In Philadelphia, can you feel a difference between someone from a NJ suburb vs one from a PA suburb? (Chester: neighborhoods, colleges)

[john_starks]

i can identify the PA side more, there something more puritanical, where philly is the biggest city they've ever witnessed

[RightonWalnut]

I can tell the difference by what it says on their license plate

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by john_starks

i can identify the PA side more, there something more puritanical, where philly is the biggest city they've ever witnessed

Excepting some people from the outer edges of Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester Counties (whom are on par with people from the outer edges of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties), there is absolutely zero truth to that statement.

Originally Posted by river123

There's a closer affiliation between Philly and the PA 'burbs than between Philly and the NJ 'burbs. It may not be a cartoonishly obvious visual or verbal difference, but there is more independence from Philadelphia in southern NJ if only because they are in different states and there's a limit to how much influence either has over the other. NJ has more of a separate identity, as well as a larger native population in terms of people who are from southern NJ for generations (ie, not from Philly or from out-of-state). I don't think that you see that as often in the PA suburbs.

Given that the majority of South Jersey was undeveloped farmland until the 1950s, that simply isn't true; suburban South Jersey's growth was far and away primarily fueled by families who left Philadelphia proper. Given that a much larger proportion of the Philadelphia suburbs were developed before WWII, and most of the people who moved there came from Pennsylvania, it also makes sense that PA suburban residents are more likely to be multi-generational than NJ suburban residents. I also don't think until you get around, say, Winslow Township, there's much of a distinctive South Jersey culture to speak of.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

Given that the majority of South Jersey was undeveloped farmland until the 1950s, that simply isn't true; suburban South Jersey's growth was far and away primarily fueled by families who left Philadelphia proper. Given that a much larger proportion of the Philadelphia suburbs were developed before WWII, and most of the people who moved there came from Pennsylvania, it also makes sense that PA suburban residents are more likely to be multi-generational than NJ suburban residents. I also don't think until you get around, say, Winslow Township, there's much of a distinctive South Jersey culture to speak of.

I couldn't agree more with this and I don't understand river123's comment.

While I don't have the statistics so much of South Jersey is made up of ex-Philly people. Consider the vast amounts of people who fled South Philly and other parts of the city to South Jersey over the last 40 years. They have much stronger ties with the city than places like Ambler or Norristown or West Chester which have been independent towns for over 100 years. It's almost as if, when fleeing Philadelphia, the residents wanted to leave the city and the state to try to start again in greener pastures. Not too many people said "I'm sick of <insert city neighborhood here> so I'm going to move to Plymouth Meeting. The housing prices have also been historically been cheaper in SJ then in PA and selling a city row home does not often provide for enough to buy in many PA places.

[frankgn87]

True. Almost everyone I speak to around us all have roots in Philly and left sometime over the last 40 years..

[mancat100]

This is a HUGE generalization, but I think it's true: The PA burbs, in aggregate, are somewhat more upscale than the NJ burbs. Also, NJ seems to be somewhat more Italian-American than PA. The PA burbs are more Leave it to Beaver. The NJ burbs are more All in the Family/Jersey Shore.

[Stolberg]

"The Philadelphia Story" vs. "Jersey Shore".
From the '50s until at least the '80s there was a prejudice that the NJ suburbs were less "classy".
'Cherry Hill' (a NJ suburb) was synonymous with gauche bad taste. The rural Jersyites, the "Pineys"
were like Appalachia, but without the romance. Places like Princeton were excluded.
I'm not endorsing this prejudice, just mentioning it.
They really are bad drivers though. (That's a joke.)

[frankgn87]

Originally Posted by mancat100

This is a HUGE generalization, but I think it's true: The PA burbs, in aggregate, are somewhat more upscale than the NJ burbs. Also, NJ seems to be somewhat more Italian-American than PA. The PA burbs are more Leave it to Beaver. The NJ burbs are more All in the Family/Jersey Shore.

absolutely 100% untrue. Spending over 20 years in Bucks and now in Burlington counties in NJ they are exactly the same. Now maybe in Camden county with all the south Philly transplants it may be different. But us in Burlington county we get the NE Philly transplants. I believe Bucks county people are also a large part of the NE Philly transplants.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by mancat100

This is a HUGE generalization, but I think it's true: The PA burbs, in aggregate, are somewhat more upscale than the NJ burbs. Also, NJ seems to be somewhat more Italian-American than PA. The PA burbs are more Leave it to Beaver. The NJ burbs are more All in the Family/Jersey Shore.

I agree with respect to aggregate differences regarding affluence and heritage. I think the idea that PA suburbanites are noticeably staid and frumpy in comparison to their wild, raucous NJ counterparts is BS.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by frankgn87

absolutely 100% untrue. Spending over 20 years in Bucks and now in Burlington counties in NJ they are exactly the same. Now maybe in Camden county with all the south Philly transplants it may be different. But us in Burlington county we get the NE Philly transplants. I believe Bucks county people are also a large part of the NE Philly transplants.

NE people scattered to the wind, which makes sense, given that a wide variety of ethnic groups from all over the city settled there in the first place.