Why Live and Work in Pennsylvania?

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Pennsylvania is a beautiful and diverse state with towns and cities that provide art and educational opportunities as well as a wide expanse of scenic rural areas with breathtaking beauty.

We have quite a story to tell. From Independence Hall in Philadelphia to the milk chocolate capital of the world to the three rivers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania truly is the Keystone State.

Pennsylvania is home to many excellent colleges and universities including ten medical schools, four dental schools, and numerous training programs for other clinicians. World-class art museums and music venues dot the state. But if sports are more your speed, you’ll find many professional and college teams. Outdoor recreation enthusiasts have access to thousands of miles biking and hiking trails and fresh lakes and waterways for boating, fishing or just floating the day away.

Southwest

Pittsburgh is the hub of southwest corner of Pennsylvania. But the city of Pittsburgh is part of Allegheny County, which features a number of other large and mid-sized towns.

Around the region other large towns include Greensburg, Washington, Beaver, Uniontown, and Somerset.

Our staff at Community Health Centers in southwest Pennsylvania live and work in an area with great healthcare resources. Pittsburgh is home to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the Duquesne University College of Osteopathic Medicine (to open in 2024), the Pitt School of Dentistry, and numerous nursing and other health profession schools.

Much of southwest PA, however, offers affordable suburban and rural living. The hills and river valleys provide a scenic area to raise a family or just go for a hike.

Find out more about Pittsburgh and its countryside.

Find out more about the Laurel Highlands.

Southcentral

The region is one of the most prosperous in the commonwealth. It’s the home of the state capital of Harrisburg and the surrounding towns of Hershey (Chocolatetown USA) and Carlisle, home of Dickinson College.

Many visitors come to the region every year to tour the battlefields of Gettysburg and see the tourist attractions in Lancaster County (Pennsylvania Dutch Country). Other major cities include Chambersburg, York and Lebanon.

It is also home to the Penn State University College of Medicine in Hershey, along with many research facilities.

Find out more about central Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Visit Hershey Harrisburg

Southeast

Philadelphia is not only the largest city in Pennsylvania, but it is also home to the first hospital in the United States (Pennsylvania Hospital), the prestigious College of Physicians, and several of the country’s top medical schools – University of Pennsylvania, Drexel, Temple and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

But that is not all the southeast corner of Pennsylvania has to offer. Several sizable cities surround Philadelphia including Norristown, Chester, Doylestown, West Chester, Pottstown, and Reading. Throughout this area there are numerous health systems and hospitals, some of them affiliated with one of the previously mentioned medical schools.

Because of the concentration of medical schools, the southeast region is home to many medical research facilities and pharmaceutical companies.

The region also contains many cultural and historical treasures. Old City in Philadelphia includes Independence Hall, City Tavern, and the U.S. Constitution Center, but on the outskirts of the city are the Revolutionary War sites of Valley Forge and Brandywine. Theaters, art institutions like the Philadelphia Museum of Art (made famous in the movie Rocky) and music concert venues dot the area.

Find out more about the southeast area of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia.

Northwest

Erie on the shores of (obviously) Lake Erie is the third largest city in Pennsylvania. A few of the other major towns in the area are Sharon, Bradford, Clearfield, and DuBois.

The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine is in Erie as are two major health systems: UPMC Hamot and St. Vincent (Allegheny Health Network).

Much of the northwest corner of Pennsylvania is farmland and forests. Presque Isle State Park is a beach front area on Lake Erie. The expansive Allegheny National Forest covers thousands of acres. The area is also home to the first commercially successful oil well in the United States.

Find out more about Pennsylvania’s Great Lakes region.

Find out more about Pennsylvania’s forested northern tier.

Northcentral

Known throughout Pennsylvania as “God’s Country,” northcentral Pennsylvania combines mountains and forests with mid-sized cities and world-renowned academic institutions. Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series and Lycoming College, is the region’s largest city. But in State College you can find Penn State University, where the population balloons when school is in session. Lewisburg is a quaint town that is also the location of Bucknell University.

Despite the rural nature of the area, there are several large, multi-county health systems: Geisinger Health System, headquartered in Danville; Guthrie Health System in Sayre; UPMC Susquehanna Health System based in Williamsport

Find out more about Pennsylvania’s forested northern tier.

Find out more about the Susquehanna Valley.

Find out more about Williamsport.

Northeast

While the Northeast corner of Pennsylvania includes the Pocono and Endless Mountains, it also boasts two large metropolitan areas. The Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton metropolitan area is one of the most densely populated areas of the state. The Scranton / Wilkes-Barre area covers two counties and includes a number of mid-sized towns. Both metropolitan areas have several professional sports teams, cultural centers, and many outdoor recreation opportunities including ski resorts.

The Commonwealth Medical College, the newest medical school in Pennsylvania, is in Scranton. Major health systems in the area include Lehigh Valley Health System and St. Luke’s University Hospital in the Allentown-Bethlehem area, Geisinger Wyoming Valley in Wilkes-Barre, and Regional Hospital of Scranton.

Find out more about Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton.

Find out more about the Pocono Mountains and upstate Pennsylvania.