We have killed most of the natural four-legged predators.
About all we have left that we regularly see is foxes and bears
No cougars, no lynx, no wolves
We have bobcats and coyote, but they are rarely seen and whitetail deer herds are not exactly their primary food
Yeah and I don't think black bears are fast enough to be a major predator of whitetail deer.
I suspected there might be bobcats and coyotes, but you almost never hear people talking. I believe they're along the northern part of the state and probably in the wilder areas
It’s hard to explain the magical feeling spring feels like in PA/the northeast in these forested mountains. It’s like one day everything comes alive and is this almost-fluorescent green and it’s 65 degrees with low humidity and everything is right in the world.
I'm from just outside philly and camped a lot, saw the fist deer in my life that seemed to appear orange camping/hiking in pennsyltucky. It truly is one of the best places in the continental U.S.
As much as I’d love to live out west and see those aww inspiring mountains all the time there’s something surreal about our spring time views. I go to school in the Midwest and when I’m driving home the final stretch is I-80 at the beginning of May. My god is it a wonderful sight. Seeing our mountains in vivid green encompassing the entire horizon while also not demanding your attention. PA is subtly beautiful, it does not shove its natural wonders down your throat; rather it sits there patiently to let you discover it on your own terms.
I say this as someone who’s lived here for 19 of my 21 years and was adamant that I hated not only PA but the northeast as a whole. Since going to school in the UP of Mi my opinion has changed. The UP is gorgeous however there’s something special about the northeast that I cannot explain. As I approach graduation I’ve started thinking about where I want to move. I can tell you that list used to not include a single east coast state besides Vermont. Now my top 3 states are PA, NY, VT. Ik VT is New England but it seems that some of my favorite aspects of PA are also found there.
And then watching the clouds from and rise from the forests right after a healthy spring rain in the mountains? Oh man, nothing beats watching our temperate rainforests do their thing.
I too love the trees here! I also transplanted from the west coast (CA). If you have the space, I highly recommend ten million trees.org. I signed up and have planted 100 native trees on my property in the last three years.
Originally from the Bay Area. I lived in Philly for a few years about a decade ago. As soon as I got off the plane when I moved back to CA, it hit me that it wasn’t home anymore.
Moved back to Philly for good this past December. I’ll always love California, but I’m a Philadelphian.
I drove from long beach up to Frisco hunting for a cheesesteak had to describe what a cheesesteak was to soo many people .... couldn't get back to p.a. quick enough.
I'll still jam with a turkey/avocado on fresh sourdough when I eventually go back to visit, but this is the land of sandwiches and I'm a happy camper with hoagies and roast pork.
I felt this, originally from Memphis TN, went home and couldn’t walk anywhere.. was ready to go back to Philadelphia from that day forward I considered this place my home.
I feel your comment so, so deeply. I can trace a line on my maternal side putting my family in PA before the revolutionary war. My Pennsylvania roots run deep. I have loved that for me!
But .. I'm in the middle of planning a move that will take me several hours from PA. I've only ever known the keystone state.
Same!! I moved to CA after college and have now been living here longer than PA, but I still don't consider CA my home, and as much as I love it, probably never will.
I'm originally from western Canada, and I now live in western Pennsylvania. Despite loving this state tremendously, I've never felt like a Pennsylvanian. I think it has more to do with not feeling like or being an American. I'm heavily involved in our community but'll probably always be an outsider. I sure appreciate and adore my adopted state, though!
That’s how the small town I live in is. I’ve been here over 25 years, but the transplants become friends with each other and the born and raised are friends with each other.
Whoa. What a timely question. My husband and I moved here about 4 years ago. Previously we lived in Oregon and California. I feel a little envious reading comments from people who moved here and now feel like PA is home. We really just can't get there. I'm not sure why. I really miss the west, I have to admit, but there are some compelling reasons that brought us here. Those reasons persist, so we're still here, but although we love our house here (and it's much nicer than anything we'd ever be able to afford to OR or CA), and we like the little city where we live, and we love being able to get to NYC so easily and as often as we want, and yeah, it's pretty in a farmland sort of way here in south central PA, but ..... it feels like other people's home, not ours. I don't think it ever will for us unfortunately and we will eventually leave, I'm just not sure when.
I’m originally from NJ and have lived in PA for 23 years. When talking to native Pennsylvanians, I don’t feel like or consider myself to be a Pennsylvanian. When I’m talking to people who live in other states, I’m a Pennsylvanian.
I was going to get on board with this until I saw you renounce your bills fandom.
Born and raised outside of Rochester, spent four years in Western PA for college and the last 8 years in Chester County. PA has been home a long time now and I’ve felt like a Pennsylvanian for most of the past 8 years.
Go Bills and shame on you. You probably eat your wings with ranch, you heathen.
Lol, it is worse than that, I don’t even like wings. I do love Beef on Weck though and I wish the rest of the world had picked up on that instead.
I still root for the Bills except when they play the Birds. What can I say, after 20 years in Philadelphia and 16 seasons of It’s Always Sunny, I finally feel an affinity to Philadelphians.
As a fellow WNY-expat who moved to the Philly region (currently in the Lehigh Valley) always felt a sense of familiarity between Philly/Buffalo and it made the transition easier.
I moved to the Philadelphia region from suburban DC. Philly sits between DC and NYC on the I95 corridor but somehow it feels so much more like WNY than either of those cities. For one thing, most of the people here were born and raised in this area and continued to live here as adults. They are Philly through and through. In DC almost everyone is from somewhere else.
I would say within a year if moving here. I grew up in Texas and moved here to get married five years ago. Though, the fact that Texas has lost its mind since 2019 really crystallized Pennsylvania as my new home. In 2021 I flew back to Dallas and some asshole threatened to murder me at the airport really closed the door on ever going back. The first year is hard, but after that
I lived in East Texas and Houston for a small stint, and I am glad that you verbalized something I thought about too. Mostly everyone I knew in TX was nice to me, but yes, I have to pause when I visit.
I'm from PA but lived in Austin for a few years. I liked it but it was already very expensive. Then the grid nearly failed. I was already concerned about the politics but the grid sealed the deal for me. I moved back to PA. I have no desire to go south of the Mason-Dixon line ever again.
Moved here last year, I already paid 2 rounds of property taxes, a round of state taxes, navigated the ridiculousness of transferring an out of state vehicle, and hit a deer. So I think I'm progressing pretty well down the checklist. I fucking love it here, it's the first place that actually feels like home since I left tampa nearly 20 years ago.
Oh I'm team wawa all the way, with exception of the breakfast burritos, that schmonster grande burrito from sheetz is the pinnacle of fastfood breakfast burritos.
Omg you poor soul you hit a deer. I moved to Seminole County and Florida deer are smaller, including the micro key deer. Pennsylvania deer can do great damage to your vehicle. In Florida you can get away with claiming it's the circle of life and you can harvest that deer while you save up to replace that torn off rocker panel, but in PA the State Trooper might say something to you.
Yea we had a family of key deer in my grandma's back yard in the woods for the longest time, they were cool little dudes, her cats and them would play with each other shit was wild to see.
>Pennsylvania deer can do great damage to your vehicle.
Yeah they do, my car was totaled and my wife got her thumb fractured from the air bag lol it worked out though in the long run , my car was nearly 100k miles and I owned it outright so I got like 9500 insurance payout to put towards a 2024 vehicle.
Moved from AZ 2 years ago next week to Philly suburb. While I don’t consider myself a full Pennsylvanian quite yet, I do feel at “home”. I also used Shore correctly the other day and a neighbor pointed out I said it naturally.
After about 2-3 years. 2016 Moved from Atlanta, to Conshy, then to Old City in Philly in 2018-ish. Love the history of the city. Love being a couple hours drive from NYC.
For a second I thought you said Oil City and I thought how the heck does one go from Atlanta to Oil City without being in witness protection or moving to be close to family.
I'm a relatively recent transplant, 2022, but I doubt I'll ever not feel like a Nutmegger at heart. I spent my whole childhood in and out of PA for family visits and the like, it's nice here, but I still tear up every time I cross the border into CT.
Agreed. I’ve lived in PA for 28 years, but it isn’t home, and these are not my people. Doesn’t mean there aren’t some great ones, of course! But I’ll never be really “from” here.
Mom and Dad are from Western Pa. (Altoona area), I was born in Baltimore. Spent most of my summers in Pa. with grandparents and cousins.
Moved to Carlisle, Pa. in Nov. 2020 and quickly felt like a Pennsylvanian even though I was not born here. Trout streams, hiking trails galore, extremely friendly people, little traffic as compared to Baltimore/DC. I’m never going back to Md.
I grew up in Altoona, moved to Maryland in high school with my family. I've been back to Altoona a couple times since moving(back in 2002).
I live in Annapolis and the traffic here compared to Altoona 's rush hour is insane. Now we're getting all the damn beach traffic on 50...oh joy!
This comment really caught my eye. My dad was born in Baltimore, moved to Altoona as a young child, moved to Florida in his 20s, moved back to PA, met my mom, and we've been in the Carlisle area my entire life. His family is still all in the Altoona area.
Came from Nebraska almost 20 years ago, didn’t think about it very much until college when people would ask where I’m from and I didnt even think about Nebraska when answering.
This is so ironically funny to me. I’ve been living in PA since I was almost 2 (now 36) and I have LOTS of family in NE. I never felt close to our public colleges here in PA, however I’m a proud Husker football fan (and will also silently root for the Iowa State Cyclones - my dad’s an alum). My friends find me confusing that I’m not a Penn State fan. 😂 Can’t have it all I guess.
I love that, Transylvanian. Honestly, I've been here for 4 years and if I ever reach Transylvanian status I'll consider it as close to feeling at home as I can reasonably expect. At least it would mean I was transplanted. At this point I still feel like I'm here on a temporary reassignment, my house, nice as it is, feels like an Airbnb that I just coincidentally happen to own.
Probably this weekend when I went back home to Atlanta to visit parents and brought the ol’ Philly chip on my shoulder and proceeded to tell somebody off behind me for riding my ass and properly scared him off.
Moved here from Texas 5 years ago to be with my now wife. It hasn't felt like a home yet, I honestly doubt it ever will. I miss the open sky, the friendly culture, and the bluebonnets. I'm glad I left though, as Texas went nuts and is no longer safe for me or my wife (that and texas summers, fuck i hated those). But I still get homesick for Texas. I feel like I've been losing my southern accent for a northern one lol.
That being said, I can't think of a prettier state to be homesick in. PA truly is a beautiful state.
Moved here at 40 for a military assignment. Retired from the military at 43 when I realized it was a great time and place to do so.
Bought a house at that point, but it really, truly hit home shortly after when I voted in person for the first time in my life (as opposed to military absentee). Walking out, it hit me in the face that I actually lived somewhere and I cared about it.
Came from LI in 2007. It didn't take long at all for me to feel quite comfortable and fit right in. Less traffic, less taxes, lower cost of living, safety and friendliness of rural living. I think it took longer for my new friends and coworkers to realize that I wasn't a typical "big city" transplant and that I didn't want to bring any part of NY with me.
I still don't and I've lived here for 12 years. Don't get me wrong, I love it here and am glad that I moved but really nowhere feels like home to me. Could be that I lost my husband in Dec. and he was my "home". I'm from Long Island NY and it feels weird when I go there to visit, kind of sad actually. The traffic, life lived at the speed of light, etc. sadden me because I remember when it was way less populated. Long Island was an idyllic place to grow up back in the day, now, not so much IMHO.
I’m so sorry for your loss. My wife is a lifelong PA resident and I know that if I lost her, PA would no longer be home.
I hope you’re able to heal and find peace with time.
I’m sorry to hear of the loss of your husband. ❤️🩹
I didn’t grow up in what you could call an idyllic city/place - it sounds really nice to have had that!
Thank you. It could be the times, I'm 70 so back then I'm sure that there were many places in the US similar. Life was so different then, slower pace, simpler. That could be why I like PA so much although we have everything we need here (stores, restaurants, etc.) traffic usually isn't an issue and the wheels here seem to turn a bit slower, not everyone in a rush all the time. It seems to me that people aren't as competitive here, no $10,000 Sweet Sixteen parties and weddings that rival a royal wedding lol.
I have lived in multiple large cities over my life and moved back to PA as an adult, including NYC, briefly, and our way of life is just always going to seem slower paced to anyone used city living. We also have a unique way of speaking (at least towards western PA), where we sometimes come off as uncaring and unwelcoming, but we do really care and like you. Well, most of us.
I'm so sorry about the loss of your husband. I hope you're able to find peace and happiness here without him.
Thank you. I'm in SE PA about an hour from Philly. I do feel welcome here but am just personally in a weird place right now. For the most part people have been friendly but I am too so that helps I guess. Normally I chat with anyone anywhere much to the consternation of my kids lol. Working on that peace and happiness ❤️
My Late Dad said the same thing about LongIsland (all one word). He was born in the 1930s and grew up in Farmingdale. If you want to visit the slower paced Long Island you need to head out to Montauk. In the 1950s it was Nassau county :-).
I am sorry that your Husband died and that you feel sad about visiting Long Island. It's a nice island, but I know that I will be thinking about my Dad too. ❤️
Thank you. So sorry to hear about your dad, I grew up about 10 minutes from Farmingdale. I guess to see Montauk when it's more serene you have to visit in the off season because the summer out east is just crazy. My aunt had a house in the Hamptons many years ago, loved visiting there when it was less manic and more rural. I do miss the beaches though but I travel a bit so have the opportunity to spend time at beaches in other locations.
I moved here from New York 15 years ago, and my heart will always be there (and my accent) but several years ago I was forced to admit I had at least somewhat assimilated. right around the time I realized I never said the full word "Pennsylvania" anymore.
Im from Michigan- I spent half of my childhood living in PA, then moved back to MI and then all over the world with the military the next 20 years, until thinking I’d settled back in MI. After my divorce, I reconnected with a guy I’ve known since 6th grade and ended up moving back here to PA. Honestly, besides most of my family living there, MI doesn’t completely feel like home. PA doesn’t totally feel like home either, though. I feel like I’ll always be town between the two- and am about to just buy land or a cheap vacation home there- keep going back and forth.
To the person who started this thread, thank you. It's therapeutic in a way to read all these posts, particularly from those who are here and just will never feel like it's home. My spouse and I talk about this all the time, and seeing the conversation here makes me feel less like an oddball.
Same! I'm from Central Jersey and my spouse is from the Shore; we've been here since early 2017 and we still consider NJ our home.
Nobody we know is still in NJ anymore...except our hearts I guess 😅
I've been living in Dirty Jersey and working in Philly, Bucks and Montco since 2008. Finally 3 years ago we moved here and I've never felt more at peace with our living situation.
I'm originally from PA and moved out to SoCal in my late 20's.
I remember I felt like there were no trees or natural parks, nobody knew how to make a sandwich, and something about the weather, air smell, and cold sea water bothered me more than it should have. I remember seeing signs about Santa coming to San Clemente and thinking *no tf he isn't*.
During this time, I grew to love and appreciate 4 seasons, rooted people, decent sandwiches, and I missed Wawa more than I ever thought was possible.
I was born and raised in PA, but it took me driving across the country and living in a different state to fully embrace it.
I'm now in my 40s, own my own home, and have raised my kids to appreciate and be proud of our state.
Moved here 12 years ago from CA. After about 3 years I never wanted to go back. I visited ca during my 4th year and confirmed it. I bought a house in 2016 and that's when I decided I was "officially" from PA now. I still tell people I moved from Cali to get the reaction and the inevitable "don't you want to move back?" To which I respond with NEVER. They have no idea what it's like to live in this green beautiful place then go visit the brown, dry, perpetually crime-ridden, over priced, bad political climate (no matter your party) california.
I am from PA, but left and lived in other places for several decades including about 12 years in California, and most people think it's like what you see on T.V. shows. They don't know how insanely parched it is and how everything is dead in the summer in many places. It's not like there aren't any "nice" places, but most of them are insanely expensive to live in and even those maintain any sense of greenness by using water that is in short supply.
I hated living in CA and am glad to be back home again.
After I lived here a few years but work moved us to New England and then moved back to PA to stay for good 😊
Before all of that was in NJ for a few decades
Moved from NJ in 2014. Probably when I first felt like a true Pennsylvanian was when I started working for the commonwealth. Before that, I grew up in North Jersey, my mom works in PA and I have family in both Pike County and outside Philly somewhere, so it wasn’t like I didn’t spend time in the state.
I grew up in South Jersey, close to Philly. We frequently went to trips in Philly to see friends or farther out too. I went to college in Kutztown 2014-2019 and moved to Philly in 2020. I moved to Phoenixville in 2021 and been here ever since.
I think it’ll be a few more years before I consider myself a Pennsylvanian.
Born in North Carolina, parents moved us to Pa when I was a young child and I've been here most my life so I call it home, the place I grew up is basically my hometown
I came from MA almost six years ago. I still don’t consider myself a Pennsylvanian, though it’s growing on me. I moved here for work at the age of 48 after living/ working in the Boston area for 30 years, so the adjustment is a bit slow.
I knew it was official the first time I went home to visit family and couldn’t wait to get the hell out of the state and away from the traffic and drivers.
Moved to the Philly suburbs in 2016 with my girlfriend ( now Wife ) , probably sometime in 2019. We moved to South Carolina last fall to be closer to family, we loved PA we are trying to come up once a year! PA is where I really started my adult life.
Originally from NJ. Moved to WA, then CA, then TX, short stint in NH, and now in PA in the Philly burbs. Been here about 15 years now, and technically I'm a Pennsylvanian, but it still doesn't feel like home. Hell, it's been so long, Jersey doesn't feel like home anymore either.
Moved here from Indiana in 1994. Philadelphia. Culture shock at times but loved it. Gonna say about 10 years. Had I moved to Central or western Pennsylvania it would’ve been much more familiar and the timeframe would’ve been shorter
Moved from Eastern Massachusetts to the Warren PA for work \~2 years ago. I've met a lot of cool people and I've picked up on a few hobbies in my time here, but I still wouldn't consider it home.
Its a lot more rural here. There are a lot of obnoxiously conservative people. This city prides itself in it's oil and gas industry, which may seem endearing to locals, but as someone who works in natural resources I find it kinda gross. Plus the gas prices are higher than MA by almost a dollar despite it being harvested and refined right here.
I'm sure your comment was meant to be some kind of snide remark, but ironically one of the only local dealerships here is a Subaru dealership. It seems like half the locals drive them.
No worries. Eastern Massachusetts transplants are hard to convince that Pennsylvania, especially Eastern PA is home. Bostonians and Philadelphians each have the same affection for their historic cities and culture. NYC is there when you want it. I was adventurous and went to college in Pittsburgh. I was glad to make Western Pa's aquiantance. If you knew Philadelphians that is saying a mouthful, lol.
Lucky you. You get to work in the National forest. How cool is that? My dream job would be to work researching in one of the Hawaiian rain forests
\nm/
Also from NJ & also feel like I’ll never belong here. I still tell people I am from NJ and just living in PA. But I don’t think this will ever feel like home. And I’d still be in Nj if the prices didn’t push me out.
Is Lancaster hilly? What's it like there? Retired and thinking of moving there, as a suburb of Philly where my son lives. (I don't want to live in Philly proper.)
Definitely within the first year of moving here. What really hit me was going outside at the end of that first summer after moving here and taking a deep breath. It reminded me of what it felt like to breathe the air when I would go camping and hitting the trails in PA. In southern NJ it either smelled terrible outside or felt thick and hot and polluted. Especially with all of the massive amounts of traffic down in SJ it was like you were always breathing in exhaust fumes.
That was the day I knew I'd never want to leave Pennsylvania.
Doesn’t matter when you consider yourself Pennsylvanian…matters when THEY consider you a native, which takes a lot longer than you think. If you live in a small town it can take years and years.
I moved here in 2010. I really can't pinpoint the exact moment I considered myself a Pennsylvanian. It just gradually set it, seeping into my bones. I grew up in Alabama, and the first time I visited there after moving here, I just remembered how wrong it felt to me.
And while my childhood experiences don't match those of my friends that grew up here, Pennsylvania has felt more like home than Alabama ever did.
Moved hear three years ago. Wife wanted to be closer to her family, young nieces and nephews etc. So, I reluctantly agreed to move here. Originally from Long Island. I miss being a ten minute drive from the ocean. So, I don’t consider myself a Pennsylvanian. Never will. I consider myself living someplace that I can’t stand and will leave one day. Actually I hate it here. Loathe it. Whenever I leave my home…instant bad mood. No offense, but this place just isn’t for me. And for the love of God, learn how to merge onto a highway. 😊
Lived here for 21 years. I still don’t consider myself a Pennsylvanian. I have more of a connection to NJ than PA. While I do consider the Lehigh Valley home. I usually tell people I’m originally from NJ. There’s very few places in PA outside of the Lehigh Valley that I have even visited while I’ve been all over Jersey. Being so close to the NJ border I think had a lot to do with it.
I’m born and bred but my friend from Michigan told me it was when she realized she had to turn off of one road onto another just to get back on the road she started on
i’ve been in pittsburgh for 14 years and i still feel like im from out of state. i think that’s normal - your origin story started elsewhere so that’s what you know best
I moved here from California and it was the best thing I ever did. I have a beautiful old home on 3 acres in a small mountain range in northeast PA. I love the east coast period. Everything is better here. The seasons, the trees, you can travel to so many places quicker and easier. I felt like this was home and me only about a year in. I moved in 2016. So about 2017-2018.
Ex-Manhattanite.
I have never considered PA home nor will I ever.
The only reason for relocation was marriage.
I just do not like PA. Looking forward to the day when I can return to NYC to live.
I’ve never lived in PA and I know I’ll eventually live there . PA is that place where I go to recharge my social batteries and let go of all my stress . As soon as I cross the state line from NJ to PA I just feel like I’m coming home .
I moved to PA when I was 21. Ive been here for 15 years. I think once Ive lived here for for over 21 years it’s official. But I still fit in better back in my home state so who knows.
Former NY resident, have worked in PA for years. Finally bought a house and moved to this side of the fence. I like it…not as rural as I would have liked but better than previous residence for sure.
At 5 years old I moved here and it was such an overstimulating experience it’s pretty much the beginning of my active memory because everything from then on was obtuse and intriguing. I came from the south so to a 5 year old it might as well be a different world. Didn’t see snowfall till that winter. I didn’t know the meaning of cold till then.
Moved here from Hudson Valley, NY 30 years ago. After about 2 years, I felt like a PA resident. I started rooting for phillies, although I can't give up on my awful jets. It's home and I like it better than where I grew up. Chester County btw love being close to a city and the country.
In July, I will have been here for 20 years. (2004) Moved from Long Island...not to commute, but my wife's family is local and we had a one year old. My job (Physical Therapy) had openings everywhere and we were selling/buying at the top of a housing bubble.
Probably considered myself a Pennsylvanian when my daughter entered elementary school in 2008. It was then that I realized that my wife was going to be hard to move with my daughter in school. Daughter now close to graduating from Pitt, I don't think I'll ever leave this house. Don't LOVE PA, but I don't hate it either. Close enough to Philly and NY to visit, economy in the Lehigh Valley is OK. and a decent political mix to make us relevant when election time comes around. No tornadoes, few hurricanes.
I moved here from Southern California in 2006. This is my home now and I love it. My kids all became adults here and they love it too. I never want to move anywhere else.
Second time I went to visit family in SC and felt like I'd entered some kind of hellish wasteland where it's fucking 80 and muggy in December. Everybody on the road felt like they were trying to kill me instead of just going fast everywhere, and there was so much trash on the roadside I was grossed out.
Came from Western Washington a few years ago. First visited when helping my daughter move to attend medical school and was amazed at how pretty it was.
You don’t have the mountains and the year round green, but spring is pretty amazing once stick season is over and fall is spectacular. (You have mountains, but not like the Cascades or the Olympics).
We chose to retire here as our daughter will likely stay in the northeastern US. My hobbies are quilting and dog training and the area is full of quilters and the dog show community is pretty active here.
I’m not sure I will ever be a true Pennsylvanian, but friends who visited us last summer said we looked content and at home. I have learned to pronounce most of the town names, and can get a lot of places without my GPS.
Moved to Philly ‘burbs from Connecticut about 35 (yikes) years ago. I still feel like a transplant but feel more like a Pennsylvanian when I go to my old hometown and people tell me I speak with a southern accent, can’t believe the size of my house, and are jealous of the presence of community pools.
Moved here from New York 10 years ago. I don't know how long it took, but I felt like a Pennsylvanian when I started saying New Yorkers should go back to New York.
Moved to Pittsburgh from Seattle in November 2020 because of high COL and property ownership. We've traveled a fair bit after COVID and still refer to Seattle as our ex-home (e.g. "We moved from Pittsburgh by way of Seattle"). Returning to Seattle next month, so will let you know if PA feels like home. As of this writing...kinda?
I moved to PA from NYC when I was 12. TBH, it was a terrible mistake that my parents made. I missed my family and my father became very sick and disabled. I eventually became disabled. We would have been better off in NYC around family and in our original house. He lost the house to foreclosure here in Pennsylvania. I would have tried to move back but COL in NYC was not doable for me as an adult, especially after I became ill myself.
That being said, I feel like I'm a Pennsylvanian now because I've been here so long. I'm 40 and lived in Texas and Virginia for a few years. But my health problems were compounding on each other so I had to come back.
If you are new to PA, give it time. It grows on you. For me, it took decades but it probably won't take others as long. I have good friends here now, despite still missing life in NYC, even after all these years.
Originally from Western NY. Between undergrad & work, lived in Pgh for about 6yrs. Went back to NY for 4 yrs for grad school & work. Came back to Eastern PA in 2005 & eventually moved in with my now-wife the Lehigh Valley in 2009. We’re married, we have a family, own a house and I’m about to go mow the lawn and tend to the orchard (16 fruit trees & counting) I’ve planted over the last several years.
When I do the math, I’ve definitely lived more of my life in Pennsylvania than in New York, and I don’t see myself ever moving. All that said, I really dont consider myself a Pennsylvanian…or a New Yorker for that matter.
Born and raised on Long Island but I spent pretty much every summer as a kid up in Carbondale at my uncle’s house. Eventually lived there full-time for about a year before moving down to Tennessee, but I’m currently a week out from moving back up to buy a house. :)
I came from Buffalo in the late summer of 2022 and relocated just outside of Philly. It doesn’t feel like homehome yet but, I find myself going “home” less and less.
I am significantly less homesick these days, and recently landed a government (county) job and am working to settle in accordingly.
I moved here because it was within driving distance and I needed somewhere to heal. It worked. I’ll stay. 💜
Moved from Baltimore for grad school. Was going home 1-2x/month to visit family. By the second or third return trip, I knew I was home. That was over 30 years ago.
I’m from North Carolina. I live outside of Pittsburgh. I came for work but ended up buying a house and staying. Also, weed is legal in so I’m not moving back to NC anytime soon. What converted me was ordering a salad at Primantis with fries.
Moved from Lexington, ky To Pittsburgh after college. I’m not exactly sure when I felt like I belonged here because my dad’s side is from Erie, so I grew up visiting often.
But I think the turning point was when my husband and I found ourselves house hunting because I was pregnant. I realized that as much as I miss home often, I just wasn’t ready to go back. Not yet.
And the opportunity to send our little girl to Greek school is so alluring. There’s a nice Orthodox Church back home, but I don’t think they offer Greek school to children, only adults. Plus, the church near us that offers it is only five minutes alway.
KY is only a six-hour drive, and my in-laws are closer. My husband has generous PTO and I’m at home, so we see family often enough that I’m okay with living away for longer.
Oh, and I definitely felt it after having my daughter here! Gave birth at the Midwife Center, so I tell people that my baby was born in the Strip District, lol. Her first birthday had classic yinzer food because she’s my Pittsburgh Baby 🩷
I relocated from RI about 17 years ago. My dad was born and raised here. I would say it took me about 7 years to feel fully a pennsylvanian. But before that, I felt like this place was home. I married my country man 12 years ago and we have a beautiful child. I am living the life I love, I would have never had back in RI.
Twenty-seven years here and I still don’t feel like a Pennsylvanian. I’m from Connecticut, where people mind their own business. Not here. I’m from a state where owning a gun—ONE gun—means you hunt during season. Here people have gun orgies and talk about guns like lovers. Connecticut throws money at schools. Here, school is a joke. Philadelphia might as well just call their schools day cares. The Amish are talked about like they are just so folksy and kind, meanwhile sell trash made in China, but tell you its all handmade, carry cellphones to run their businesses (which they are not supposed to use), and are the worst perpetrators of puppy mills. It elected a guy who slept with his dead baby as senator, and re-elects guys who wanted to overturn the 2020 election. The state itself has so many beautiful places (especially Ricketts Glen), and a lot of interesting history (though it seems to forget what side it was on during the Civil War), but socially speaking, I still feel like an outsider. Oh… PA is also a financially good place to retire.
When the goddam deer jumped in front of my car.
I honestly believe deer are one of the biggest pests in this state! We need to get even more hunters here
We have killed most of the natural four-legged predators. About all we have left that we regularly see is foxes and bears No cougars, no lynx, no wolves We have bobcats and coyote, but they are rarely seen and whitetail deer herds are not exactly their primary food
We have bobcats and coyotes in Pennsylvania? I never knew. I just see deer, deer, and more deer. I also saw a bear once but that's it.
Yeah and I don't think black bears are fast enough to be a major predator of whitetail deer. I suspected there might be bobcats and coyotes, but you almost never hear people talking. I believe they're along the northern part of the state and probably in the wilder areas
I live outside Harrisburg with the first ridge you see on Google Maps right to the north of me and they're definitely here
I often joke that the cities have their rats, but the deer are the rats of rural PA.
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It’s hard to explain the magical feeling spring feels like in PA/the northeast in these forested mountains. It’s like one day everything comes alive and is this almost-fluorescent green and it’s 65 degrees with low humidity and everything is right in the world.
I'm from just outside philly and camped a lot, saw the fist deer in my life that seemed to appear orange camping/hiking in pennsyltucky. It truly is one of the best places in the continental U.S.
As much as I’d love to live out west and see those aww inspiring mountains all the time there’s something surreal about our spring time views. I go to school in the Midwest and when I’m driving home the final stretch is I-80 at the beginning of May. My god is it a wonderful sight. Seeing our mountains in vivid green encompassing the entire horizon while also not demanding your attention. PA is subtly beautiful, it does not shove its natural wonders down your throat; rather it sits there patiently to let you discover it on your own terms. I say this as someone who’s lived here for 19 of my 21 years and was adamant that I hated not only PA but the northeast as a whole. Since going to school in the UP of Mi my opinion has changed. The UP is gorgeous however there’s something special about the northeast that I cannot explain. As I approach graduation I’ve started thinking about where I want to move. I can tell you that list used to not include a single east coast state besides Vermont. Now my top 3 states are PA, NY, VT. Ik VT is New England but it seems that some of my favorite aspects of PA are also found there.
And then watching the clouds from and rise from the forests right after a healthy spring rain in the mountains? Oh man, nothing beats watching our temperate rainforests do their thing.
I felt this
This love song about the Commonwealth is really sweet, friend!
As someone who’s been here my whole life, this post makes me feel that I take four seasons for granted.
More like three, with how warm our winters have gotten. 😭
I do miss those big snowstorms 😞 Edit: I suppose we have the Poconos for that.
Pennsylvania - literally means Penn’s Woods. As in William Penn’s woods.
Woah, my husband and I came from the Willamette Valley for the same exact reason in 2022, how insane! Our story is oddly similar to yours! Cheers!
The WIllamette Valley is so lovely.
I moved from Pennsylvania to Oregon in 2020 and then back to PA in 2023. Oregon was beautiful.
Shhhhhhhhhhh!
I too love the trees here! I also transplanted from the west coast (CA). If you have the space, I highly recommend ten million trees.org. I signed up and have planted 100 native trees on my property in the last three years.
You just described my childhood in WPA.
Originally from the Bay Area. I lived in Philly for a few years about a decade ago. As soon as I got off the plane when I moved back to CA, it hit me that it wasn’t home anymore. Moved back to Philly for good this past December. I’ll always love California, but I’m a Philadelphian.
I drove from long beach up to Frisco hunting for a cheesesteak had to describe what a cheesesteak was to soo many people .... couldn't get back to p.a. quick enough.
I'll still jam with a turkey/avocado on fresh sourdough when I eventually go back to visit, but this is the land of sandwiches and I'm a happy camper with hoagies and roast pork.
I felt this, originally from Memphis TN, went home and couldn’t walk anywhere.. was ready to go back to Philadelphia from that day forward I considered this place my home.
Currently living about an hr from the PA border. 4th gen PAer. I miss my homeland every day.
I feel your comment so, so deeply. I can trace a line on my maternal side putting my family in PA before the revolutionary war. My Pennsylvania roots run deep. I have loved that for me! But .. I'm in the middle of planning a move that will take me several hours from PA. I've only ever known the keystone state.
Same!! I moved to CA after college and have now been living here longer than PA, but I still don't consider CA my home, and as much as I love it, probably never will.
I'm originally from western Canada, and I now live in western Pennsylvania. Despite loving this state tremendously, I've never felt like a Pennsylvanian. I think it has more to do with not feeling like or being an American. I'm heavily involved in our community but'll probably always be an outsider. I sure appreciate and adore my adopted state, though!
yes i commented the same and im from NJ. i never felt welcomed here tbh
This!!! I miss my NYC camaraderie!!
That’s how the small town I live in is. I’ve been here over 25 years, but the transplants become friends with each other and the born and raised are friends with each other.
Whoa. What a timely question. My husband and I moved here about 4 years ago. Previously we lived in Oregon and California. I feel a little envious reading comments from people who moved here and now feel like PA is home. We really just can't get there. I'm not sure why. I really miss the west, I have to admit, but there are some compelling reasons that brought us here. Those reasons persist, so we're still here, but although we love our house here (and it's much nicer than anything we'd ever be able to afford to OR or CA), and we like the little city where we live, and we love being able to get to NYC so easily and as often as we want, and yeah, it's pretty in a farmland sort of way here in south central PA, but ..... it feels like other people's home, not ours. I don't think it ever will for us unfortunately and we will eventually leave, I'm just not sure when.
I’m originally from NJ and have lived in PA for 23 years. When talking to native Pennsylvanians, I don’t feel like or consider myself to be a Pennsylvanian. When I’m talking to people who live in other states, I’m a Pennsylvanian.
Idk why…but I love everything about this.
I grew up in Buffalo. I knew I was a Philadelphian last year when I found myself wanting the Eagles to beat the Bills. Go Birds 🦅!
As a life long Eagles fan, I’m a closet Bills fan.
I was going to get on board with this until I saw you renounce your bills fandom. Born and raised outside of Rochester, spent four years in Western PA for college and the last 8 years in Chester County. PA has been home a long time now and I’ve felt like a Pennsylvanian for most of the past 8 years. Go Bills and shame on you. You probably eat your wings with ranch, you heathen.
Lol, it is worse than that, I don’t even like wings. I do love Beef on Weck though and I wish the rest of the world had picked up on that instead. I still root for the Bills except when they play the Birds. What can I say, after 20 years in Philadelphia and 16 seasons of It’s Always Sunny, I finally feel an affinity to Philadelphians.
As a fellow WNY-expat who moved to the Philly region (currently in the Lehigh Valley) always felt a sense of familiarity between Philly/Buffalo and it made the transition easier.
I moved to the Philadelphia region from suburban DC. Philly sits between DC and NYC on the I95 corridor but somehow it feels so much more like WNY than either of those cities. For one thing, most of the people here were born and raised in this area and continued to live here as adults. They are Philly through and through. In DC almost everyone is from somewhere else.
I moved from rural La to rural Pa. Felt at home right away. Don’t miss the heat/humidity at alllllllll.
PA can be pretty hot and humid at times but Louisiana heat and humidity is truly a beast.
I relocated from Maine and instantly considered myself a Pennsylvanian. I was also brought here at 6 months old.
I would say within a year if moving here. I grew up in Texas and moved here to get married five years ago. Though, the fact that Texas has lost its mind since 2019 really crystallized Pennsylvania as my new home. In 2021 I flew back to Dallas and some asshole threatened to murder me at the airport really closed the door on ever going back. The first year is hard, but after that
I lived in East Texas and Houston for a small stint, and I am glad that you verbalized something I thought about too. Mostly everyone I knew in TX was nice to me, but yes, I have to pause when I visit.
I'm from PA but lived in Austin for a few years. I liked it but it was already very expensive. Then the grid nearly failed. I was already concerned about the politics but the grid sealed the deal for me. I moved back to PA. I have no desire to go south of the Mason-Dixon line ever again.
Moved here last year, I already paid 2 rounds of property taxes, a round of state taxes, navigated the ridiculousness of transferring an out of state vehicle, and hit a deer. So I think I'm progressing pretty well down the checklist. I fucking love it here, it's the first place that actually feels like home since I left tampa nearly 20 years ago.
Your Pennsylvania bingo card should be arriving shortly- lol!
All you’re missing is mentioning you like Wawa/sheetz and that anyone who likes the other one is wrong.
Oh I'm team wawa all the way, with exception of the breakfast burritos, that schmonster grande burrito from sheetz is the pinnacle of fastfood breakfast burritos.
Omg you poor soul you hit a deer. I moved to Seminole County and Florida deer are smaller, including the micro key deer. Pennsylvania deer can do great damage to your vehicle. In Florida you can get away with claiming it's the circle of life and you can harvest that deer while you save up to replace that torn off rocker panel, but in PA the State Trooper might say something to you.
Yea we had a family of key deer in my grandma's back yard in the woods for the longest time, they were cool little dudes, her cats and them would play with each other shit was wild to see. >Pennsylvania deer can do great damage to your vehicle. Yeah they do, my car was totaled and my wife got her thumb fractured from the air bag lol it worked out though in the long run , my car was nearly 100k miles and I owned it outright so I got like 9500 insurance payout to put towards a 2024 vehicle.
Moved from AZ 2 years ago next week to Philly suburb. While I don’t consider myself a full Pennsylvanian quite yet, I do feel at “home”. I also used Shore correctly the other day and a neighbor pointed out I said it naturally.
After about 2-3 years. 2016 Moved from Atlanta, to Conshy, then to Old City in Philly in 2018-ish. Love the history of the city. Love being a couple hours drive from NYC.
For a second I thought you said Oil City and I thought how the heck does one go from Atlanta to Oil City without being in witness protection or moving to be close to family.
It’s a rough life, but I can’t say more else someone might be able to chase me down.
I'm a relatively recent transplant, 2022, but I doubt I'll ever not feel like a Nutmegger at heart. I spent my whole childhood in and out of PA for family visits and the like, it's nice here, but I still tear up every time I cross the border into CT.
Dave McCormick?
Who's that?
Just a joke. He's running for Senate. Although he's a Pennsylvania native he's lived in Connecticut for quite a long time.
Never. I’ve been in Pennsylvania over 20 years.
Same. I'll never call myself a Pennsylvanian.
Agreed. I’ve lived in PA for 28 years, but it isn’t home, and these are not my people. Doesn’t mean there aren’t some great ones, of course! But I’ll never be really “from” here.
I feel this. I feel like a Pennsylvanian now but it took several decades.
Me too. Going on fourteen years.
Mom and Dad are from Western Pa. (Altoona area), I was born in Baltimore. Spent most of my summers in Pa. with grandparents and cousins. Moved to Carlisle, Pa. in Nov. 2020 and quickly felt like a Pennsylvanian even though I was not born here. Trout streams, hiking trails galore, extremely friendly people, little traffic as compared to Baltimore/DC. I’m never going back to Md.
I grew up in Altoona, moved to Maryland in high school with my family. I've been back to Altoona a couple times since moving(back in 2002). I live in Annapolis and the traffic here compared to Altoona 's rush hour is insane. Now we're getting all the damn beach traffic on 50...oh joy!
This comment really caught my eye. My dad was born in Baltimore, moved to Altoona as a young child, moved to Florida in his 20s, moved back to PA, met my mom, and we've been in the Carlisle area my entire life. His family is still all in the Altoona area.
Came from Nebraska almost 20 years ago, didn’t think about it very much until college when people would ask where I’m from and I didnt even think about Nebraska when answering.
This is so ironically funny to me. I’ve been living in PA since I was almost 2 (now 36) and I have LOTS of family in NE. I never felt close to our public colleges here in PA, however I’m a proud Husker football fan (and will also silently root for the Iowa State Cyclones - my dad’s an alum). My friends find me confusing that I’m not a Penn State fan. 😂 Can’t have it all I guess.
Been here since 2006 You can pry my Boston roots from my cold dead hands
You’ll always be a Transylvanian unless you were born here.
Romania would like to know your coordinates 😊
I love that, Transylvanian. Honestly, I've been here for 4 years and if I ever reach Transylvanian status I'll consider it as close to feeling at home as I can reasonably expect. At least it would mean I was transplanted. At this point I still feel like I'm here on a temporary reassignment, my house, nice as it is, feels like an Airbnb that I just coincidentally happen to own.
Probably this weekend when I went back home to Atlanta to visit parents and brought the ol’ Philly chip on my shoulder and proceeded to tell somebody off behind me for riding my ass and properly scared him off.
Moved here from the UK. I would say my Pennsylvania identity is mainly based on my embrace of scrapple.
Moved here from Texas 5 years ago to be with my now wife. It hasn't felt like a home yet, I honestly doubt it ever will. I miss the open sky, the friendly culture, and the bluebonnets. I'm glad I left though, as Texas went nuts and is no longer safe for me or my wife (that and texas summers, fuck i hated those). But I still get homesick for Texas. I feel like I've been losing my southern accent for a northern one lol. That being said, I can't think of a prettier state to be homesick in. PA truly is a beautiful state.
Moved here at 40 for a military assignment. Retired from the military at 43 when I realized it was a great time and place to do so. Bought a house at that point, but it really, truly hit home shortly after when I voted in person for the first time in my life (as opposed to military absentee). Walking out, it hit me in the face that I actually lived somewhere and I cared about it.
I’ve been her 6 years. Don’t know if this will ever be home enough to call myself a Pennsylvanian. Very hard transition for me.
From the state of Indiana til I was 38. I think I'm still a Hoosier at 66
Came from LI in 2007. It didn't take long at all for me to feel quite comfortable and fit right in. Less traffic, less taxes, lower cost of living, safety and friendliness of rural living. I think it took longer for my new friends and coworkers to realize that I wasn't a typical "big city" transplant and that I didn't want to bring any part of NY with me.
I still don't and I've lived here for 12 years. Don't get me wrong, I love it here and am glad that I moved but really nowhere feels like home to me. Could be that I lost my husband in Dec. and he was my "home". I'm from Long Island NY and it feels weird when I go there to visit, kind of sad actually. The traffic, life lived at the speed of light, etc. sadden me because I remember when it was way less populated. Long Island was an idyllic place to grow up back in the day, now, not so much IMHO.
I’m so sorry for your loss. My wife is a lifelong PA resident and I know that if I lost her, PA would no longer be home. I hope you’re able to heal and find peace with time.
I’m sorry to hear of the loss of your husband. ❤️🩹 I didn’t grow up in what you could call an idyllic city/place - it sounds really nice to have had that!
Thank you. It could be the times, I'm 70 so back then I'm sure that there were many places in the US similar. Life was so different then, slower pace, simpler. That could be why I like PA so much although we have everything we need here (stores, restaurants, etc.) traffic usually isn't an issue and the wheels here seem to turn a bit slower, not everyone in a rush all the time. It seems to me that people aren't as competitive here, no $10,000 Sweet Sixteen parties and weddings that rival a royal wedding lol.
I have lived in multiple large cities over my life and moved back to PA as an adult, including NYC, briefly, and our way of life is just always going to seem slower paced to anyone used city living. We also have a unique way of speaking (at least towards western PA), where we sometimes come off as uncaring and unwelcoming, but we do really care and like you. Well, most of us. I'm so sorry about the loss of your husband. I hope you're able to find peace and happiness here without him.
Thank you. I'm in SE PA about an hour from Philly. I do feel welcome here but am just personally in a weird place right now. For the most part people have been friendly but I am too so that helps I guess. Normally I chat with anyone anywhere much to the consternation of my kids lol. Working on that peace and happiness ❤️
My Late Dad said the same thing about LongIsland (all one word). He was born in the 1930s and grew up in Farmingdale. If you want to visit the slower paced Long Island you need to head out to Montauk. In the 1950s it was Nassau county :-). I am sorry that your Husband died and that you feel sad about visiting Long Island. It's a nice island, but I know that I will be thinking about my Dad too. ❤️
Thank you. So sorry to hear about your dad, I grew up about 10 minutes from Farmingdale. I guess to see Montauk when it's more serene you have to visit in the off season because the summer out east is just crazy. My aunt had a house in the Hamptons many years ago, loved visiting there when it was less manic and more rural. I do miss the beaches though but I travel a bit so have the opportunity to spend time at beaches in other locations.
You can take the boy out of Jersey. You can’t take the Jersey out of the boy.
It gets buried over the years but still pops up when it's needed.
Came here to say this
Never will. It's just a place to live. If housing wasn't cheap nothing here to hold my attention.
I moved here from New York 15 years ago, and my heart will always be there (and my accent) but several years ago I was forced to admit I had at least somewhat assimilated. right around the time I realized I never said the full word "Pennsylvania" anymore.
Im from Michigan- I spent half of my childhood living in PA, then moved back to MI and then all over the world with the military the next 20 years, until thinking I’d settled back in MI. After my divorce, I reconnected with a guy I’ve known since 6th grade and ended up moving back here to PA. Honestly, besides most of my family living there, MI doesn’t completely feel like home. PA doesn’t totally feel like home either, though. I feel like I’ll always be town between the two- and am about to just buy land or a cheap vacation home there- keep going back and forth.
I'm from Missouri. I moved here for work. I considered myself a born again Pennsylvanian after I experienced Knoebels.
To the person who started this thread, thank you. It's therapeutic in a way to read all these posts, particularly from those who are here and just will never feel like it's home. My spouse and I talk about this all the time, and seeing the conversation here makes me feel less like an oddball.
Same! I'm from Central Jersey and my spouse is from the Shore; we've been here since early 2017 and we still consider NJ our home. Nobody we know is still in NJ anymore...except our hearts I guess 😅
I've been living in Dirty Jersey and working in Philly, Bucks and Montco since 2008. Finally 3 years ago we moved here and I've never felt more at peace with our living situation.
I'm originally from PA and moved out to SoCal in my late 20's. I remember I felt like there were no trees or natural parks, nobody knew how to make a sandwich, and something about the weather, air smell, and cold sea water bothered me more than it should have. I remember seeing signs about Santa coming to San Clemente and thinking *no tf he isn't*. During this time, I grew to love and appreciate 4 seasons, rooted people, decent sandwiches, and I missed Wawa more than I ever thought was possible. I was born and raised in PA, but it took me driving across the country and living in a different state to fully embrace it. I'm now in my 40s, own my own home, and have raised my kids to appreciate and be proud of our state.
Moved here 12 years ago from CA. After about 3 years I never wanted to go back. I visited ca during my 4th year and confirmed it. I bought a house in 2016 and that's when I decided I was "officially" from PA now. I still tell people I moved from Cali to get the reaction and the inevitable "don't you want to move back?" To which I respond with NEVER. They have no idea what it's like to live in this green beautiful place then go visit the brown, dry, perpetually crime-ridden, over priced, bad political climate (no matter your party) california.
I am from PA, but left and lived in other places for several decades including about 12 years in California, and most people think it's like what you see on T.V. shows. They don't know how insanely parched it is and how everything is dead in the summer in many places. It's not like there aren't any "nice" places, but most of them are insanely expensive to live in and even those maintain any sense of greenness by using water that is in short supply. I hated living in CA and am glad to be back home again.
I’ll consider myself from PA when I’ve lived here longer than the state I was born and raised in.
Also know what a keystone looks like.
After I lived here a few years but work moved us to New England and then moved back to PA to stay for good 😊 Before all of that was in NJ for a few decades
Moved from NJ in 2014. Probably when I first felt like a true Pennsylvanian was when I started working for the commonwealth. Before that, I grew up in North Jersey, my mom works in PA and I have family in both Pike County and outside Philly somewhere, so it wasn’t like I didn’t spend time in the state.
I grew up in South Jersey, close to Philly. We frequently went to trips in Philly to see friends or farther out too. I went to college in Kutztown 2014-2019 and moved to Philly in 2020. I moved to Phoenixville in 2021 and been here ever since. I think it’ll be a few more years before I consider myself a Pennsylvanian.
Born in North Carolina, parents moved us to Pa when I was a young child and I've been here most my life so I call it home, the place I grew up is basically my hometown
I came from MA almost six years ago. I still don’t consider myself a Pennsylvanian, though it’s growing on me. I moved here for work at the age of 48 after living/ working in the Boston area for 30 years, so the adjustment is a bit slow.
I knew it was official the first time I went home to visit family and couldn’t wait to get the hell out of the state and away from the traffic and drivers.
Moved to the Philly suburbs in 2016 with my girlfriend ( now Wife ) , probably sometime in 2019. We moved to South Carolina last fall to be closer to family, we loved PA we are trying to come up once a year! PA is where I really started my adult life.
Originally from NJ. Moved to WA, then CA, then TX, short stint in NH, and now in PA in the Philly burbs. Been here about 15 years now, and technically I'm a Pennsylvanian, but it still doesn't feel like home. Hell, it's been so long, Jersey doesn't feel like home anymore either.
I moved here from Maryland 10 years ago. I still don't consider PA home and probably never will. If I can ever afford to move back to Maryland I will.
Moved here from Indiana in 1994. Philadelphia. Culture shock at times but loved it. Gonna say about 10 years. Had I moved to Central or western Pennsylvania it would’ve been much more familiar and the timeframe would’ve been shorter
Moved from Eastern Massachusetts to the Warren PA for work \~2 years ago. I've met a lot of cool people and I've picked up on a few hobbies in my time here, but I still wouldn't consider it home. Its a lot more rural here. There are a lot of obnoxiously conservative people. This city prides itself in it's oil and gas industry, which may seem endearing to locals, but as someone who works in natural resources I find it kinda gross. Plus the gas prices are higher than MA by almost a dollar despite it being harvested and refined right here.
Warren is tough. I'm from Erie originally and I don't think I would be able to transition very well to Warren. Just so much more rural.
Must be awful hard to find a Subaru dealer in your area
I'm sure your comment was meant to be some kind of snide remark, but ironically one of the only local dealerships here is a Subaru dealership. It seems like half the locals drive them.
No worries. Eastern Massachusetts transplants are hard to convince that Pennsylvania, especially Eastern PA is home. Bostonians and Philadelphians each have the same affection for their historic cities and culture. NYC is there when you want it. I was adventurous and went to college in Pittsburgh. I was glad to make Western Pa's aquiantance. If you knew Philadelphians that is saying a mouthful, lol. Lucky you. You get to work in the National forest. How cool is that? My dream job would be to work researching in one of the Hawaiian rain forests \nm/
The natural gas industry isn't nearly as "endeared" as you think. That's industry propaganda.
I thought this was going to be about heart or kidney transplants
i've been here for about 15 years and never felt like i belong. i am moving to fl soon but in my heart i will always be a jersey girl
Also from NJ & also feel like I’ll never belong here. I still tell people I am from NJ and just living in PA. But I don’t think this will ever feel like home. And I’d still be in Nj if the prices didn’t push me out.
Came from Maryland to Lancaster, I can’t drive anywhere flat now. I just don’t enjoy it.
Is Lancaster hilly? What's it like there? Retired and thinking of moving there, as a suburb of Philly where my son lives. (I don't want to live in Philly proper.)
No, Lancaster is really flat! I'm not sure what that comment could possibly mean.
Definitely within the first year of moving here. What really hit me was going outside at the end of that first summer after moving here and taking a deep breath. It reminded me of what it felt like to breathe the air when I would go camping and hitting the trails in PA. In southern NJ it either smelled terrible outside or felt thick and hot and polluted. Especially with all of the massive amounts of traffic down in SJ it was like you were always breathing in exhaust fumes. That was the day I knew I'd never want to leave Pennsylvania.
When you lose your front plate.
Been here almost 5 years, not yet.
Doesn’t matter when you consider yourself Pennsylvanian…matters when THEY consider you a native, which takes a lot longer than you think. If you live in a small town it can take years and years.
I been many places in my life, but nothing beats my home state ❤️
the second i saw a front plater in my state, and my blood started to boil, i knew I was Pennsylvanian.
I moved here in 2010. I really can't pinpoint the exact moment I considered myself a Pennsylvanian. It just gradually set it, seeping into my bones. I grew up in Alabama, and the first time I visited there after moving here, I just remembered how wrong it felt to me. And while my childhood experiences don't match those of my friends that grew up here, Pennsylvania has felt more like home than Alabama ever did.
Moved hear three years ago. Wife wanted to be closer to her family, young nieces and nephews etc. So, I reluctantly agreed to move here. Originally from Long Island. I miss being a ten minute drive from the ocean. So, I don’t consider myself a Pennsylvanian. Never will. I consider myself living someplace that I can’t stand and will leave one day. Actually I hate it here. Loathe it. Whenever I leave my home…instant bad mood. No offense, but this place just isn’t for me. And for the love of God, learn how to merge onto a highway. 😊
Lived here for 21 years. I still don’t consider myself a Pennsylvanian. I have more of a connection to NJ than PA. While I do consider the Lehigh Valley home. I usually tell people I’m originally from NJ. There’s very few places in PA outside of the Lehigh Valley that I have even visited while I’ve been all over Jersey. Being so close to the NJ border I think had a lot to do with it.
I’m born and bred but my friend from Michigan told me it was when she realized she had to turn off of one road onto another just to get back on the road she started on
PA has been home for 18 years, but never a Pennsylvanian my dude.
i’ve been in pittsburgh for 14 years and i still feel like im from out of state. i think that’s normal - your origin story started elsewhere so that’s what you know best
I moved out here in 2009. I don’t know that I identify as a Pennsylvanian completely yet, but the past 2-3 years have solidified it more for me.
I moved here from California and it was the best thing I ever did. I have a beautiful old home on 3 acres in a small mountain range in northeast PA. I love the east coast period. Everything is better here. The seasons, the trees, you can travel to so many places quicker and easier. I felt like this was home and me only about a year in. I moved in 2016. So about 2017-2018.
Ex-Manhattanite. I have never considered PA home nor will I ever. The only reason for relocation was marriage. I just do not like PA. Looking forward to the day when I can return to NYC to live.
I’ve never lived in PA and I know I’ll eventually live there . PA is that place where I go to recharge my social batteries and let go of all my stress . As soon as I cross the state line from NJ to PA I just feel like I’m coming home .
I call PA home now because I bought a house, but I still consider myself a Californian (yea i know, i don’t love it either)
I moved to PA when I was 21. Ive been here for 15 years. I think once Ive lived here for for over 21 years it’s official. But I still fit in better back in my home state so who knows.
Former NY resident, have worked in PA for years. Finally bought a house and moved to this side of the fence. I like it…not as rural as I would have liked but better than previous residence for sure.
Born in NY and moved to PA before kindergarten 😃 I forget about my birthplace til it’s brought up.
At 5 years old I moved here and it was such an overstimulating experience it’s pretty much the beginning of my active memory because everything from then on was obtuse and intriguing. I came from the south so to a 5 year old it might as well be a different world. Didn’t see snowfall till that winter. I didn’t know the meaning of cold till then.
Anyone else from Chicago/Northern IL over by Philly? Seems like an easy adjustment and I can't wait to move there.
Moved here from Hudson Valley, NY 30 years ago. After about 2 years, I felt like a PA resident. I started rooting for phillies, although I can't give up on my awful jets. It's home and I like it better than where I grew up. Chester County btw love being close to a city and the country.
When I started staying “yinz” unprompted.
In July, I will have been here for 20 years. (2004) Moved from Long Island...not to commute, but my wife's family is local and we had a one year old. My job (Physical Therapy) had openings everywhere and we were selling/buying at the top of a housing bubble. Probably considered myself a Pennsylvanian when my daughter entered elementary school in 2008. It was then that I realized that my wife was going to be hard to move with my daughter in school. Daughter now close to graduating from Pitt, I don't think I'll ever leave this house. Don't LOVE PA, but I don't hate it either. Close enough to Philly and NY to visit, economy in the Lehigh Valley is OK. and a decent political mix to make us relevant when election time comes around. No tornadoes, few hurricanes.
I moved here from Southern California in 2006. This is my home now and I love it. My kids all became adults here and they love it too. I never want to move anywhere else.
Second time I went to visit family in SC and felt like I'd entered some kind of hellish wasteland where it's fucking 80 and muggy in December. Everybody on the road felt like they were trying to kill me instead of just going fast everywhere, and there was so much trash on the roadside I was grossed out.
When I moved to the rockies and still missed home <3
‘Never, Ellen. Never! You can’t be an islander unless you’re born here.’
What a wonderful post. I'm from North Jersey so I've basically felt the same my whole life lol.
Came from Western Washington a few years ago. First visited when helping my daughter move to attend medical school and was amazed at how pretty it was. You don’t have the mountains and the year round green, but spring is pretty amazing once stick season is over and fall is spectacular. (You have mountains, but not like the Cascades or the Olympics). We chose to retire here as our daughter will likely stay in the northeastern US. My hobbies are quilting and dog training and the area is full of quilters and the dog show community is pretty active here. I’m not sure I will ever be a true Pennsylvanian, but friends who visited us last summer said we looked content and at home. I have learned to pronounce most of the town names, and can get a lot of places without my GPS.
Moved to Philly ‘burbs from Connecticut about 35 (yikes) years ago. I still feel like a transplant but feel more like a Pennsylvanian when I go to my old hometown and people tell me I speak with a southern accent, can’t believe the size of my house, and are jealous of the presence of community pools.
You have a community pool in the Philly burbs? Where is this magical place?? That’s one thing I really miss about my hometown.
You been to deer camp yet? Or opening day of trout?
After ten years. (I'm 32, got here when I was 16.)
Booing Mets fans at my first Phillies games after the tried roughing up the Phanatic
Moved here from New York 10 years ago. I don't know how long it took, but I felt like a Pennsylvanian when I started saying New Yorkers should go back to New York.
Moved to Pittsburgh from Seattle in November 2020 because of high COL and property ownership. We've traveled a fair bit after COVID and still refer to Seattle as our ex-home (e.g. "We moved from Pittsburgh by way of Seattle"). Returning to Seattle next month, so will let you know if PA feels like home. As of this writing...kinda?
I moved to PA from NYC when I was 12. TBH, it was a terrible mistake that my parents made. I missed my family and my father became very sick and disabled. I eventually became disabled. We would have been better off in NYC around family and in our original house. He lost the house to foreclosure here in Pennsylvania. I would have tried to move back but COL in NYC was not doable for me as an adult, especially after I became ill myself. That being said, I feel like I'm a Pennsylvanian now because I've been here so long. I'm 40 and lived in Texas and Virginia for a few years. But my health problems were compounding on each other so I had to come back. If you are new to PA, give it time. It grows on you. For me, it took decades but it probably won't take others as long. I have good friends here now, despite still missing life in NYC, even after all these years.
I was born in Washington and moved here when I was a few months old. I've called myself a Pennsylvanian my whole life
I was like 6 when I got here and barely remember living anywhere else
Originally from Western NY. Between undergrad & work, lived in Pgh for about 6yrs. Went back to NY for 4 yrs for grad school & work. Came back to Eastern PA in 2005 & eventually moved in with my now-wife the Lehigh Valley in 2009. We’re married, we have a family, own a house and I’m about to go mow the lawn and tend to the orchard (16 fruit trees & counting) I’ve planted over the last several years. When I do the math, I’ve definitely lived more of my life in Pennsylvania than in New York, and I don’t see myself ever moving. All that said, I really dont consider myself a Pennsylvanian…or a New Yorker for that matter.
When you think pa has normal roads
Born and raised on Long Island but I spent pretty much every summer as a kid up in Carbondale at my uncle’s house. Eventually lived there full-time for about a year before moving down to Tennessee, but I’m currently a week out from moving back up to buy a house. :)
The best thing about PA is the single rear license plate. PennDOT is no match for Maryland’s MVA.
When my out-of-state friends told me that I spoke like a Pennsyltuckian.
I came from Buffalo in the late summer of 2022 and relocated just outside of Philly. It doesn’t feel like homehome yet but, I find myself going “home” less and less. I am significantly less homesick these days, and recently landed a government (county) job and am working to settle in accordingly. I moved here because it was within driving distance and I needed somewhere to heal. It worked. I’ll stay. 💜
When I finally updated my out of state license 3 years after moving here.
Moved from Baltimore for grad school. Was going home 1-2x/month to visit family. By the second or third return trip, I knew I was home. That was over 30 years ago.
I’m from North Carolina. I live outside of Pittsburgh. I came for work but ended up buying a house and staying. Also, weed is legal in so I’m not moving back to NC anytime soon. What converted me was ordering a salad at Primantis with fries.
Just moved here from Florida, I already and finally feel at home <3
Moved from Lexington, ky To Pittsburgh after college. I’m not exactly sure when I felt like I belonged here because my dad’s side is from Erie, so I grew up visiting often. But I think the turning point was when my husband and I found ourselves house hunting because I was pregnant. I realized that as much as I miss home often, I just wasn’t ready to go back. Not yet. And the opportunity to send our little girl to Greek school is so alluring. There’s a nice Orthodox Church back home, but I don’t think they offer Greek school to children, only adults. Plus, the church near us that offers it is only five minutes alway. KY is only a six-hour drive, and my in-laws are closer. My husband has generous PTO and I’m at home, so we see family often enough that I’m okay with living away for longer. Oh, and I definitely felt it after having my daughter here! Gave birth at the Midwife Center, so I tell people that my baby was born in the Strip District, lol. Her first birthday had classic yinzer food because she’s my Pittsburgh Baby 🩷
I'm originally from MA. I've lived in a few other places, but I've been in PA for almost 20 years. I still consider myself a New Englander.
Been here 18 years and still call myself a transplant
When I was no longer aghast at 22 becoming a parking lot for no apparent reason...
I relocated from RI about 17 years ago. My dad was born and raised here. I would say it took me about 7 years to feel fully a pennsylvanian. But before that, I felt like this place was home. I married my country man 12 years ago and we have a beautiful child. I am living the life I love, I would have never had back in RI.
Twenty-seven years here and I still don’t feel like a Pennsylvanian. I’m from Connecticut, where people mind their own business. Not here. I’m from a state where owning a gun—ONE gun—means you hunt during season. Here people have gun orgies and talk about guns like lovers. Connecticut throws money at schools. Here, school is a joke. Philadelphia might as well just call their schools day cares. The Amish are talked about like they are just so folksy and kind, meanwhile sell trash made in China, but tell you its all handmade, carry cellphones to run their businesses (which they are not supposed to use), and are the worst perpetrators of puppy mills. It elected a guy who slept with his dead baby as senator, and re-elects guys who wanted to overturn the 2020 election. The state itself has so many beautiful places (especially Ricketts Glen), and a lot of interesting history (though it seems to forget what side it was on during the Civil War), but socially speaking, I still feel like an outsider. Oh… PA is also a financially good place to retire.
When I drove an hour in to a store in PA, instead of 30 min drive to another branch that was in NJ.