Erie vs. Allentown (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading: amusement park, insurance, credit)

[jFug]

Well, we all know Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are the two largest PA behemoths, and I frequently see threads devoted to which of the two is better. Let's try that with the next two largest PA cities, Allentown and Erie.


Which city wins in the following categories:


-Quality of life (attractions, dining, arts, etc.)
-Transportation (highways, airports, rapid transit)
-Outdoor opportunities (parks, forests, etc.)
-Downtown (which has an all around better CBD?)
-Tourism (which city has a better tourism market?)
-Economic situation/development
-Proximity to other cities


And which one, overall, takes the cake?


Let's keep it a friendly debate, folks!

[trackstar13]

Allentown wins for quality of life and this is mainly due to its proximity to so many other areas and cities. Erie is conveniently located to Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, but Allentown is less than 100 miles to NYC and about 60 miles to Philadelphia. This opens up many dining, arts, and entertainment options that are really not available in Erie or the cities close to Erie. Allentown also wins for transportation and the train routes and airport flights are much more desirable than Erie. Erie wins easily when it comes to outdoor opportunities and even if someone doesn't like Lake Erie, the Allegheny National Forest and many other parks are within easy driving distance. I think tourism is a tie, because if it relates to wilderness tourism Erie wins, but Allentown is definitely a place to go for cultural opportunities and the Allentown Art Museum is actually quite impressive for a city its size. Allentown and Erie are surprisingly similar economically, since they are both former manufacturing economies that are now largely reliant on healthcare. With that being said, Erie does have Erie Insurance, which is a Fortune 500 company and a very large employer that seems to be doing pretty well. I think Allentown wins the economy battle because of its proximity to Philadelphia and New York, which are both significantly more vibrant than anywhere in western PA. Overall, I think Allentown wins, but Erie definitely has more potential and if the economy improves in Erie and the city, especially the waterfront, continues to be redeveloped I can see Erie winning in the future.

[PhillyPhan95]

This is a neat thread, I like it. I think Allentown has the benefit of being the largest city in a much larger metro area, whereas there aren't nearly as many people near Erie.

-Quality of life (attractions, dining, arts, etc.) Allentown. The Iron Pigs, the Phantoms, Dorney Park, Bethlehem Sands Casino, sometimes national touring acts come. I'm not really sure what Erie has

-Transportation (highways, airports, rapid transit) Allentown. Lehigh Valley has an airport.

-Outdoor opportunities (parks, forests, etc.) Erie. Presque Isle is pretty sweet. Allentown is close to the Poconos too though.

-Downtown (which has an all around better CBD?) Allentown.

-Tourism (which city has a better tourism market?) Not sure, but probably Erie.

-Economic situation/development: Definitely Allentown, they've actually got quite a bit of development and growth going on these days. Amazon is making Allentown one of its largest East Coast distribution centers. Allentown and the Lehigh Valley more generally is benefiting from being within commuting distance to New York. Also the Lehigh Valley has several univerisities like Lehigh, Laffayette, Muhlenburg, Moravian, DeSales, and Cedar Crest. Erie has a declining population and its relative isolation does not bode well for future growth.

-Proximity to other cities: Allentown. Philly and New York > Pittsburgh and Cleveland, in my opinion. Not to mention Bethlehem and Easton in the Lehigh Valley itself.

Overall I think Allentown takes the cake. It's definitely the "third" region of PA. There are a lot of benefits of being along the Northeast Corridor.

[Gettingouttahere]

I worked for years in Allentown and go on vacation to Erie almost every year.
That kind of answers your question right there

You can't really judge Allentown in a vacuum, and so it gets a lot of credit for stuff that either isn't in the city proper or wouldn't be there without the Lehigh Valley region as a whole. So Erie, which is isolated from any larger metro region, comes up short in several areas by dint of that isolation.

Allentown itself is not so great. It's surrounded by really good stuff, though. Downtown Allentown - with the exception of the new arena block - is pretty sketchy, though not nearly as crime-ridden and dangerous as some make it out to be. It has a vibrant Hispanic community and a business district that's mostly a ghost town after hours. I wouldn't call it walkable in the sense that you'd want to stroll for several blocks and noodle around quaint shops. It just doesn't have that vibe.

Iron Pigs might have an Allentown address, but they are really bordering Bethlehem. Bethlehem Sands is, well, in Bethlehem. The Allentown Fairgrounds get some lower-tier musical acts at Mayfair, the new arena gets a very few top-tier acts, but the rest go to Bethlehem (Musikfest, Sands.)

Downtown Erie, on the other hand, is a really nice area, with street festivals and nightlife, gorgeous old homes and a wonderful waterfront with the library, the museum, sailing club, the brig Niagara, etc. Allentown, while on the Lehigh River, has not redeveloped its waterfront, and it lies fallow, for the most part.

Waldameer is a wonderful old-timey amusement park - I have not been to Dorney, but from what I've read, it's a standard modern amusement park with a lot of coasters and even more crowds. I'd pick Waldameer any day of the week over that kind of park.

Presque Isle - no comparison, anywhere in the country. I live in the Poconos and love the natural beauty here, but the Lake has its own superlative qualities.


Someone earlier mentioned trains - there are no trains in the Lehigh Valley, and bus transportation is hardly stellar. You can get to and from NYC easily on commuter buses, but you have to get to those buses. I wouldn't want to be in the area without a car. Can't speak to mass transit in Erie, but I do know that the road traffic in the Erie area is nonexistent compared with the brutal Lehigh Valley traffic.

In terms of economy, I'd give the edge to Allentown -- again, not mostly because of Allentown itself, but because of the surrounding region. Allentown does have a couple of universities and a top-notch hospital system, and there is one nice residential area (the West End). An Amazon distribution center, however, is not what I'd call good for economic growth - a whole lot of minimum wage jobs and truck traffic but that's about it. Allentown needs more white-collar businesses, but while they are in the area, they're not in the city proper.

[trackstar13]

Gettingouttahere

Great post and I am not sure why I thought there was a train from Allentown to Philly. I am pretty sure that Harrisburg has a train to Philly and it is pretty surprising that you have to take a bus or drive to the train station outside of Allentown to get to Philly. Was there a train in the past from Allentown to Philly or Allentown to NYC? I completely agree with the rest of your post and I think it is really hard to compare Erie and Allentown because Erie has to stand on its own while Allentown has the benefit of being part of the Lehigh Valley and the NYC/Philly metros. A good friend of mine works at Kutztown and lives in Allentown and I visit once a year. I have really enjoyed my trips to Allentown and I usually fly so I am pretty familiar with the airport, which is actually quite busy at times.

[ghostee]

As much as I actually love Erie sometimes, I don't want to tell people I was born/raised in such a region that was once a decent growth performer and lost everything it had. Some people are so lucky to not deal with the stigma of a decadent city/area.

[Gettingouttahere]

Originally Posted by trackstar13

Gettingouttahere

Great post and I am not sure why I thought there was a train from Allentown to Philly. I am pretty sure that Harrisburg has a train to Philly and it is pretty surprising that you have to take a bus or drive to the train station outside of Allentown to get to Philly. Was there a train in the past from Allentown to Philly or Allentown to NYC? I completely agree with the rest of your post and I think it is really hard to compare Erie and Allentown because Erie has to stand on its own while Allentown has the benefit of being part of the Lehigh Valley and the NYC/Philly metros. A good friend of mine works at Kutztown and lives in Allentown and I visit once a year. I have really enjoyed my trips to Allentown and I usually fly so I am pretty familiar with the airport, which is actually quite busy at times.

It's not that you have to take a bus or drive to the train station outside of Allentown to get to Philly: You have to take a bus or drive TO PHILLY. Or just north of it, to catch a SEPTA train. There's no other train service.

I think there was passenger service like, 75 years ago. I'm not familiar with the Allentown/Lehigh Valley service, but I know it thrived to and from places like Reading and I know the Poconos had a well-traveled tourism line from NYC all the way to Scranton. (That's where the singer Phoebe Snow got her name - the name of the train.)

[PhillyPhan95]

The Lehigh Valley train service was ended in 1981 I want to say because of the completion of the Center City Commuter Connection that linked the Reading and Pennsylvania Railroads, aka Suburban Station to Jefferson Station. The Lehigh route used diesel trains that could not be used underground because of the fumes.

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by Gettingouttahere

It's not that you have to take a bus or drive to the train station outside of Allentown to get to Philly: You have to take a bus or drive TO PHILLY. Or just north of it, to catch a SEPTA train. There's no other train service.

I think there was passenger service like, 75 years ago. I'm not familiar with the Allentown/Lehigh Valley service, but I know it thrived to and from places like Reading and I know the Poconos had a well-traveled tourism line from NYC all the way to Scranton. (That's where the singer Phoebe Snow got her name - the name of the train.)

I never knew and after looking at the Amtrak routes to verify you are definitely right. It is surprising to me that Allentown is not connected to Philadelphia by train and I guess maybe people don't mind the 60 mile drive? It is nice that in Erie we can take a train from Erie to Cleveland, Buffalo, or Toronto with relative ease. This would definitely be a positive that Erie has over Allentown.

[Gettingouttahere]

Totally.

The problem with both the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos and train service is manyfold, at least as it pertains to getting to NYC. To go through NJ requires the cooperation of NJ Transit, and every little fiefdom wanting the train to stop at their burg, and then you're dealing with a four-hour trip and nobody in their right mind would want to take that train. An express train would be awesome but just isn't realistic. The other main issue is track, either nonexistent in some parts or deteriorated, that would require billions to get into shape. In the Lehigh Valley, some track has even been turned into "rails to trails" projects.

...The love affair with the car rules everything, sadly...