reading, pa - Page 2 - PhillyBlog

ml73 · #11 (**permalink**) 03-01-2006, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by southphillyman

All I know about Reading is that they have outlets.

I think the Reading Factory Outlets which were on 5th St.(?) have closed down and now they only operate in the nicer West Reading/Wyomissing area.

thesixth · #12 (**permalink**) 03-01-2006, 02:12 PM

I believe that Reading has been known for some time as a worn-down small city once it's factories or mills closed down.

My dad who was in federal law enforcement said that Reading was part of a pipeline for drug distribution from DC/Baltimore to NYC, both back & forth. And that was in the early 80's. Surprisingly, York, PA was also a spot, maybe because of these small towns being near major highways and interstates.

It sticks in my head because we had recently moved from Philadelphia to the western suburbs (in the late 70's) and he told me never to assume that a rural town/suburban town must have a better standard of living (i.e. less crime) than the big, bad city!

Jermain · #13 (**permalink**) 03-02-2006, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ml73

If you have a more current source of crime data (or correct for that matter) that you can provide, I would appreciate it.

Well, you're right about the total crime rate. I realize now that I was looking at violent crimes, not including property crimes. But violent crimes are the ones that I'm scared of

Violent crime rates per 100,000 for 2004:
Darby: 3648.3
Chester: 1968.3
Philadelphia: 1408.3
Reading: 1385.1
Harrisburg: 1332.4
Norristown: 1119.6
Pittsburgh: 1118.7
York: 932.5

ml73 · #14 (**permalink**) 03-02-2006, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jermain

Well, you're right about the total crime rate. I realize now that I was looking at violent crimes, not including property crimes. But violent crimes are the ones that I'm scared of

Violent crime rates per 100,000 for 2004:
Darby: 3648.3
Chester: 1968.3
Philadelphia: 1408.3
Reading: 1385.1
Harrisburg: 1332.4
Norristown: 1119.6
Pittsburgh: 1118.7
York: 932.5

Yeah, I guess violent crimes are more of a concern... You can always get back material things

MayfairMeat · #15 (**permalink**) 03-03-2006, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jermain

Reading does not have the highest crime rate in PA... Darby does, and if you're only counting cities, Chester does. Philly has more crime than Reading actually.

I don't think the "bad parts of town" in Reading are much worse than the ones in Philly or Chester or Allentown or any other town. Random violence happens almost everywhere.

I think Reading's suburbs and the rest of Berks County are generally very conservative areas. "Behind the times" is a favorable way of looking at it... but it also has a lot of hate groups. The Aryan Nation is based there, and the KKK is active. Traffic is pretty bad in a lot of those former "one-horse towns" 'cause they're emerging markets for people looking for cheap new construction within a commute of the King of Prussia area.

The city of Reading has a lot of Puerto Ricans from New York. As you can imagine, there is friction between the conservative, sometimes racist, old timers and the new, darker skinned, Spanish-speaking arrivals.

Parts of it are nice, and it's not really a big enough city to have significant yuppie neighborhoods yet, I don't think.

It's not just Reading that seems to have a racist tinge. Ask anyone in Philadelphia who is black and has spent any length of time in Allentown what they think about it. I'm white and I get that vibe every time I go up there that maybe David Duke is not so unpopular 'round these parts.

I think that little spot in PA qualifies as PA's version of "East Texas". Your trailer home is most welcome out in those areas, for sure!

somatik · #16 (**permalink**) 03-06-2006, 11:04 PM

i grew up in burbs of reading, Mount Penn area to be exact, which is only a half block from the Reading border. if you live on the outskirts of the city, it's a quiet (if not boring) experience. if you enjoy the suburbian life, i'd suggest the following townships...

antietam, exeter, wyomissing, muhlenberg...any of these areas can offer you a nice home for a reasonable price. i have a lot of friends who still live there, and even though it has gotten worse, if you pick the right spot, it's no worse than living in Philly in terms of safety.

hope that helps!

gap27 · #17 (**permalink**) 03-06-2006, 11:36 PM

Honestly, I don't have anything vested in the City of Reading at all. But I do see potential in that area for those looking for an affordable place to live. Just check out this hood in Reading. University City wishes it could look like this:

I recently saw one these homes for sale for $179,000.

The Cheat · #18 (**permalink**) 03-09-2006, 01:34 AM

Reading is a small city, and a former industrial city built around coal, the Schuylkill canal, and later the railroad. It is still has a fairly high-density core, but most of the region's growth has been in the surrounding suburban Berks County.

It is about 60 miles from Philadelphia. The main highway is 422 down to King of Prussia, then 76 into the city.

It is a city trying to turn itself around from a decaying industrial city to something new. They tried outlet malls, but now they're looking for something new. I don't know what will happen to them, but improving transportation to the city, maybe with a passenger train or light rail, and connecting with jobs in the Philadelphia region would make a big difference.

ridgewayjeweler · #19 (**permalink**) 05-19-2008, 07:15 PM

Everyone seems to have a bad opinion about Reading, PA. I have lived in Reading for over 3 years now. When I moved here, the realtor told me the neighborhood I had chosen was a bad place and not safe for my children (I have 7 kids, 4 under age 4). What we found was quite the opposite. All of my neighbors are very friendly and everyone looks out for each other. People here say 'Hi' when you pass them in the street. I walk around at 2AM and never have any problems. I live on West Buttonwood Street. In the past three years, property values have trippled (based on sales, not assesments). The City is spending millions to renovate the neighborhoods. We have 160 police officers who work hard to keep us safe. People are using outdated information to describe this great city. What you will soon see is a complete reversal of the opinions associated with Reading. By then, the property values will have exceeded what is affordable and you will have missed out on a great opportunity.

ThePhillyFlyer · #20 (**permalink**) 07-06-2008, 07:58 PM

Suburban Reading is pretty nice -- you have some redneck element in Berks but it's nothing that doesn't permeate parts of the suburbs in Philly either.

Reading city is a different story -- there are a few nice pockets (along Lancaster Avenue down by Rita's there are some nice homes that border Shillington and Kenhorst, up along West Buttonwood as mentioned above) but there are quite a few areas that I wouldn't suggest going near.