Pennsylvania is My Home State
I grew up in the western part of PA in the countryside. For college, I moved to York in the central-south of the state. After living in the rolling hills of the Allegheny Mountains, the flatland of York was a new experience. With a whole lot of humidity. My home state has a lot to offer–bustling cities, but vast expanses of woodlands waiting to be explored.
When I lived in Montana, a cowboy friend was surprised that Pennsylvania has state forests, game lands, parks and mountains. Okay, little ones compared to Montana, but still—mountains. Come in the summer and hike as much as you like. We have a lot of forest land, forest critters, and beautiful trees. Everyone talks about the New England states for autumn. Yep, I know it’s a gorgeous area. So is my state. We have maples, oaks, elms, sycamore, poplar, ash, beech, history—lots of varieties of trees!
My growing up years were spent playing outside year around. In winter, we built igloos and in autumn, leaf-ringed houses. Summers, Mom packed lunches and set us on our way.
Pennsylvania Blogs
Being a Grown-up in Pennsylvania
Moving back to Pennsylvania when I turned forty was an entirely different experience from being a kid here. First, living in Pittsburgh was new. After being in a town of 2,000 (Red Lodge, MT), at 300,000 Pittsburgh was an adjustment. Pennsylvania life was totally different from being in Red Lodge. Nether better or worse, just different.
But, being me. I dove into this new thing like I always do. That’s not bragging—long-term friends know I’ve dived into some less than stellar situations in the past. But dive into city-life I did. What fun to not have to drive an hour to Billings for cultural events!
And don’t forget about the Grand Canyon. It’s an 800-foot deep canyon—so not as grand as Arizona’s version, but it’s still worth seeing. There’s hiking galore and new views with every turn.
Pennsylvania Life – Cities
Philadelphia is large at 1.6 million people. Pittsburgh has around 300,000. Our next biggest city? Little Harrisburg at 50,000. So while Philly dominates the landscape the way NYC does NY state, it doesn’t define our state. The cities are great and have culture and history galore to offer.
Visiting Pennsylvania
While I might not tell a European friend to make Pennsylvania a destination trip, I’ll entertain them if they arrive. There is a lot to see here, from the outdoors to cultural events. Don’t sell us short.
*Read, Loving Pennsylvania
