Planning on moving to PA, as someone who is LGBTQ+ curious about areas to avoid.

Submitted by VaginaHotPocket t3_11mf7t2 in Pennsylvania

My husband and I are pre approved and beginning our house search in PA! We are currently in NJ and aren't well acquainted with all of PA besides Philly and New Hope areas. I am trans and when doing this search and seeing availability of houses all over the state i'm trying to narrow down areas where can have a plot of land (1 acre+) but also feel safe in our community.

Is there any areas that we should 100% avoid? Any areas we should try and focus on because they're more LGBT+ accepting? We've been looking all over from Lancaster, Erie, Pittsburgh, New Hope (which is sadly way out of our budget), allentown and everywhere in between!

if it helps and you're aware of current housing prices in different areas we want to stay under 400k for a home. Thanks in advance, any and all opinions are welcome (just be nice ♥)

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PghSubie t1_jbhhdry wrote

Bethlehem is really nice, as is most of the area around Pittsburgh. But, new forewarned, many rural areas across PA think they're Alabama

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Chimpskibot t1_jbhj5ia wrote

Personally, I wouldn't move west of Chester County or North of Lower Bucks County notwithstanding New Hope. Actually, just look at a map of the 2016 election...

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effdubbs t1_jbhjgr0 wrote

Delaware County has affordable areas that are LGBTQIA+ friendly. Some of the rural counties, such as Carbon, Schuylkill, Luzerne and Monroe can be unwelcoming. Of course, there are people and places that are fine in all of them, but as a whole, I’d avoid. I’d recommend staying close to the cities: Philly, Pittsburgh, and Allentown. No idea how Harrisburg and Scranton are. New Hope is pricey, but most of Bucks and Montgomery County (avoid Pennsburg and Boyertown) will be fine and you can find affordable places.

We do often call the rural areas “Pennsyltucky” and that PA is Philly and Pittsburgh with Alabama in the middle. Stereotypes are dumb, but take heed anyway.

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Baguette_Theory t1_jbhjlqp wrote

No one here has issues with it, just dont make it your whole personality as you'll have trouble finding areas that put up with that outside California

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delcodick t1_jbhjmow wrote

PA consists of a City at the Eastern end of the State and another at the Western end.

In between these we have Kentucky

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Dredly t1_jbhjy01 wrote

Lehigh Valley (Allentown) will be fine as will anywhere around there.

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when you start getting into areas where there are farm fields, you'll start getting into areas where you may feel much less welcome.

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The further in any direction other then South you go from the Lehigh Valley, the worse it will get. For the most part south eastern side will be okay.

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Jules1220 t1_jbhkasp wrote

If you're looking at South Central PA, Harrisburg is good. Stay away from rural areas. Creeps me put when I drive to York how many Trump signs, along with the always classy Fuck Biden flags.

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shanafme t1_jbhkxgx wrote

State College is generally accepting, but I’d recommend avoiding the areas around there, specifically Blair, Cambria, and Bedford Counties.

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drewbaccaAWD t1_jbhlkhh wrote

I would honestly say that any medium size town that has decent cultural options, and food selection and that sort of thing... is probably going to feel safe and welcoming, even a few pockets in otherwise red counties.

The trouble you'll run into is more finding a community where you really feel at home rather than running into any sort of outright animosity. As a middle aged adult that mostly sticks to myself these days, there aren't many places in PA where I'd truly feel unwelcome or uncomfortable although many of those same areas I couldn't run away quickly enough when I was young and more outgoing (and more frequently around younger people with less of a filter).

So to put it another way, if an area meets all of your other needs, I wouldn't worry about LGBTQ+ working against you. I'm smack in the middle of a red area and can see two different same sex households from my bedroom window and a third household currently has a pride flag up. Myself, I'm queer but don't tend to flaunt that the way I did when I was younger.

Obviously, there's going to be a safer bet with higher population density, in general. But again, there are pockets all over.

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drewbaccaAWD t1_jbhmh1p wrote

Replying to Unique-Public-8594 (#2,190,007)

The red areas aren't actually that bad. But I'd definitely avoid the burgundy ones.

The downside to my red district is that I know my local votes don't matter at all. We do have a Dem state rep amazingly enough but he's of the Joe Manchin school of being a Democrat (none the less, they are really trying to push him out now that the Dems gained control of the state house... holy cow the political ads I'm getting right now are weekly attack ads in March).

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BrowniesAndMilk1 t1_jbhn2oo wrote

These are like parodies. Literally no one cares about your sexuality.

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Trout-Population t1_jbhn43p wrote

New Hope PA is a very lovely town with a small yet vibrant LGBT culture if you're looking for towns to move to.

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drewbaccaAWD t1_jbhn88x wrote

Replying to effdubbs (#2,190,033)

Harrisburg is fine, but there's a sudden drop off about maybe five miles out.

A lot of other areas are fine too, from a feeling safe point of view, but then there's always this sense that you need to make the town better rather than actually just being happy where you live and enjoying what's already there.

When I lived in Seattle, especially... you'd just turn a corner and walk into some memorable and wonderful experience. Out in the PA boonies, you have to actively look for things and they're few and far between.

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theREALPLM t1_jbhocns wrote

Replying to BrowniesAndMilk1 (#2,190,221)

I agree. I live in Schuylkill county and wanted to read through this for a laugh of these liberals are in packs. I know a Wildly disproportionate amount of gay people you’ll find in bars and clubs here because straight people don’t go out as much. I knew less gay people in Centre county than here. I use that term all inclusive, I knew of a trans guy too. Adams county has an outlandish gay pride thing every year in Gettysburg.

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VaginaHotPocket OP t1_jbhoj2m wrote

Replying to BrowniesAndMilk1 (#2,190,221)

Trans isn’t a sexuality, it’s related to gender. I get what you’re saying, but it’s not as easy to hide “being trans” or what if someone assumes I am. I’ve been harassed even in more “liberal” states and in todays climate I have to prepare and assess situations for my own safety.

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jayragu t1_jbhponj wrote

I don’t have a decent answer, but I just want to say that I love your username.

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coasterkyle18 t1_jbhpt4t wrote

Replying to HahaWeee (#2,190,064)

Yeah my and my bf never hold hands. And people look at us weird sometimes for simply shopping together. But I don't feel particularly unsafe, just judged. Someday we'll work up the courage to hold hands around the city, and then maybe work our way out to holding our hands at Overlook, etc.

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Bountyhunt6 t1_jbhqzqr wrote

Most places with sizable colleges are generally more open just because of the youth.

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PlinyCapybara t1_jbhreo2 wrote

Pittsburgh's pretty welcoming of the LGBTQ community.

I'd avoid the center of the state.

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ButterIsMyFriend t1_jbhsz11 wrote

What’s your budget? You can be close to New Hope but reasonable in pricing

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PPQue6 t1_jbhvg5l wrote

Erie has a pretty decent LGBTQIA+ community and the city itself is very welcoming, and would definitely match your needs for the cost of housing. Obviously like anywhere in PA the rural areas leave a lot to be desired...

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Dredly t1_jbhwczi wrote

Replying to VaginaHotPocket (#2,190,672)

keep in mind some of the edges of the red area may not be terrible, and some of the blue areas may be REALLY bad depending on where they are. It really is a sharp drop off in most areas between hide your sheep, and you'll sleep like a baby

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VaginaHotPocket OP t1_jbhwk1g wrote

Replying to Dredly (#2,190,713)

Yeah I definitely feel if I was from the area it would be so much easier to know the areas!

It's also hard when we are comfortable living anywhere in the state, and see these amazing beautiful homes in our budget but they're smack dab in MAGA country based on searches.

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Dredly t1_jbhxbf7 wrote

Replying to VaginaHotPocket (#2,190,641)

In my experience, unless its a school IN an otherwise non-university, you want to avoid these as they are typically a WHOLE lot of really angry local's who live, lots of college dropouts, and a bunch of drunk kids

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towns like Shippensburg, Mansfield, Lock Haven, etc (also avoid prison towns)

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spicynuggies t1_jbi3dh6 wrote

Avoid anywhere West of the Susquehanna that isnt State College or Pittsburgh.

People tend to mind their own business for the most part in PA, even in more conservative areas. Ive gone out plenty of times with my same sex partner and never felt unsafe, but I know transphobia is generally much more rampant for the most part.

Pretty much any of the cities in PA should be fine save for maybe Altoona/Johnstown. The Poconos are usually full of tourists and NY/NJ transplants so I doubt there would be any trouble there either.

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Neverendingwebinar t1_jbi40so wrote

Replying to Dredly (#2,190,713)

I'm in a red county up against allegheny. It is pretty MAGA, but there is a good amount of progressive population. I bet some areas could be slipping blue. The county as a whole will take time.

Good place to live if you want land.

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PGHNeil t1_jbi54nl wrote

Replying to SeptasLate (#2,190,871)

Yes. The extreme southern, southeast and western municipalities (South Fayette, Upper St. Clair, Bethel Park, South Park, Pleasant Hills, Elizabeth) in Allegheny county are pretty red. In Allegheny county it's best to be close to the city, like Oakland, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill and Lawrenceville. The furthest south I'd recommend is Mt. Lebanon. Dormont (directly north of Mt. Lebo) is pretty nice.

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Baguette_Theory t1_jbidshn wrote

Replying to VaginaHotPocket (#2,190,162)

If you are super concerned, any state college town like west Chester would work. It's a great little city and gay street ironically has all the good food. But there is no reason to feel endangered. The only crazies you'll run into is in Philly at night

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Golden4Pres t1_jbifg92 wrote

Replying to effdubbs (#2,190,033)

Scranton isn’t too bad. I live in Luzerne county and it has its positives, but a lot of the rural parts of it are not welcoming, coming from me also being LGBTQ+. My boyfriend and I will be moving there soon because of that

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2HauntedGravy t1_jbih0r5 wrote

Phoenixville is extremely gay friendly. I would avoid all of central PA

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kittronics t1_jbiqh46 wrote

Avoid Franklin county, esp. Chambersburg, PA. I lived there for most of my life, and the people there are close-minded and mean and they make sure the town's vibe and policies reflect their views. Good luck!!!

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JacobRyanW t1_jbitgc4 wrote

Prob Lancaster city it’s a bit of a culture/acceptance hotspot at the moment.

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nardlz t1_jbixook wrote

If you want pretty rural but with a community, you could look at Lycoming County. There are a couple LGBTQ+ groups that have regular meetings and events, last year they held the first PRIDE event at the fairgrounds, etc. There’s still your local rednecks around but it’s much more welcoming than what the urbanites would like to paint it. You could easily get a nice acre or two on your budget. Worth a visit anyway.

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effdubbs t1_jbj0qaz wrote

Replying to drewbaccaAWD (#2,190,229)

I’ve found that drop off around the Lehigh Valley area as well. The PA boonies are shockingly unlike the cities. It’s a dramatic change over a small geography. Seattle sounds fabulous!

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Powerful-Anywhere761 t1_jbj5bpu wrote

I know you said acre+, but Midtown in Harrisburg has a big LGBTQ+ presence. Very nice area too. Loved living there.

Lots of row homes, but they have character and are well taken care of. Plus it’s close to 704 and Stallions (not sure if both are still open as I have not lived in HBG for over 5 years now).

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drewbaccaAWD t1_jbjc4k0 wrote

Replying to VaginaHotPocket (#2,190,666)

My above comment had a very specific event in mind. A friend had a friend visiting from France and I was escorting her downtown one day because she wanted to pick up a room divider for when her parents were in town to visit. I had remembered seeing some cool Asian rice paper dividers at Uwajimaya so we were headed in that direction. We walked right into a May Day parade with probably 100 people dressed as chefs swing dancing, playing brass instruments, and handing out cakes (which coincidentally, she got one). It was so confusing... and awesome, to just blindly walk into that.

Another example was when my cousin was in town to visit and I wanted to show him Gas Works Park. There was apparently some Fremont Arts Council event going on which was a community mock wedding.

I feel like I never knew what I was going to walk into there.

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drewbaccaAWD t1_jbjgsqq wrote

Replying to VaginaHotPocket (#2,190,547)

I'm in a rural-ish area that's about equal distance from Altoona, Johnstown, and Indiana (PA).. 60-90 minutes from Pittsburgh (depending on traffic) and about 60 minutes from State College. I work in Johnstown, currently. I've lived in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the past.

I have mixed feelings.. it's home, but only because I have a lot of family in the area. I spent so many years of my life trying to get far away that its still sort of confusing that I found my way back here.

The upside is that it has a lot of history and natural beauty. The downside is that population keeps going down and the best minds tend to leave for jobs and greener pastures. There is a small handful of people that make their way back here though. The last few years have been rather depressing, seeing Trump signs go up in the yards of neighbors who I used to respect and trust their judgment. Incredibly, my county actually went for Obama in 2008 with 50% of the vote, although I was actually in Seattle when that happened.

It's weird though because the character can shift dramatically from one small town to the next one 10 minutes over.

I wouldn't really recommend my area to anyone who doesn't already have roots here, as it's not ideal even when you have that. But I did want to emphasize that it's not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be either. But again, that can swing wildly from one town to another. There's not much going on in the rural areas, living here is like treading water... you aren't drowning, but you aren't thriving.

If you want something that feels more like Seattle, I'd try to keep closer to Philly where it feels more metropolitan. Pittsburgh has more of a Tacoma vibe to it but without Seattle in close proximity (although the upside is that if you don't mind longer road trips, Pittsburgh is a nice hub to visit DC, Toronto, Philly, NYC, Chicago, etc.). Pittsburgh is a large enough city that you shouldn't have much difficulty making friends; if you're more introverted, then you could thrive in much of the state. Another thing Pittsburgh has going for it is all the colleges.

Both Harrisburg and State College have a lot of professionals with grad degrees and you're likely to find more people with a healthy lifestyle but they are also a bit isolated from the larger cities. I imagine that Erie might be the same way but I'm honestly totally ignorant of what goes on in Erie.

Other things to consider might be what your ideal weather is, how much you like hills vs relatively flatter regions, what sort of retail you want access to. I have one small Target within an hour's drive in any direction and as silly as it sounds, that fact alone makes me feel like I'm really living in a backwater. Back to weather, you'll get more snow on the west side of the state, more overcast days. Downtown Pittsburgh can get humid but the east side of the state has more humidity and heat for the most part. I'd only consider the west side of the state if you're really into the outdoors and value Pittsburgh as a smaller less sprawling city. Pittsburgh suburbs were built in the 50s and 60s (generally).. the suburbs out of Philly stretch out for an hour in any direction and are still in development.

If I were in your shoes, I'd make a list of things you value... retail chains, hobbies, arts, culture, music, etc. and see where most of the boxes get checked off.

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MomsSpecialFriend t1_jbjia8m wrote

I mean, you probably want to avoid Perry County…. But it’s going to be house by house, block by block just about everywhere. One corner of my street the house says “TRUMP WON” and the opposite side they have a “hate has no home here” sign.

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Least_Way t1_jbju653 wrote

Is Philly not an option? A lot of places in PA I’m sure you would feel welcome but I can’t think of many outside of Philly where you wouldn’t feel alone.

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blackheart12814 t1_jbjua6o wrote

Do. Not. move anywhere in the area between Lancaster and Harrisburg. Stay close to a city.

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SprinklesCalm8961 t1_jbka7yw wrote

just like you said, philly, pittsburgh, & allentown will be your best options, but if you want to go to a smaller city because it’s cheaper then definitely all of the lehigh county (allentown, bethlehem, & easton)

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CCT62 t1_jbluysl wrote

Wilkes Barre is pretty fruity so that could be where you could move

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ctuck001 t1_jbm7a1o wrote

Lewisburg is really nice and pretty forward thinking in the central part of Pennsylvania!

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PM_SOME_OBESE_CATS t1_jbr9c2g wrote

I'm a queer Pennsyltuckian! (from the south central part of the state)

Central PA in a nutshell: DON'T

The anti-LGBTQ bigtory has really ramped up in the past couple years and I feel less safe than I did 10 years ago. I would feel even less safe if I were trans.

There's a few towns/cities in the region that may be fine themselves, but the surrounding communities are very unfriendly and the county as a whole may be hostile (example: Lancaster city itself is way better than Lancaster county as a whole). Local queer communities are organizing in these areas, but if you can avoid it and have no roots there, it's best to not go there.

If it's doable for you, I would try to stay within the Philly suburbs/southeast PA or Pittsburgh.

For Philly suburbs you're probably fine as long as you're within around an hour of Philly (I'm not from the area tho so this is just a general perception). The problem is these areas are extremely expensive.

Pittsburgh and some of its inner suburbs are also fine and are way less expensive. You definitely need to do your research if you go outside of Pittsburgh itself since it does not take long to get into deep red territory, but Pittsburgh itself is pretty progressive.

I don't know much about the Lehigh Valley or Erie but I've heard that Erie is pretty friendly?

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