I feel like culturally and in terms of weather they are more aligned with the Midwest, but are still considered to be northeast because it’s Pennsylvania and New York. What is your opinion?

43 comments

  3. Most of the western half of PA feels more like Appalachia tbh. Near to Erie, it feels very Ohio, so probably more Midwest vibes closer to the lakes.

  4. Western NY is absolutely the Northeast. Western PA is more controversial, but I personally consider it part of the Northeast. I think Ohio is the bleeding edge of the Midwest.

  5. Culturally rural Pennsylvania is Kentucky like, Pennsaltucky we call it, this is true for eastern PA too

  7. Northeast.

    People in Northeast Ohio / Cleveland area often feel we should be considered part of the Northeast as we’re more similar to Buffalo / Pittsburgh than the rest of Ohio. But I’d say Ohio is the dividing line as the most eastern Midwestern state.

  8. There are many areas of the US that aren’t distinctly within a single region culturally. The government has official regional designations but it seems like people don’t want to use those as their opinions differ because reasons.

    Western PA is one of the areas that is in the middle of a number of Venn diagrams.

    Pittsburgh has more in common with Cleveland than New York or Boston. Erie is more like Buffalo or Toledo than Portland or Jersey City. The rural areas bleed into Appalachia. Yet, these areas are also tired to Eastern PA.

    States are big and borders are arbitrary.

  9. I tend to go with geographically convenient methods for terms like that, and not culturally based models. That puts them into the northeast because why divide a state into two for that purpose?

    Culturally, while Pittsburgh has its own accent and dialect, I don’t remember “pop” being common, while “soda” was. It’s also quite hilly, and the region doesn’t have the huge farms of the midwest. The bus system was very popular and effective. So for the things that come to mind, I’d still consider it northeast. Buffalo and western NY might be different.

  10. They’re waaaay to far East to be Midwestern. You can make the argument for Great Lakes or Rust Belt, but they’re nowhere near the Great Plains.

  11. oh this again… western pa is not midwestern, I am *begging* everyone to understand that. midwestern people sometimes debate about whether *ohio* is even part of the midwest. I always see this from people living along the east coast who for some reason think “not east coast” = “midwest” right up until you hit the rocky mountains

    I hear the argument a lot that it’s part of the rust belt. it is! and rust belt is also not synonymous with midwest! allentown pa is a rust belt city and I sure as hell hope you’re not classifying it as midwestern.

    if we must assign a region, western pa is largely northern appalachian. getting up toward erie you can classify it as great lakes if you want

  13. I’m from California, but drive each summer with family from Cleveland to Lake Chautauqua in western New York. This question has always fascinated me since I don’t sense any distinct differences other than urban/rural along the way. It’s mostly forested, except where farms look like they have been carved out of the woods.

    Heading west from Cleveland, however, within an hour or so, the farmlands seem to dominate, with woods more patchy. I feel like the Midwest starts somewhere not far west of Cleveland, with northeasternmost Ohio, Erie and western NY still in the Northeast

  15. It’s definitely in a transition zone. Buffalo and Rochester say “pop” instead of “soda” which is normally pretty conclusive evidence of being culturally Midwestern, but on the other hand, they say “sneakers” instead of “tennis shoes” which is distinctively northeastern.

    That said, western PA is, along with southeastern Ohio and the Southern Tier of New York, culturally a part of Appalachia.

  16. Physically, northeast. Culturally, rust belt, which encompasses some of the Midwest but not all.

  20. I consider them part of the “Rust Belt” / Great Lakes region, which is neither part of the NorthEast nor the Midwest.

  21. Northeast. If a state touches the ocean or touches another state that touches the ocean, it’s certainly not the Midwest.

    I am a Midwest minimalist, so I prefer to exclude as many states (including mine) as possible from the Midwest. I think it’s absurd that a single region covers 1/3 of the lower 48 by most definitions.

  22. After living in western NY for a few years, it definitely felt more like the industrial midwest than the northeast. Even the accents sound similar.

  24. Northeast. I have heard of rural PA being called “Pennsyltucky” lol but I still consider the whole state to be part of the northeast.

  25. Midwest.

    More specifically Great Lakes.

    West of Rochester (which is the Finger Lakes region) NY is geographically and culturally equivalent to Michigan and Northern Ohio.

    As Michigan and Ohio are *firmly* Midwest I consider western NY to be in the same family.

    On top of that they’re part of a distinct “second settlement” period of American Expansion.

    Let me put it this way: They play Euchre in Buffalo.

    If you know what that is, you’re Midwestern.

  27. They aren’t part of the Midwest, but they are part of the Great Lakes region and the Rust Belt.

  30. It depends who you ask. I personally feel like Buffalo feels closer to the Great Lakes region of the Midwest than New York City, but YMMV.

  33. I wouldn’t go as far as saying we’re part of the Midwest, but we definitely have more in common with them than we do most of the northeast. In reality, we’re part of Appalachia.

  35. Strictly from a cultural standpoint, western PA is actually part of the south, with the exception of Pittsburgh. Rural, depressed blue-collar area with no industry and a lot of god-and-country service veterans. Trump signs still hang on porches. Only in central PA is there an oasis from that, and that’s because there’s a big college there. Very midwestern vibe.

  38. Buffalonian here- if someone referred to Buffalo as “Midwest” to their face I don’t think the reaction would go over very well. You’d be laughed out of the room.

  40. Definitely northeast, but I’m no expert or anything.

    Having lived almost exclusively on the west coast makes me perceive anything east of about Colorado “back east”. Even the Midwest is the east 😆

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