>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.