Why is Harrisburg so bad?

[John3-7]

Like a lot of cities it depends where you go...

[blucher]

I was laid off by AT&T in Reading and moved to Harrisburg for a year. I lived in Steelton and had a great time. Harrisburg employs many single females in state offices so there was plenty to do. I've lived in Steelton, Reading & Allentown and Harrisburg was the best of the three.

[jackers]

I left Harrisburg back in 1996 (joined the Marines) and never looked back. I live in Southern Maryland now and come back to visit family from time to time. It really is a crappy city.

[welovecab]

It really depends on what you are talking about and your perspective....

If you are saying "Why is Harrisburg (The city) so bad"... If you limit it to just the city then the reason "its so bad" is there is nothing for the city to live on... There is no big attraction that makes people "Want" to go to the city or live in the city. There is no big university, no big shopping center, no major league sports teams. I recently relocated from Cleveland, and the city at least had its major league teams to draw people into the city... Harrisburg the city has 2nd street and Politics...

If you are looking at "Why is Harrisburg (The Area) so bad"... I don't really think that it is. If you look at Hershey, Mechancisburg, Camp Hill, ect... there are some very nice areas within 15mins of downtown. If you take all that into account then Harrisburg The Area is actually a pretty nice place. As someone else pointed out, its also a very convenient place to be to get to other areas on the East coast to go visit. Again coming from Cleveland where the closest other town to visit is 3hrs away... and that’s Detroit or Columbus take your pick... Where can you get in 3hrs from Harrisburg? (Train or car)

[Ozzylizard]

Cities in general suck, but generally have at least one or two good points. Harrisburg has the Capital Building (check out the brick/tile floor, find [I]Chelydra serpentina[I]) and Troeges and Appalachian Brewing companies.

[blucher]

Originally Posted by lidxv0n

I agree that Harrisburg isn't that bad. I relocated down to Maryland about a year ago, and miss Harrisburg and the surrounding areas. Spend some time in and around Baltimore and I think view Harrisburg differently.

I was laid off in Reading and moved to Harrisburg for the dancing at the Holiday Inn on 22/78. I moved to Steelton actually and still miss the area. At night we'd walk for miles in the park along the Susquehanna. The people were blue collar but very neighborly & friendly. I could commute to Reading via the nearby turnpike entrance and also worked in Harrisburg.
Not much in the city but then that's true for Allentown & Reading too.