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View Poll Results: When I think of Pennsylvania...
I generally have a favorable opinion of the state. 133 54.29%
I generally have an unfavorable opinion of the state. 41 16.73%
I have no strong opinion regarding the state. 71 28.98%
Voters: 245. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 10-19-2019, 04:32 PM
 
Location: New York City
1,943 posts, read 1,468,851 times
Reputation: 3316

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East View Post
President Trump is fiercely opposed to illegal immigration as are most third- and fourth- generation European-Americans, whose ancestors legally immigrated to the United States, became American citizens within a reasonable timeframe, learned to speak the native language of the United States (i.e., English), were law-abiding and did not rely on or expect to receive government benefits, unlike many legal and illegal immigrants living in present-day America.
Except the whole "they assimilated so well" narrative isn't nearly as true as people like to make it out to be. Most times the original immigrants never truly assimilate. Their kids are the first ones to truly assimilate. Ethnic enclaves existed back then for the same reason they exist now.

Law abiding? Most are now, just as most were then. Lest we forget the Italian Mafia? Or any other ethnic group that had organized crime? Please take some time to think critically, research, and refrain from spewing Fox News scripts.

Off topic, so now back to Pennsylvania....

 
Old 10-19-2019, 05:50 PM
 
Location: Shelby County, Tennessee
1,707 posts, read 1,846,397 times
Reputation: 1559
Neither Good or Bad just kinda There. But More Good than Bad Never really hear anything bad about Penn. Largely a Blue Collar Hard Working reputation

As far as the Poll, I will vote Generally have a Favorable Opinion of it
 
Old 10-19-2019, 08:17 PM
 
Location: Boston Metrowest (via the Philly area)
7,246 posts, read 10,489,726 times
Reputation: 8758
Quote:
Originally Posted by citidata18 View Post
When I say Pennsylvania seems "to always fly under the radar," it never makes the front page when it comes to best places to live, places that are rapidly growing, places that are rapidly declining, worst places to live, etc.

Its major cities are neither growing nor declining, there hasn't been much in the way of political controversy out of PA and the governments there are never accused of being well-run nor corrupt. It's neither a tourist destination nor a place people actively avoid. PA is, by all measures, a very middle-of-the-road, milquetoast state.
I'll certainly agree with you in that the state does often fly under the radar. But being such a large and varied state, I'd just make the point that it has plenty of very nice/highly desirable towns that are easily among the nicest you'll find anywhere, to those that have absolutely seen much better days.

In fact, I guess my point is that there's a fairly strong dichotomy in PA, perhaps more than most states, as its historic industrial wealth was a blessing for building many impressive cities and towns, particularly for their size, but it has been a curse in terms of the blight that it's left behind in far too many areas.

That Pennsylvania is "middling" in terms of certain data points has to do with, to some degree, an average of high highs and low lows, depending on the hyper-specific township, borough or city in question. Thus, I can understand "milquetoast" coming to mind from an outsider's perspective, but with such a strong/local "sense of place" and a unique "crossroads of the Eastern Seaboard" vibe, I'd have to politely disagree.

Quote:
Originally Posted by citidata18 View Post
was specifically referring to the CULTURE that permeates in rural and Appalachia Pennsylvania. There's no need to go into details, but let's just say as an educated, agnostic, white collar black male that was born/raised in a big city, it's not my cup of tea.

And in all fairness to PA, while the culture in rural and Appalachia is a negative attribute (to me) that it has, this negative attribute isn't unique to PA.
Understood. And as you allude to, outside of maybe a handful of states, there's a pretty wide cultural gulf between all rural and urban areas. Just the nature of the beast.

Last edited by Duderino; 10-19-2019 at 09:17 PM..
 
Old 10-20-2019, 06:46 AM
 
16 posts, read 8,538 times
Reputation: 45
So, I'll just say what I've been thinking.

Pennsylvania is the BEST state in the United States.

It really is a hologram of everything America. The Pennsyltucky region is rural Appalachia. It is the original home of this country's oil, lumber, coal, and steel extraction and processing industries. It was founded by the Quakers, the unsung heroes of early America, who set the tone for much of what made America great (imagine for just one moment what life would be like if the Puritan's theology had won out). It has America's first capital and still most European city, Philadelphia, home of so much of our early history. It was the first frontier of the American West. And on and on.

It's funny, my feelings about Pennsylvania are kind of mixed. It's had a rough go for most of my lifetime. But if an outsider bad mouths my state- and it is a pretty great state- I get mad!
 
Old 10-20-2019, 07:21 AM
 
26,826 posts, read 43,300,897 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fly Eagles Fly View Post
It has America's first capital and still most European city, Philadelphia, home of so much of our early history.
Not exactly "most European" if one has visited for comparison. DC by far feels more European than Philly and would also probably put Boston second for it's sheer volume of architecture over Philly. Philly does have a smaller central core that is reminiscent, but otherwise the majority of the remaining sprawl is clearly early-industrial US.
 
Old 10-20-2019, 08:05 AM
 
Location: Philadelphia, PA
2,212 posts, read 1,414,616 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kyle19125 View Post
Not exactly "most European" if one has visited for comparison. DC by far feels more European than Philly and would also probably put Boston second for it's sheer volume of architecture over Philly. Philly does have a smaller central core that is reminiscent, but otherwise the majority of the remaining sprawl is clearly early-industrial US.
I agree with the bit about Boston and D.C. being more European-esque, as much of Philadelphia is far too post-industrial and frankly dirty to be reminiscent of most European cities. The Italian Market area however is very European-esque. Although there is some post-industrial blight in Philadelphia, I would not describe the area as sprawling, as most of the metro is quite dense and compact.
 
Old 10-20-2019, 09:27 AM
 
Location: Boston Metrowest (via the Philly area)
7,246 posts, read 10,489,726 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Muinteoir View Post
I agree with the bit about Boston and D.C. being more European-esque, as much of Philadelphia is far too post-industrial and frankly dirty to be reminiscent of most European cities. The Italian Market area however is very European-esque. Although there is some post-industrial blight in Philadelphia, I would not describe the area as sprawling, as most of the metro is quite dense and compact.
Yeah, certainly no one is confusing Philadelphia with Europe, although other features about Boston (detached, triple-decker--as opposed to more rowhome-type--housing is extremely non-European in form) and DC (not quite as residentially dense and too sterile/modernized in its downtown core) both greatly detract from being more purely European in feel.

When it comes down to it, all three feel squarely Colonial and very early American, which is to say, as Euro-influenced as it gets this side of the Atlantic.
 
Old 10-20-2019, 09:59 AM
 
Location: The Heart of Dixie
10,111 posts, read 15,777,221 times
Reputation: 7088
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bert_from_back_East View Post
A few generations ago, there were many first- and second-generation European-American immigrants living in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. Fast forward to the late 2010's, many of those individuals have either passed away or retired to the Sun Belt. Longitudinal demographic research indicates that, by the third generation, most Americans vote much more conservatively than their parents and grandparents did and, as a result, favor Republican political candidates. That is one of the reasons why northern, industrialized states with few transplants and other outside influences, such as Ohio and Pennsylvania among others, are trending Republican.

Connecticut and Rhode Island, two other northern, industrialized states with limited outside influences, experienced record-breaking support for Donald Trump as the Republican candidate in the 2016 United States presidential election. Here is the link to a map of the 2016 presidential election results in Rhode Island, organized by town: https://www.nytimes.com/elections/20...s/rhode-island. Now, take a look at a map of the 2012 presidential election results for the state, also organized by town:
Rhode Island Presidential Election Results - Presidential Race | NBC News.

As you may observe, only one of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns, Scituate, voted for Mitt Romney as the Republican candidate in the 2012 presidential election. However, approximately 14-15 towns voted for Donald Trump as the Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential election, which is the highest number of municipalities won by a Republican presidential candidate in Rhode Island during the 21st century. And to deny that the Americanization of Italian-, Irish- and French-Americans in these two states had no influence on the general election results would be disingenuous at best. President Trump is fiercely opposed to illegal immigration as are most third- and fourth- generation European-Americans, whose ancestors legally immigrated to the United States, became American citizens within a reasonable timeframe, learned to speak the native language of the United States (i.e., English), were law-abiding and did not rely on or expect to receive government benefits, unlike many legal and illegal immigrants living in present-day America.
This is VERY true! Hence why it seems many on the left don't want immigrants to assimilate into our culture and become American. Here in Louisiana too, we have many people of Cajun French/Acadian, Italian, Irish and German descent and most of them have assimilated into our melting pot and all have shaped our shared culture. If you look at today's immigrants its very different than the waves of Irish and Italians who came before. Third generation Mexicans in South Texas still identify strongly as Mexican vs American and speak with pronounced Mexican accents as if they were born in Mexico. And South Texas is very dominated by the Democrats and racial politics are extreme there. Despite the end of Jim Crow in the South, also, many black Americans have chosen not to integrate into mainstream culture. I have clearly noticed the Hispanic Americans who are most assimilated and the black Americans who are the most integrated do tend to be Republican while those staying in their subcultures tend to be Democrat.

Louisiana and West Virginia do seem to assimilate their immigrants and transplants well since they come at a slower rate vs in overwhelming numbers. When a small number of transplants move to West Virginia, they learn to adapt to the local culture and fit in. When waves of transplants flood into Northern Virginia or Atlanta they form their own subculture, and when the wave becomes even bigger they become dominant. This is what we are seeing with Stacey Abrams, Virginia more blue, etc.
 
Old 10-20-2019, 11:04 AM
 
8,376 posts, read 4,435,357 times
Reputation: 9556
The great majority of the state is Pennsyltucky.
 
Old 10-20-2019, 12:31 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia, PA
2,212 posts, read 1,414,616 times
Reputation: 3027
Quote:
Originally Posted by Duderino View Post
Yeah, certainly no one is confusing Philadelphia with Europe, although other features about Boston (detached, triple-decker--as opposed to more rowhome-type--housing is extremely non-European in form) and DC (not quite as residentially dense and too sterile/modernized in its downtown core) both greatly detract from being more purely European in feel.

When it comes down to it, all three feel squarely Colonial and very early American, which is to say, as Euro-influenced as it gets this side of the Atlantic.
Another way D.C. reminds me of Europe is how much easier and more pleasant it is to be car free. Bike lanes are spacious and well used, drivers are more likely to be courteous towards bikers (than in Philly), and the metro is cleaner with better connectivity. Not to mention how well maintained greenery is within the city and the general cleanliness. All are more reminiscent of a European city. And I say this as someone who doesn’t really care for D.C., because yes, it does feel sterile.
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