Name for the region in which Pittsburgh is located (Columbia: construction, colleges)

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by Katiana

The biggest impediment to people moving to CO, according to the people who post on City-Data, is the snow and cold. I grew up in Pgh, lived 7 yrs in Champaign, IL, and a few other places before I moved there. I think the winter is mild, and I learned to drive in the snow, not in Pittsburgh, but Champaign. Many Californians are afraid of the snow. I had a boss from Cali who would cancel meetings so she could stay home when it snowed. It's all over the CD threads for Denver/Colorado.

RE: your prediction, I had another boss who liked to say "I don't have a crystal ball. I can't predict the future."

When my cousins visited from Texas, they thought Denver looked midwestern. A lot of the architecture is midwestern. There are areas of Denver that look a little like Pgh!

There are large sections of DC, that look straight out of the Midwest. Baltimore has areas away from the rowhouses that are pure Detroit.

[CortlandGirl79]

Originally Posted by pghcleak

I associate Pittsburgh more with the East because it's easier to travel to those cities by car from Pittsburgh. You can be in Baltimore or DC in about 4 hours...and the suburbs in less than 4 hours.

Around 5-6 hours you can be in New York City/NJ metro and Philly.

About 6-7 hour drive, Chicago.


Pittsburgh really has great proximity to Cleveland/Akron, OH. If these 2 states and regions could find a way to stop hating each other based on sports, they could really do a lot of great things. According to an article I read, many people consider Pittsburgh & Cleveland to be a megalopolis together. I mean if you think about it...there's some decent sized cities in a very short drive. Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Akron, Canton, and Cleveland.

Actually, the Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Pittsburgh corridor are now working together to build a "tech belt". With the polymers in Akron, the universities and oustanding hospitals in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, plus Youngstown's growing Business Incubator Youngstown Business Incubator and University, all cities involved are looking at changing their economies. The region is actually very big in biotech and i think we will be hearing a lot more about this in the future.


Check these sites out for the good things happening in Youngstown and the Business Incubator:
DEFEND YOUNGSTOWN!
i will shout youngstown

What's good for Cleveland, Akron, and Youngstown is good for Pittsburgh and vice versa.

[steelers01055]

i live in sc now, and when people ask were im from i just say western pa. I think the pittsburgh region and western pa is one of a kind. there is nothing that really compares to it. I can see it being considered the midwest, its only a 2-3 hour drive to columbus ohio, and maybe 5-6 hours from indianapolis, both of which are as midwest as you get. I dont really think pittsburghs anything like philly, new york, or boston... and those are eastern citys. The geography around western pa has some simmalaritys to the midwest, and some to the mountains. Western pa, well accualy the whole state of pa has A LOT of farms, and agriculture is pretty big... theres a lot of areas in western pa that could pass for being in the midwest. Theres also a lot of mountains though. People wise i see a lot simmilaritys between midwesteners, and pittsburghers. And were i live now we have alot of people from pa, and a lot of people from the midwest and we all get along good. But i would really just classify pittsburgh as western pa. And as far as appalachia i definitly dont consider it that. When i think appalachia i think of poor, uneducated, rundown mountain towns in southern west virginia, and kentucky.

[fleetiebelle]

Having spent a few days at my folks' house in Cincy, I thought of another reason why Pittsburgh doesn't seem part of the Midwest to me--history. Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh have more of a colonially settled, older, "George Washington slept here" claim, whereas most parts of the Midwest (on the other side of the mountains) are used to being part of the early frontier, with Daniel Boone and Lewis and Clark as the big names.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

Having spent a few days at my folks' house in Cincy, I thought of another reason why Pittsburgh doesn't seem part of the Midwest to me--history. Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh have more of a colonially settled, older, "George Washington slept here" claim, whereas most parts of the Midwest (on the other side of the mountains) are used to being part of the early frontier, with Daniel Boone and Lewis and Clark as the big names.

Interestingly, though, historically Pittsburgh was really in between: it wasn't even a settled part of the British Colonies until after the French and Indian War and the Treaty of Paris in 1763, and by the time of Washington's death in 1799, Pittsburgh was just beginning the transition from being a frontier town. Indeed, at that time it had around 2000 residents, in comparison to the some 67,000 in Philadelphia. And for what it is worth, I believe the first words in Meriwether Lewis's journal for the expedition were "Left Pittsburgh this day at 11 o'clock ...."

[BrianTH]

Last call for nominations ... and then I will post a poll with some of my favorites!

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

Having spent a few days at my folks' house in Cincy, I thought of another reason why Pittsburgh doesn't seem part of the Midwest to me--history. Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh have more of a colonially settled, older, "George Washington slept here" claim, whereas most parts of the Midwest (on the other side of the mountains) are used to being part of the early frontier, with Daniel Boone and Lewis and Clark as the big names.

This is off-topic, I know, but DH went to Lewis and Clark Jr. High in Omaha. I think fleetiebelle is right. I went to elementary/high school in the Pgh area, and we focused more on the colonies, etc than on the westward expansion, which was the focus in Omaha. 'Tis true, we never talked too much about them, though as Brian says, they were in Pgh. When my mom asked me where my boyfriend (now DH) was from and I told her Omaha, Nebraska, she said "Oh good grief", as if he were from outer space! People do relate more to the east in Pgh (to get back on topic).

[fleetiebelle]

And for what it is worth, I believe the first words in Meriwether Lewis's journal for the expedition were "Left Pittsburgh this day at 11 o'clock ...."

Very true, but they did have to leave the old and settled to go explore the new and unsettled (well, unsettled by Europeans.)

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

Very true, but they did have to leave the old and settled to go explore the new and unsettled (well, unsettled by Europeans.)

Well, but that assumes only two categories. By the time of their expedition, there were plenty of Europeans living between the Appalachians and the Mississippi. It was only as they left their winter camp in Illinois (Camp Dubois) and headed up the Missouri River that they entered truly "new and unsettled" territory for Europeans.

So, it is true that Pittsburgh at that time wasn't part of the unsettled area west of the Mississippi. But arguably it also wasn't part of the truly settled area east of the Appalachians (with Philadelphia and the like). Rather, it would probably most accurately be described as the first location in this intermediate frontier area, located between the Appalachians and the Mississippi.

[Katarina Witt]

A bit of history, if a bit off-topic: Pitt was the first college west of the Alleghenies. It was founded in 1787 ( " 'Ere the clouds of strife had cleared" in the Alma Mater). So Pgh was big enough then to have a private college (Pitt became state-related in the late 1960s). Just FYI.