Peoples thoughts on Pittsburgh's dying connection with the midwest and new connections with some east coast cities (Erie: houses, neighborhood)

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Being that I simply have never heard of any large Italian population anywhere in the Midwest...it seems to be another one of those Pittsburgh quirks that despite the pop and some other Midwest attributes, it still simply doesn't seem midwestern either.

Maybe that's why Cleveland doesn't feel midwestern to me. That's another city with a large Italian population. Little Italy in Cleveland is well known even by people like me who live several states away.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by 5Lakes

Cleveland has historic ties to the East Coast (that part of Ohio used to be part of Connecticut) and has lots of Italians, Jews, and Slavic people compared to other parts of the midwest. Overall I would say that Buffalo is the best comparison for Cleveland.

Interesting. I never thought of it before but you're right that Cleveland is a lot like Buffalo. I spent a few years in Buffalo and also visit Cleveland and Chicago a lot, and I totally agree.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

I'm hearing a lot of "Soda" being used in Pittsburgh now....sure POP still dominates, but Soda is no longer as uncommon as it used to be, I guess this speaks for all the transplants coming to the area, nonetheless...

I've been noticing more people saying that too. Some of them are actually locals though who think only hicks call it pop.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

I've been noticing more people saying that too. Some of them are actually locals though who think only hicks call it pop.

I only use "Carbonated Beverage"

[ML North]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

"Money Access Center"

It's just the name of the people that had the machines in the area before the "ATM" name became widespread.

I prefer the shady corner-of-the-bar machines that say "Welcome to CASH WORLD!" Makes me feel like I'm participating in some type of game show.

[bradjl2009]

Also on the MAC machine thing, I think it's mainly an older person thing because I'm young enough that I've always seen them called and referred to as ATMs for about 80% of my life probably. Anyway, while Pittsburgh has always had some connections to the Midwest, I think East Coast connections have always been much stronger with the amount of people who prefer NYC to Chicago, the amount of plates from other eastern states vs. the midwest (besides Ohio), and the cities that people here move to. It's no secret that most people who move out of Pittsburgh look at places such as DC, Philly, NYC, and the Carolinas over Indianapolis, St. Louis, etc.

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

I'm hearing a lot of "Soda" being used in Pittsburgh now....sure POP still dominates, but Soda is no longer as uncommon as it used to be, I guess this speaks for all the transplants coming to the area, nonetheless...

I've noticed that as well. I never used to hear "soda", now I hear it all the time.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Maybe that's why Cleveland doesn't feel midwestern to me. That's another city with a large Italian population. Little Italy in Cleveland is well known even by people like me who live several states away.

Actually, there are a lot of Itlaians in almost every US city.

List of Italian American neighborhoods - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Interesting. I never thought of it before but you're right that Cleveland is a lot like Buffalo. I spent a few years in Buffalo and also visit Cleveland and Chicago a lot, and I totally agree.

Buffalo is a lot like Cleveland. The Buffalo forum has a long thread on the same subject, whether Buffalo is Midwestern or not. Most Buffalonians had pretty much the same opinion as Pittsburghers on the matter. Physically, Buffalo is very much a Great Lakes city, thus it does "look Midwestern" to many, unlike Pittsburgh which has much more of an "eastern look", but just like Pittsburgh, it's ties to the east are much stronger.

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

"Money Access Center"

It's just the name of the people that had the machines in the area before the "ATM" name became widespread.

Wasn't MAC one of the first ATM networks that banks belonged to (at least locally or regionally -- I was in Central PA when ATMs were becoming the norm and got used to saying "MAC machine"). You could use your card at your bank's ATMs or any displaying the "MAC" logo. This was back in the early days before you could use any ATM or before every bank charged fees for using another bank's ATM.