Reading, PA (Philadelphia, Allentown, Scranton: middle-class, apartments, crime)

[music83lover2001]

Recently, on the Today Show, Reading PA was listed as an "up and coming" place to live. Is it Reading really all they built it up to be? Is it a place worth considering? Can you make enough money to support yourself without a college education (I do office work)? Is housing/apartments affordable?

[Marodi]

The city is horrendously crime ridden, to the point of the city contemplating putting in a gun shot sensor, to locate where shootings are happening and alert police. The surrounding towns are relatively safe.

The downtown is getting better, but they are having some debt problems and the downtown growth has been funded by the city, so it will be intresting to see if they will be able to continue with improvements or not.

[ScranBarre]

This probably coincides with Berks County, the one that surrounds the city of Reading, officially being annexed by the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The area between Reading and the Berks County line to the east is becoming very suburbanized in nature as folks flee the higher cost-of-living in neighboring Chester, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties. Perhaps as more of these upper-middle-class folks move into Berks County, Reading will become their focal point of sorts, and reniassace will follow? It can never hurt to dream.

[Icy Tea]

Reading is still crime ridden but probably less so now than Allentown by comparison. It has made some improvements and its downtown is improving. Thugs moving in from NYC and New Jersey and Philadelphia are its main problems. This is true for many smaller Pa cities, sadly. Reading's adjacent suburbs and the surrounding county are still very low in criminal activity according to FBI statistics.
Reading/Berks gets it mention due to lower taxes and property costs than its eastern county neighbors as well as its schools and location. You can work in Philly( or more likely KOP), possibly even NYC and buy a very cheap house in Reading or a bigger house in Berks than you'd get anywhere else. Quality of life is still as good or maybe better than in more congested eastern counties. Many New Jersians are moving to Berks also opting to commute to Philly or KOP from here. The job market for the county is pretty good, 4.5% unemployment, and while heavy manufacturing is still declining, other specialty goods and services producers are making steady gains.
They're talking about building a huge new subdivision over a still active landfill and polluted iron mine and expect people from Bucks and New Jersey to line up to buy. Maybe Berks does look pretty good by comparison to other places.

[nocturnal rooster]

Up and coming means straight ghetto combat zone

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by nocturnal rooster

Up and coming means straight ghetto combat zone

Not necessarily. A lot of national publications have deemed Scranton to be "up-and-coming," yet it is the 59th-safest large city in the nation.

[Marodi]

Originally Posted by nocturnal rooster

Up and coming means straight ghetto combat zone

The surrounding areas, given the amount of crime, are relatively safe.

And as mentioned earlier, constructions is increasing significantly due to Philly taking over. (Hell, the baseball team is the Reading Phillies. How lame is it that you name your baseball team after another city?)

[Icy Tea]

I think it has less than Philly "taking over" than Montgomery County "taking over" and people leaving Philly and places like NYC and jersey for cheaper and greener pastures. People can commute to high paying jobs and live in nicer less congested areas so they get the best of both worlds. Scranton/Wilkesbarre, Allentown,Bethlehem, Easton, Hazleton, same deal.
The Reading Phillies stadium has been around for 50 years and is ranked one of the best ninor league stadiums in the USA as well as being a top run AA franchise. Maybe the name is unoriginal, but not any less original than the using the yankees or cardinals or whatever.

[Marodi]

Originally Posted by Icy Tea

I think it has less than Philly "taking over" than Montgomery County "taking over" and people leaving Philly and places like NYC and jersey for cheaper and greener pastures. People can commute to high paying jobs and live in nicer less congested areas so they get the best of both worlds. Scranton/Wilkesbarre, Allentown,Bethlehem, Easton, Hazleton, same deal.
The Reading Phillies stadium has been around for 50 years and is ranked one of the best ninor league stadiums in the USA as well as being a top run AA franchise. Maybe the name is unoriginal, but not any less original than the using the yankees or cardinals or whatever.

Well, when I say philly, i'm talking about the philly metro expanding. A good number of people that move to reading commute to philly.

And using another city's baseball team name is the least original thing I can think of. I didn't say the team was bad, but I't shows that philly in general spreads it's influence out to reading, enough to influence it's name.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by Marodi

Well, when I say philly, i'm talking about the philly metro expanding. A good number of people that move to reading commute to philly.

And using another city's baseball team name is the least original thing I can think of. I didn't say the team was bad, but I't shows that philly in general spreads it's influence out to reading, enough to influence it's name.

Same thing with how Scranton is now trying to align itself with New York City more and more now. We landed the AAA franchise of the Yankees last year. Next year construction might begin on a new stadium that will be modeled after Yankees Stadium and surrounded by a Yankees-themed hotel, Yankees-oriented mini-mall, and Yankees musuem, amongst other attractions. I'm beginning to wonder if we'll be the sixth borough by 2020!