Traverse City, MI VS Honesdale, PA - Where should I live?

[rowhomecity]

That part of Pennsylvania is pretty Democrat. Its been blue since the 70s... And only getting bluer as people from New York and New Jersey move there to retire.

Honestly I would look to Tennessee if you want a solid red state... Maybe Indiana... (Indiana is pretty flat though)...

Pennsylvania is not a red state.. its only getting bluer...


And honestly I would say check out Lake Erie over Honesdale if you want a Lake.

Erie is also very blue but probably less so than Scranton.

But to be honest I would stick to Ohio or Indiana. They are solid red states. Pennsylvania is not.

[DixieSam28]

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

Honestly I would look to Tennessee

Moving from Tennessee to escape the heat, lol.

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

But to be honest I would stick to Ohio or Indiana.

Northwestern Indiana is ghetto and the rest of Northern Indiana is too flat. Are there places in Ohio that are really hilly, get cool summers, and close to lake? I'd assume those places would be near Cleveland if so.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by DixieSam28

Here's the thing: I would probably move to a place like that because although the summers are hot, the other 3 seasons are really mild. But all the fun stuff seems to happen in the summer (festivals, fairs, etc.). That's the main reason I started looking up north, to do fun summer stuff without it getting too hot.

We city folk are probably going to ruin Honesdale for you not that long after you move there. It's the reason the magazine I write for is now covering the Poconos scene, which for years was considered déclassé by the smart set that makes up most of our print readership, as this article alludes to:

The Little Poconos Town that Accidentally Got Cool | Philadelphia magazine

As far as voting patterns are concerned, rowhomecity is right about the overall trend in Pennsylvania, but but the shift is very geographically specific: it's largely based on growth and a blue shift in the Southeast (Greater Philadelphia), the state's economic engine; the Lehigh Valley (Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton), which is attracting supercommuters from New York; Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, which have finally found a growth engine to replace steel but aren't yet carrying the counties surrounding Allegheny with it; and most of the state's cities, including Harrisburg and Lancaster but possibly excluding Erie and Wilkes-Barre.

Scranton is the county seat of Lackawanna County, to Wayne's southwest, and that county indeed votes Democrat (President Biden was born and raised in Scranton). Wayne itself remains Republican, at least for now, and it's going to take many more urban sophisticates moving to Honesdale before that changes, I suspect.

BTW and FWIW, the Wayne County Courthouse is a lovely brick Second Empire structure that's showcased in much the same way Philadelphia showcases its much bigger Second Empire City Hall:


my own photo from Facebook

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

We city folk are probably going to ruin Honesdale for you not that long after you move there.

It made me laugh when I saw you wrote this. I can't lie when I was there and stopped at a general store, this guy came out when I was on the porch with my dog and was 'that's one of those expensive dogs. Are you one of them fancy city folk?".

I will probably never have a better opportunity than now to share some photos I also have of Honesdale, so I will.
Panorama from a look out over the town:


A couple shots of main street:

[masssachoicetts]

I didn't hear much of Traverse City until American Airlines and Delta randomly announced nonstop service for wealthy New Englanders and New Yorkers there a few weeks ago. Seems like a seasonal playground for rich yuppy Millenials from Boston, New York, DC and California... im not sure if that would meet all of OP requirements.

Ive also never heard of Hornsedale. I think maybe that would fit OPs reqs better?
-its hillier for that fun stuff
-more republican
-far less tourists/less yuppy than Traverse City
-nearby Poconos have tons of lakes. Smaller than Lake Michigan, but they are there.

My vote goes there.