Please Tell Me About Hamburg (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: transplants, apartment complexes, crime)

[SteelCityRising]

Hello forum!

My partner and I are at a crossroads right now. We're both Eastern PA natives who have been living near Downtown Pittsburgh for years. We both love the Steel City; however, we've both been chronically underemployed throughout our 20's, and our families continue to grow with new additions. Seeing videos of "Baby's First Steps" on Facebook just isn't cutting it anymore. The drive from Pittsburgh to either of our families is roughly 4.5 hours, and, as such, we only make the drive about two to three times per year, and our families rarely come to visit us due to the distance. We also love to day-trip, and the opportunities are so limited---Laurel Highlands, Erie, and Cleveland.

His family lives in Lancaster County. My family lives in Luzerne County. As a liberal gay couple we're "city types", but after living in DC and Pittsburgh I'd be okay to adjusting to living in a smaller city. I've been trying to scour the region to find a community that is roughly equidistant to our families and would also offer employment prospects. My background is in accounting, small business management, and sales. His background is in administrative support. My partner and I have degrees in Statistics/Mathematics and Accounting, respectively. We'd be okay with a commute of up to 30 minutes each way.

Growing up in NEPA I never knew Schuylkill County to be particularly progressive or LGBT-tolerant, let alone LGBT-friendly, so I scratched the entire county off our list. Hamburg has intrigued me. I know the town itself is pretty small, but it's right by PA Route 61 for me to reach my family in Luzerne County via I-81 in about 75 minutes. It's also not far from U.S. Route 222 for my partner to reach his family in Lancaster County in about 75 minutes. That distance is doable for us to visit perhaps one weekend per month with each of our families. It also seems to be well-located overall, right near I-78, with Reading, Lebanon, Allentown, and Harrisburg all within an hour's drive if we get the "city itch". It also looks to be 90 minutes (day-trip) to Philadelphia and 2 hours (day-trip) to New York City. We love Starbucks, and the nearest one to Hamburg seems to be in Temple, PA, about 20 minutes away. This may work out well, anyways, if we seek work in the northern suburbs of Reading.

Basically we are looking to live in a walkable town environment that is safe and inexpensive. Downtown Hamburg looks to fit the bill. The location is very convenient to both of our families, to medium-sized nearby cities, and to larger cities. Is the town fairly LGBT-tolerant? We're not going to walk down the main drag holding hands, but I'm blunt, so if someone makes a remark about our sexual orientation you can bet a shouting match, if not a fist-fight, would ensue. As far as job opportunities are concerned I worked for years in retail (Lowe's Home Improvement and Redner's Warehouse Market), and I'd be very open to being something like an assistant store manager or a department manager at a retailer again. My partner would probably be able to secure work as an administrative assistant, receptionist, or secretary. We'd probably look for work in the North Reading area.

What can any of you tell me about life in Hamburg? Thanks in advance!

[SteelCityRising]

As far as job opportunities go I see an open position at Cabela's that appeals to me as a Credit Card Specialist. I have a lot of experience opening lines of credit at both Lowe's and at a bank, so I'd probably be a shoo-in, too. Employment prospects don't concern me much. The overall livability (or lack thereof) of Hamburg is of greater concern.

[Wells5]

Hamburg, PA is not really the place for you and your partner. Try Williamsport, where there are plenty of job openings and a more tolerant culture.

And why not consider Boston, MA? Boston & Pittsburgh are about equidistant mileage wise from Scranton. There are job opportunities galore in greater Boston not to mention a great place to live.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Wells5

Hamburg, PA is not really the place for you and your partner. Try Williamsport, where there are plenty of job openings and a more tolerant culture.

And why not consider Boston, MA? Boston & Pittsburgh are about equidistant mileage wise from Scranton. There are job opportunities galore in greater Boston not to mention a great place to live.

"Inexpensive" and "Boston" don't really mix, especially when one is fleeing PGH's increasing COL.

SCR: Have you considered West Reading? I think that may be your best bet in Berks County:

Love West Reading : Home

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

"Inexpensive" and "Boston" don't really mix, especially when one is fleeing PGH's increasing COL.

SCR: Have you considered West Reading? I think that may be your best bet in Berks County:

Love West Reading : Home

Excellent suggestion. I think an Easton or a Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley are other alternatives that I can see SCR appreciating socially, geographically and economically.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Wells5

Hamburg, PA is not really the place for you and your partner. Try Williamsport, where there are plenty of job openings and a more tolerant culture.

And why not consider Boston, MA? Boston & Pittsburgh are about equidistant mileage wise from Scranton. There are job opportunities galore in greater Boston not to mention a great place to live.

Thank you for your suggestions!

Boston is too far away from my partner's family in Lancaster. He now has four nephews, and I have a niece. Our parents are pushing their 60's, too, so we may need to be somewhat proximate to both families within the next decade to help care for them as they age. Metro Boston is also stratospherically too expensive for us. If we were both living up to our fullest vocational potential---with him being an actuary and me being a CPA---we'd be able to swing it.

I was never a huge fan of Williamsport, and it's pretty isolated for my tastes. Not much in terms of day-tripping options from there.

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

"Inexpensive" and "Boston" don't really mix, especially when one is fleeing PGH's increasing COL.

SCR: Have you considered West Reading? I think that may be your best bet in Berks County:

Love West Reading : Home

I am unfamiliar with West Reading, but I am now researching it. Thanks for the recommendation! I've been zooming around via Google's "Bird's-Eye View" and "Street View", and I really like what I see. I do like the run-down historic rowhome appearance of Reading city proper, too, but the amount of poverty and crime in the city is downright alarming. I sort of always pictured there to be Reading and then Wyomissing (suburbia) to the west. Somehow I've always overlooked West Reading.

Originally Posted by Duderino

Excellent suggestion. I think an Easton or a Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley are other alternatives that I can see SCR appreciating socially, geographically and economically.

Bethlehem is also high on my list, but I envision it being too close to NJ/NYC to stay "affordable" for long. The Lehigh Valley sub-forum is full of NJ residents asking questions about tract housing communities. The more NJ/NYC transplants that continue to flood into the Lehigh Valley, the more expensive it will become.

Berks County is on my radar because while it's slightly closer to Lancaster than to Wilkes-Barre, it's also the closest to geographically centrally-located I can get that's still left-of-center politically while remaining affordably-priced for a couple likely to be earning $40,000-$60,000 combined when settling down.

I'm going to do more hard research into West Reading. I'd also be interested to learn more about Lebanon.

[Flamingo13]

Do a search on Lebanon - you do NOT want to move there.

[MissClutterbuck]

Why wouldn't you move to Kutztown? It's walkable, there's tons to do because of the college, you are equidistant from Reading and the Lehigh Valley which doubles the number of job opportunities--heck, you might even be able to find something further south in MontCo or Bucks County. Not sure what the rent's like or if it would be hard to find a place to live, but it would be much better than Hamburg.

Bethlehem is a good choice, and I don't think you have to worry too much about it staying affordable. There are also a lot of nice apartment complexes in West Allentown.

First things first, though: in PA, you should get the jobs before you move.

[Ohiogirl81]

Dude, I'd give you a week in Hamburg before you'd start posting on City-Data about how much you hate it. Hamburg is not for you. Trust me.

[Jeanie Beanie]

I'll give Hamburg that it has a certain charm, especially during the Hamburg-er Festival around Labor Day when the population explodes with out-of towners... And then the King Frost Parade in November is huge and gets the whole town out.

However, it is still a provincial town with lots of rural around it - although it is nicely connected to highways to help you get away.

Your family is Scranton/Wilkes Barre based and your partner's family is in Lancaster, so the best betwixt and between spot for you is KUTZTOWN! It is the home of Kutztown University, has a great walkable downtown with a 2-screen indie movie theatre and local shops, has a terrific public library (I'm a big library supporter) and a friendly, cultured citizenry. The University always has cultural things to attend and the location is midway between Allentown and Reading - the economic hotspots of the area.

One thing: I see you worked at Redner's in your youth. Might you consider applying for a job in accounting at the company headquarters just a few miles south of Kutztown? They're still a family-owned company that is growing steadily. I'm thinking of the angle that local boy grows up, sees the world, gets his accounting degree and wants to work for the company that he remembers fondly.

One thing about Cabela's in Hamburg: When it was built (around 10 years ago) there were only maybe 2 or 3 other Cabela's stores in existence, but several more have been built since then, with more in the pipeline, and I read an article in the Reading Eagle a couple months back that they were having a rough year. The last time I was there, in the fall, the place was mostly empty. I heard they had some layoffs lately and, well, Cabela's is just not the draw it was when it opened. I don't see a shiny future there, personally.

Good luck.