the_dorf

the_dorf t1_iy62xf2 wrote

I travel to Allentown a lot and live very near Harrisburg (10 minutes). On a good day, I can get there in 1:45; so your 2 hour requirement from Morris is very tight for the Harrisburg metro area. The Allentown/Lehigh Valley can accommodate it no problem and some parts of Reading and Lebanon can be tricky, but mostly doable. The less than 25" of snow annually means you have to be south of Blue Mountain and the forest cover is all along the ridge. You would have to do research, but if you live near a creek/river, it's likely on a flood plain (and will require flood insurance), other than that, natural disasters are rare. I deliver for FedEx Ground and all us delivery people will go wherever.

I like the idea near Blue Marsh Lake area NW of Reading (as an example). There's a bunch of rural area, but the availability of a rental for around $1k/month is going to be tough. You would be close to all the chains of the suburbs. While Reading city is so-so, outside of it, the crime drops considerably (almost non-existent). There are fun bike trails around (I run).

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the_dorf t1_ix1x8qs wrote

Lancaster would be the closest only on your "ideal city" recommendations. The good transportation connection to other areas criterium separates Lancaster from the others as their bus system, while inaccurate, goes pretty far in the county, as well as the Amtrak station and Greyhound buses for travel outside. Harrisburg is the only other one with an Amtrak station.

I love all the those cities for what you mentioned as each have their indidvidual charms in my world, plus craft breweries (with exception to Reading, but West Reading is walkable). Harrisburg has a great gentrified area in Mid-town as well as the State Library (whenever that reopens up again). Reading has great hiking trails nearby on Mt. Penn and Neversink mountains; as well as events at Santander arena. Lancaster has a lot of tourist/history spots/central market as well as a very good county park to camp just right outside the city. York has a decent downtown with history, Central Market, and a wonderful rail-trail. Lebanon has Snitz Creek brewery and the rail-trail that goes all the way down to (near) Etown.

All of them have something, but I believe to start out, Lancaster is your way to go and go from there.

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the_dorf t1_irf4sda wrote

This is a big deal. Erie-Philly is practically an all-day affair to get to one-way. Also how technical do you want your hikes to be? A lot of trails tend to be very rocky, especially the majority of the AT and north-central portions.

One strong recommendation is Lewisburg, PA for a day. Great antique area, R.B. Winter State Park for hiking and some vistas around too, and Rusty Rail Brewing in nearby Mifflinburg.

Another day trip is to Hamburg. Use the AT for the Pinnicle/Pit and eat at Port Clinton Hotel. Yuengling Brewery isn't too far away.

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