- Published: November 15, 2021
- Updated: November 15, 2021
- University / College: RMIT University
- Language: English
- Downloads: 15
Scranton, Pennsylvania, is the quaint small city in the northeastern part of the state where the television series The Office is set to take place. Its heyday was in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. In the present day, it is primarily a city with two diverse populations. There is the college town group. Since Scranton hosts over a dozen post-secondary educational institutions, this is a significant, but transient population. It does provide a good source of income for the city through the money the students spend helps to stimulate the local economy. The schools are also a good source of jobs for the local residents. The other population is the geriatric community. Scranton has one of the highest geriatric populations in the nation. Many of these residents have lived in the region for the entire lives. The medical and retirement industries are also served by these residents. There is a medical college, three hospitals, and dozens of nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, and retirement communities. Also available is community transit and free public transportation to senior citizens.
Scranton is known as the electric city as it was the first city to have electric streetcars. During this area, Broadway plays often made their off-Broadway debuts in the theater district. The city is also a national historic site for the national steam engine museum and a coal mine museum. There are steam engine excursions available year-round to the surrounding countryside. There are also coal mine tours available where tourists descend in an old coal car into the shaft of a former mine and can see first-hand the difficult conditions under which the miners worked until the 1950s when it closed for business. Also available is the Everhart Museum, which is a collection of artwork that has been lent by local philanthropists. It covers a wide range of interests. There is a large collection that commemorates the founding and development of the city throughout the years in both paint and photographic forms.
The landscape of the area is seasonal. In the spring it is vibrant when new life blooms. The public gardens throughout the city have all been adopted by various agencies to plant and care for them throughout the season. The summer shows lush greenery across the public parks and Lake Scranton, which also boasts a 3. 1 mile walking trail. In the autumn, the mountains and valleys display vivid colors from the foliage. People flock to the area to take in the spectacular beauty this time of year. In the winter the snow is represented again in the mountainous region and ski resorts.
A contrasting area would be Denton, North Carolina. This tiny, rural village is located in an area about an hour from any type of what Americans refer to as modern conveniences. There are no fast food restaurants, churches, gas stations, or even trash pick-up. School is also almost an hour away, each way by bus. It does have many dirt roads, corn fields, and other fresh produce to offer. There is a small, but supportive community of residents that are willing to join together and help each other out no matter if the need is for support or celebration. In such a remote area, it is important to have neighbors to depend upon in times of an emergency. Emergency services, such as ambulance and police, take at least 30 minutes to reach this location after they are dispatched under the best of circumstances. There is no employment in the area other than farming, so the non-farming residents that do work outside of agriculture, which are not that many, do travel at least an hour to reach their employment destination.
The landscape is flat, which is ideal for farming, and quite dependent on Mother Nature for much needed precipitation. In the spring, the farmers and their families are seen preparing the fields and planting their crops. The vast fields of brown dirt are turned over as the seeds are planted and nurtured. In the summer, the fields grow diverse as the crops take the spotlight. The most common crops are tall fields of corn and tobacco, but many other crops dot the landscape as well. In the fall, migrant workers join the local population for the harvest. In the winter, the landscape is quite barren, with some occasional snow.
Although these locations are very different areas, they demonstrate just a sampling of the diverse lifestyles that can be found in the United States.