't "quintessential PA". Just as I wouldn't consider NYC "quintessential New York" or Baltimore "quintessential Maryland", Philadelphia and its suburbs are in a world of their own--the world of the Northeast Corridor, which has a different feel than each of the states that it passes through. Only the extreme southwestern parts of Chester County (at the Maryland border) have a feeling closer to what one would associate with PA.
To me, Lancaster is #1 for the aforementioned feeling, followed by the Lehigh Valley/Reading area/Poconos/NEPA. When I think of the Commonwealth of PA, I think of rolling hills, farms, small but dense towns, the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Amish, Yuengling, and country roads. Lancaster embodies all of these qualities, while also remaining connected to the Northeast Corridor communities via Amtrak to Philly and NYC. When I think about PA's natural beauty, my mind automatically goes to Delaware Water Gap.
Philly is the most prominent PA location on the world stage, but there is no other place in PA that can be compared to the Philadelphia and its metro area that extends across four states--PA, NJ, DE, and MD. Because of this, "quintessential PA" can be found within its smaller towns further into the Piedmont and Appalachian Mountains.
The difference with stereotypical is that it usually carries a negative connotation. This thread plays with the idea of typical PA in a positive light.
And I think most people on here know that PA is an extremely diverse state, I even said so at the end of my post. PA is one of the most unique (poor grammar) states in the nation. Full of eclectic, unique finds (natural and manmade) in every corner.
I disagree: " ster·e·o·typ·i·cal, adjective, relating to a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing"
I disagree: " ster·e·o·typ·i·cal, adjective, relating to a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing"
And human nature often gives that a negative connotation.
OP'S NOTE: Lancaster was deliberately omitted because, like State College, it's distorted by tourism and transient residence -- the "John O'Hara/John Updike Country" between Allentown and Harrisburg (for which I voted) serves the same purpose.
I voted for the Lehigh Valley/Harrisburg area despite the fact that those are two distinct areas (the Lehigh Valley is Pittsburgh-lite while Harrisburg, the state capital, is part of the more agricultural South Central region) precisely because Harrisburg is one of the three key cities of the South Central Pennsylvania Triangle, which as a conurbation is IMO taking its place alongside Philly, Pittsburgh, the LV and the Northeast.
Lancaster County may be overrun with tourists, and I do recall a paper I read sometime in the 1980s titled "Marketing the Amish Soul" that was critical of what the pursuit of tourism has done to Lancaster County, but I don't think the tourists have wiped out the character that draws people to Lancaster (County and City) to visit — and increasingly, live. Lancaster is the largest of the three cities that make up the Triangle (and the only one of the three not served by an Interstate highway, an oversight PennDOT can fix by re-signing PA 283 as a continuation of the identically numbered Interstate connecting the Turnpike with downtown Harrisburg from the southeast), and IMO it's also the most urbane and sophisticated of the three as well, not to mention marching to the beat of a different drummer from the rest of Lancaster County (it's as liberal as the county is conservative).
But because agriculture is such an important part of Pennsylvania's economy, and the state's most productive farmland is all in the South Central region (spilling over into Chester County as rowhomecity noted), I would name that part of the state as the most distinctively Pennsylvanian.
But truth to tell, the OP is right when they say that no one region of the state really deserves the title of "most typically Pennsylvanian." If anything, I'd say the opposite: the Southeast is the most atypically Pennsylvanian of the regions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cpomp
The difference with stereotypical is that it usually carries a negative connotation. This thread plays with the idea of typical PA in a positive light.
And I think most people on here know that PA is an extremely diverse state, I even said so at the end of my post. PA is one of the most unique (poor grammar) states in the nation. Full of eclectic, unique finds (natural and manmade) in every corner.
I'd pretty much given up my crusade against the misuse of "unique" by attaching comparative or relative adjectives to it, so I'm pleased to see that there's at least one other person out there who recognizes that the practice, while common, is still incorrect even as he commits the error himself.
Although the consensus seems to be towards the Harrisburg/LHV option, keep in mind that a lot of northern Maryland does blend in with south central PA in terms of overall feel, just like how PA's northern tier of counties blends in with NY's southern tier. Hagerstown, Frederick, and Westminster resemble south central PA cities with their compact build, while having lots of numerous rolling hills, rolling farmland, as well as low mountain ranges nearby. But then again those small rowhome cities are something you don't find in too many other states. That said I view the western half of PA as being nearly more typical as SCPA, as many view the state as being Rust Belt but with hills/low mountains. Yes, the eastern half of PA has this to a degree (Wilkes Barre, parts of the LV, Reading), but a large city like Pittsburgh doesn't have too many other close comparisons with its unique setting along rivers, its patchwork of neighborhoods typical of many PA cities, as well as being a legacy industrial city.
I think Pennsylvania could be divided into 6 areas, though I'd be hard put to say exactly where the lines would be. Each area is different. There is no "typical" Pennsylvania city. From northwest clockwise around the state with their cities in color:
Northwest: Great Lakes area, Erie. North Central: rural, recreational, Williamsport. North East: Old anthracite mining area, Poconos, Scranton/Wilkes Barre. South East: The oldest area, colonial, Philadelphia. South Central: rural, Amish, farming, Harrisburg/Lancaster. South West: Old bituminous mines, old steel mill towns, Pittsburgh.
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