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Best city/town in Pennsylvania to live in

poweRob

poweRob

USMC 1988-1996
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I've never lived there. My American roots come from there and I used to go there growing up quite a bit to visit family. Central Penn more precisely. So... More Pennsylvania educated folk, especially educated in the now of Penn, what city(cities) is the best one to live in and why?
 
poweRob said:
I've never lived there. My American roots come from there and I used to go there growing up quite a bit to visit family. Central Penn more precisely. So... More Pennsylvania educated folk, especially educated in the now of Penn, what city(cities) is the best one to live in and why?
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west philly
 
poweRob said:
I've never lived there. My American roots come from there and I used to go there growing up quite a bit to visit family. Central Penn more precisely. So... More Pennsylvania educated folk, especially educated in the now of Penn, what city(cities) is the best one to live in and why?
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I've never been a city person, only having lived in Wilmington De city limits for 4 years. But I used to hear that South Philly is a decent place to live, as long as you find a decent building.

But a better, happier, less stressful option would be rural southeastern Lancaster county, or semi-rural southern Chester County, both in southeastern PA. I spent my 12-19 age period in the southeastern Chester County region(Landenberg, Chads Ford, Unionville area). I know people who live in a lovely town west of Lancaster, called Mount Gretna, which was designed as a turn of the 20th century summer vacation resort town, which is on the side of a small mountain, heavily wooded, with a whole artsy community and an outdoor venue for concerts and craft shows etc. It's like a summer camp for the middle and upper middle class. As of the late 90s, Mt Gretna had the highest percentage of educated people of supposedly any town or city in the country!
 
Of course there's always 'Houston', Pa. But laughably, they pronounce it "House-ton"! Lol
 
poweRob said:
I've never lived there. My American roots come from there and I used to go there growing up quite a bit to visit family. Central Penn more precisely. So... More Pennsylvania educated folk, especially educated in the now of Penn, what city(cities) is the best one to live in and why?
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I like the Williamsport, Gettysburg and Erie, PA area.
 
From the east, you have to go through Gap to get to Intercourse.
 
If you plan on summer hiking some of the PA section of the Appalachian Trail, I can offer some of my 200 miles of experiences.

Encountered beautiful small woodsy towns heading northbound, Duncannon and Port Clinton. Experienced really sore feet from the very rocky trails and my fast pace (personal best- 41 miles in one day). I made my way through Lehigh Valley onward to the Delaware Water Gap (marks the border between PA and NJ). From that point forward, my Trail Life changed markedly.... after meeting Whiskey Dave (some called him Reefer Dave). This former Tennessee Eagle Scout carried a wrist rocket slingshot, loved whiskey and started the trail in Georgia with an 18 inch bong and pound of pot. We did the last 700 miles of trail together. When we got to the last northbound mountain, he turned around and kept hiking southbound. In the ensuing years, I have returned to the Berkshires countless times for fun!
 
Trippy Trekker said:
If you plan on summer hiking some of the PA section of the Appalachian Trail, I can offer some of my 200 miles of experiences.

Encountered beautiful small woodsy towns heading northbound, Duncannon and Port Clinton. Experienced really sore feet from the very rocky trails and my fast pace (personal best- 41 miles in one day). I made my way through Lehigh Valley onward to the Delaware Water Gap (marks the border between PA and NJ). From that point forward, my Trail Life changed markedly.... after meeting Whiskey Dave (some called him Reefer Dave). This former Tennessee Eagle Scout carried a wrist rocket slingshot, loved whiskey and started the trail in Georgia with an 18 inch bong and pound of pot. We did the last 700 miles of trail together. When we got to the last northbound mountain, he turned around and kept hiking southbound. In the ensuing years, I have returned to the Berkshires countless times for fun!
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I used to go visit family in Greencastle. And they had a mountain house about an hour from there somewhere and I remember it being really pretty all over those areas. Few years ago I took the wife to Antietam and up to Johnstown for some family history sight seeing. Lost my great great grandad in the Johnstown flood and Antietam was partially fought on my family's property. Also gorgeous areas. Although Johnstown looks kind of run down and depressed. I like the houses and the scenery though.
 
Trippy Trekker said:
If you plan on summer hiking some of the PA section of the Appalachian Trail, I can offer some of my 200 miles of experiences.

Encountered beautiful small woodsy towns heading northbound, Duncannon and Port Clinton. Experienced really sore feet from the very rocky trails and my fast pace (personal best- 41 miles in one day). I made my way through Lehigh Valley onward to the Delaware Water Gap (marks the border between PA and NJ). From that point forward, my Trail Life changed markedly.... after meeting Whiskey Dave (some called him Reefer Dave). This former Tennessee Eagle Scout carried a wrist rocket slingshot, loved whiskey and started the trail in Georgia with an 18 inch bong and pound of pot. We did the last 700 miles of trail together. When we got to the last northbound mountain, he turned around and kept hiking southbound. In the ensuing years, I have returned to the Berkshires countless times for fun!
Click to expand...

The aforementioned "rock strewn" Pennsylvania section of the Appalachian trail is popularly known as "Rocksylvania". Lol
 
poweRob said:
I used to go visit family in Greencastle. And they had a mountain house about an hour from there somewhere and I remember it being really pretty all over those areas. Few years ago I took the wife to Antietam and up to Johnstown for some family history sight seeing. Lost my great great grandad in the Johnstown flood and Antietam was partially fought on my family's property. Also gorgeous areas. Although Johnstown looks kind of run down and depressed. I like the houses and the scenery though.
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You mentioned small towns that were quaint and nice, but are now run down and depressed. Well, the opposite has happened in MANY small towns in southeastern Pa. That includes rural and semi-rural(subrural maybe?) towns in Lancaster and Chester counties, where the towns had become worn looking and poorly maintained, but starting in the late 80s and 90s, the property values rose, and most of the property owners made it a point to clean things up, repaint, and encourage small 'boutique businesses' to open up shop in old historical buildings or houses. The difference in overall appearance now vs 30 years ago is striking...
 
ModerationNow! said:
You mentioned small towns that were quaint and nice, but are now run down and depressed. Well, the opposite has happened in MANY small towns in southeastern Pa. That includes rural and semi-rural(subrural maybe?) towns in Lancaster and Chester counties, where the towns had become worn looking and poorly maintained, but starting in the late 80s and 90s, the property values rose, and most of the property owners made it a point to clean things up, repaint, and encourage small 'boutique businesses' to open up shop in old historical buildings or houses. The difference in overall appearance now vs 30 years ago is striking...
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That's cool. I have some family I have no visited living in Lancaster actually. He likes it but says the taxes are rather insane. Or at least what you get for the taxes you pay isn't good enough. He's a bit of a bitchy whiner though so I take his input with a grain of salt.
 
poweRob said:
That's cool. I have some family I have no visited living in Lancaster actually. He likes it but says the taxes are rather insane. Or at least what you get for the taxes you pay isn't good enough. He's a bit of a bitchy whiner though so I take his input with a grain of salt.
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No, he's not exaggerating the claim of high property taxes in southeastern PA! I know that Chester County has the highest taxes in the entire state of PA, and a lot of it is rural.
 
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