Decaying city that is a shadow of its former self.
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10/27/2021
I wouldn't recommend Harrisburg. I currently live here, but I'm moving to Lancaster in a month. The problem with Harrisburg is that many long-term residents often refer to it in the past tense. "Harrisburg used to be....", because at one point it was set to be the next boom town in Pennsylvania back in the 70s. Well that didn't happen, because it got overshadowed by other areas. The city, residents and community quickly gave up or moved away and Harrisburg has been decaying ever since. The city itself seems kind of stuck in the 70s, but not in a good way. It's out of place and out of time. The city itself refuses to change.
Lackluster city services, lackluster jobs, lackluster venues. Believe me, there isn't a lot to do here that you can't find in other towns and in better condition. I see a lot of recommendations for the Midtown, but it's literally just a single block. Last time I went there with my girlfriend to the farmers market, we got harassed by a mentally ill homeless person. Speaking of which, the farmers market and Midtown Scholar are about the only places even worth visiting in "Midtown". A whopping 2 locations. City Island is another commonly mentioned venue, but it's pretty dead 90% of the year. It's one of those relics from the 70s that was meant to bring in tourists, but that didn't work so its barely being maintained. Mini-golf/ice cream and the occasional Senators game is what you have to look forward to over there. There are plenty of parks in Harrisburg, Fort Hunter and Wildwood Park, but parks are common in every city in Pennsylvania. Not exactly unique. We've also got the National Civil War Museum, but what's the point in going when Gettysburg is a hop skip and jump away and provides a wider variety of exhibits.
Also the amount of traffic and commute time in Harrisburg is astounding. I recently came back from a visit in Massachusetts within the Boston metropolitician area. Took me only 15 minutes to travel from my hotel to a friends house, which was 6 miles away. Meanwhile, it takes 15-20 minutes just to drive to the grocery store from my apartment in Harrisburg...which is only 2 miles away. It might sound silly to criticize something like this, but it will drive you crazy after awhile. I chock this up to the fact that Harrisburg infrastructure is completely outdated and our traffic lights don't use equipment that can detect when cars are approaching. Thus you spend more time waiting at traffic lights even when traffic isn't present. But when there is traffic, be prepared to sit even longer because of the way roads were designed in Harrisburg, funneling traffic through a single over-capacity road without any options for a detour. Like I said, it sounds silly but it will drive you nuts after awhile, especially if you've lived in significantly larger cities where traffic is more thoroughly dealt with.
As for the people, there are two kinds of people in Harrisburg. There are the people who come to Harrisburg to work in the city. They don't stick around and typically leave Harrisburg the moment they are done working. The other half are the depressed and bitter townies who can't get over the fact that Harrisburg "ain't like it used to be". I'm a transplant to the area and was never around Harrisburg when it was the "place to be". A lot of backwards thinking folks around here too. Harrisburg is often cited as being a progressive and diverse area, but it's about as diverse as a Crayola box with only red and blue colored crayons. It also needs to be stated that there is an unspoken amount of segregation within Harrisburg and the surrounding area. It's very common for residents to refer to the west shore (which are communities on the west bank of the Susquenhanna River) as the "white shore", due to the respective populations and history of economic and racial disparity. Likewise, there is a sense of "reverse racism" that is prevalent on the east shore against non-people of color who are viewed as a "threat to their community". As someone who is of mixed race, I've experienced both flavors of racism. In addition to this, homophobia/transphobia is common in both communities despite the supposed notion of "progressivism".
Overall, Harrisburg is a place that is stuck in the past. Like I said before, the city gave up on it (the city government was actually on the brink of bankruptcy back in 2011, it's stable now...barely). The community gave up on it. If people aren't moving away, then they are sitting around thinking about the "olden days". I don't know anyone who has moved here who likes it. It doesn't seem so bad after a year or so, but then something just hits you and you feel like Harrisburg is devoid of...well...everything, but depression, racial divides and broken dreams.
Ryan | Harrisburg, PA