Susquehanna Valley v. Lehigh Valley (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: real estate, construction, school district)

[rowhomecity]

Pennsylvania has Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as its two anchors.

Pennsylvania's two other largest metro areas are the Lehigh Valley - Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton (900k in population) and the Susquehanna Valley - Lancaster, Harrisburg, York (1.2 Million in population).

Both are actually very similar in population and amenities and assets, with similar economies, scale of education institutions and number of interesting and historic downtowns and are some of the fastest growing parts of the entire state.

The biggest difference is the Lehigh Valley is far more connected/concentrated where the cities of the Susquehanna Valley are about 30 minutes from each other, but all have a similar identity with there own unique twist.

With that. Which 2nd tier metro in Pennsylvania is better based on:


COL (better Real Estate values):
QOL:
Character:
Transit:
Transportation (highways):
Schools:
Higher Education:
Economy:
Nightlife/Entertainment:
Arts/creative scene:
Attractions/Things to Do:
Best Downtowns:
Suburbs:
Shopping:
Outdoor recreation:
Metro with the better economic outlook:
Geographic Proximity to other large metros (location):
Favorite thing about the Susquehanna Valley:
Favorite thing about the Lehigh Valley:
Least favorite thing about thing about the Susquehanna Valley:
Least favorite thing about the Lehigh Valley:

Your winner and why::

[rowhomecity]

Hmm.. Im surprised there has not been more discussion on this thread.

Both of these areas are so similar but just slightly different enough to have a comparison.

[ElijahAstin]

The Susquehanna Valley is more interesting to visit, but the Lehigh Valley is a better place to live.

[jtab4994]

Lehigh Valley is my winner.

My favorite thing about the Lehigh Valley: The industrial, urban, and railroad heritage. In particular I like what Bethlehem is doing with Steel Stacks. There is a lot to work with there, and it seems like rather than tear it all down they are incorporating the industrial look & feel into the revitalization plans.

I don't know much about the Susquehanna Valley. Other than the Susquehanna Hat Company that was featured in Abbott & Costello's version of the "Slowly I Turned" routine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THZV5g1CNZM

[NYtoNJtoPA]

Lehigh is almost like a "satellite" region of both NY and Philly. Whereas Susquehanna is a satellite of just one metro: Baltimore, if anything. I never compared the two regions, though I frequent both quite often for work. Hard for me to say which one is better. Both areas feel like they are very congested, with bad roads that are overcapacity, which alone would make me not want to live there.

[toobusytoday]

I think this thread doesn't have much traffic perhaps because most people have not lived in both areas. We lived in Harrisburg for one short summer while my husband did a summer internship there. We lived in the Delaware Valley for about 12 years in different counties before moving here to the Lehigh county, where we've been for 24 years.

I agree with the above poster that the location of the Lehigh Valley and the tri-cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton make getting to or from NYC and Philadelphia easy. When I'm looking for flights, I'll look at EWR and PHL and, just for the heck of it ABE (LVI) because they also have good deals. My husband is a season ticket holder for the Eagles. One of our kids lives in NYC. Besides that though, there is a rich history in the cities and the many small towns surrounding them. The town I live in was founded in 1730.

Schools in general are good to excellent. My School District, Southern Lehigh, was rated the top district in the Lehigh Valley by US News and World Report this Spring. The city schools struggle because of Pennsylvania's inequitable funding, but that is true throughout the state.

Infrastructure/roads - Our highways are all overused and seem to be in constant construction mode. The turnpike between Lehigh County and the Plymouth Meeting interchange has been getting enlarged and improved and will continue to be enlarged. Once that's done, the artery South will be great.

Entertainment is great. We have the Phillies and the Flyers farm teams here in newish arenas/stadiums. We also have Steel Stacks, as jtab mentioned. Not only is that an entertainment complex repurposed from Bethlehem Steel blasting furnaces, but a couple of manufacturing companies are there too.

[wanderer34]

Originally Posted by NYtoNJtoPA

Lehigh is almost like a "satellite" region of both NY and Philly. Whereas Susquehanna is a satellite of just one metro: Baltimore, if anything. I never compared the two regions, though I frequent both quite often for work. Hard for me to say which one is better. Both areas feel like they are very congested, with bad roads that are overcapacity, which alone would make me not want to live there.

I doubt that Bmore has any sway with Central PA. Maybe York County, but that’s the farthest extant. The rest of Central PA is more Phila-centric if you’re talking about Lancaster and Lebanon Counties and once you go over the Susquehanna River, it leans more to Pittsburgh. Just like how most people in Erie will support PGH sports teams, even though Buffalo and Cleveland are much closer to Erie than PGH, it’s the same throughout most of PA: Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by wanderer34

I doubt that Bmore has any sway with Central PA. Maybe York County, but that’s the farthest extant. The rest of Central PA is more Phila-centric if you’re talking about Lancaster and Lebanon Counties and once you go over the Susquehanna River, it leans more to Pittsburgh. Just like how most people in Erie will support PGH sports teams, even though Buffalo and Cleveland are much closer to Erie than PGH, it’s the same throughout most of PA: Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

Harrisburg is outside the Baltimore region, but still within the Baltimore sphere of influence—albeit its far outer edges. Harrisburg residents are more likely to travel to Baltimore than Philadelphia for big city amenities. It’s closer and there’s less traffic. This is true on both sides of the Susquehanna, but I’d wager that West Shore residents are more Baltimore-centric by virtue of I-83.

[Jessie Mitchell]

Interesting thread. I can't compare them as I have only lived in one and only just visited the other. Great how they're both thriving though.

[wanderer34]

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

Harrisburg is outside the Baltimore region, but still within the Baltimore sphere of influence—albeit its far outer edges. Harrisburg residents are more likely to travel to Baltimore than Philadelphia for big city amenities. It’s closer and there’s less traffic. This is true on both sides of the Susquehanna, but I’d wager that West Shore residents are more Baltimore-centric by virtue of I-83.

Even though Baltimore is the closest major city in South Central PA, most of Central PA is tied to PA. For college sports, it’s Happy Valley (Penn State) or bust, and for professional sports, it’s Flyers or Penguins for hockey, Phillies or Pirates for baseball, or Eagles or Steelers for football. Many fans in Central PA root for either team. Baltimore is an outlier when it comes to sports although in York, there are some Ravens fans, but the rest of PA either follows Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.

Another thing I noticed about PA cities is the large Latino populations in comparison to MD. Just about almost all PA cities have a more Caribbean Latino element while in Baltimore and DC, it leans more Central American. Once again, Baltimore may be the closest major city in Central PA, but it doesn’t have the same pull in PA outside of York County.