Always fun to see people act like Pennsylvania is some kind of backwater state, when it's the sixth most populous state in the country with the sixth largest economy.

Honestly, the way you’ve written about the state makes me say no, it isn’t for you. Don’t come here, you won’t enjoy it and you’ll end up bitter about it. That’s just my two cents based off the few paragraphs you wrote, but it seems you’ve already made up your mind and have preconceived ideas about what you’d find here.

I love our state, I’ve been all over it and think it’s great, but it’s not for everyone and if someone comes in having already decided not to like it, nothing I can say will sway them.

Each of the areas you’ve mentioned have something going for them. They’ve got active businesses, they’re at least stable if not growing, they have culture and restaurants and generally some sort of nightlife. You haven’t told us specifically what you like to do, but if you can’t be happy in any of the places you mentioned — especially Lancaster, Pittsburgh, or the Lehigh Valley — then I think you should keep trying for somewhere you know you’ll be happy.

Your biases against Pennsylvania are fucking stupid. New York (state) has just as many inbred hick, backwater bullshit towns as Pennsylvania. In fact, there are more of them - because they get snowed in every year and you lose access to civilization.

NYC and Philly are pretty comparable - both big cities with the pros and cons of big cities.

Outside of there, it's a crap shoot - like literally every other state. Some places fucking suck, some places are amazing - like literally every other state.

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If all you think of when you picture Pennsylvania is Centralia and meth trailers, you're being fed a bunch of bullshit.

"I applied to a bunch of jobs in PA all over the state and weirdly got a lot of responses. They were mostly in central PA and areas of Harrisburg, Allentown, Reading, York, etc. Also received a response from Pittsburgh area. Some of the responses are from large corporations."

Why is it weird to get responses when applying for jobs? Isn't that the idea? If you get invited in for a job interview, do you think that is weird, too?

Based on how you worded things, I'd say you'd ultimately be happier seeking employment in NY where you already are.

While you are in salary negotiations for a specific job offer, go there and tour prospective rentals. Then use that information to negotiate adequate pay to cover housing.

First, an acknowledgement that moving "Just for work" has been the usual pattern of human migration in the US for a very long time.

Secondly, if you are indeed moving "just for work" you can always move out "just for work" too.

Personally, I think that Pennsylvania is on the up and up economically. After neoliberal globalization kicked us in the shin/balls/gut, our urban regions and colleges/universities took it on themselves to promote innovation and investment. The transformation feels like it has been taking a long ass time, but we are finally getting there.

Pennsylvania's geography and history has given us a lot of different regional identities (it has lessened recently, but even in the mid 20th century we had something like 5 distinct accents). Even our counties have great variety within them (on the whole that is. Forest County is woods, villages, and a state prison).

What I am getting at here is that your question is flawed. Sure you move to a State, but more importantly is the fact that you are moving to a particular municipality and region.

From how you were talking about the Commonwealth, I doubt we would be the right fit for you.

BUT since you are asking us PA Redditors, I suggest you take time to visit the areas you got responses from. Go to restaurants and ask your servers what the like and don't like about living here. Take walks in the neighborhoods and areas where you would likely spend time if you did move here.

If you want to ask about specific regions, counties, cities, and towns we can offer you more specific help that way, but if you are just coming to r/Pennsylvania to be gobsmacked that we have an economy that has job prospects, we don't have time for that

Yes, Pennsylvania has a great job sector for people with masters degrees. Probably among the best in the country. It’s the main reason I moved to the state

It's a mixed bag. Outside the cities, opportunities are scarce for many professional fields, and while those jobs exist in the cities, competition is fierce.

Depending on your field, you may be more in demand. A specialist is going to naturally get more opportunities.

Similarly, coming from out of state makes you an interesting commodity, because if you live here, your first reaction is to wonder why someone else would want to come here.

All that said, the pay will probably be less than what you expect / hope, but the cost of living isn't generally terrible here, so it might balance out. I might abandon the idea that, "Oh, maybe it's better nearby," though. Typically, it's not.

Okay. I've live in central Pennsylvania for most of my life, although my childhood was in the Philly suburbs. So I can definitely give you a solid opinion on the area having lived here for 15+ years. I can't speak on Pittsburgh though, because it's not in central PA and I've only visited once or twice.

Harrisburg, Allentown, Reading and York are all 4 very different areas. In fact, you can't even really group them together.

For one, Allentown is actually the 3rd most populated city in Pennsylvania and not even part of central Pennsylvania, but I've been there a couple of times so I can still provide some comments. It is very hit or miss. My mother lives there and hates it, but I don't think it's that bad. Of course, my mother is more of a nature loving person. Allentown is more "industrialized", compared to the other 3. Even Harrisburg is smaller (in terms of population and opportunities) by comparison. I don't think you'd have issues with finding a job here given the population.

Speaking of which, Harrisburg is weird. It is the capitol of Pennsylvania and that's about the only significant part of it. If it wasn't for being the capitol, it would practically be a ghost town. The only real reason to want to move to Harrisburg is if you're accepting a government job with the state or such, because the area doesn't have many worthwhile employment opportunities outside of that. Take it from someone like myself who lived there for 10+ years.

In fact, I moved to Lancaster last year partially because of that reason. I know you didn't mention it, but Lancaster has a lot of start-up companies and is growing both economically and population wise. Much more rural than any of the other cities you listed though. Also more expensive to live in compared to the others and more gentrified.

I've been to York a number of times. If you want to talk about economically depressed cities, then look no further. Sorry York residents, but every time I've driven through York, the city just looks trashy and sad. But if you're looking for employment opportunities, then it's the place to be mostly because no one wants to live there. So you'll never not have a job. Can't speak on how your quality of life would be though.

That leaves Reading. I thought about moving to Reading before I decided on Lancaster and I'm kind of glad that I didn't. It reminds me a lot of the issues that York has (trashy and sad), but also add a ton of trucking companies. A lot of tractor-trailers travel through Reading. So if you're looking to get into logistics and such, then it's probably a good place for that.

Hope that helps! It wouldn't surprise me that you're getting a lot of responses for jobs. Pennsylvania does have a ton of jobs. Central Pennsylvania especially has a need for young professionals and graduates. The real issue is if you actually want to live here though. Some cities are depressing and we shouldn't sugarcoat it. Also if you're coming from NYC, just be prepared that you are going to be in for a serious culture shock.

Well, you don't really tell us what you're looking for in where you live. What kind of place makes you happy? What kind of place makes you hate life? What kind of people do you like to live around, what kinds of things do you like to do? What do you feel makes a city/area great?

FWIW, PA pretty much has it all, from wooded rural areas to a number of different big cities, so I think where in PA (if PA at all) will depend on your tastes.

Not too many mentions of Pittsburg here, which seems to be universally considered a great place to live. It's a major tech center with top notch universities. It would be worth considering.

Serious question, and hear me out as it's going to start off strange. Are you white, or a minority? If it's the latter, I'd stick to the urban/suburban areas. I'm in Perry, north of Harrisburg. There's a reason Pennsyltucky is shaped like a cross when you take out the four corners. You can find nice people, but there's also a rather sizable element that thinks it's still the 1950s.

I moved to Nashville once and it was “just for work” but I ended up liking it (I moved back to PA after the I got laid off during the pandemic). But I think if you went to the right neighborhood in Pittsburgh or Philly the same thing would happen to you…

If you’re getting a high up job in York, life will be good for you. It’s a very industrial county but there are a few corporate jobs there & your quality of life will be good if that’s the case.

Of your responses I'd do homework into the cost of living. If you want to be close to NY state or NYC then Scranton makes the most sense. Lackawanna county tends to be more liberal than rural areas. I-81 will take you up to Binghamton. NY; Rt 6 will take you up toward the Finger Lakes, I-84 will take you into Port Jervis, NY and I-80 will pretty much take you into Harlem, NYC.

The Lehigh valley also seems to be turning around economically but I don't believe that professional degrees are in high demand. Instead, I'd recommend looking at the Philly metro and living someplace close to a SEPTA train stop. I lived in King of Prussia and the Main Line (rt. 30 with towns like Devon and St. David's) was a nice area with regards to amenities. Rt. 202 into Chester county also seems to be getting built up but I wouldn't recommend community via car into the city.

Finally, there's also Pittsburgh. It's a little bit of a mix of Appalachia/Great Lakes/Midwest with lots of rust belt relics but business prospects are probably better than in the Lehigh valley. The downside is that the closest part of NY is Lake Chataqua with the closest major city in NY being Buffalo which is about 4 hours away.

Well I ended up in the Lehigh Valley for the past 24 years to be with my husband. He came to Allentown for his first job out of college and stayed. No it is not New York or Philadelphia but we like it here. I grew up outside of Philadelphia and my husband is from Maryland. There are great restaurants and all the towns off something different. The hiking is great and skiing. It just depends on what you are interested in!

>I was kind of dismissive of these prospects at first because I know PA has a lot of depressed areas that I couldn't really see myself living in. But it also seems like maybe a good opportunity to get decent work experience. Perhaps these areas have other surrounding areas or other metros nearby that are nice to live in?

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Most likely the jobs available to you are not in those depressed areas, making it a non-issue.

If you need work experience, take the best offer currently on the table, and move elsewhere when you have more experience if the soon-to-be-current job/location isn't a good fit.

Pennsylvania is a big state, with a large population, and it's a mixed bag. It's also not a destination state so more people leave than come in, then add retirement to that equation, and *poof* you have jobs needing filled.

I've lived in Philly, Chicago, San Diego, Phoenix, and Seattle as far as larger cities go... I'm currently in one of those depressed areas; it suits me for the time being, but I have family here and I'm middle aged. Even the depressed areas aren't terrible overall, but given that you're presumably young and single and looking to socialize and date and maybe meet someone, I'd try to stick closer to Philly.

Scranton/Wilkes Barre is probably a good place to buy a house and raise a family while still being close enough to NYC to escape for some occasional culture. It's also a lovely area to explore the outdoors. But I'd disparage and mock the area too if I was a 20 something hoping to party and date.

Harrisburg, Allentown, Reading, York... all very different cities with different pros/cons. Harrisburg has a little more of that urban feel, lots of people with a graduate degree, some decent restaurants and options, and then that drops off entirely about five miles out from city center. But people there are educated, curious, healthy. Can't speak for Allentown but it's close to a lot of things so it has that going for it if you like road trips. Reading is not all that vibrant but close enough to Philly to escape and it's a large enough city to have a lot of options for food/shopping/etc. York is ultra-conservative and dull, but a decent place to raise a family and an easy escape to Baltimore or Philly for a weekend.

With the exception of Philly proper, you'll find that most places in PA are optimal if you have the ability to travel a lot and don't mind road trips... there's a lot in to do in the state but it's spread out. Pittsburgh is good too but it might feel a bit like you're the big fish in a little pond, depending on your expectations and what you are used to. The nice thing about Pittsburgh is it's a really good hub to visit Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, Toronto, DC, and Philly without too much travel time... I really like it as a home base, of sorts, but it's no where near as exciting as living in Philly, Chicago, San Diego, or Seattle were for me. That said, it still has lots to do and feels like it's slowly trending in a better direction.

I'm going posit that the reason you so many more responses from PA than NY is probably…the luck of the draw.

It sounds like you don't have so much of a reason to pass up these offers. You won't be too far from “home.” Take an offer and see if you like it here.

It's pretty easy to get form Allentown/Bethlehem to NYC. From Lancaster, Harrisburg or York, it's farther, but the train makes it easy.

If it's not a fit, in a year or two, circulate your resume again. This time, you'll have experience, and it will be easier to find a job where you like.

It's a great opportunity for you to try something different from what you're used to. Do it!!! The cost of living in most of PA is wicked cheap!!!! I grew up in a small town in PA close to the NY border and loved that I could go hiking/horseback riding/4 wheeling in the Allegheny National Forest at any time.

I lived in Pittsburgh for a year after college...AWESOME city. So much fun, yet relaxed and easy going. After that I moved to southern NH and then Anapolis, MD area for a little bit. Now I'm back home in PA...great place to raise kids.

Did I mention WICKED LOW COST OF LIVING? Live here for a couple years, try things out and save a ton of money. Then you can go anywhere your heart desires.

Have fun! Try new things!!!

I mean it's highly dependent on what is important to you. We were relocated here from Indiana for an engineering job and have lived in several other states. PA is one I won't miss when we eventually move on from here. It's basically like a lot of other states though, the cities have more liberal people/policies and then there's the rest of the state which is very red.

We are in Lancaster County, 2 miles off the turnpike, 45 minutes from West Philadelphia, 2 hours from NYC. It's mostly a bunch of Trumpers and Bible thumpers in the rural area but getting to civilization doesn't take long. You figure out how to avoid most of the locals. I'd recommend looking at the West Chester area if you have the financial means, professional job opportunities should be pretty good there and you can stay out of hicktown and avoid the Amish buggies.

As a current (recent) Pittsburgher and former Jersey girl (also lived a few other places in the south)... it depends. I'm still getting used to PGH and there are things I love (ie CARNEGIES are freaking world class museums, I LOVE the sports culture in Pittsburgh even though some are rivals of my teams. I've already adopted the Pirates [yes, I know their record....]). There's things thay aren't so great (infrastructure is pretty terrible, weather isn't my cup of tea). PA is massive though and there's definitely pros and cons for each area.

Another thing to consider is your support. Your hesitance on PA may be bc you're in your social/famial comfort zone in NY. We were 30min from one side of our family but now it's over 4hrs to drive to the PA/NJ border. Philly is really not far from NYC, and there's reasonable public transit between them. There's also a reason for the trope of moving to NYC for better pay (though somewhat less so the last few years). On that note, the cost of living difference did kind of flatten out so PA was not as "cheap" as it was made out to be, even for PGH. Even still, it's been pretty common for large and midsize companies to move out of NY/NJ and into PA and the Ohio River Valley for cheaper options the last few years, so many have lightened their NYC-Philly corridor offices.

Also, trashing places you live is kinda a thing for NJ and NYers. Like, I totally complained about Jersey and NYC (frickin GWB is all I'll say here), but I would move back in a heartbeat if it made sense for my family. And we pretty much trash talk every where else too and are surprised when people get defensive, even though we're the same way with NY/NJ - includingtrash talking each other. It's a weird relationship. And definitely a local culture thing to consider, but also remember there are lots of NY/NYC/NJ/Philly crossover and transplants, and central PA is very similar to Upstate.

Long day so nonsensical ramblings may occur.

I work in Harrisburg and commute like 35 mins (purely highway) from the northern Lebanon area and it's a nice balance. A zillion places to go fishing, the weather is never really too extreme, cost of living is cheap, it's still fairly rural, and you can make good money in/around the city

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You should check out Philly tbh. It’s cheaper than New York but a little grungier and smaller

I’ve lived in a few states (Indiana, North NJ, and PA). My family and I relocated back to PA mostly for cost of living and a better balance of life. Work is work and the time you are at work is part of life, but I will say simple things like going to the store and running errands are not as time consuming and cumbersome.

It is certainly a change of pace with less of the 24hr access to bars and restaurants, but in the long run I’m a firm believer that it’s a good life.

I grew up outside of Reading and while the city has seen better days, the surrounding areas are pretty nice.

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Don't move anywhere until you find a job, and recognize that you are disposable.

It's one of the reasons buying a house is so hard now, no promises we will have a job here in a few years.

I moved here from NYC 7 years ago for the same reason. And I’ve met many who have done the same. Work is work but getting used to living in PA can be difficult cause it is far different from NY and NJ but with many jobs moving out here that may not be for very long. I live in York and they are putting in casinos and other things to attract more people. It’s growing but I can’t say it’s anything like NY or NJ.

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Scranton specifically is one of the most depressed cities on the Eastern part of the state - I’d personally stay away from there, the Poconos are a good alternate if you like that climate and nature. Lancaster, Philly and the Lehigh Valley (Easton, Bethlehem) are solid places to be, mind you the suburbs around these places are also very similar to where you currently live just in a different state.

I live in Wilkes Barre currently, it's not bad but yeah making fun of it is just what we do.

A lot of PA is Pennsyltucky but a lot of it isn't. I, for one, love Scranton. My dream is to live there one day.

I think it's worth considering.

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Hiking, Camping and sight seeing!

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Pa is divided too much. In the cities and in the woods you got two completely different types of people, and they dislike each other.

If you like hunting, hiking, reading a book alone on a rainy night, or going to bars to watch a game, playing trivia, or karaoke; and you just forgot to mention all, that then sure, consider it. Or if it is a hybrid/remote position and you plan to travel and just enjoy the slightly more affordable cost of living when you're in the state, great go for it...Otherwise, I think you'll be miserable.

Don’t do it, I’m graduating and getting the eff out of this state.

First of all look up PA worse places to live on YouTube. Ignore the color bias he has because proverty doesn't have a color just an amount. Secondly, everyone is moving to Philly, just to make it a NY🤔. Thirdly, all of these jobs are fluff jobs, the economy is horrible. So if you've done internships I would move within those companies. Good luck.

Please move here and vote democrat!

Harrisburg and Lancaster are nice and both have Amtrak stations. Lancaster is more artistic and has more local shops. Harrisburg is the capital and is pretty nice too.

Both areas have Costco, parks, minor League baseball teams and young professional organizations. As far as stores. You can pretty much find everything. Lancaster has Park City, a very nice mall. And in the Harrisburg area you have the capital city (west shore, not technically Harrisburg, but not far).

Listen don’t apply for jobs in Pennsylvania. Most jobs here will tell you no and the competition is severely fierce. I’m a recent college graduate with an associate degree and I am struggling to get a job myself. The worst part is I was born and raised in Pennsylvania.

Lol PA is an awesome state to live in… philly area is garbage but the rest of the state is BEAUTIFUL. Tons of jobs around the Pittsburgh area to be had and it’s easily one of the cleanest cities I have been to. Very low crime rate for a major city also. Anywhere I have lived I have had complaints but I always find myself back in PA.