Pennsylvania the 33rd largest state. It is definitely not a large state by western standards. I guess if you consider NYC the center of the universe then maybe it's the Midwest, but as a Midwesterner (from Minneapolis) I'm not really feeling that.
I think puls meant that Pennsylvania is a big state in the sense that Philadelphia is considered to be a part of the east coast while Pittsburgh (home of Carnegie Mellon) is often considered to be a part of the midwest.
In that sense, Pennsylvania is a big state. Perhaps "wide" is a better descriptor.
Pittsburgh is kind of a buffer between the east coast and the midwest. Architecturally, it feels more like an east coast city, but culturally it feels more midwestern.
I agree. I grew up in Ohio, and to me, Pittsburgh and the rest of western PA is part of the Midwest. It has the same farmland/steel-town culture that Ohio does.
Obviously Philadelphia is not, so I would argue that the dividing line is somewhere in the middle of the state.
Well, see, this kind of depends on your definition of "Midwest". I grew up a fair distance west of Denver, and to me, the dividing line between East and Midwest is Chicago. The "real" west begins at Denver. This neatly divides the country into approximately thirds.
But to say that Ohio and western PA are "Midwest" because they're west of the Appalachians... bah. You easterners need to get out more. And if you think steel town culture makes you part of the Midwest, well... come west of Chicago and look around. You don't see many steel towns out here.
I mean, I suppose that's the labels that you grew up on, and it's how the locals label themselves, so on that level it's hard to argue with. But anything that includes "West" as part of the name (or even "Mid") that includes Pittsburgh... look at a map of the country, and then explain to me how that makes any sense at all.