Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Although I haven’t been there, I picked Birmingham.
I’ve been to Harrisburg about a dozen times. It has some nice architecture near the statehouse and the parks along the river are nice but what a dreary town. It’s chopped up and run down with just about the worst restaurants I’ve ever patronized. Traffic is abysmal for such a small city too. I just don’t see it evolving into anything charming in my lifetime.
Although I haven’t been there, I picked Birmingham.
I’ve been to Harrisburg about a dozen times. It has some nice architecture near the statehouse and the parks along the river are nice but what a dreary town. It’s chopped up and run down with just about the worst restaurants I’ve ever patronized. Traffic is abysmal for such a small city too. I just don’t see it evolving into anything charming in my lifetime.
Just curious about the dates of your Harrisburg experiences, as the city's come a long way. I also don't see any accuracy in the characterization of "chopped up and run down," as it easily has some of the best maintained and cohesive urban fabric of any city of its size class in the US--bar none. It also has a sizable/diverse restaurant scene, as well.
Again, you're not going to find this kind of fabric in Birmingham.
Small, highly walkable blocks with well-preserved rowhomes/twins that are contiguous for miles:
Well, as of me writing this, they are tied in the poll so....
Yeah, but I've always taken polls with a grain of salt, especially when it comes to favored areas north of VA. Pure numbers, Harrisburg doesn't match up with Birmingham in most of the categories. I also see that some people are voting on proximity to other places instead of Birmingham vs Harrisburg.
I was last in Harrisburg maybe 5-6 years ago. I went 1-2 times a year from 2008-2018 (was seeing a guy there and my uncle and his wife moved up there around 2009 (she is originally from Paxtang).
There are nice neighborhoods near downtown but they are only a few blocks wide and don’t seem connected to anything. So lots of clusters of walkable spots but not cohesive at all, IMO. The geography is to blame. The city never got big enough to plow down miles of hills and ravines so the roads are circuitous. As for the restaurants , all I ever saw was vinyl tablecloths, model train decor and fluorescent lighting.
Harrisburg is very blighted, but so is Birmingham. Both have troubled histories but Harrisburg has a much better location imo. Harrisburg is close to stunning mountains (even though B’Ham’s hills are underrated).
It has my favorite State Capitol by far. Lancaster County is wonderful for those who like historic cities with postcard farms. Hersheypark is a Top 3 amusement park for me. Harrisburg gives you easy access to Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Washington. You have Finger Lakes, the Poconos, Jersey Shore, Shenandoah, the Catskills. If you draw a 250 mile radius from it, you’re capturing most of the Mid-Atlantic. There’s no better situated city for mid-length travel imo.
Birmingham is more isolated, and Atlanta is the only major city nearby (and not one of my favorites at that).
That is an unfortunate perception many still have, but the reality in 2023 is that Harrisburg has been extremely aggressive in blight elimination and historic restoration over the past 15-20 years.
As I was trying to explain upthread, it has an extremely cohesive and robust core, with solid residential neighborhoods continuously abutting its downtown for multiple square miles. I've yet to come across another US city of 50,000 residents with anywhere close that scale of well-preserved urbanism.
I challenge anyone to look at the recent streetviews of Harrisburg and locate a full-blown blighted neighborhood. You're seriously not going to find one.
That is an unfortunate perception many still have, but the reality in 2023 is that Harrisburg has been extremely aggressive in blight elimination and historic restoration over the past 15-20 years.
As I was trying to explain upthread, it has an extremely cohesive and robust core, with solid residential neighborhoods continuously abutting its downtown for multiple square miles. I've yet to come across another US city of 50,000 residents with anywhere close that scale of well-preserved urbanism.
I challenge anyone to look at the recent streetviews of Harrisburg and locate a full-blown blighted neighborhood. You're seriously not going to find one.
There are some areas that are maybe "rough around the edges" (which is completely normal for a northeast city), but as for full-on Baltimore/Philadelphia style blight? Could not find any.
There are some areas that are maybe "rough around the edges" (which is completely normal for a northeast city), but as for full-on Baltimore/Philadelphia style blight? Could not find any.
It has a homicide rate of 46 per 100k (23 murders last year for a city of 50k), which is on par with Baltimore and worse than Philly. So it definitely has its very bad parts.
The only positive there is the city is geographically tiny (8 square miles) and you see the major attractions by crossing the river (easy to avoid the blight) and most of the metro is in far better shape, from what I gathered in 2020 when I spent a week in that area since Hersheypark was the only touristy place open for a hundred miles. But nominal growth is much better than what Harrisburg has been seeing, so that’s good.
The massive Latino boom is mitigating population decline now (a common story across much of mid-sized Pennsylvania), so while the city is in better shape than it’s been in decades, I would say it’s “not in decline anymore” but I don’t see anything that suggests it is on the rise.
There are some areas that are maybe "rough around the edges" (which is completely normal for a northeast city), but as for full-on Baltimore/Philadelphia style blight? Could not find any.
Perfect way to put it. My thoughts exactly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by manitopiaaa
It has a homicide rate of 46 per 100k (23 murders last year for a city of 50k), which is on par with Baltimore and worse than Philly. So it definitely has its very bad parts.
But crime is not equivalent to blight. Of course they correlate, but they're not synonymous. My only point was with regard to the condition of urban fabric, which is in very good shape all things considered.
That being said, as far as this comparison, Neighborhood Scout says there's a 1:49 chance of being victim to a violent crime in Birmingham, versus 1:142 in Harrisburg. So a clear edge to Harrisburg on that point.
Quote:
The massive Latino boom is mitigating population decline now (a common story across much of mid-sized Pennsylvania), so while the city is in better shape than it’s been in decades, I would say it’s “not in decline anymore” but I don’t see anything that suggests it is on the rise.
Certainly you're not going to find Sunbelt-level booms anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon, but as far as Northeast metro areas go, Harrisburg has been consistently growing.
It especially is now in a prime position to capture priced-out folks from the major urban hubs of the Northeast Corridor looking for a bit less of a frenetic pace of life while offering above average amenities at a fantastic value. It may have the best outlook in the entire Northeast in that regard.
Last edited by Duderino; 05-31-2023 at 07:09 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
