Hello from TX!  How's the weather up there?

My wife is about to begin her 4th year of medical school and will be doing elective rotations all about the country. The idea is for her to do these in places we wouldn't mind going for her residency the year after that(4yrs long).  One of the places that has a lot of programs she's interested in, and seems to be pretty gun friendly for me is PA.

The possible cities that we might go to are: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Erie. Do any of you from up there have any advice or anything to say on the different cities listed here? We'd love advice concerning gun matters and also just in general matters.

A second question is has anyone had any experience with the Pennsylvania Gunsmith School in Pittsburgh? That's something I might be interested in persuing.

Some of the other cities that she is looking at are: Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and San Diego or possibly somewhere in NY

Thanks for any advice, or information.

Rob

If you were not aware PA allows classIII weapons{FA,SBR,AOW} if you are interested in classIII stay out of the BIG cities in move to a borderline suburb. Also CCW permits are easier to obtain{timely no BS} in the burbs. As a resident of Bucks County, PA {philly burb} it is very gun friendly here and there are plenty of good gun shops to do business. Well good luck in your decision, if you were to choose PA I belive you would enjoy it here.

Stay Away From Philly!

Pittsburgh is almost, but not as bad.

I’m doing this post just outside of Harrisburg.

History Lesson:
On the last Election for Governor, “Fast Eddie”, Rendell, won because of an almost 10-1 margin of victory in Philly.  Pittsburgh, Philly and State College (Yes, that’s the Actual Name) were the only cities/counties that had Rendell winning.  As it is, is Philadelphia had voted an close 51-49 margin for him, “Mister Ed”, would have lost the State.

PA is a FREE STATE.
If you bring it, you can shoot it.  The hard part finding a place to shoot Full Auto.

Otherwise, there are Several Clubs within a 30 minute drive of the City.  One of them is a store called Danny’s, which has an indoor range.  It is less than 10 minutes away.  Rock & Roll is permitted just as long as you use pistol sized cartridges.

SO, in short, Come on over to the Free State of PA!  There’s an excellent chance that will have a new Gov in a few years!

Hey there,

My wife is from Philly, I'm from Pittsburgh, my dad has a place in Harrisburg (and I drove through Erie on my way to Niagra Falls a couple times).  

There are definately more opportunities in the medical field in Pittsburgh and Philly.  

Philly is quite a bit bigger than Pittsburgh, a bit more urbanized (and boarders New Jersey). The downtown is actually quite nice (even without the "Rocky" statue) and the city has lots of character. The suburbs are nice, but can be expensive.  

Harrisburg is a smaller city and is surrounded by mostly rural areas.  There is good (for PA) highway access to Philly & Baltimore for day trips.  Harrisburg is home of the largest sportman's show in the state and probably the largest gun shows in the state as well.

If you like snow, Erie is a good place for you.  The closest big cities are Cleveland, OH, and Buffalo, NY.  (Niagra falls is a short trip from Erie).  Lake Erie is right there (if you fish).  Everything south of Erie is rural.  One of the big industries there is wine making.  

Pittsburgh - less snow than Erie, further from New Jersey than Philly. I don't know anything about the Gunsmith School (except that there is one).  Lots of medical opportunities.  Home of the Steelers!

As far as guns go, there are good gun shops all over the state.  Carry permits are as easy to get as filling out the application (the wait is longer in Philly and Pittsburgh).  Lots of gun shows (never enough for me) and lots of places to shoot, but you may have to drive a little further if you're in the cities.  (I currently live just outside of Pittsburgh and have at least 5 ranges within 30 minutes of my house).  The state maintains quite a few public ranges that are run by the game commission and have some restrictions, but are free to use.  There are lots of gun clubs of varying cost and limitations on range use - you'll be able to find one that allows (and encourages) whatever you're into.  

H

Thanks for the informative replies.  

I know of State College because one of my other hobbies is riding bikes and Camp Woodward is just outside of State College.

From the descriptions it sound like I would like Pittsburgh and Harrisburg the best.  Being from TX (all my life) I have to say that the snowfall in Erie is a deterrant for me, though my wife seems to love it from what we've seen and read on the web.

Unfortunately it's not totally our choice where we go.  She applies to programs and then she ranks each and turns in her list.  The programs rank all students who apply and then a computer spits out where you are going to go... but I think PA is very high on our list and I feel reassured that we'd be very happy should we end up there.

Thanks!

Rob

Just to chime in a bit; from your wife's training perspective, Philly is her best choice. Lots of excellent hospitals with a number of top-ranked specialties (though you don't mention what your wife is panning on doing).

And if she ends up in Philly you can easily live in Bucks or Montgomery counties, where there a plenty of places to shoot, gun-friendly sheriffs fro C3 sign-off, and lots of good gunshops.

Lets not forget about Hershey Medical Center, Brandywine Medical Center, and Lehigh Valley Medical Center...

They are tops in the nation, and nowhere near Philly or Pittsburg...

If I had a choice I'd DEFINATELY stay away from the big cities.
Hershey is in the middle of nowhere, and surrounded by farmland. Brandywine and Lehigh are the same, but closer to civilization...


Of the "big" cities, Harrisburg isn't bad because it's relatively small, and surrounded by suburbs and farmland...

I live in Pittsburgh (withing the City limits), and it's a nice place to live.  There are a bunch of hospitals in the area.  The one thing that does suck about living in Allegheny County is that the CLEO won't sign off on C3 or NFA paperwork.  There's several good shops within the area as well as ranges.

Quoted: hospitals with a number of top-ranked specialties (though you don't mention what your wife is panning on doing).

Hey sorry I haven't gotten a chance to reply.  My wife's parents have been in town this weekend.

Right now my wife is planning on either Family Practice/Sports Medicine, or OB.  Those are the 2 most likely at any rate.

near (but outside) Philly sounds pretty popular.  I was kind of pulling for Pittsburgh because of my interest in the Gunsmith School there, but I want to get more info on it before I go planning where we're going to live for at least 4 years because of it.

Thanks again!

Rob

I wonder if your wife's choice of residency shouldn't have more to do with the experience she will get vs. the local gun laws (since all of PA is a right to carry state).

Quoted: I wonder if your wife's choice of residency shouldn't have more to do with the experience she will get vs. the local gun laws (since all of PA is a right to carry state).

I agree with you completely.  When I said I was "pulling" for Pittsburgh, I probably should've used the word "hoping".

If after she looks into the available programs in the areas one of them seems to be of greater quality than the other that is where we will list as her first choice.  

However, being that there are two of us who will be making a life change... if the programs in one area appear to be equivilant to the other for her, it makes sence to choose the one that would be best for both of us.

In the end, if there is one program that is by and far going to be best for her, I will follow her wholeheartedly and support her the whole time we're there....even if that means going to CA.

Rob