You’re just a rube and have personal beliefs that aren’t grounded in political or economic fact.

Most rural PA voters seem to share that.

Jesus fuckin Christ

Learn Spanish

Lived in Allentown for 6 years near Center City in a row home and honestly where I was located was the sketchiest most unsafe place ever. Had a 19 year old get shot and killed in front of my home. It was gang related. I would never move back to Allentown ever again. But that’s just my two cents.

True this

I spoke of that one block difference too

I argued that western PA gets ignored. You are going on about various issues.

You obviously are bored and looking for a fight, or are just an asshole.

Either way, goodbye. Fucknut.

Yeap all of us giving Bethlehem a thumbs up. I lived in center city years ago and crime was apparent but seems to be spreading now.

Bethlehem definitely gets my vote and I am in the process of locating there. Cedar crest area also nice and close to shopping restaurants etc.

Should the state do more to help rural counties regarding actual sustainable, long-term economic development and not letting natural gas and pipelines (both parties) dominate state politics especially in rural counties? Yes.

Isn’t what you remotely argued though.

Lived there off and on. Agree with this poster. Its only a part of the greater lehigh valley. I personally prefer Bethlehem but am considering easton. I put center city Allentown third on my list. I think the crime is contained but having lived in all 3 locations it is easy to move one block from the west side and immediately sense a more uncontrolled environment.

The entire lehigh Valley job market is booming.

It really depends on you and your fiancé’s interests. I moved from that area to Delco. I wanted access to big universities, museums, sports, diversity, and the airport. Yes, LVIA is there, but offers much less.

There are some beautiful areas there. The northern townships are nice. My sister lives in Heidelberg and I love to go visit. There’s good hiking, hunting, and fishing. You’re also closer to some mediocre but good enough PA skiing.

There are some great school districts and some that are rough. Healthcare is very, very good. LVH and St. Luke’s can handle 95%+ of what they get. We would occasionally fly patients to Penn from both places. Maybe 10-20 flights per year, but that was awhile ago. Overall, that’s not a lot.

When I was nursing school a million years ago, I found the public transportation severely lacking. You pretty much have to drive everywhere. You will spend a lot on transportation. It’s also not necessarily cheaper to live there. Some districts have pretty high taxes. You’ll spend a lot on gas and the infrastructure is classic PA: outdated, outgrown, and in disrepair.

There’s some decent restaurants, but coming from Abington area, I think you might find the cuisine lacking. Culturally, the Lehigh Valley is about a decade behind the Philly area. It can have a rust belt feel, but it’s turning a corner.

Overall, it’s not bad, but I wouldn’t go back. I felt trapped after years of the area. However, I’m a wandering soul, and overall, it’s decent. You could do worse.

“Hail Satin”

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You complained that you felt ruled by Philly. This simply isn’t true by representation in Harrisburg and then complain about money spent in SE PA yet these areas contribute more tax revenues than they receive back per capita because they support the state financially and are growing.

You made the second most common thing you hear the rural voters say - that their taxes dollars support the welfare takers in Philly when ITS THE EXACT OPPOSITE especially in rural counties with aging and older demographics.

If you're willing to drive a bit, lancaster has several good Mexican restaurants

La Tolteca is a chain in the general area, I'm not sure if there's one near you. You can't go wrong with some of the little family owned places in Chester County if you get out that way.

Easton has some nice things, and Jim Thorpe is just barely outside the 45 minutes, although I will admit traffic and routes can make that vary wildly.

Lebanon City has a bunch of good places. I particularly like Quesa Deea's (I think I'm misspelling that slightly but it's purposefully not spelled like quesadilla.) They've got really weird hours that aren't listed, but if you're walking/driving through the city and see it's open, check it out. It's on 422 west and I think is on the same block as House of Cards, just across the street.

Alternatively, a great pizza place is Greek Town. Massive menu and longer wait times for delivery, but if you order in or take out it's regular pizza shop speed to get your order. (They only have one, maybe two, people doing deliveries at any given time.) That's a couple blocks away on 422 east. Both of these places are local and family owned style.

PA residents endless complain about local property taxes.

Too many school districts and way too much dinky municipalities yet same residents refuse to merge with adjacent municipalities to have a broader tax base and reduce need to increase property taxes.

Local residents complain loudly about local property taxes.

Repeat cycle of stagnation. Change is always hard but it seems extra super hard in most parts of PA.

Did I say anything about the Governor? No, I did not. I said we often feel ignored on the western side in favor of Philly and the regions surrounding Philly.

Most of the state's money seems to funnel into the East, specifically the SouthEast.

But you make it purely a political party thing because you can't think past Red and Blue. Really shows the level of critical, reasonable thought you are capable of.

Hey I am from St Mary’s Pa. About an hour and 40 mins away. Try some of the taco trucks. Some are amazing, of course I don’t know any of the names.

You deserve all the upvotes, great work.

What? This is one of the dumber things you hear constantly from people in rural areas.

Simply look at who has majority in the PA since Senate and House since 2000. PA GOP has has the majority in the Senate since 1990 and all but 2 years in the House and the upcoming session this year.

Governor’s office has gone back and forth between both parties but the only PA Governor from Philly or the Philly area in the last 50 years (I’d have to look back further) was Rendell.

I've heard Luna Azteca is decent. But it probably doesn't hold a candle to whst you're used to.