Don’t know much about the other places but you can still get a really nice house in Reading for under 200k.

Harrisburg's best quality is its proximity to Washington, New York, Philly and Baltimore with easy rail and road connections. So, it's cheaper to live in Harrisburg, but easy to get the hell out of there to find someplace great to be. That's why it wins.

Oh, and Reading is a hole.
And Pittsburgh beats the hell out of anywhere else in Pa. Erie's cool, too.
Can't talk now; Stillers are on!

One I’d live in. I’ve lived in Lancaster. Absolutely hated it! Not all that accepting of outsiders. After 3 years, you’re done and can’t wait to get the hell out. Not sure how Reading even got on the radar. There’s nothing there.

As a long time resident of the Lehigh Valley, you couldn't pay me to live in Reading.

As far as Allentown and the Lehigh Vally in general, you don't want to retire here. I don't know what the population density of our little suburban township is, but the density of the Lehigh Valley, in general, is growing terribly. Developers have bullied zoning boards into allowing them to cover the once nice Lehigh Valley with warehouses and housing developments. What were once farms are now covered with macadam. Traffic is horrendous. Developers are still pushing for more warehouses. PennDOT is the worst run organization on the planet. Property taxes are astronomical.

Winters mean freezing rain, ice, and much snow to battle with. Summers are hot and humid with lots of mosquitoes and stinkbugs. We don't get much Spring or Fall anymore.

The Allentown Morning Call and WFMZ-TV are very Republican leaning.