This video basically also explains why PA has become the quintessential swing state. Such a massive contrast between the east west and middle, a state with massive cultural differences
@@PhantomJM Well in 2020 only one county in central PA and then Harrisburg's county went Dem. So really Central PA is heavily MAGA with Trump wining in most areas with 70%+. The pattern is there of most places voting against their own interests in rural areas.
The drive to State College and Penn State is very scenic actually. If you go there on football weekends though pack a lot of patience I know I have done it a few times.
When the Big Ten voted to admit Penn State as a member in the 1990s, there was some consternation due to State College's isolation. Bobby Knight famously said, "I've been to Penn State. It's a camping trip!" One of the conditions Penn State had to meet for Big Ten membership was to get the runway at State College Regional Airport lengthened to accommodate mid-sized jet aircraft.
Most people from Philadelphia who come to Pittsburgh seem to like the city. People from Pittsburgh typically have more reason to head towards Philadelphia and see that city, along with Washington/ NYC,/ East Coast but Philadelphians don’t go west as often to visit or go through Pittsburgh but they do seem to like Pittsburgh when they do.😀
RecycleBin - That one big unifier overriding all that is sports and that tv exposure. Free advertising during every home game to show Pittsburgh. The love for PNC Park that MLB players have and having the city showcased during baseball games. The success of the Pittsburgh Penguins and that bringing hockey fans in from all over the country/ Canada. Sports advertising has been a huge tourism draw and magnet for Philly. 😀.
Pennsylvania is the only state that has ports connected to 3 different major water ways. Philly is on the Delaware River which is connected to the Atlantic Ocean. Pittsburg is on the Ohio river, which connects to the Mississippi River, and then the Gulf of Mexico. Erie, is on Lake Erie, which is connected to Great Lakes system, which connects to St Laurence River and out to Northern Atlantic Ocean.
I grew up near Punxsutawney, and went to IUP, then moved out west to Colorado. There are a lot of roads connecting the little valleys in PA. There are few open expanses of flat land. It’s not as rugged as West Virginia, but getting close to it. The valleys in PA feel closed in compared to the big skies out west. There are also breaks in culture. The Pittsburgh area has a lot of the “Yinzer” or “Mill Hunky” culture which is blue collar. Pittsburgh has changed quite a bit and has more white collar industry like medical, financial, robotics, etc. Eastern PA has a lot of Pennsylvania Dutch which aren’t just Amish, but Mennonite, as well as old German lineage. The anthracite region has a lot of Polish and other Central European lineage. One culture thing that does seem to unify is deer hunting. The Monday after thanksgiving is the first day of deer hunting and is practically a state holiday with schools, workplaces etc shutdown. A I recall churches making some good bank by hosting hunter breakfasts on that Monday. Another interesting thing about PA is the number of colleges and universities. It gives a lot of good options for higher education. I’m glad that I moved west, but there are some great things about PA. Folks not from PA seem to denigrate the state, but they really understand it, and it’s not as uniform a culture as outsiders might think.
@@ppainterco u obviously never drove through southern Lancaster county with Trump flags plastered to hovels and Amish buggies competing with angry white guys in trucks sporting truck nuts. The old ethnic communities are the salt of the earth. Unfortunately the MAGA cockroach crowd has out bred the normal family such that flat earthers, anti science and higher education crowds, and conspiracy lug nuts rule the narrative. It’s such a dystopian world
@@danstone8783 that seems to be the way lately. It’s been almost 20 years since I moved from PA, but Colorado is getting goofy with regards to hunting, too. It might be time to retire to Wyoming.
New York similar in many respects. Very polar opposite cultures between the east and the west. Lived most of my life in Western NY. Actually grew up six miles from the Pennsylvania line in New York's "southern tier" as they call it here. Out here you have the rural farming and hunting culture with the cities being mostly blue collar steel and mill cities with the exception of Rochester which was the home of Kodak and Xerox. NYC always the financial hub and the home of the "New Yorker" attitude. People much more laid back in WNY. I have spent lots of time in PA it's almost like a second home. Have friends and family in Pittsburgh and Erie, and have throughout my life frequented the Kinzua parks in northern PA and the small towns of Warren and Bradford.
Punxsutawney is a cute, funny little town. I really like Brookville better but I can never remember the name. Dad used to call miners under ground farmers. He used to say all the girls had two first names like Annmarie. Driving in PA is more about looking for land marks. Big Sky country and flat lands like Florida it's much different to drive because you can't see very far away like you can in PA. You can see that mountain or tower that's 5 miles away and use it as a land mark. Pennsylvania is very much an agricultural state with a large farm show in Harrisburg every year. The Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch which is their own dialect of German.
I go on a 3-day canoe trip every year in the Allegheny region of PA with my college buddies and it’s the highlight of my year. It’s beautiful, you can go on for miles down the river and not see any other humans but instead bald eagles, great blue herons, and unobstructed forest.
I think you just described the plot of "Deliverance", except at no point has any local demanded that any member of your party "squeal like a pig", perhaps contrary to the expectations of some detractors of Central PA.
@@ddmarsh21 I've lived in this area since I was 4. Never realized how beautiful it was until I took a month long road trip around the nation. Every part of the country is distinct and beautiful in its own way, but the rolling hills, small mountains and lush deciduous forests makes PA distinct. No matter where you are there's hills or mountains full of colorful forests blocking the horizon. Between that and the constant flashing orange active work zone signs with nobody actually working them, you always know when you're close to home.
Grew up in Warren. Made a 3-day canoe trip in HS down the Allegheny starting at the outflow of the dam. Terrific memories. Other than the sunburn...lol
I live in Williamsport, PA. It's sort of the hub for North-Central PA. Population is about 28K. Travel just a short distance in ANY direction and you are surrounded by farms, forests, and mountains. A great area to live if you like the outdoors but not everyone does.
I went to school there right after it went from WACC to Pen College in 1989. I enjoyed it up there vs my constantly building up South-central PA area west of Harrisburg.
I live here too and it’s a cute town. It tries to be interesting. The town is beautiful and relatively clean. I’ve lived in big cities and I appreciate the easy commutes for daily living.
The answer to all of these questions is simple: the mountains that divide Pennsylvania. The mountains are sparsely populated, and they divide east from west.
It's always about mountains...or deserts or lack of access to waterways. The majority of the country can be summed up this way in terms of population centers with a few exceptions like desert cities like Phoenix and mountain cities like Denver.
Greensburg was started as it was the high plateau and the first resting place after the mountains. Now a city of 14,976. That is likely the city itself, the surrounding area likely doubles that number.
@nobillclinton Hahaha...I hate the Pens of course..but I actually live in Harrisburg now and they are more Hershey Bears fans that they are Flyers...btw,,it's Yous and not Yins..lol
@@geraldbroadnax2992 I’m not a Pittsburgh native but by no means is all of the East Pennsyltucky, although everywhere outside the city is SUPER pennsyltucky it seems. Kinda sad.
Unironically, very incorrect. The Philly and Pittsburgh accents exist on the same dialect continuum, both cities were built on rowhouses/duplexes and homeownership rather than dense apartments/flats, and both were respective manufacturing centers rather than hubs of through-trade.
@@Wewwers Have you ever heard someone from Pittsburgh speak? They use terms that I've never heard of. Their accent is also different from a Philly accent.
I think Scranton/Wilkes-Barre identifies more with the Philadelphia region and probably should be included in that region. That area has the largest deposits of anthracite coal. The author also forgot how industrialized the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton area was. While Pittsburgh had more steel mills, Bethlehem should not be forgotten.
For sure disagree. From the western part of the state here, u guys seem like either 1 you don't exist or 2 you're central PA (basically a repeat of #1). I heard it said that pennsylvania is pittsburgh and Philadelphia and everything in between and around is Alabama. And yeah, that's correct
How did you miss the French being the first colonizers of Pittsburgh? We have a ton of French place names here and the confluence of the three rivers was originally called Fort Duquesne. As for central PA, there are more deer than people. 🤷🏼♀️
And how much of a melting pot Pittsburgh was (and still is). Lawrenceville (Irish), Polish Hill (pretty obvious), sure their diversity has diminished but they're still here. Heck, there used to be a Chinatown on the Strip but now I think it's just one or two remaining buildings. Edit: As in different nationalities/cultures/ethnic backgrounds, not races.
The Horseshoe Curve near Altoona is a major landmark on Amtrak's Pennsylvanian (currently the only train in Pennsylvania that goes west of Harrisburg using this route)
A clever marvel of engineering. The curve wears the track out quickly. I've ridden the curve on the train. Lots of squealing from the wheels and track. There is a viewing platform in the center of the curve to watch. It's also notorious for crashes. Altoona has a large train museum. Altoona was originally settled because the railroad placed their repair facility there because there was no other employers in the area so when they laid the men off, there was no where else to work so they could rehire them when they needed them.
Hi, I grew up in Northeastern PA which many now call Northeast PA. I know there is a town near Erie by the name of Northeast. Why is it called that when it is in the northwest of the state?
@@gordonschultz4788 IDK, but locations like that are normally named relative to another location. We think of Florida as being in "the South", but for someone who lives in Brazil, that's to the north, etc. Northeast may be west of *YOU*, but was probably to the northeast of something/somewhere for the person that founded the town?
I’m 63. I was born and bred in southwestern Pennsylvania. Went to college just outside of Philadelphia in an area known as the “Main Line. Almost went to Dickinson College which is in Carlisle PA, near Harrisburg. I’ve traveled to Erie PA and Lancaster County. Our state is beautiful. But there are a lot of hills and mountains running through. Even the Pittsburgh area has lots of hills and surrounding counties are full of mountainous terrain. The mountainous areas are coal mining regions. Otherwise, not much can be done in those areas due to the terrain. Driving in these areas is a big pain because of all the hills and mountain. But so much beauty. I’ve lived in Michigan and in DC and my father grew up on a farm in Georgia. All those areas are flat like Philly and Erie. Easier driving. But I can’t imagine not seeing the beautiful hills and mountains of southwestern and central PA. Like the forests in fairytales. ❤️
Right in the geographic center of Central PA is Penn State University! Their football stadium can hold about 106,000 people, and it's in a beautiful part of PA!
According to local lore, the site was supposed to be the geographic center of the state. But when surveyors found that the location was in the middle of a river the University had to be built a couple of miles away.
Right in the geographic center of Central PA is Penn state lockerooms. There lockerooms once held A Defensive coordinator diddling little boys, and the when the Head coach knew he did nothing.
I especially love "middle PA" as I'm a Penn State fan...................but also fell in love with NW Route 6 trip I took several years ago. OMG..............you can't see the forest for the trees. What BEAUTIFUL country! PA is always gonna be one of my favorite states. So diverse.
I made a random decision a few years ago and did route 6 end to end then 89 up to Erie in a weekend. It had snowed statewide the prior day and i cannot put into words the awesome experience i had! Lancaster Co native
I'm from Tamaqua Pa, largest town in the north of Schuylkill county. My father and uncle mined anthracite and smelted steel at Bethlehem. I know NE Pa very well and lived in York Pa for a decade. Pittsburgh was not the only steel producer and eastern anthracite was better than western bituminous. This is very much a glance, and there is much more to Pa than can be here contained. I know Philly well, and WilkesBarre/Scranton and I've walked the AT on Blue Mountain south to Harper's Ferry and north to Sunfish Pond NJ. Pa was my home, the whole state. It's wrong to say the NE is empty. There are large and small towns dotted throughout the state. It cannot be compared to actual empty areas out west like Nevada and Wyoming. There are people there. It's NOT empty.
I lived in the Lehigh Valley for a few years. It was a massive steel-producing area. Bethlehem Steel wasn't quite as famous as Pittsburgh but it was still a major hub. The region was also within easy transport distance for coal mined in Lackawanna County and environs.
Amen on the city rats ,please stay out you pay waaaay to much for a house and land, causing higher property taxes and ruining hunting lands,etc they even break up old tomb stones ,because of no respect for people who came before Often thea are against fracking royalties which help people pay taxes
Driving from Ohio west on Interstate 80 there's a sign shortly before the Pennsylvania border that says it's 410 miles to NYC. I always got a kick out of that.
While living and working in Ohio for thirty years I passed that sign at least twice a month for every one of those thirty years. I was born and raised about 15 miles east of Punxsutawney and that's where I came back to when I retired. Once a Pennsyltuckian always a Pennsyltuckian. Home sweet home.
Would have been cool if he mentioned that at the height of the industrial revolution The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest corporation in the world.
@@sunbrookheath They were also one of the greatest engineering and construction organizations in the world, at their peak. They built railroads in places that others couldn't even imagine, at a level of skill and design that others would only copy, decades later.
As someone who lives in South Central Pennsylvania, I have to say the Appalachian Mountains are a massive obstacle in the North Central part of the state for high population. Ideal for your luxurious ski resorts and indoor water parks: not so much for actual cities!
Speaking of water parks, it's crazy how many amusement parks are in Pennsylvania. Hershey, Kneobels, Dorney, Dutch Wonderland, and there's probably one or two others.
@@orangeyewgladway more than one or two. You’re clearly from the eastern part of the state, in the west we’ve also got Kennywood, Idlewild, Sandcastle, Lakemont Park, Erie has an indoor water park too I believe.
As a lifelong Pittsburgher it has always fascinated me the stark difference from one side of the state to the other. It’s also wild to me that some of the more northern rural regions I’ve never even been too and I travel around a fair bit. Love it here though lots to do and see beautiful state all around.
I’m from the lock haven/williamsport area and I love the lack of people, it’s much more peaceful than a big city. Love the scenery and countryside, the views are gorgeous this time of the year with the leaves changing 🍂
Extremely interesting Geoffrey. In a nutshell you educated this 77 year old Australian lad who has always been interested in geography and an interest in Pennsylvania. I look forward to more of your well researched documentaries.
As a native Pennsylvanian it’s funny, I’ve always had an interest/appreciation for the Australia. I guess from a cultural and historical and geographical standpoint. Cheers to yall
I'm in and from central PA and obsessed with Australia I love hearing everyone talk too lol! I've always been interested in Australia many other places as well but always obsessed with the thought of seeing Australia ❤
I used to live in central Pennsylvania. I lived in Elizabethville- which is in the mountains. Not many people lived there because of the mountains. I went to Harrisburg frequently, which was 45 minutes away.
I once dated a woman from Elisabethville. That is some small town living up there. Better watch where you're going when it gets dark. lol Rt 209 is an interesting drive through all of those little towns up there.
@@BlessingsfromBridget I was so confused when I first moved to Pa and learned there is Elizabethtown, Elizabethville and Elizabeth. (Plus Elizabeth borough and township) Which are all completely different places hours apart geographically
Don't lump in Northeast PA with the rest of central PA...Scranton and Wilkes-Barre as well as the northeast Poconos have strong ties to NYC, NJ, and Philly and are more similar to them culturally
@@natestains9287 Like NYC and Philly, much of Northeast PA's "culture" center around external influences and commercialism rather than authentic, homegrown culture. Pseudo-culture all around.
May I suggest a ride from Huntington on rt. 22 up to State College along some of the back roads through the mountains which never get that high in Pennsylvania but are very relaxing and just rugged enough. Cooks Forest, Black Moshannon, and the Allegheny National forest are highly recommended as well. ALSO: The once a day train ride on Amtrak between Pittsburgh (leaves at 7:30am and Philadelphia (leaves for Pittsburgh every day at noon.) is truly awesome! Crossing multiple times over the Juniata River, the famous horseshoe curve above Altoona and the reasonably short distance between the two metros makes for a really fun day in my opinion. 😊
I live in a small town called St. Marys PA, called the powdered metal capital of the us. Our area is home to a large manufacturing sector. I disagree with Geoff's characterization of central PA not having any manufacturing. The carbon and powder metal industries are by no means insignificant to the manufacturing sector of PA as a whole. A large portion of small western PA towns were founded by Catholic German immigrants who were persecuted by protestants. Just a little insight to the region for those who did not get any better understanding of the region from this video.
I live in central PA and I love it here. Plenty of stuff to do and see and as the video said its not too crowded. I was born and raised here and I cannot ever see myself leaving. The weather is pretty much perfect most of the year as in never really too hot or too cold and anytime I ever leave this area for more than a few days I always start to miss it right away wishing to go back. Also something not really touched on in this video as far as major events like natural disasters this area is fairly safe with because the mountain ranges protect the land from the worst of it. Even though its not as crowded there are still plenty of urban amenities available and if you ever do need to get anywhere such as a major city there are 4-5 within a 2-3 hour drive.
I mean the main reason the far west/far east of the State is mainly populated is fairly simple: access to water via rivers/lakes. It was NEEDED 100 to 200+ years ago in order for populations to survive (same for any civilization) so large population centers like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg (granted it's closer to the middle of the state unlike the previous two) wound up being formed near larger bodies of water that provided drinkable water/transportation and most people stayed there until these cities just got ridiculously huge in comparison to the other towns in the states. Same applies to all other cities in other states of the US as well as all large cities in any country in the world as well. The mountains and the like also make it harder and all of course as it provides more of a hike going up a mountain than flatland and has issues with making roads easily (especially 100s fo years ago without the heavy machine equipment we have to use today to make roads, buildings, bridges, sewage systems, etc) and also make it a bit harder to grow fruit/vegetable as well the further you are from a water source. As for the western PA it's obvious those cities were mainly made when they discovered minerals and they needed bases of operations which attracted merchants, which eventually lead to the formations of towns and later on larger cities. Finally throw in most of the forest land in the middle of the state are now considered natural parks and the like so there's a lot of pushback nowadays/for the last hundred years or so in destroying it to create new cities and the like.
Dear Geoff ; You expressed a big geographic mistake ( you are human too ) ! Around the time line of 12 : 35 on this video ; you mentioned the Pocono Mtns. but you were too far West showing it on the map. You over pretty close to extreme Western Pa. region. Later on your video a Pa. map is shown & the Pocono Mtns. location is now correct. I lived in N.J. for 50 years and camped all over the middle Atlantic states & New England, Ontario , Quebec & Nova Scotia. I moved to S.E. Michigan when I was turning age 50. Still have family in N.J , N.Y. and so does my wife. we travel between Michigan & the East coast quite often , most of the time Interstate 80 .
Native from Central PA here (Sunbury)! I'm living in Southwest Virginia currently for school and there are definitely things i miss about our eclectic region of Central PA.
Hi Nate, I'm from the Clarks Summit area north of Scranton. I went to college in Bloomsburg and then transferred to VCU where I graduated and worked in Richmond and western Henrico. Do you attend Virginia Tech?
@@JayKarpwick His exact quote was "Between Paoli and Penn Hills, Pennsylvania's Alabama without the blacks." Paoli is a western suburb of Philly -traditionally thought of as the outermost suburb of the "Main Line" - and Penn Hills an eastern suburb of Pittsburgh.
I lived in Central PA in one of the valleys for over 9 years. Being a native Midwesterner, it was a real culture shock to move there. It wasn’t so much the Amish and Mennonites, (they have awesome shops), but the attitudes and outlook of folks. For example, they didn’t always think in terms of possibilities while people are more forward thinking where I’m from. I think it has something to do with agrarian vs city.
When I tell folks about PA I often mention how comparitively empty central PA is. But it's so beautiful and much less chaotic. I visited Sunbury and Milton last year for fall foliage hiking, and I want to check out more of the natural wonders in the central parts.
They built that big by pass on 180 up there, wow, what a difference that will make. I didn't even recognize the place. I miss what we used to call the big cow in Lewisburg. That town sure has changed the past two decades.
There's a very small secluded spot called Rosecrans falls in central PA if you're ever in the area I recommend checking it out the hike out is absolutely beautiful and the falls are so nice! My kids love going out we always take a garbage bag to clean up any trash we see to keep it beautiful it isn't huge but as long as there's been rain and it's got water it's gorgeous! I like to explore the huge mountain wall cut outs with my boys they call them caves but they're nowhere near just a hole in the side of the mountain rock lol it's awesome in winter as well when the waters 10 foot icecicles you can go behind and get awesome pictures!
My mom was born in central NY. When her family moved to PA, people would ask where she was from. When she told them NY, no one would believe her because she didn't have that NYC accent.
You forgot that the South Central part has Adams County and Gettysburg. The battlefield high ground from 1863 has created an industry normally found further south: Civil War tourism.
It looks like the dividing line on his maps is right between York and Adams counties, so he's maybe lumping that in with "eastern" PA, even though those of us who live here think of it as "south-central" PA. And, despite the tourism, Gettysburg is still a microscopic town of about 7k people. Compared to every other town/city he mentioned, it's barely even a blip on the radar. Hanover and York are the more dominant economic and population hubs in the area by a wide margin (about 10x the size of Gettysburg when taken together as a metro area). For even more contrast, the Gettysburg tourism industry brings in about $57M/year. Utz Potato Chips in Hanover brings in $352M annually all by itself. Then you have famous horse breeders like the Hanover Shoe Farms, etc. Gettysburg is awesome, and I worked there for a few years, but it doesn't have the big pull that other nearby towns/cities do, despite the tourism.
Great video, but as an eastern Pennsylvanian, 1 correction: The "Walking Purchase" extended from the junction of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers (in Philadelphia) to near Easton, which is where the junction of the Delaware and the Lehigh is located.
Scranton is not central Pennsylvania, in any way. Scranton is in the "valley" of "NEPA", Northeast Pennsylvania. Central Pennsylvania is Wilmasport down through Lewisburg, Sunbury, Bloomsburg, Danville, Selinsgrove and then out farther to state college.
I grew up in Lewisburg. We never considered Scranton-WB part of central PA. It was definitely NEPA. I consider Central PA from State College out to Berwick and from Williamsport down to Selinsgrove.
I lived in Western Pa for about 40 years total. I lived in S. Central Pennsylvanna for 25 years. There is a saying "Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in the middle! LOL
The first time I heard that saying was James Carville when he worked for Clinton, he might have been onto something. I live in Central PA and what’s funny is I’ve met quite a few native Alabamians who have relocated here. Maybe Carviile was clairvoyant.
People have said the same thing about New York..."there's New York City and the rest of the state is Alabama". As someone from "the rest of the state" that's not far off, there is a lot of rural area, and mostly very conservative outside of the upstate cities. 55 out of 63 counties are "red", but the state as a whole is "blue" from the large population in the 7 of the 8 "blue" counties (the exception being Tompkins county which is rural)
@@slgibbs1 The heartland is more "Pennsylvania" than the cities, which are cosmopolitan and harbor a large transplanted population from other parts of the country and the world.
Got to learn something new. I love reading about the geography of a country or a state or a city or of a region and learning something unique or peculiar about that particular region. Great and informative video!
It's because the Susquehanna is not navigable. The small cities along the river would have been bigger if it was. Anyway, the state government accounts for a lot of the people in the region because the state decided to locate its capital and university there.
More people would live there if they could be employed there. Other than that, its about 10,000 square miles of low mountains with plenty of deer, bear, trout, trails, canoeing/kayaking, state forests and recreational areas. Great fall foliage. A lot of rail, mining, and logging history. Many quaint small towns with affordable homes. NYC is about a four hour drive, Philly and Pittsburgh about three.
You forgot Altoona, it's another, along with its neighbor Holidaysburg, which was big towns due to the railroad and canal system, plus there's tons of farms up here too. And Johnstown still has a steel mill going, and Altoona has the railroad still. But they're not as big and populated as they used to be, but Pittsburgh is also on the decline as is Philadelphia.
So glad you mentioned this, i was born n raised here in Altoona and currently live in Hollidaysburg 😊 rich, rich railroad history and Indian as well as Revolutionary and Civil War history in Blair County! 🎉 Multiple German spies during WWII were sent to Altoona to spy on and ultimately destroy the railroad pass through the mountains to the west and east known as Horseshoe Curve... they were all caught and executed. Aldo theres a memoriam to the canals here in Hollidaysburgh known as Canal Basin Park. Mules and horses would pull them from the banks 👍 btw Johnstown is a dive.
It kind of threw me for a loop when my dad told me Altoona was considered a potential target had the Soviets ever made a direct assault on the east coast. Taking out the railways makes sense, but I didn't realize how many goods passed through at its height.
Decline? Both cities are losing population. Both cities have solid, diversified and growing economies, and low unemployment. The departing population of Philly tend to relocate to the suburbs, while new homes are being built all over the city, even is some of the poorest of neighborhoods. When a city like Philly gains ten billion a year in GDP, it's hard to sell the "decline" story. Overall, in the real world it's a positive outlook, with solid growth since the pandemic for either city.
@First-q6l How to tell us you stare at conservative propaganda to the point of brain mush, without actually telling us. "Fox says be afraid, be very afraid. All big cities are burning to the ground and full of those scary people who are not lily white" Duh.
In PA, Appalachia is pronounced "Ap-uh-LAY-shuh," no need to use the weird TH-camr overcorrected-pronunciation that's gotten popular the last couple years, that's only used south of the Mason-Dixon.
Yeah, lived my whole life in Pennsylvania, and Ap-uh-LAY-shuh is how I've always heard it pronounced. And I've noticed some many pronouncing it ap-ah-LATCH-ee-ah lately. Weird.
There are lots of lands in this region that could be settled but after they were logged off, the lands were taken by the state for unpaid taxes by the lumber barons. This effectively took these “State Forest Lands” off the market for any development. They can be logged and drilled, hunted on and fished, but no resident can buy this land.
State forest lands are about 1/6th of the wooded portion of PA. Meaning there are roughly ten million acres of privately owned forest, the majority in central PA, that is not developed. IOW, your economic theory really doesn't hold water. When the state bought those lands, for pennies an acre, they were ravaged by bark harvesting, and timber clear-cutting. They were in some of the most geographically and economically remote places on the East Coast. The state ended up with the land since it had zero value to anyone, it looked like the site of nuclear testing in some areas. That land is now heavily forested, due to competent management over the last century, yet still inconveniently located in some of the most geographically and economically remote parts of the East Coast. Prior to WW2 the region where the forest you feel was "taken off the market" was occupied by tens of thousands of small farms. Most of those farmers were operating at a near subsistence level, and one bad year away from starving. The state and federal governments put a huge amount of effort into improving their lives, through usable roads, school, technical support for farmers, and other measures. Most of these farms are gone, as they have not been viable for at least half a century.
Hi Geoff, thanks for making this video. If you want to see the massive divide in CA, may I suggest comparing coastal cities to the inland valley (the breadbasket of the west coast). Urban areas vs rural ones. Despite how many would like to split us up, North/South only makes sense for expediency.
Too many pompous city folk from NYC, Maryland, Ohio, California, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Assachusetts, etc. have moved to PA. It's frustrating to see so many out of state plates now!
Interesting video. I happen to live in the pennsyltucky gap in a little town of lock haven 😂 and I will say I love it here with all the nature and trails to explore away from the hustle and grind of the cities. Oh and I also prefer western PA (Pittsburgh) over eastern PA (philly) bc Pittsburgh definitely feels more like home, just a bigger and busier version of North central PA.
I remember how Pittsburgh became during WW2 the main hub for submarine production as they were that way safest distance away from the ocean coast to avoid sabotage and once the subs were finished going all the way down through the Mississippi into the gulf of Mexico.
I live in the east part of PA (Bangor, Pa) right near the Appalachian trail. If you go north towards Scranton or west towards Jim Thorpe, the land gets immensely more beautiful. If you head south towards Philly, the land gets more gray and urban. It's depressing driving towards Philly.
My Dad was from Central PA (Mifflin County), and I would spend every summer there with my grandparents. Despite the over the road transportation challenges, Lewistown and the surrounding communities did OK with the American Viscose plant and the Standard Steel plant in Burnham, especially post WW2. But Hurricane Agnes hit in 72, and the American Viscose plant closed down shortly after. The Standard Steel plant is still there, but after cutbacks and a bankruptcy, not quite the economic engine that it was. Improvements in Rt 22/322 (especially with "The Narrows" being eliminated) have helped make things more accessible, but it's still not easy to get to. Culturally it reminds me of Pittsburgh - lots of phrases I hear in The Burgh, and the accent, remind me of Central PA..."gumbands", "Redd up", "run the sweeper", "warsh". Beautiful scenery, quite outside of town, but hard to get anywhere except State College (better now that 22/322 is a four lane). But yeah, the short answer is "mountains." I made the drive for years from Western PA to Lewistown to take care of my Gram, and Rt22 is a slog of a drive at times. Very pretty, but I can see why I-78 stopped where it did and wasn't extended west.
Those two "dots" contain almost 2/3 of out residents. And I don't think rural PA is as hard red as most people seem to think. I think over all most people are pretty middle of the road. We have good education systems, pretty good job opportunities in blue & white collar work, below average cost of living, and good access to healthcare. Outdoorsy folks have tons of publicly accessable nature to enjoy. Pittsburgh and Philly have arts, dining, and basically everything you'd want from bigger cities. Right or left people here don't seem to be too radical IMO because decades of relatively sane decisions have paid off pretty well for us as a state. No need to fuck it up
@@Anatoliys_Adventure Pittsburgh + Philadelphia is only 1.8 million people or 2.75 million if you're generous enough to include the rest of Allegheny county. Pennsylvania has a population of 12.97 million. Your math doesn't math. If we're talking metro areas, then you'd be including the predominantly red Pittsburgh metro area.
I live in Harrisburg, the state capital, with a current population of 51, 000. Harrisburg, at its peak in the 1960s, had a population of 90,00. There was a United State Steel mill near to Harrisburg. What manufacturing that existed crashed in the 1970s when manufacturing died in Central Pa and Upstate New York . When the steel mill died Central PA died. The beautiful Susquehanna River is non navigable. There were canals in the 19th century. You could have mentioned tourism at Gettysburg. If you drive around the Gettysburg area you will see that the area does not look much different from what it looked like in the 1860s. Central PA is attractive but not very lively. You can see a spur of the Appalachian mountains not far from Harrisburg.
@@billm1866 seems like a good place to retire in but a tough place to live if you're still mid career. I've lived in West PA all my life, and it seems like if you stray much from I-79 quality work gets much harder to find. It's why Ive stayed around the Pittsburgh area for most of my twenties
i love central PA. used to love driving up there to visit my friend at penn state while i was in college. very underrated for its nature and hiking in my opinion. big rolling hills/mountains, rivers and creeks. rothrock state forest and black moshannon state park are so nice
I'm a Native Philadelphian. I remember going to Pittsburgh for the first time when I was 4 or 5 and asking my dad, "Are we in another state?" Eastern and Western PA are so drastically different, and traveling from Central PA to Pittsburgh has to be one of my favorite drives, especially in the fall when you can see the leaves change. Going through the mountains and seeing the terrain change. It's a cool trip along the turnpike.
@@eddyjowhitley4309 As another Philly native , it's amazing going through the tunnels through the mountains how radically different the weather can be fun on the other side ! Sometimes one emerges to a twenty degree temperature 🌡️🤒 drop & a coating of fresh snow !
He doesn’t take a breather between thoughts and sentences though. It’s a little too much for my OCD brain. He needs to slow it down a little bit. Not knocking him just saying.
Clearfield county PA 22 years now. Borders Centre County (center of PA). My first 40 years lived in Morris County Northwest NJ that has become incredibly built up since I left. I shook my head when you said "open land" which makes me think of flat plains not the Hilly mountainous regions of central PA.
kinda interesting how you barely touched based about the allegheny. 15:08 was a major oil boom. Towns like Franklin were booming and affluent. The churches commissioned Tiffany to do the glass
I moved from outside of Boston (for 90% of my life) to this outlined central PA area 2 years ago. The only problem is all the Philly people moving in (along with their violence and drugs) because of garbage housing authority policies. It's the way life should be with the exception of the housing authority failures in the area.
Years ago, PA caught a state welfare agency in northern Jersey not only recommending that their clients relocate to Altoona, but they had posters hanging, offering information. So, no doubt you are seeing Philly people, but it's way beyond that.
@@kerrykerry5778 Exactly what this area is plagued by. It's sad that the local government is stabbing it's own people just to bump up numbers in the system garnering more federal funding.
Honestly Dauphin and Cumberland Counties are usually considered central or south central. I’ve lived there many years and never heard of these areas being categorized as southeast PA
@@metalmamasue3680 agree. Even Lancaster is kind of in a nether-region, I’ve seen it grouped with both south central and southeast. Culturally it’s kind of its own thing with the Amish and rolling hills. When I think of Southeast PA, I think of mostly Philly and the Philly burbs, counties like Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, Berks and Chester
@@virgilflowers9846 Same, as a York Countian. Also there’s a political divide. Lancaster County and west is red all the way to Western PA, whereas the Philly burbs east of Lancaster are blue.
Well the entirety of Eastern pa and south eastern pa is culturally and economically become more aligned with the northeast megalopolis. The more rural areas of that region may ot realize this but it is happening. This will become more and more pronounced in the coming decades.
The poconos are technically on an isolated subplateau that is separate from the appalachian plateau. The difference is it rises a lot sharper and is higher than the appalachian plateau near that region. That's why it's so popular with skiers.
I live in Carlisle, PA which is right on the border of this "empty middle". I love it because i have a Miata and can be carving up mountain roads in less than a half hour, while still being in a populated area that has everything i could want.
As a Pennsylvanian, someone once said that Pennsylvania was pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama in between. I have never been able to unsee that view.
@@whitedeion598 I think that the correlation is self reliant people that want to be left alone to live their lives without interference from the government.
@@scootertrash911 but that isnt what they are trying to say. Theyre saying that the philly and pittsburgh areas are educated and the rest of the state is a bunch of uneducated rednecks.
I lived in York, PA for 15 years and in San Diego for 15 years; just moved to Maryland from San Diego, my son lives in Tioga County, so I get to drive across the entire north-south length of the state every time I go see him. It's a beautiful drive, Pennsyltucky is a beautiful state.
@@NateOBrien Sheetz has been here in York for quite a few years now. There is currently a wawa under construction in Dover. Only time i’ve set foot in a wawa was getting gas in Delaware years ago. Turkey Hill and Rutters has ruled this area for decades. Turkey Hill ice cream and iced tea for the win.
@@NateOBrien Sheetz has been here in York for quite a few years now. There is currently a wawa under construction in Dover. Only time i’ve set foot in a wawa was getting gas in Delaware years ago. Turkey Hill and Rutters has ruled this area for decades. Turkey Hill ice cream and iced tea for the win.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 87 วันนี้!! คู่เอก "ก้องชัย vs โชคปรีชา"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YN6e7HVnekw/mqdefault.jpg)
This video basically also explains why PA has become the quintessential swing state. Such a massive contrast between the east west and middle, a state with massive cultural differences
And the middle is MAGA HQ for sure.
@swgeek4310 not really scranton-WB metro area is in that middle and it's pretty heavily contested between democrats and Republicans
@@swgeek4310 Central PA has a larger Democratic population than people think. We just don't advertise it as much.
@@PhantomJM Well in 2020 only one county in central PA and then Harrisburg's county went Dem. So really Central PA is heavily MAGA with Trump wining in most areas with 70%+. The pattern is there of most places voting against their own interests in rural areas.
Maryland is the opposite. Sparsely populated and conservative east and west and liberal in the middle.
State College is the home to Penn State and is right in the middle of the empty section. The joke is that is "equally inaccessible to all."
@@velodjk2975 that's so real I had a hockey tournament in state college and the ride up was super boring
@@wiggetman so.... nature is boring? You'd rather see cities?
The drive to State College and Penn State is very scenic actually. If you go there on football weekends though pack a lot of patience I know I have done it a few times.
When the Big Ten voted to admit Penn State as a member in the 1990s, there was some consternation due to State College's isolation. Bobby Knight famously said, "I've been to Penn State. It's a camping trip!" One of the conditions Penn State had to meet for Big Ten membership was to get the runway at State College Regional Airport lengthened to accommodate mid-sized jet aircraft.
Watching from The Hub building right now. State College is its own little oasis in the middle of Pennsyltucky
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh ignore each other. They have nothing on common except being on the same state.
Same dialect? No. Same personalities? No. Same drivers? No. Same reason of being founded? No. Same state? Yes.
They both start with “P”
We like to shit on each other in a more or less friendly rivalry. There’s also the sports rivalries, especially between the Pens and the Flyers.
Most people from Philadelphia who come to Pittsburgh seem to like the city. People from Pittsburgh typically have more reason to head towards Philadelphia and see that city, along with Washington/ NYC,/ East Coast but Philadelphians don’t go west as often to visit or go through Pittsburgh but they do seem to like Pittsburgh when they do.😀
RecycleBin - That one big unifier overriding all that is sports and that tv exposure. Free advertising during every home game to show Pittsburgh. The love for PNC Park that MLB players have and having the city showcased during baseball games. The success of the Pittsburgh Penguins and that bringing hockey fans in from all over the country/ Canada. Sports advertising has been a huge tourism draw and magnet for Philly. 😀.
Pennsylvania is the only state that has ports connected to 3 different major water ways.
Philly is on the Delaware River which is connected to the Atlantic Ocean.
Pittsburg is on the Ohio river, which connects to the Mississippi River, and then the Gulf of Mexico. Erie, is on Lake Erie, which is connected to Great Lakes system, which connects to St Laurence River and out to Northern Atlantic Ocean.
You nailed it Sir. Greetings from Lancaster County
I grew up near Punxsutawney, and went to IUP, then moved out west to Colorado. There are a lot of roads connecting the little valleys in PA. There are few open expanses of flat land. It’s not as rugged as West Virginia, but getting close to it. The valleys in PA feel closed in compared to the big skies out west.
There are also breaks in culture. The Pittsburgh area has a lot of the “Yinzer” or “Mill Hunky” culture which is blue collar. Pittsburgh has changed quite a bit and has more white collar industry like medical, financial, robotics, etc. Eastern PA has a lot of Pennsylvania Dutch which aren’t just Amish, but Mennonite, as well as old German lineage. The anthracite region has a lot of Polish and other Central European lineage.
One culture thing that does seem to unify is deer hunting. The Monday after thanksgiving is the first day of deer hunting and is practically a state holiday with schools, workplaces etc shutdown. A
I recall churches making some good bank by hosting hunter breakfasts on that Monday.
Another interesting thing about PA is the number of colleges and universities. It gives a lot of good options for higher education.
I’m glad that I moved west, but there are some great things about PA. Folks not from PA seem to denigrate the state, but they really understand it, and it’s not as uniform a culture as outsiders might think.
Until they ruined deer season several years ago by starting in on the Saturday after Thanksgiving
@@ppainterco u obviously never drove through southern Lancaster county with Trump flags plastered to hovels and Amish buggies competing with angry white guys in trucks sporting truck nuts. The old ethnic communities are the salt of the earth. Unfortunately the MAGA cockroach crowd has out bred the normal family such that flat earthers, anti science and higher education crowds, and conspiracy lug nuts rule the narrative. It’s such a dystopian world
@@danstone8783 that seems to be the way lately. It’s been almost 20 years since I moved from PA, but Colorado is getting goofy with regards to hunting, too. It might be time to retire to Wyoming.
New York similar in many respects. Very polar opposite cultures between the east and the west. Lived most of my life in Western NY. Actually grew up six miles from the Pennsylvania line in New York's "southern tier" as they call it here. Out here you have the rural farming and hunting culture with the cities being mostly blue collar steel and mill cities with the exception of Rochester which was the home of Kodak and Xerox. NYC always the financial hub and the home of the "New Yorker" attitude. People much more laid back in WNY. I have spent lots of time in PA it's almost like a second home. Have friends and family in Pittsburgh and Erie, and have throughout my life frequented the Kinzua parks in northern PA and the small towns of Warren and Bradford.
Punxsutawney is a cute, funny little town. I really like Brookville better but I can never remember the name.
Dad used to call miners under ground farmers. He used to say all the girls had two first names like Annmarie.
Driving in PA is more about looking for land marks. Big Sky country and flat lands like Florida it's much different to drive because you can't see very far away like you can in PA. You can see that mountain or tower that's 5 miles away and use it as a land mark.
Pennsylvania is very much an agricultural state with a large farm show in Harrisburg every year.
The Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch which is their own dialect of German.
I go on a 3-day canoe trip every year in the Allegheny region of PA with my college buddies and it’s the highlight of my year. It’s beautiful, you can go on for miles down the river and not see any other humans but instead bald eagles, great blue herons, and unobstructed forest.
Love the Kinzua dam area.
I think you just described the plot of "Deliverance", except at no point has any local demanded that any member of your party "squeal like a pig", perhaps contrary to the expectations of some detractors of Central PA.
@jt3055 idk buddy Indiana county got some creatures.
@@ddmarsh21 I've lived in this area since I was 4. Never realized how beautiful it was until I took a month long road trip around the nation. Every part of the country is distinct and beautiful in its own way, but the rolling hills, small mountains and lush deciduous forests makes PA distinct. No matter where you are there's hills or mountains full of colorful forests blocking the horizon. Between that and the constant flashing orange active work zone signs with nobody actually working them, you always know when you're close to home.
Grew up in Warren. Made a 3-day canoe trip in HS down the Allegheny starting at the outflow of the dam. Terrific memories. Other than the sunburn...lol
WaWa Pennsylvania Vs. Sheetz Pennsylvania. FIGHT! 🤜🏼🤛🏻
Sheetz all the way.
Sheetz ftw
What about Rutter’s?
Sheetz all the way
@@ScottRothsroth0616 Rutter's has no home here
I live in Williamsport, PA. It's sort of the hub for North-Central PA. Population is about 28K. Travel just a short distance in ANY direction and you are surrounded by farms, forests, and mountains. A great area to live if you like the outdoors but not everyone does.
ive been there. good town
@@greggreggreggreggreggreggreg1 Plus it has a " Wegman's Supermarket " ; can't do better than that food store !
I went to school there right after it went from WACC to Pen College in 1989. I enjoyed it up there vs my constantly building up South-central PA area west of Harrisburg.
I live here too and it’s a cute town. It tries to be interesting. The town is beautiful and relatively clean. I’ve lived in big cities and I appreciate the easy commutes for daily living.
I'm in Philly (originally from NYC), and I love and frequently visit Williamsburg. I definitely see myself retiring there
You know your no longer in Eastern PA when you stop seeing Wawas.
Bellefonte State College and Lock Haven areas are getting new WaWa’s
State college and Bellefonte are getting wawas??
@@frankhalderman7786 and Williamsport
Not for long. First Wawa in Union County is under construction. I'm from Delco so I can NOT wait.
@@frankhalderman7786as someone who visits Lock Haven still, I’ll believe it when I see it.
Those of us in the middle just want to be left alone to quietly live our lives. We don't like the hustle and bustle of the cities
The answer to all of these questions is simple: the mountains that divide Pennsylvania. The mountains are sparsely populated, and they divide east from west.
Plus the fact that the Susquehanna River is too shallow for commercial navigation
It's always about mountains...or deserts or lack of access to waterways. The majority of the country can be summed up this way in terms of population centers with a few exceptions like desert cities like Phoenix and mountain cities like Denver.
Greensburg was started as it was the high plateau and the first resting place after the mountains. Now a city of 14,976. That is likely the city itself, the surrounding area likely doubles that number.
@@SilverkongYGO1982 In the Summer, we can sometimes walk from the East Shore to the West. It gets that low.
I like low populations. I'm sick and tired of out of staters causing traffic.
The fabled land we native Pennsylvanians call “Pennsyltucky”
That would be anything West of the Philly region...lol
@@geraldbroadnax2992 agreed - -> yinz shud staa OOver on yer own side - ->wit 'em filthy flyers. Let's go PENS 😎👍
@nobillclinton Hahaha...I hate the Pens of course..but I actually live in Harrisburg now and they are more Hershey Bears fans that they are Flyers...btw,,it's Yous and not Yins..lol
@@geraldbroadnax2992 I’m not a Pittsburgh native but by no means is all of the East Pennsyltucky, although everywhere outside the city is SUPER pennsyltucky it seems. Kinda sad.
@@user-id9bn1ic9v i meant to say West..I had my wires crossed. Lol
I grew up in Philly, Philadelphia has more in common with NYC than it does with Pittsburgh.
Agreed. I think the entire northeast corridor has more in common with itself than with the areas outside it.
Unironically, very incorrect.
The Philly and Pittsburgh accents exist on the same dialect continuum, both cities were built on rowhouses/duplexes and homeownership rather than dense apartments/flats, and both were respective manufacturing centers rather than hubs of through-trade.
@@Wewwers Have you ever heard someone from Pittsburgh speak? They use terms that I've never heard of. Their accent is also different from a Philly accent.
@@Wewwers You're not from the East coast let alone Pennsylvania. Philly and Pittsburgh are opposites.
Sometimes New Yorkers affectionately/condescendingly refer to Philly as "the 6th boro"
4:40: Lake Eric giveth and Lake Erie taketh it away. The lake also causes what can be sometimes crippling lake effect snowstorms.
Another big reason that Johnstown didn't get to the same level as Pittsburgh was the Johnstown Flood that wiped out the city
I live right outside j town. That's like our whole history class.
Well, there’s that.
indeed, that place is CURSED, witches did it, let's not get into that!
Shout out J-town
@@aaronrodgers6683 lesss goooooooo
I don't think Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the Poconos should be lumped together with central Pennsylvania. It's its own region.
I think Scranton/Wilkes-Barre identifies more with the Philadelphia region and probably should be included in that region. That area has the largest deposits of anthracite coal. The author also forgot how industrialized the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton area was. While Pittsburgh had more steel mills, Bethlehem should not be forgotten.
@@johnh5701 without Bethlehem there would be no Manhattan
For sure disagree. From the western part of the state here, u guys seem like either 1 you don't exist or 2 you're central PA (basically a repeat of #1).
I heard it said that pennsylvania is pittsburgh and Philadelphia and everything in between and around is Alabama. And yeah, that's correct
Yes and close to a million people. The central is even more empty when you consider that.
North west Pennsylvania, the "Yankee" part of the state.
How did you miss the French being the first colonizers of Pittsburgh? We have a ton of French place names here and the confluence of the three rivers was originally called Fort Duquesne.
As for central PA, there are more deer than people. 🤷🏼♀️
Exactly. The French and Indian War was fought over the Ohio Valley.
Washington slept here
And Frenchville.
I've heard outsiders pronounce it "Du-Quezz-Nee" 😂. Zelienople as "Zin-el-oh-pee".
And how much of a melting pot Pittsburgh was (and still is). Lawrenceville (Irish), Polish Hill (pretty obvious), sure their diversity has diminished but they're still here. Heck, there used to be a Chinatown on the Strip but now I think it's just one or two remaining buildings.
Edit: As in different nationalities/cultures/ethnic backgrounds, not races.
The Horseshoe Curve near Altoona is a major landmark on Amtrak's Pennsylvanian (currently the only train in Pennsylvania that goes west of Harrisburg using this route)
A clever marvel of engineering. The curve wears the track out quickly. I've ridden the curve on the train. Lots of squealing from the wheels and track. There is a viewing platform in the center of the curve to watch. It's also notorious for crashes. Altoona has a large train museum. Altoona was originally settled because the railroad placed their repair facility there because there was no other employers in the area so when they laid the men off, there was no where else to work so they could rehire them when they needed them.
@@frotobaggins7169 The curve is not really that impressive...the Sasquatch population is what most of us Love 😂😂
Beautiful place.❤
Every time my fiance and I try to go to Altoona our vehicle breaks down, mind you 4 different vehicles we quit trying 😂😂😂😂😂
I am from Erie, PA and always love seeing my city being on TH-cam!
Hi, I grew up in Northeastern PA which many now call Northeast PA. I know there is a town near Erie by the name of Northeast. Why is it called that when it is in the northwest of the state?
@@gordonschultz4788 IDK, but locations like that are normally named relative to another location. We think of Florida as being in "the South", but for someone who lives in Brazil, that's to the north, etc. Northeast may be west of *YOU*, but was probably to the northeast of something/somewhere for the person that founded the town?
I’m 63. I was born and bred in southwestern Pennsylvania. Went to college just outside of Philadelphia in an area known as the “Main Line. Almost went to Dickinson College which is in Carlisle PA, near Harrisburg. I’ve traveled to Erie PA and Lancaster County. Our state is beautiful. But there are a lot of hills and mountains running through. Even the Pittsburgh area has lots of hills and surrounding counties are full of mountainous terrain. The mountainous areas are coal mining regions. Otherwise, not much can be done in those areas due to the terrain. Driving in these areas is a big pain because of all the hills and mountain. But so much beauty. I’ve lived in Michigan and in DC and my father grew up on a farm in Georgia. All those areas are flat like Philly and Erie. Easier driving. But I can’t imagine not seeing the beautiful hills and mountains of southwestern and central PA. Like the forests in fairytales. ❤️
“Mountains” the end
Very true but it’s filled with incredible info along the way
“Rough terrain” …most people couldn’t even walk it.
Tell that to Colorado...
Right in the geographic center of Central PA is Penn State University! Their football stadium can hold about 106,000 people, and it's in a beautiful part of PA!
a drinking town with a football problem
I live in Bellefonte which is a 15 minutes' drive from the campus! :)
According to local lore, the site was supposed to be the geographic center of the state. But when surveyors found that the location was in the middle of a river the University had to be built a couple of miles away.
That's the geographic if the entire state not just central PA
Right in the geographic center of Central PA is Penn state lockerooms. There lockerooms once held A Defensive coordinator diddling little boys, and the when the Head coach knew he did nothing.
I like how their two biggest cities and that state's name all start with a P.
@@FXwashere also the next biggest cities of Perie, Pyork, and Pscranton
That’s Phatt
Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland all starting with a C is more interesting to me
Philadelphia starts with an F, duh.
@@virgilflowers9846and the capital Pharrisburg
This man got a clear voice easy as hell to listen to and understand much appreciated bro 🙏🏼🔥💯
I especially love "middle PA" as I'm a Penn State fan...................but also fell in love with NW Route 6 trip I took several years ago. OMG..............you can't see the forest for the trees. What BEAUTIFUL country! PA is always gonna be one of my favorite states. So diverse.
WE ARE!!
I made a random decision a few years ago and did route 6 end to end then 89 up to Erie in a weekend. It had snowed statewide the prior day and i cannot put into words the awesome experience i had! Lancaster Co native
Watch for deer. Lots of deer that way
I'm from Tamaqua Pa, largest town in the north of Schuylkill county. My father and uncle mined anthracite and smelted steel at Bethlehem. I know NE Pa very well and lived in York Pa for a decade. Pittsburgh was not the only steel producer and eastern anthracite was better than western bituminous. This is very much a glance, and there is much more to Pa than can be here contained. I know Philly well, and WilkesBarre/Scranton and I've walked the AT on Blue Mountain south to Harper's Ferry and north to Sunfish Pond NJ. Pa was my home, the whole state.
It's wrong to say the NE is empty. There are large and small towns dotted throughout the state. It cannot be compared to actual empty areas out west like Nevada and Wyoming. There are people there. It's NOT empty.
I lived in the Lehigh Valley for a few years. It was a massive steel-producing area. Bethlehem Steel wasn't quite as famous as Pittsburgh but it was still a major hub. The region was also within easy transport distance for coal mined in Lackawanna County and environs.
Ugh.. how can say you know pennsylvania so much but still cannot put an H at the end of Pittsburgh?
@@ChesterArthur-b7t opps! Typo I guess.
Skook Bot
@@samgatiru4223 what is that in English?
I love it here, stay out people 😊 thank you, have a great day from Central PA, Hollidaysburg to be exact 👍
Now you've given away your location. Rookie error.
@@Tom-dt4ic If they come, they have no idea what theyre messing with. Central PA people are scary.
Home of the Slinky!
Amen on the city rats ,please stay out you pay waaaay to much for a house and land, causing higher property taxes and ruining hunting lands,etc they even break up old tomb stones ,because of no respect for people who came before Often thea are against fracking royalties which help people pay taxes
I'mw
Driving from Ohio west on Interstate 80 there's a sign shortly before the Pennsylvania border that says it's 410 miles to NYC. I always got a kick out of that.
If you're heading towards Pennsylvania from Ohio on I-80, you're going East, my friend.
@@toddt1385 I'm tarded.
Yeah, and then as soon as you cross the pa line, they'll sign anything but new york
While living and working in Ohio for thirty years I passed that sign at least twice a month for every one of those thirty years. I was born and raised about 15 miles east of Punxsutawney and that's where I came back to when I retired. Once a Pennsyltuckian always a Pennsyltuckian. Home sweet home.
Yeah, seen it many times. You'll also have to start dodging deer carcasses...
Would have been cool if he mentioned that at the height of the industrial revolution The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was the largest corporation in the world.
@@chrislatsko3274 and The PRR set many industrial standards & processes still in use today.
@@chrislatsko3274 amen very good comment
@@sunbrookheath They were also one of the greatest engineering and construction organizations in the world, at their peak. They built railroads in places that others couldn't even imagine, at a level of skill and design that others would only copy, decades later.
I love walking along the levy and seeing the historic plaques and old photos of railroad workers and logging men it's so fascinating to me!
Good job explaining PA!
As someone who lives in South Central Pennsylvania, I have to say the Appalachian Mountains are a massive obstacle in the North Central part of the state for high population. Ideal for your luxurious ski resorts and indoor water parks: not so much for actual cities!
Hello from a fellow South Central Pennsylvanian, York to be specific
Elk mountain is north of Scranton. That’s a decent slope. Montage Mtn is ok
Speaking of water parks, it's crazy how many amusement parks are in Pennsylvania. Hershey, Kneobels, Dorney, Dutch Wonderland, and there's probably one or two others.
@@orangeyewgladway more than one or two. You’re clearly from the eastern part of the state, in the west we’ve also got Kennywood, Idlewild, Sandcastle, Lakemont Park, Erie has an indoor water park too I believe.
@@orangeyewglad Kennywood in Pittsburgh, Lakemont Park in Altoona, and DelGrosso's Park in Tipton (15 miles north of Altoona).
As a lifelong Pittsburgher it has always fascinated me the stark difference from one side of the state to the other. It’s also wild to me that some of the more northern rural regions I’ve never even been too and I travel around a fair bit. Love it here though lots to do and see beautiful state all around.
As some who lives in south central Pennsylvania. Im glad so few people live here and lets keep it that way.
Shout out from Hollidaysburg, yes, keep it that way 👉
Boring area
@@billm1866 Only boring people are bored.
@@billm1866ill take our boring Pennsyltucky over any big city any day.
@@billm1866 If you own a house, you're never bored. Always something to fix
That York shoutout. Funny to hear it considered in the east part of the state when people from here say it’s “south central”.
I’m from the lock haven/williamsport area and I love the lack of people, it’s much more peaceful than a big city. Love the scenery and countryside, the views are gorgeous this time of the year with the leaves changing 🍂
That area was the best place to grow up. Been in Connecticut since the 80's, but I'm glad I grew up there.
Extremely interesting Geoffrey. In a nutshell you educated this 77 year old Australian lad who has always been interested
in geography and an interest in Pennsylvania. I look forward to more of your well researched documentaries.
As a native Pennsylvanian it’s funny, I’ve always had an interest/appreciation for the Australia. I guess from a cultural and historical and geographical standpoint. Cheers to yall
I'm in and from central PA and obsessed with Australia I love hearing everyone talk too lol! I've always been interested in Australia many other places as well but always obsessed with the thought of seeing Australia ❤
I used to live in central Pennsylvania. I lived in Elizabethville- which is in the mountains. Not many people lived there because of the mountains. I went to Harrisburg frequently, which was 45 minutes away.
I lived in Elizabethville for several years. Cute town!
HEY, very cool looking town Elizabethville, never even been out that way, just to Hershey, hails from scranton area!
E-ville! Home of Jojo's.
I once dated a woman from Elisabethville. That is some small town living up there. Better watch where you're going when it gets dark. lol Rt 209 is an interesting drive through all of those little towns up there.
@@BlessingsfromBridget I was so confused when I first moved to Pa and learned there is Elizabethtown, Elizabethville and Elizabeth. (Plus Elizabeth borough and township) Which are all completely different places hours apart geographically
let me save you 10 minutes: There's mountains which make development difficult.
And people who make everything difficult.
Which is great for some gorgeous country homes. One of my neighbors had a glass one at the top of a small mountain.
*"There are mountains" not "There's" (There is mountains?)
Before I clicked on the thumbnail, my answer was the Appalachians. 18 minutes later my answer is the Appalachians.
@@VladimirPutin-p3t We have a lot of houses up in the mountains on both 1st and 2nd mountain ( as we call them here).
Don't lump in Northeast PA with the rest of central PA...Scranton and Wilkes-Barre as well as the northeast Poconos have strong ties to NYC, NJ, and Philly and are more similar to them culturally
Everybody in Scranton wants to be a New Yorker so bad. Just move to NYC lol
In other words, cultureless.
@@bchooper5603 b8
@@natestains9287 Most of their populations are transplanted. The local cultures ceased to exist long ago.
@@natestains9287 Like NYC and Philly, much of Northeast PA's "culture" center around external influences and commercialism rather than authentic, homegrown culture. Pseudo-culture all around.
May I suggest a ride from Huntington on rt. 22 up to State College along some of the back roads through the mountains which never get that high in Pennsylvania but are very relaxing and just rugged enough. Cooks Forest, Black Moshannon, and the Allegheny National forest are highly recommended as well.
ALSO: The once a day train ride on Amtrak between Pittsburgh (leaves at 7:30am and Philadelphia (leaves for Pittsburgh every day at noon.) is truly awesome! Crossing multiple times over the Juniata River, the famous horseshoe curve above Altoona and the reasonably short distance between the two metros makes for a really fun day in my opinion. 😊
This used to be called the T-Zone of Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh & Philly were insulated bubbles and all the rest formed a “T” shape.
We used to call the T Pennsyltucky. This region has a more conservative point of view than Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Now Erie got its slice of the T-Zone!
@@glennjones6004 Yes. MUCH more conservative. Three R's. Rocks, Rattlesnakes and REPUBLICANS
I live in this part, I call it God's country. 😊 You couldn't pay me to live in a big city.
@@metalmamasue3680 100% agree
I live in a small town called St. Marys PA, called the powdered metal capital of the us. Our area is home to a large manufacturing sector. I disagree with Geoff's characterization of central PA not having any manufacturing. The carbon and powder metal industries are by no means insignificant to the manufacturing sector of PA as a whole. A large portion of small western PA towns were founded by Catholic German immigrants who were persecuted by protestants. Just a little insight to the region for those who did not get any better understanding of the region from this video.
I was just in St. Mary's back in June for my nephew's wedding. It was in this old Catholic church that was absolutely gorgeous inside.
@@andrewsmith5618 I'm from St Mary's too. Towns changing, more foreign entities moving in but it's still a great area
Do they still make Straub Beer there?
My mom’s husband is from St Mary’s. My stepbrother who grew up in Emporium PA moved in with me 3 months ago.
I personally am from Indiana, PA
@@crismcdonough2804 They do..and it's good beer
I live in central PA and I love it here. Plenty of stuff to do and see and as the video said its not too crowded. I was born and raised here and I cannot ever see myself leaving. The weather is pretty much perfect most of the year as in never really too hot or too cold and anytime I ever leave this area for more than a few days I always start to miss it right away wishing to go back. Also something not really touched on in this video as far as major events like natural disasters this area is fairly safe with because the mountain ranges protect the land from the worst of it. Even though its not as crowded there are still plenty of urban amenities available and if you ever do need to get anywhere such as a major city there are 4-5 within a 2-3 hour drive.
Plus chaperoning your kids field trip to Gettysburg.
I’m starting to hear more Y’all and Youse in an area that was always Youins. Wonder what’s going on?
@@shanesprecher8290 Flatlanders taking over
@@danstone8783 😂That’s definitely it, hope they brought their hiking boots.
I mean the main reason the far west/far east of the State is mainly populated is fairly simple: access to water via rivers/lakes. It was NEEDED 100 to 200+ years ago in order for populations to survive (same for any civilization) so large population centers like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg (granted it's closer to the middle of the state unlike the previous two) wound up being formed near larger bodies of water that provided drinkable water/transportation and most people stayed there until these cities just got ridiculously huge in comparison to the other towns in the states. Same applies to all other cities in other states of the US as well as all large cities in any country in the world as well.
The mountains and the like also make it harder and all of course as it provides more of a hike going up a mountain than flatland and has issues with making roads easily (especially 100s fo years ago without the heavy machine equipment we have to use today to make roads, buildings, bridges, sewage systems, etc) and also make it a bit harder to grow fruit/vegetable as well the further you are from a water source.
As for the western PA it's obvious those cities were mainly made when they discovered minerals and they needed bases of operations which attracted merchants, which eventually lead to the formations of towns and later on larger cities.
Finally throw in most of the forest land in the middle of the state are now considered natural parks and the like so there's a lot of pushback nowadays/for the last hundred years or so in destroying it to create new cities and the like.
heck yeah thats where i am! central PA is quiet and beautiful
Dear Geoff ; You expressed a big geographic mistake ( you are human too ) ! Around the time line of 12 : 35 on this video ; you mentioned the Pocono Mtns. but you were too far West showing it on the map. You over pretty close to extreme Western Pa. region. Later on your video a Pa. map is shown & the Pocono Mtns. location is now correct. I lived in N.J. for 50 years and camped all over the middle Atlantic states & New England, Ontario , Quebec & Nova Scotia. I moved to S.E. Michigan when I was turning age 50. Still have family in N.J , N.Y. and so does my wife. we travel between Michigan & the East coast quite often , most of the time Interstate 80 .
FYI: Scranton/WIlkes-Barre is on a slow and steady rebound, but the Poconos is making people migrating from the east difficult to move there!
NY NJ infested.
Good.
I was surprised to see that Azek PVC trim boards are made there in Scranton. They are quite the rage in building these days.
Native from Central PA here (Sunbury)! I'm living in Southwest Virginia currently for school and there are definitely things i miss about our eclectic region of Central PA.
Hi Nate, I'm from the Clarks Summit area north of Scranton. I went to college in Bloomsburg and then transferred to VCU where I graduated and worked in Richmond and western Henrico. Do you attend Virginia Tech?
Pennsylvania is BEAUTIFUL from one end to the other with hundreds of miles of Mountains and wilderness 😊
never been to the populated areas of Pennsylvania and I LOVE IT THERE mountains and beautifulness all i have to describe
“Pennsylvania is Philadelphia in the east, Pittsburgh in the west, and Alabama in the middle.”
From James Carville!
@@JayKarpwick His exact quote was "Between Paoli and Penn Hills, Pennsylvania's Alabama without the blacks." Paoli is a western suburb of Philly -traditionally thought of as the outermost suburb of the "Main Line" - and Penn Hills an eastern suburb of Pittsburgh.
Alabama has always been a bad comparison, "Pennsyltucky" is much more accurate.
@@benusmaximus3601 not harrisburg
@@MalevolentBite because Harrisburg is in Eastern pa, not central.
PA is such a lovely state. So happy to live in the Southeast section. So much access by Amtrak to Philadelphia, Washington, New York
Pennsylvania is actually still a higher oil producer than one would think compared to Texas/Oklahoma, Alaska, and the Dakotas
OMG those wells are EVERYWHERE. Driving along Rt 22 you see those big staging areas for all the drillers equipment every few miles.
I lived in Central PA in one of the valleys for over 9 years. Being a native Midwesterner, it was a real culture shock to move there. It wasn’t so much the Amish and Mennonites, (they have awesome shops), but the attitudes and outlook of folks. For example, they didn’t always think in terms of possibilities while people are more forward thinking where I’m from. I think it has something to do with agrarian vs city.
I always called it the Johnstown Mentality.
When I tell folks about PA I often mention how comparitively empty central PA is. But it's so beautiful and much less chaotic. I visited Sunbury and Milton last year for fall foliage hiking, and I want to check out more of the natural wonders in the central parts.
They built that big by pass on 180 up there, wow, what a difference that will make. I didn't even recognize the place. I miss what we used to call the big cow in Lewisburg. That town sure has changed the past two decades.
check out purple lizard maps, shows hiking and biking trails. i use them all the time .
There's a very small secluded spot called Rosecrans falls in central PA if you're ever in the area I recommend checking it out the hike out is absolutely beautiful and the falls are so nice! My kids love going out we always take a garbage bag to clean up any trash we see to keep it beautiful it isn't huge but as long as there's been rain and it's got water it's gorgeous! I like to explore the huge mountain wall cut outs with my boys they call them caves but they're nowhere near just a hole in the side of the mountain rock lol it's awesome in winter as well when the waters 10 foot icecicles you can go behind and get awesome pictures!
@@KT06 I remember seeing Rosecrans Falls while looking around on Google Maps. I'll definitely stop by when I find myself in that area again.
@CeleryX5 There are actually two waterfalls there. Rosecrans falls, and McElhattan falls. They are a stones throw away from each other.
New York City and Long Island are a vastly different place than the rest of New York State.
Absolutely. It starts when you get to Nassau County
My mom was born in central NY. When her family moved to PA, people would ask where she was from. When she told them NY, no one would believe her because she didn't have that NYC accent.
@@frotobaggins7169its clearer for others to declare the region of NY.
I would still get comments, few realize outside of NYC is not the city.
You forgot that the South Central part has Adams County and Gettysburg. The battlefield high ground from 1863 has created an industry normally found further south: Civil War tourism.
I stayed in a old hotel right on battlefield one night and it had a weird vibe. 😆
Been there, have the merchandise to prove it. It's a history nerds playground.
It looks like the dividing line on his maps is right between York and Adams counties, so he's maybe lumping that in with "eastern" PA, even though those of us who live here think of it as "south-central" PA. And, despite the tourism, Gettysburg is still a microscopic town of about 7k people. Compared to every other town/city he mentioned, it's barely even a blip on the radar. Hanover and York are the more dominant economic and population hubs in the area by a wide margin (about 10x the size of Gettysburg when taken together as a metro area).
For even more contrast, the Gettysburg tourism industry brings in about $57M/year. Utz Potato Chips in Hanover brings in $352M annually all by itself. Then you have famous horse breeders like the Hanover Shoe Farms, etc.
Gettysburg is awesome, and I worked there for a few years, but it doesn't have the big pull that other nearby towns/cities do, despite the tourism.
@@R_A_3000
One of the most haunted cities in PA!
Great video, but as an eastern Pennsylvanian, 1 correction:
The "Walking Purchase" extended from the junction of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers (in Philadelphia) to near Easton, which is where the junction of the Delaware and the Lehigh is located.
Scranton is not central Pennsylvania, in any way. Scranton is in the "valley" of "NEPA", Northeast Pennsylvania. Central Pennsylvania is Wilmasport down through Lewisburg, Sunbury, Bloomsburg, Danville, Selinsgrove and then out farther to state college.
I grew up in Lewisburg. We never considered Scranton-WB part of central PA. It was definitely NEPA. I consider Central PA from State College out to Berwick and from Williamsport down to Selinsgrove.
Agreed. Go Hughesville Spartans!!
Originally that area was considered the western extension of the Connecticut colony.
This is why PA is lowkey one of the best states. Moderate and spacious. 717
I love the 717
I have moved a number of time in PA but always 717
I grew up in the 717 area code (just north of Scranton) but the area code was changed to 570.
717 💪🤙
I lived in Western Pa for about 40 years total. I lived in S. Central Pennsylvanna for 25 years. There is a saying "Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in the middle! LOL
The first time I heard that saying was James Carville when he worked for Clinton, he might have been onto something. I live in Central PA and what’s funny is I’ve met quite a few native Alabamians who have relocated here. Maybe Carviile was clairvoyant.
People have said the same thing about New York..."there's New York City and the rest of the state is Alabama". As someone from "the rest of the state" that's not far off, there is a lot of rural area, and mostly very conservative outside of the upstate cities. 55 out of 63 counties are "red", but the state as a whole is "blue" from the large population in the 7 of the 8 "blue" counties (the exception being Tompkins county which is rural)
@@slgibbs1 The heartland is more "Pennsylvania" than the cities, which are cosmopolitan and harbor a large transplanted population from other parts of the country and the world.
Lived here all my life and NEVER heard that till today.
My family goers back to 1840 in Pittsburgh@@peterjones5243
Got to learn something new. I love reading about the geography of a country or a state or a city or of a region and learning something unique or peculiar about that particular region. Great and informative video!
It's because the Susquehanna is not navigable. The small cities along the river would have been bigger if it was. Anyway, the state government accounts for a lot of the people in the region because the state decided to locate its capital and university there.
It's not just not-navigable -- it's an angry bitchgoddess of a river that wants to actively drown you. Love from Bainbridge...
Stellar presentation, as always.
More people would live there if they could be employed there. Other than that, its about 10,000 square miles of low mountains with plenty of deer, bear, trout, trails, canoeing/kayaking, state forests and recreational areas. Great fall foliage. A lot of rail, mining, and logging history. Many quaint small towns with affordable homes. NYC is about a four hour drive, Philly and Pittsburgh about three.
You forgot Altoona, it's another, along with its neighbor Holidaysburg, which was big towns due to the railroad and canal system, plus there's tons of farms up here too. And Johnstown still has a steel mill going, and Altoona has the railroad still. But they're not as big and populated as they used to be, but Pittsburgh is also on the decline as is Philadelphia.
lol no he mentioned Altoona.
So glad you mentioned this, i was born n raised here in Altoona and currently live in Hollidaysburg 😊 rich, rich railroad history and Indian as well as Revolutionary and Civil War history in Blair County! 🎉 Multiple German spies during WWII were sent to Altoona to spy on and ultimately destroy the railroad pass through the mountains to the west and east known as Horseshoe Curve... they were all caught and executed. Aldo theres a memoriam to the canals here in Hollidaysburgh known as Canal Basin Park. Mules and horses would pull them from the banks 👍 btw Johnstown is a dive.
It kind of threw me for a loop when my dad told me Altoona was considered a potential target had the Soviets ever made a direct assault on the east coast. Taking out the railways makes sense, but I didn't realize how many goods passed through at its height.
Decline? Both cities are losing population. Both cities have solid, diversified and growing economies, and low unemployment. The departing population of Philly tend to relocate to the suburbs, while new homes are being built all over the city, even is some of the poorest of neighborhoods. When a city like Philly gains ten billion a year in GDP, it's hard to sell the "decline" story. Overall, in the real world it's a positive outlook, with solid growth since the pandemic for either city.
@First-q6l How to tell us you stare at conservative propaganda to the point of brain mush, without actually telling us. "Fox says be afraid, be very afraid. All big cities are burning to the ground and full of those scary people who are not lily white" Duh.
In PA, Appalachia is pronounced "Ap-uh-LAY-shuh," no need to use the weird TH-camr overcorrected-pronunciation that's gotten popular the last couple years, that's only used south of the Mason-Dixon.
I have never heard it pronounced the way it is in the video. The Pa way is the only correct way lol
Also, while we're at it:
Leb'nin
Laynk-uster
Skook'll
E-mayus
E-town
Beth'lum
Effort-uh
Yeah, lived my whole life in Pennsylvania, and Ap-uh-LAY-shuh is how I've always heard it pronounced. And I've noticed some many pronouncing it ap-ah-LATCH-ee-ah lately. Weird.
South of the Potomac, you mean. Marylanders don't say it the way he did either.
I raised an eyebrow at that pronunciation too, lol. Never heard his pronunciation of "Monongahela" before either. Maybe it's the yinzer in me.
There are lots of lands in this region that could be settled but after they were logged off, the lands were taken by the state for unpaid taxes by the lumber barons. This effectively took these “State Forest Lands” off the market for any development. They can be logged and drilled, hunted on and fished, but no resident can buy this land.
My grandfather said they clear cut 13 Million acres. Then the top soil washed away and regrowth was slow.
Your grandpa was a good guy Mr. Baggins
State forest lands are about 1/6th of the wooded portion of PA. Meaning there are roughly ten million acres of privately owned forest, the majority in central PA, that is not developed. IOW, your economic theory really doesn't hold water. When the state bought those lands, for pennies an acre, they were ravaged by bark harvesting, and timber clear-cutting. They were in some of the most geographically and economically remote places on the East Coast. The state ended up with the land since it had zero value to anyone, it looked like the site of nuclear testing in some areas. That land is now heavily forested, due to competent management over the last century, yet still inconveniently located in some of the most geographically and economically remote parts of the East Coast.
Prior to WW2 the region where the forest you feel was "taken off the market" was occupied by tens of thousands of small farms. Most of those farmers were operating at a near subsistence level, and one bad year away from starving. The state and federal governments put a huge amount of effort into improving their lives, through usable roads, school, technical support for farmers, and other measures. Most of these farms are gone, as they have not been viable for at least half a century.
Hi Geoff, thanks for making this video. If you want to see the massive divide in CA, may I suggest comparing coastal cities to the inland valley (the breadbasket of the west coast). Urban areas vs rural ones. Despite how many would like to split us up, North/South only makes sense for expediency.
I live on the Cumberland/franklin county line and I prefer how sparsely populated it is here.
I love that part. I’m in York County. It leaves stuff to be desired LOL
I live in the north part of Dauphin Co. I call it God's country. 😊 It's beautiful in rural PA.
I live in Adam's county, our property borders Michuax State Forest and it's a beautiful peaceful place to live. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Too many pompous city folk from NYC, Maryland, Ohio, California, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, Assachusetts, etc. have moved to PA. It's frustrating to see so many out of state plates now!
@@coldwar45 I grew up, and lived most of my life between Gettysburg and Hanover. We always referred to York as the "armpit of Pennsylvania".
Interesting video. I happen to live in the pennsyltucky gap in a little town of lock haven 😂 and I will say I love it here with all the nature and trails to explore away from the hustle and grind of the cities. Oh and I also prefer western PA (Pittsburgh) over eastern PA (philly) bc Pittsburgh definitely feels more like home, just a bigger and busier version of North central PA.
I remember how Pittsburgh became during WW2 the main hub for submarine production as they were that way safest distance away from the ocean coast to avoid sabotage and once the subs were finished going all the way down through the Mississippi into the gulf of Mexico.
As a yinzer and WW2 fanatic, this is news to me. Cool!
I am aware that Dravo Corp on Neville Island made LSTs during WWII
@@RecycleBin26 Carnegie Science Center has the submarine there for a reason.
I live in the east part of PA (Bangor, Pa) right near the Appalachian trail. If you go north towards Scranton or west towards Jim Thorpe, the land gets immensely more beautiful. If you head south towards Philly, the land gets more gray and urban. It's depressing driving towards Philly.
My Dad was from Central PA (Mifflin County), and I would spend every summer there with my grandparents. Despite the over the road transportation challenges, Lewistown and the surrounding communities did OK with the American Viscose plant and the Standard Steel plant in Burnham, especially post WW2. But Hurricane Agnes hit in 72, and the American Viscose plant closed down shortly after. The Standard Steel plant is still there, but after cutbacks and a bankruptcy, not quite the economic engine that it was. Improvements in Rt 22/322 (especially with "The Narrows" being eliminated) have helped make things more accessible, but it's still not easy to get to. Culturally it reminds me of Pittsburgh - lots of phrases I hear in The Burgh, and the accent, remind me of Central PA..."gumbands", "Redd up", "run the sweeper", "warsh". Beautiful scenery, quite outside of town, but hard to get anywhere except State College (better now that 22/322 is a four lane).
But yeah, the short answer is "mountains." I made the drive for years from Western PA to Lewistown to take care of my Gram, and Rt22 is a slog of a drive at times. Very pretty, but I can see why I-78 stopped where it did and wasn't extended west.
The "empty" area would be one of the most dense areas in Canada - with more people than all but 4 provinces.
The map should be 80% red, with just two blue dots for Philly & Pittsburgh.
Those two "dots" contain almost 2/3 of out residents. And I don't think rural PA is as hard red as most people seem to think. I think over all most people are pretty middle of the road. We have good education systems, pretty good job opportunities in blue & white collar work, below average cost of living, and good access to healthcare. Outdoorsy folks have tons of publicly accessable nature to enjoy. Pittsburgh and Philly have arts, dining, and basically everything you'd want from bigger cities. Right or left people here don't seem to be too radical IMO because decades of relatively sane decisions have paid off pretty well for us as a state. No need to fuck it up
Rural doesn't automatically mean Republican. We know the value of labor unions that Republicans seem to hate.
Vote red, or this country is dead.
@@Anatoliys_Adventure Pittsburgh + Philadelphia is only 1.8 million people or 2.75 million if you're generous enough to include the rest of Allegheny county. Pennsylvania has a population of 12.97 million. Your math doesn't math. If we're talking metro areas, then you'd be including the predominantly red Pittsburgh metro area.
I'm a Pittsburgher, we're predominantly blue.
I live in Harrisburg, the state capital, with a current population of 51, 000. Harrisburg, at its peak in the 1960s, had a population of 90,00. There was a United State Steel mill near to Harrisburg. What manufacturing that existed crashed in the 1970s when manufacturing died in Central Pa and Upstate New York . When the steel mill died Central PA died. The beautiful Susquehanna River is non navigable. There were canals in the 19th century. You could have mentioned tourism at Gettysburg. If you drive around the Gettysburg area you will see that the area does not look much different from what it looked like in the 1860s. Central PA is attractive but not very lively. You can see a spur of the Appalachian mountains not far from Harrisburg.
South Central PA is pleasant but boring
@@billm1866 seems like a good place to retire in but a tough place to live if you're still mid career. I've lived in West PA all my life, and it seems like if you stray much from I-79 quality work gets much harder to find. It's why Ive stayed around the Pittsburgh area for most of my twenties
Harrisburg is all government jobs and government contractors. This área is a nice place to live.
The other large employer in Harrisburg is UPMC the hospital.
Agreed.
i love central PA. used to love driving up there to visit my friend at penn state while i was in college. very underrated for its nature and hiking in my opinion. big rolling hills/mountains, rivers and creeks. rothrock state forest and black moshannon state park are so nice
I'm a Native Philadelphian. I remember going to Pittsburgh for the first time when I was 4 or 5 and asking my dad, "Are we in another state?" Eastern and Western PA are so drastically different, and traveling from Central PA to Pittsburgh has to be one of my favorite drives, especially in the fall when you can see the leaves change. Going through the mountains and seeing the terrain change. It's a cool trip along the turnpike.
@@eddyjowhitley4309 As another Philly native , it's amazing going through the tunnels through the mountains how radically different the weather can be fun on the other side ! Sometimes one emerges to a twenty degree temperature 🌡️🤒 drop & a coating of fresh snow !
We have a saying here in Pittsburgh / Western PA: "New Jersey can have Philly."
And we Philadelphians have a saying also “ I don’t even know where Pittsburgh is located and don’t care”😂😂
@@jarricah7920 yeah bunch of hillbillies
Don't think we want Philly
Geoff, is it weird that your videos are extremely comfortable to my brain to watch, almost ASMR? Their tone triggers something from my youth.
He doesn’t take a breather between thoughts and sentences though. It’s a little too much for my OCD brain. He needs to slow it down a little bit. Not knocking him just saying.
@@kellymurphy6642 use your speed control to slow him down a little. 👍
Butler county doesn’t have anyone in it I think it should be considered part of the middle of PA
Butler County is urban compared to most of central PA
I've noticed that everytime Geoff list populations, its always the metro. Harrisburg only has around 50k people but its metro is roughly 600k
I worked in South Central PA for four years, and still get up there every so often. It's quite a unique area, with its own vibe.
Proud central Pennsylvanian here
Most Pennsylvania's never even see the middle part of the state, just whiz past it on the Turnpike or I-80
Trees, mountains, dead deer and state cops. That's what you see..
What more people don't even realize about central PA is up north, the Pennsylvania Wilds.
Those aren't real Pennsylvanians then lol.
There were hundreds of furnaces throughout central PA in the 1700s and 1800s
Clearfield county PA 22 years now. Borders Centre County (center of PA). My first 40 years lived in Morris County Northwest NJ that has become incredibly built up since I left. I shook my head when you said "open land" which makes me think of flat plains not the Hilly mountainous regions of central PA.
kinda interesting how you barely touched based about the allegheny. 15:08 was a major oil boom. Towns like Franklin were booming and affluent. The churches commissioned Tiffany to do the glass
I moved from outside of Boston (for 90% of my life) to this outlined central PA area 2 years ago. The only problem is all the Philly people moving in (along with their violence and drugs) because of garbage housing authority policies.
It's the way life should be with the exception of the housing authority failures in the area.
Years ago, PA caught a state welfare agency in northern Jersey not only recommending that their clients relocate to Altoona, but they had posters hanging, offering information. So, no doubt you are seeing Philly people, but it's way beyond that.
@@kerrykerry5778 Exactly what this area is plagued by. It's sad that the local government is stabbing it's own people just to bump up numbers in the system garnering more federal funding.
Eastern Tennessee is totally different from Western Tennessee
Honestly Dauphin and Cumberland Counties are usually considered central or south central. I’ve lived there many years and never heard of these areas being categorized as southeast PA
Exactly, it's hours to drive from here to Philly, we are not part of that. And don't want to be 😂
@@metalmamasue3680 agree. Even Lancaster is kind of in a nether-region, I’ve seen it grouped with both south central and southeast. Culturally it’s kind of its own thing with the Amish and rolling hills. When I think of Southeast PA, I think of mostly Philly and the Philly burbs, counties like Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, Berks and Chester
@@virgilflowers9846 Same, as a York Countian. Also there’s a political divide. Lancaster County and west is red all the way to Western PA, whereas the Philly burbs east of Lancaster are blue.
Well the entirety of Eastern pa and south eastern pa is culturally and economically become more aligned with the northeast megalopolis. The more rural areas of that region may ot realize this but it is happening. This will become more and more pronounced in the coming decades.
@virgilflowers9846 They are not. From a Philly guy transplanted in Dauphin over 20 years. It would be a dishonor on both ends.
The poconos are technically on an isolated subplateau that is separate from the appalachian plateau. The difference is it rises a lot sharper and is higher than the appalachian plateau near that region. That's why it's so popular with skiers.
I live in Carlisle, PA which is right on the border of this "empty middle". I love it because i have a Miata and can be carving up mountain roads in less than a half hour, while still being in a populated area that has everything i could want.
0:43 Virginia and West Virginia "Am I a joke to you?"
As a Pennsylvanian, someone once said that Pennsylvania was pittsburgh and Philadelphia with Alabama in between. I have never been able to unsee that view.
I lived there for 20 years and never heard that until semi-recently and only because of the internet.
Spend some time in Alabama, and then you'll be able to unsee it.
Anyone who has lived in the deep south will tell that comparison is absurd
@@whitedeion598 I think that the correlation is self reliant people that want to be left alone to live their lives without interference from the government.
@@scootertrash911 but that isnt what they are trying to say. Theyre saying that the philly and pittsburgh areas are educated and the rest of the state is a bunch of uneducated rednecks.
Why don't I live in central PA instead of the Burgh? Money. It's difficult to find jobs at the blurst of times.
Also parts of central PA are unfriendly to furriners from the Burgh.
I saw what you did there. 🐒
I have family from central PA. They all left in the 90s because of the lack of jobs
Very true, i reside in Hollidaysburg in Blair County and wages are not livable.
@@kimhaas7586stay there
I lived in York, PA for 15 years and in San Diego for 15 years; just moved to Maryland from San Diego, my son lives in Tioga County, so I get to drive across the entire north-south length of the state every time I go see him. It's a beautiful drive, Pennsyltucky is a beautiful state.
This is amazing! Subscribed!!
Let's be honest everyone.. Sheetz has always been better than Wawa
@@NateOBrien but that would be a lie
@@NateOBrien Sheetz has been here in York for quite a few years now. There is currently a wawa under construction in Dover. Only time i’ve set foot in a wawa was getting gas in Delaware years ago. Turkey Hill and Rutters has ruled this area for decades. Turkey Hill ice cream and iced tea for the win.
@@NateOBrien Sheetz has been here in York for quite a few years now. There is currently a wawa under construction in Dover. Only time i’ve set foot in a wawa was getting gas in Delaware years ago. Turkey Hill and Rutters has ruled this area for decades. Turkey Hill ice cream and iced tea for the win.