As a current (recent) Pittsburgher and former Jersey girl (also lived a few other places in the south)... it depends. I'm still getting used to PGH and there are things I love (ie CARNEGIES are freaking world class museums, I LOVE the sports culture in Pittsburgh even though some are rivals of my teams. I've already adopted the Pirates [yes, I know their record....]). There's things thay aren't so great (infrastructure is pretty terrible, weather isn't my cup of tea). PA is massive though and there's definitely pros and cons for each area.

Another thing to consider is your support. Your hesitance on PA may be bc you're in your social/famial comfort zone in NY. We were 30min from one side of our family but now it's over 4hrs to drive to the PA/NJ border. Philly is really not far from NYC, and there's reasonable public transit between them. There's also a reason for the trope of moving to NYC for better pay (though somewhat less so the last few years). On that note, the cost of living difference did kind of flatten out so PA was not as "cheap" as it was made out to be, even for PGH. Even still, it's been pretty common for large and midsize companies to move out of NY/NJ and into PA and the Ohio River Valley for cheaper options the last few years, so many have lightened their NYC-Philly corridor offices.

Also, trashing places you live is kinda a thing for NJ and NYers. Like, I totally complained about Jersey and NYC (frickin GWB is all I'll say here), but I would move back in a heartbeat if it made sense for my family. And we pretty much trash talk every where else too and are surprised when people get defensive, even though we're the same way with NY/NJ - includingtrash talking each other. It's a weird relationship. And definitely a local culture thing to consider, but also remember there are lots of NY/NYC/NJ/Philly crossover and transplants, and central PA is very similar to Upstate.

Long day so nonsensical ramblings may occur.