www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Pittsburgh or Philly?

Bob,

If you have ever had one of these culinary delights, you would know they could never be shipped. The ingredients would make it way too messy for that to occur, and must be served fresh to have that taste. See their website [primantibrothers.com] .

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

Many of us have often said Philly should be annexed to New Jersey.

Remember what's inscribed on the tomb of W.C. Fields: "On the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia".

Seriously, I've worked in both cities, and I like Pittsburgh better (as a NY Giants fan, I found being around Eagle fans something to be dreaded). While Philly is a big city with lots of both good and bad features, Pittsburgh is a big city with a small town atmosphere; including folks who are friendly to strangers. In Philly, at least from my experience, if you start becoming friendly toward someone you don't know, they begin to suspect that you have "something up your sleeve". Too close to NYC, I guess.

Dn. Robert

I think they tried that a few years ago and the people of New Jersey actually said "no thanks!" They were worried about their reputation going down any farther. (As if it could.) I think Tony Soprano was even quoted as saying "Philly? A part of New Jersey? What part of Boda-Bing don't younze guys get?" But maybe I got that last part wrong.

I have to vote for Pittsuburgh. Erie does have the Old Believers a few miles away. In the other direction there is the Antiochean Village in Ligonier that I understand is phenomenal. And as far as Cleveland goes---what can you say about a city whose river actually caught fire by itself? And they call Erie the mistake on the lake! (Kidding, I have relatives in nearby Lorain Ohio. Lake Erie is much better than it was in the sixties and seventies. You can actually swim in it now without danger of life threatening diseases that make Ebola look desirable.)

In all honesty, your dollars will go father in Western Pa, the crime rate is not bad at all and you have so much religious culture at your fingertips, not to mention the food. All centrally located too. Air fare is not that high and you can fly to many, many places in a short period of time and for not much money. Driving is good. The weather is a bit harder in the winter since you are on top of a plateau. It's true, there's no real beach. Lake Erie is just not the same as the ocean. But it's not that far to drive if you want to go to the ocean. People I know from each area seem to show a decided skew in kindness the father west you go. I teach at the College level and the education level I see in the Eastern Pa students seem to be lagging behind. That's an honest assessment on some of the major things I see from each city.

But follow you heart.

Good luck. ps----what kind of healthcare job were you offered? You can PM me if you want. I'm curious. It's almost heartless in some ways, but depending on your specific area, there might be a certain amount of job security in one area more than the other. Something to think about.

S'nami Boh!

Tim

Philadelphia has a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Metroplitan. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic See of Philadelphia pre-dates the Byzantine See of Pittsburg.


We've actually got several in the area. There are A LOT of Poles here in Philadelphia. The city alone has five Polish parishes and two Lithuanian parishes. Not to mention a dozen or so in the suburbs.

I also forgot to mention the Maronites before and the many OCA parishes. As well there are Albanian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, and Malankara Orthodox Churches. In addition there is an Ethiopian Coptic church. We also have a famous Byzantine Catholic parish choir that has recorded many albums--Holy Ghost Church Choir in South Philadelphia.


Because the schools have cool traditions that date back to the Civil War. (How many schools do you know where Jefferson Davis is mentioned in a school fight song?) In addition we have a Penn State Campus nearby and Penn State frequently uses U. of Penn's football field for games. We also host the Army-Navy game frequently. In addition, when it comes to basketball, we have the Big Five schools--Penn, St. Joseph's, Villanova, La Salle, & Temple.


Wilkes-Barre is closer to us than you. As for kolbasi/kielbasi, even most of our street vendors sell it. I used to get it twice a week when I was at Penn from the Polish food truck on the corner.

Never have lived in either city, I'm able to claim objectivity. I note that Philadelphia has a magnificent Greek-Catholic Cathedral and an Old-Calendar Greek-Catholic parish, for those who share my preference for modern, up-to-date, scientific calendar (since NASA uses the Julian Calendar, it's obviously modern, up-to-date, and scientific).

I also note that in Philadelphia English is widely spoken, as distinct from that lingo one encounters in Pittsburgh.

As to food - good heavens; Philadelphia is on the Atlantic, which means one can find excellent sea food. One is also allowed to travel, and not only to the shore - there are the culinary delights of the Chesapeake Bay, the cultural delights of New York, Baltimore, Washington - and even Boston. And . .. but I've made my point.

Just avoid the scrapple, if they still have any.

Fr. Serge

You keep forgetting little things like the Tamburitzans, polkas and kolo music from Friday afternoon through Sunday evening, picnics every Sunday and some kind of festival or dinner EVERY weekend...

ANYWHERE outside of Pittsburgh is ETHNIC EXILE!!!

Oooooo! The Holy Grail at last! Which parish is this?

[sarcasm]Wow! I never realized that growing up in an ethnic Spanish household in the Southwest, where my family has resided for the last 300+ years, was exile...[/sarcasm]

Cost of living, Who wins that one?

Crime?

Schools?

I got an interview to be scheduled next week in Philly, expenses paid.

The interview in Pittsburgh will also be scheduled next week.

Crime is not that bad. Like any major city, one must always be careful however.

If you get a chance, take a walk around Center City Philadelphia. The Rittenhouse Square distict is where most of the shopping, restaurants, nightlife, and posh housing are. If you feel the need to get into the Chistmas spirit pop into the Macy's (formerly Wannamaker's) in Cneter City. The organ concerts and the Christmas light show there alone is worth the visit. As well take a peak at the "Dicken's Village".

If you are thinking of moving, please e-mail me and I can recommend some neighborhoods.

As for schools, if you are a Byzantine Rite Catholic, send them to:
*St. Josaphat's School.
http://www.stjosaphatukrschool.com/

As for high schools there is:
*The St. Basil's Academy for girls.
http://www.stbasilacademy.org/

There is also a Ukrainian Catholic College:
*(Foxchase) Manor College
http://www.manor.edu/

As for Roman Catholic schools in the city (if you are a Latin Rite Catholic), Our Lady of Lourdes (in the Overbrook neighborhood) runs one of the better ones. They are in the process of some renovations and upgrades at present. The founder of TastyKake is an alumnus and gives money periodically.
http://www.ourladylourdesschool.com/

There are also several good high schools:

*Holy Ghost Preparatory School for Boys
http://www.holyghostprep.org/index.php

*Nazareth Academy for Girls
http://www.nazarethacademyhs.org/

*The Roman Catholic High School for Boys
http://www.romancatholichs.com/

*The John W. Hallahan High School for Girls
http://www.jwhallahan.org

There are a few Roman Catholic universities:

St. Joseph's University
http://www.sju.edu/

Villanova University
http://www.villanova.edu/homepage/index.htm

La Salle University
http://www.lasalle.edu/

Father Anthony:

Father bless!!

Now I remember--

I saw a visit to this place on the food channel some time ago and I have to agree that you'd have to have one fresh. I don't remember who it was but it was one of those "roving" shows where they stopped at distinct places all over the country. No, I haven't had one of their specials, but it looked like it would be worth the trip.

BOB

Not to brag or anything but Pittsburgh was voted America's Most Livable City again!(Philly came in 5th)
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07116/781162-53.stm

To be fair, you really can not compare Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.
Philly is a huge city with massive urban sprawl that reaches to Lancaster County. It is a whole different animal than Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh, while the big steel mills are gone, is still a blue collar city made up of neighborhoods that have a small town feeling to them. Pittsburgh sprawls a bit, but not like Philly.

Philly is just a massive metropolis mixed into what some academics call the Bos-wash mega-polis (basically from Boston to Washington it is one developed city and urban sprawl/suburb that consists of 50 million people).

Pittsburgh is much smaller, and you can get out of suburbia entirely in 30-40 minutes (depending on where you are going).
It isn't part of a huge multi-state mega-polis.

I mean I've heard the Philly versus Pittsburgh thing for years because where I went to college it was mostly Pitt and Philly people and they'd argue back and forth. Maybe I'm pro-Pittsburgh because I have spent so much time there, while I rarely go to Philly.

The Stiller's have Troy P., our Orthodox football player!

Dear Friends:

It has to be PITTSBURGH! We are a great city. From the Orthodox jurisdictions we have the Head the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA (Metropolitan Constantine), Serbian Orthodox (Bishop Mitrophan), Antiochian Orthodox (Bishop Thomas), OCA (vacant at the present time), Greek Orthodox (Metropolitan Maximos)...We have the Head of the Byzantine Catholic Church in the USA (Metropolitan Basil)...As you drive from the East you see domes (St. John BC Church in Greenfied)...As you come from the West you see domes (Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox and Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Churches in Carnegie). Here you fill like at home! Just imagine visiting each jurisdiction for the parish festivals. I can tell you it is great! Plus we have a wonderful Pittsburgh Folk Festival in May.Good luck!
In XC,
Fr. Valerian