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Northeast or Midwest


stinkweed

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I've always seen as us more connected to Cleveland and the Ohio Valley and in a smaller degree (though it is along the line of Altoona so its much more east).  I agree that under that distinction Cleveland sometimes holds sway, it is complicated by the fact that Harrisburg is by sheer numbers of legislators from Philly and its metroplex (even the Scrantons and Williamsports and Lancasters tend to side with Philly votes) dominated by Philadelphia and that is very well tied into the Boston-NY-Philly-Balt/Washington megametro.

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I'd say Lancaster, Reading, and the Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton) are definitly in the Philadelphia orbit. In fact, LV may also be considered as part of the NYC-North Jersey orbit but its all one big metroplex anyway. Scranton & Wilkes Barre, on the other hand, are by themselves. They're in the mountains and thus part of Appalachia. I don't think they side with Phila or NYC though the Poconos that are just east of them are firmly in the Phila-NYC orbit.

Harrisburg? They're a weird one. I think Harrisburg-Hershey-York sort of form their own mini-area. They're east of the Alleghenies and thus not part of the the Pgh-western PA orbit and they aren't part of Apalachia either. At the same time, they're very much so different from the Phila-NYC metroplex in terms of culture, pace of life, etc.

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Here is the best article I've seen on what is truly the Midwest.

On Being Midwestern.

As for the Philly thing, Philly doesn't think much about Pittsburgh, but Pittsburgh obsesses about Philly. We watch them like a hawk, taking perverse pleasure in their foibles, and always worried that Harrisburg is going to short us in Philly's favor. As far as the membership of the Big East, Louisville, and Cincy will be joining the BE this fall. (Louisville is a Southern city not a Midwestern one anyway). Pitt has always proclaimed itself "Beast of the East" when the football team is winning. Pittsburgh tends to view it self as part of the east, but separate from the "East Coast". I think Buffalo indeed sees itself the same way. The Cleveland rivalry is totally about football. No one in Pittsburgh really cared about Cleveland until this rivalry heated up during the 50's and 60's. (The Steelers/Browns rivalry has really cooled off since the original Browns moved to Baltimore, and most Pittsburghers, with the exception of hard core tradtionalists, now consider the Ravens to be our most hated rival). There are many similarities between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, but there are similarities between Pittsburgh and Buffalo and Baltimore too.

is an accu

I agree that Pittsburgh is indeed Appalachian, but the lack of other major cities in Appalachia makes the comparison difficult. (Some of the smaller Appalachian cities that are not far from Pittsburgh, such as Wheeling, Cumberland and Hagerstown, have a very definite Pittsburghy feel and look to them).

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You're absolutley right. I took my first trip to Cincy in March for the Atlantic Ten basketball tournament (I'm a student at Saint Joseph's U in Philly) and saw alot of similarities to Pittsburgh, which I visited two summers ago when looking at PITT. Like I said earlier, there is a real distinction between the Michigan, Ohio and the rest of the Midwest. Western NY, Western PA, Ohio and Michigan should be grouped together.

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"Upper Appalachia"?

Cincy and Pittsburgh are very much alike, big German and Scotch-Irish heritages (although I believe Pittsburgh has larger jewish and Italian populations). Also only three cities have as many stairways and hills within it's urban core and neighborhoods, one is SF and the other two are Cincy and Pittsburgh, both also are cities that live and die by their river(s).

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neither will Pittsburgh, Appalachia doesn't have the same ring to it as a Denver or Salt Lake with "Rocky Mountain Region". Unfortunately I have never heard of a better descriptive term for the region, "Mid-East"?

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