Your in Reading and that is a different story than the rest of the State, I lived in Reading for a few years Go Royals & Reading Phils, when it comes to businesses coming in there it is the county that handles that, mostly the state stays out of it, Reading is bad to start a business there, but you go to Pittsburgh there are hundreds of start-ups there and a friendlier business climate for small business well considering some of the start-ups are coming from Carnegie-Mellon and you got the Best schools in the country there and some of the people who runs or owns businesses in Reading, they went to Pittsburgh to college because you got, so that should say something and another is too is that the state only gives money to areas that looks promising to invest basically all that money into an area, lets be real the actual city of Reading looks like a slum at different sections or a drug dealing center and Cherry street is really bad no one is ever down there past 5PM unless there is some show or hockey game going on then the police is in force for a couple blocks around the arena Penn Street could be a wonderful place to go at night if they can get rid of all the scum out of the area and all those beautiful old brownstones down there and the mills apartments can be a big attraction to young professionals but they rent and sell to lowlife scumbags and now you hear gunshots down there every night and it got worse every month I was in the area I lived in the area on Kutztown Rd north of 12 but that area was going to crap too, Berks need to stop worrying so much on getting developments built on the outskirts of town and start concentrating on getting rid of some of those projects and cleaning up the downtown area of Reading because it has such possibilities if they would get rid of those scumbags and try to attract young professionals out of Philly to move there and get it cleaned up. If you want to get things done then talk to people and start something to get the city council to listen and show what a wonderful area Reading can be.
Rob | Parker, PA | Report Abuse

Lived here virtually all my life. In a state this large you cannot generalize, so you have to explore the situation town by town. I live in a very affluent and developed part of Chester County. I've also lived in Philadelphia. I cannot list pros & cons because one mans pro is another mans con. For the purposes of this forum I will attempt to generalize. Take this list for what its worth... -Politically, liberal leaning (unless you venture into mid or upstate) -Taxes seem slightly above average -Home prices:Above average -Cost of living: Above average -Weather/Climate varies greatly season to season. Harsh winters with snowfall and ice across the state -Religion: There are many religious institutions across the state, but Ive found most people to be non committal, and faith has very little presence in the culture -Education: Standard of education seems slightly higher than normal. The state offers some of the best colleges and universities in the nation. Humanist Liberal views will make their way into the classroom, K through higher education even in some private institutions. -Activities:There are a number of historic sites in the state. There are parks, rivers, lakes. Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Reading, and Harrisburg offer a number of amenities and events. The Jersey and Maryland beaches are only about 2-3 hours away. -Crime rates are very low for the majority of the state. Philadelphia skews the state average, with some of the worst crime rates in the country. Be careful when exploring the city. As long as you stay in certain neighborhoods you should be absolutely fine. -Manners: Faster paced. Not as cordial, personal or well mannered as other locations in the US. More achievement based, less relational. -Several good job opportunities, especially in the city and surrounding suburban towns. -Reasonably good place to raise a family If you're a devout Christian and/or conservative there are rural pockets where you will feel more welcomed, developed areas where you will not. If you enjoy the warm weather, you're out of luck for a little over half of the year. Pennsylvania is really a little bit of everything, so if you're able to adjust to the changing seasons and willing to deal with a mix of influences and people its a good bet. I've traveled to various locations up and down the east coast. Held temporary residency in southern locations and in the mid west. I currently reside in Pa. This is my assessment having spent the majority of my life here. I hope this helps.
B | West Chester, PA | Report Abuse