Northern PA (from Erie to Scranton) is very similar to the midwest from what I've seen, so I'm not surprised.

I grew up in Scranton - believe me when I tell you that The Office is the farthest thing from a true representation of that city (it's actually filmed in LA, anyway). It's a fairly miserable place - lots of poverty and heavy drug abuse, mixed with an aging alcoholic population of war vets and immigrants, mixed with a…