I live in Pennsylvania and I’m constantly made aware of things about this state that really just rub me the wrong way. For instance, the part of PA that I live in has a lot of dairy farms. So you can’t go 2 miles out of town without being greeted by the noxious scent of cow excrement. I also don’t like the politics, I’m a democrat, and most of PA is rabidly Republican (I have literally seen people foaming at their mouths ) The condition of the Interstate that runs through our town-let (I-81) is in deplorable condition. The state re-paved the last 2 miles before the Maryland border to make the difference in maintenance level less obvious/embarassing. And then the real kicker: the fact that I now know things I’m embarassed to say I know. Things like the fact that dairy-cow urine smells worse than regular bovine urine because of the milk-producing process. The list goes on, that’s probably the most disgusting. Finally, there’s the complete absence of anything to do, though I suspect most places are like that.
The saving graces about Pennsylvania are that food and clothing are not taxed and that it’s not so far off the beaten path such that places of interest are more than 5 hours away.
So what irks you about your state and what do you like about your state?
A commonplace and unjustified faith amongst many of its inhabitants in our general superiority/good fortune in comparison to the rest of Canada.
Assertions that Alberta, or even (say it ain’t so!) Saskatchewan have an edge over us when it comes to arts, culture, & even basic entertainment are met with frank disbelief. Never mind the more easterly provinces.
But that’s the way it is. Theatre? In Vancouver? It is to laugh. I’m always stunned when I’m visiting other provinces and there are several promising-looking plays running concurrently. Hey, and lots of live music – and any other number of engaging activities! What dizzying novelty!
My theory is that our pretty mountains and easy access to the Pacific make us complacent – folks just settle for a bottle of wine and good stare out the window, where folks in the rest of Canada or compelled to find something to do.
Hey, kniz, I’ve been to Mississippi, you must like Kudzoo(sp?) and bugs if you have nothing to complain about. Last I heard, scorpions were making a move into Mississippi as well.
I did like my stay there, it was nice and flat and I don’t like biking up hills!
Hey, kniz, I’ve been to Mississippi, you must like Kudzoo(sp?) and bugs if you have nothing to complain about. Last I heard, scorpions were making a move into Mississippi as well.
I did like my stay there, it was nice and flat and I don’t like biking up hills!
Well, Frank, you must have visited the Delta where it is very flat. I’m near Tupelo in what they call Hill County. Matter of fact I love kudzu, just as long as it is down the road growing on someone else’s house. I don’t grow cotton, so the boll weavils don’t bother me much, either. There is one thing that does bother me and that is there are no rocks in this state, except up in Tishamingo County.
Eh, you can only by alcohol from certain places in PA. There are a certain number of ‘liquor licenses’ available in every town, and those are the only places that can legally sell alcohol. Moot point, I’m under 21 (the legal drinking age in the US).
[ul]
[li]We rank among the highest in gas prices.[/li][li]The state of affairs in our education system is pitiful. Teacher salaries are less here than in most other states. The schools are always overcrowded and every 2-3 years a bond election is held to get more schools built. Even when the bonds pass (they need a 2/3 majority to pass and most of the time they don’t) it doesn’t alleviate overcrowding issues. Many of the schools are in need of maintenance and the money just isn’t there to fix them.[/li][li]Many of our highways are in need of repair, and again, the money just isn’t there. When driving on I-84 coming into Idaho from Oregon, the difference was readily apparent upon crossing the border. A couple years ago they did the same thing CmF said they did in Pennsylvania, and repaved the first few miles past the border to ease the embarrassment factor.[/li][li]It’s too hot in the summer.[/li][/ul]
Maryland is located very far away from everyone I know. It’s humid as hell and has a lotta bigots. That’s all I can think of that I don’t like.
However, I’m from Alberta, land of King Ralph and his court of Redneckia. Although the PC party has done what it said it was going to do as its election platform, they’re going overboard now. It’s great to be fiscally responsible; the intolerance toward gays, not so much.
) The condition of the Interstate that runs through our town-let (I-81) is in deplorable condition. The state re-paved the last 2 miles before the Maryland border to make the difference in maintenance level less obvious/embarassing. And then the real kicker: the fact that I now know things I’m embarassed to say I know. Things like the fact that dairy-cow urine smells worse than regular bovine urine because of the milk-producing process. The list goes on, that’s probably the most disgusting. Finally, there’s the complete absence of anything to do, though I suspect most places are like that.
[sup]Mississippi here, my only gripe is that there isn’t anything to gripe about down here.[/sup]
[sup]I’d add to PA, by saying it also is inhabited by yankees, except I have a son and daughter-in-law-to-be living there.[/sup][/ul]