Best, So-So and Worst Towns in PA (Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre: amusement park, sex offender)

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Unfortunately most of our fellow Pennsylvanians are too uneducated to understand what urban sprawl truly is. It's amazing to me that a state with nearly stagnant population growth can be paving over its farmlands and woodlands at the 5th-fastest rate in the nation while nobody seems to care. When all of Eastern PA resembles NJ you'll FINALLY start to see people waking up---too late that is.

Actually sprawl is also common even in rural areas such as New England. Some of the best examples of sprawl would be the smaller towns with a lot of subdivision, and minimum acerage requirements. The large lot sizes tend to eat up a lot of land just to maintain the "rural atmosphere." A few examples in NH would be Conway, Bartlett, Grantham, Campton, etc.

[dmcgraw]

We are looking to relocate and have been to SE PA. We really like Upper Salford, but it's a little expensive. We're looking for some wooded property (maybe 2-3 acres), smaller town (and we don't need to be near a city) good schools, hopefully a little lower cost of housing/property. I think we probably want to be in the Eastern 1/2 of the state. Any suggestions?

[dheath]

My family which consists of 2 kids, my husband and myself are moving to Hanover Pa. We have been there several times to shop and have never openly experienced any racism,(we are african american)but after reading some of the postings about clan activity, We are re-considering. When we went to the local walmart we saw a few other african american families. There are a lot of new housing developments, and we are hoping that there will be more aficana americans moving into the community. Does anyone have in more recent info about Hanover Pa?

[sharris]

I Think the york and Adams county ares are great. Preety land still some farms and space. But one hour away from Baltimore and Harrisburg.Housing is good a good mix of propoerty to pick from. Work will be easy to find due to the factor you would be only an hour or less from large citys. Snow is not bad. We only had two or three this year and the State cleans the roads very quickly. let me know if I can send you any listings from the area.

[becca1769]

I'm from the Johnstown area, lived there for 18 years. I now attend college in Pittsburgh and live in suburban Philadelphia. I'd say that Johnstown, although horrendously boring with really trashy parts...is a nice area to raise a family. Good moral values, etc. Really affordable too. But- job opportunities aren't so great, so you'd want to have a job set before you get here. Westmont and Richland are good places in the area. Pittsburgh has its good areas also. Wexford is a really affluent and beautiful place. Philadelphia, of course, has everything you can imagine. I'm living in the Doylestown area which seems like a really great place to raise a family.

[adoty25]

O Time2Moov,
Thank

[adoty25]

Time2Moov,
Thank God you thought it was time to move! It appears that you will be moving throughout much of your life, if that's how you thought PA came across. I will never deny that the center of the state can be unfriendly to outsiders, but you must not have made it very far. Erie is lovely, and Pittsburgh is about the best city you will ever see. Really, people here are not in any way pretentious. If that turns you off, go somewhere else. We like snow.

[W-B proud]

Wilkes-Barre is a great, affordable city on the upswing. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent to beautify the city, and make it even better. Many upgrades and improvements have already taken place, or are in the works: including a multi-million dollar downtown movie theater, many downtown condos are in the works. a 30 million dollar Riverfront Project with an aphitheater, boat launch, fountains ect., and many more improvements. Wilkes-Barre and Luzerne County lead the ten county region of Northeast Pa. in tourism and tourism related jobs, wages, and dollars. So people like what we have to offer. What I like about Wilkes-Barre is you can be in a downtown urban setting in downtown Wilkes-Barre, and in literally 15-20 minutes you can be in a country, streamside setting enjoying nature! Great state parks for hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and only two hours from both NYC and Philly. Wilkes-Barre is known as the "Diamond City" to the locals, and it really is a gem to discover.

[Retired Law 08]

Originally Posted by W-B proud

Wilkes-Barre is a great, affordable city on the upswing. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent to beautify the city, and make it even better. Many upgrades and improvements have already taken place, or are in the works: including a multi-million dollar downtown movie theater, many downtown condos are in the works. a 30 million dollar Riverfront Project with an aphitheater, boat launch, fountains ect., and many more improvements. Wilkes-Barre and Luzerne County lead the ten county region of Northeast Pa. in tourism and tourism related jobs, wages, and dollars. So people like what we have to offer. What I like about Wilkes-Barre is you can be in a downtown urban setting in downtown Wilkes-Barre, and in literally 15-20 minutes you can be in a country, streamside setting enjoying nature! Great state parks for hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and only two hours from both NYC and Philly. Wilkes-Barre is known as the "Diamond City" to the locals, and it really is a gem to discover.

very good,informative post...

[springpure]

Any one looking to relocate would do well to take a long hard look at Pittsburgh, its suburbs, and its way out suburbs like New Castle, where we live. Housing is VERY affordable, the economy is now on a serious upswing, crime is low, the people are super friendly, the scenery is spectacular, sports and theater and museums are top notch, health care is unsurpassed, universities and colleges are everywhere. It takes a much smaller paycheck to live a much higher quality life here, and the pace is less frantic than a city like Washington, where we came from.

Here is a page I found on our little town of New Castle that I came across: Cheap Senior Housing Retirement PA, Cheap inexpensive frugal place to live,* Housing on a Shoestring, LEAST EXPENSIVE CHEAPEST PLACE TO RETIRE IN THE US, NICE SAFE CHEAP TOWN, cheap frugal retirement, cheap houses, best place to live on Social Securi (broken link)