You should probably ask the locals how their towns are pronounces. Kittanning is spoken as Ki-tan-ning. Lovely town. I've not been there in years. They used to have some really awesome eateries.
I scrolled down to the comments to say the same exact thing 🤣 Hearing the names mispronounced is like fork tines on a chalkboard. Thanks for saving me the trouble!
They really need a top 30, at least my borough is on the JV squad and just third place in Bucks County. Now we have better restaurants than Doylestown or New Hope, we are on a tidal estuary with floating docks, ethnic festivals, broadway class theater, I remember staying at the Sleepy Hollow Inn 35 years ago outside of Tioga, looks like it's gone.
@@michaelcrowley1172 The "turkey Trail" goes to the bottom of the Gorge known as PA's Grand Canyon. I grew up 20 miles from there. Still live near there. They now have the "rails to trails". It follows Pine Creek. I believe it is around 60 miles long.
I grew up in Kittanning Pa. Loved it, and still do. I live in Aspinwall near Pittsburgh. Currently it's a great place to live, been here 25 years, but it's changing, and won't be the same in 10 years, of which I'll be moving to a Farm I have in Ford City, next to Kittanning.
Lititz is gorgeous and a beautiful small town to settle down in and grow a family. I am from Lebanon Pennsylvania and have been all over Pennsylvania. I love being near everything ie. Hershey, Harrisburg, Reading, Lancaster, York, and so on. Pennsylvania is a beautiful State and so much history with it.
I'm from Bucks county sort of between Bristol and New Hope and New Hope is definitely high in the list but this past September my family and I spent a long weekend in Lititz and really liked it there.
I recently moved to Sayre PA and love it. The town has maintained its Victorian charm and the people are friendly and welcoming, and there are a lot of community events throughout the year.
Along Route 6 it is listed on the Top Ten Scenic Highways in the USA. Especially when the Autumn leaves are changing. Wellsboro has everything you need and still wilderness if you’re up to it.
I've lived in Lititz for 25 years. There is a very strong sense of community as well as numerous festivals and activities. We have the largest craft show on the east Coast every August and a Fire And Ice Festival in February. Our Fourth of July celebration is the oldest continuous celebration in the country and the celebration and fireworks are spectacular. We are also home to the largest concert business in the world which includes staging, lighting, etc. Many music stars come to Lititz to rehearse. This is only a few of the reasons Lititz is usually in the top 5.
Yeah, Rock Lititz. Interesting place. The college where I work has a brand new Bacherlor's program based there called Live Experience Design. Earlier this year, our president was touring the place, and his guide said to him, "Mike, have you met Eric Clapton yet?" and introduced him to freaking Eric Clapton! Anyway, I live in Altoona, but since I work in Lancaster I stay in a place in Lititz during the week, near the fire station across from Lititz Springs. Really neat little town.
There WAS a glitch in the fireworks this year. I don't know what happened. I was watching it with my neighbors, and it stopped for a good while. Can't remember how long, but it might have been 15 - 30 minutes (I was pretty inebriated at the time).
I was born in KitTANning (accent the second syllable). Big box stores like Walmart killed the moon and pop stores of the downtown, but it’s coming back. My ancestry on my mother’s side goes back to the original Bowser brothers who settled the town. No matter where I live, Kittanning will always be home to me❤️
Chambersburg is my favorite borough in PA but gets forgotten due to its 22000 population...many probably think it is an incorporated city. Full of history and yet plenty of modern amenities as well. It has somehow maintained its rural charm despite the growth. Huntingdon is better than you may think, especially with Raystown Lake nearby...great just for the sunset views!
There are so many magnificent places in PA, it's almost unbelievable. You could spend a good part of your life exploring this commonwealth, constantly discovering gorgeous nature, and beautiful downtown areas. I currently live on a farm in Upper Bucks County, the urban creep is starting to spread far and wide however, even up here. Massive subdivisions of multifamily dwellings are starting to detract from a lot of the beautiful areas surrounding Philly.
I spent nearly 10 years living in Anthracite coal region in Ashland. Mt Carmel was one of our shopping places and for other services. I found Pennsylvania a very interesting place to live. The small boroughs and villages are so numerous you were never more than ten minutes from one. I don’t miss the humidity or nasty winters but I will long remember my time living in the Keystone State (or Commonwealth’ as it officially is). Have been to all these. 😊
Born and raised in PA. Grew up in Reading, lived in Lancaster and have been to all the town you mentioned except Sayer. All are beautiful. New Hope in one of my favorites. As an artist colony, it can’t be beat. Visited Penn State main campus many times and stayed in Bellefont. Beautiful mountains. Traveled the Appalachian trail and visited Jim Thorpe. I agree with all of your choices.
Used to work construction in State College in the late '70s then my son lives in Bellfont, I now hunt ant camp an hour north of there around Waterville and Slate Run towards Wellsboro,(Grand Canyon of the east), to me it's a mini Smokey mountains
So glad you have JT as number one. I haven't been to a prettier place in most states. No matter which way you come in, the scenery itself and surrounding mountains are breathtaking.
I was born and raised in PA> We have many lovely small towns across the state, each with their own unique personalities. thanks for mentioning Bristol, where I currently live, a lovely town along the Delaware River. Jim Thorpe is one of the best place to visit, I still call it Mauch Chunk though like my parents did as we are from the COAL regions as we old timers have always called it !
Everyone forgets boroughs along Lake Erie. I’m from North East, just northeast of Erie. Full of grape vineyards and beautiful lake views. Come for the Cherry or Wine festivals
That's because they do not exist. That entire region is completely made-up. Kidding. Never had a single reason to go there and I guess it is because it is so far away from all other population centers that nothing gets scheduled there. Unless you are traveling there to see it, you will have no reason to.
I lived in beautiful western PA almost my entire life, and I don't want to come off sounding snobby, but Kittanning is pronounced Kit tan ing...and Jim Thorpe is a wonderful place to visit!
Pennsylvanian here! Great list but I especially like Media (Delaware County?); New Milford (Susquehanna County in the far northeast); Pittston (between Wilkes Barre and Scranton) which has a Tomato festival; and historic Johnstown which is pretty gritty but interesting nonetheless.
Emporium is the county seat for Cameron County and is nestled in a beautiful area. There is also the Bennezzette area on route 555 which is known for its elk viewing and visitor center.
I totally agree with you about Jim Thorpe. This is my all time favorite place to visit and hang out. I'm originally from New York City and when family come out here in Pennsylvania I take them there. I've never had any complaints about it. Every season has its beauty in Jim Thorpe. I'd advise everyone to visit. To make it clear I'm not a employee of the Chamber of Commerce. I just love the place.
Jim Thorpe is a great little town we live 45 minutes from there and do day trips to bike the Lehigh Gorge State Park trails. The Inn at Jim Thorpe is a wonderful place to stay, locally owned and with attention to detail. Weekends can be really busy so we tend to avoid the place however a lot of the shops and restaurants are closed a few days during the week.
I camped near there and totally fell in love with the whole area and especially Jim Thorpe. Raised in Bradford, PA and our state has so many wonderful places for the outdoor junkie. ❤
@@barbaraconklin4976 We have been exploring the state park system since we retired. Two areas we really loved were the PA Wilds and the Erie area. Our goal has been to visit all the state parks in the state and we are about half there. We have been going to Jim Thorpe for well over 20 years and always enjoy our visit.
I live like 15 minutes from Lewisburg and it's great ... Lots of great food and things to do, it's also very connected to major highways in the area. US-15 connects to alot of small towns and bigger city. Glad it's here
My favorite small towns include Strasburg, Newtown, Doylestown, Jim Thorpe, Lititz, New Hope, Kennett Square, Gettysburg, and of course Hershey. I know you didn’t include Hershey but it still counts to me.
Glad you at least mentioned Narberth. Great history there, 15 min train ride into Philly, and the town has a spirit of friendliness and everything else you could want in a town. I grew up in a house built pre-1900 and the tree lined streets are gorgeous.
@@ExploretheNortheast I hear ya, about 25 years ago it was named best small town in PA by Philly magazine and that resulted in slowly, but steadily changing the demographic of what was referred to as “the armpit of the Main Line” when I grew up there from the 70’s through the early 90’s.
I must agree with Jim Thorpe, it's about 30 - 45 min away from my small town ( suburb of Allentown) depending on traffic. Lots of great small towns in Pa. I live in Lehigh Valley where you can drive a short way to the mountains, beautiful country towns, Hershey isn't that far away. There's a lot of Indian name town here, like mine is Catasauqua. Very historical, coal, iron town along the Lehigh River.
Sharpsburg is historical. Its the birthplace of the H.J.Heinze. Situated along the Allegheny river. It also started the river trail bicycle and walkway which now spans all across the state. The beautiful mountains all around our valley are awesome. George Washington and chief Guysausuta served as a guide during the revolutionary war and the statue of the chief Guysausuta stands at head of downtowns main street. All are welcome to visit the friendly and historic bourgh.
I am 69 & have lived rural, now semi rural, about 20 miles south of Wilkes Barre, for 52 yrs. and further out for 6. PA is absolutely beautiful. Else, I love Nevada. It seems many, many people here need to find a life if the only thing they have to complain about is the pronunciation of certain areas. Get over it! These are the people that no matter what will find fault w/just about anything, somehow, someway. Just enjoy the videos.
You seriously blew it when you forgot to go all the way east to Stroudsburg, county seat, great shopping, college town, Delaware River water sports, hiking, Appalachian trail access, the beautiful Water Gap, skiing, water parks, theater, live jazz, 23 places to eat along a live main street (and that's just main street,) wineries, old residential homes, green-way creek side trails, strong arts community, Irish pub, DIVERSE residents, unique shops with great pricing, easy highway access for weekend or day trip from metro NJ, Philly and shore area, plenty of lodging of all types @ reasonable rates and four seasons of interest camping in nearby State Forrest, all season recreation and beauty. I've lived here for 30+ years and have never been bored!
I was literally just in Jim Thorpe yesterday for their fall fest. They have a Harry Potter themed coffee shop and a bunch of other small shops. Despite being super packed and busy because of the festival, the locals could not have been any nicer. It was my first time there but I fully plan on going back many more times.
We are friendly, but lately the NY and NJ crowd is ruining things. They come in droves and literally throw trash out the window while driving around town, and bring an undesirable and entitled attitude and element with them.
I agree with you on most of these. Westchester and Doylestown are my favorites. I’m from Bellefonte, and I don’t think you got the best photos or spent enough time talking about the beautiful mansions or Talleyrand park. All in all great job, though!
Fonthill Castle is a great place to visit. I definitely recommend it. Lititz PA is sort of overrated in my opinion, but some nice homes to look at. You are 100% correct about Jim Thorpe PA. We love Jim Thorpe and visit it multiple times per year. One of the most amazing times to go is in the fall when all of the leaves in the mountains change colors. There is also a good tour of the old prison at the top of the Hill in downtown. Don't forget to stop at the candy shop in town for some of the BEST Hot chocolate with whip cream. Great Video and thanks for the recommendations!
Thank you so much for this video. Will def. comb through comments for suggestions as well. I have been in PA for 10 years but haven’t been to most of these places.
Beaver, in Beaver County, is at the confluence of the Ohio and Beaver RIvers. Nearly all of the town is high enough that flood ing is not a problem. Close to the major Pittsburgh Airport and fairly close to Pittsburgh itself. Not an old troubled industrial city, it has a quiet charm. Worth considering.
I've visited Tyrone, PA & really like it! It has an Amtrak stop there & would take the train from Pittsburgh to Tyrone, then get off & stay a few hours, then bus to State College to visit my son at school.
@@mollymc444 Have friends close off 6. Spent some time enjoying what I call snowshine. Where the suns out all day and the snowflakes are too. Smethport.
Bellefonte is great just for Jim’s. Unfortunately, Jim sold the place and his 5 (6?) cute daughters no longer work there, but the menu has stayed the same, and it is still a hole in the wall type place. Exceptionally good hoagies.
Great video…buuuut…Kittanning is typically pronounced Ki-Tan-ing not Ki-tu-ning. I grew up in western PA, and never heard Kittanning pronounced the way you did. Even Wikipedia got this right. 😂
You are ALL pronouncing it wrong! But because you are from western PA, we all have very low expectations of you guys, and no one bothered to correct you! LOL ( I hope some will sense the sarcasm. i know many will not! They will write me death threats in crayon, just like before).
Jim Thorpe Pennsylvania is a nice little quiet and peaceful town to visit, also has an incredible view up there plus a few good little shops too. Oh yeah, I cannot forget about the train ride as well.
It's a must see. There is the biggest coal nugget in town square. It is the largest piece of coal mined out of the pocono's. Visit Flag staff while there, there is a Banquet hall on top of the mountain you can walk tp the moutains edge and look down onto Jim Thorpe from 200 ft above. Breathtaking!!!
I live in Phoenixville, right near Bridge and Main. It’s perfect for young professionals and families. The fact that you have access to the schuylkill river trail and it’s a 5 min walk from my place, makes it absolutely perfect for me. Can’t forget the Colonial Theater and Blobfest. Great place to live!
I notice you mentioned White Haven twice! Please profile the town. Prettiest bridge ever. Steep hills great for sledding. The Ugly Mug bar, the White Haven Diner, and the town is split by the Lehigh River and the train tracks alongside it. Whitewater Rafting and a beautiful library that is a renovated train roundhouse. Train car displays. My family hometown after immigration and a title contender for the most beautiful borough on earth.
“Kitt tan ing" is far from Pittsburgh and not a part of the greater pgh region. Also most of these are cities/small towns which are bigger than boroughs.🍻
I live in a one square mile town called Conshohocken, 15 minutes NW of Philadelphia!!! Population 8741!!! There's ABSOLUTELY NO CRIME and that's good news because Conshy's Police Department only has 5 poliice officers!!! My parents bought our big beautiful family home for $47K in 1984!!! Our home is now worth $475K, a little more than 10 times more than in '84!!! The borough is building big now because of a federal loan that Conshy took advantage of in the 70's!!!
I worked for the state of Pennsylvania and in my work visited many of the boroughs you showed in this video. The ones featured are all nice but there are way too many others to list the top ten. I may be biased since I live in a nice borough just outside Philadelphia but I feel you missed a nice one in Media, Pa. This is our county seat and has one unique feature in that it has one of two suburban trolley lines that runs right down the Main Street on one track. It changes ends at the end of the line right in the middle of the street to return to 69th street in Upper Darby. But besides that the town features many great bars and restaurants as well as many interesting small stores. It is not known as a tourist town but is near many historic areas in the county.
Hahaha you are pronouncing some of these places wrong. (Such as Mt Carmel and Bellefonte) Good video, tho. I live in the coal region now and it's a very interesting place. Lewisburg is indeed a very nice town but super expensive to live there, so that's probably why it looks so well maintained. It's a gorgeous little place.
@@robertr1096 It looks like an Indian name, and they were not know for accents in their words 9 if I understand correctly) English seems unique in accenting words without using accent marks to indicate it. Didnt think his pronunciation amounted to a FEDERAL crime, but from some of the comments, maybe it is.
@@inconnu4961Wikipedia to the rescue: Kittanning pronounced ki-TAN-ing. The name is derived from Kithanink,[4] which means 'on the main river' in Lenape or the Delaware language, from kit- 'big' + hane 'mountain river' + -ink (suffix used in place names).
I'm from Pittsburgh and can't disagree with the video. One thing i will say is kittaning is pronounced kit-TAN-ing. Almost like the color tan, and not like a small cat
Nice video! My favorite small PA town also is Jim Thorpe! I have never heard of that town before. Those sceneries are amazing! And btw, I have notice that in almost every small town there is a "Main Street" in the downtown, lol. Even here in NJ. I think thats eveywhere. But interestingly, there is no "Main Street here in Hudson County, NJ. All downtonws and commercial streets have other names.
In PA, there are actually a lot of Market Streets, like in Kittanning, probably having to do with Market Street in Philadelphia. Also some High Streets, like Bellefonte and West Chester. Probably a regional thing. I know Canada has many King Streets as their main streets. Every now and then, some regions have Front Streets or Washington Streets too, like Hoboken. Thanks for watching!
One of my sons just moved to just outside Doylestown. He loves it. Home abuts a farm and they go to # 9 all the time. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot am I still doing in Mafia owned New Jersey. I agree with Jim Thorpe, but dis agree with Punxsutawney. I love Punxy, am a member of the G.H.Club. Met Phil, petted him. Nicest people I have ever met live there. Got real good music party in the summer.
She lived in Wyomissing though! Maybe born in West Reading in , at that time the Reading Hospital and Medical Center, now Tower Health. Her house was on the same street as Wilson High
Wellsboro is beautiful. Most of the state was ignored. He concentrated on mostly the South east. Oh well. That's alright. We don't need any "flatlanders" around these parts...LOL
Yardley Boro 2200 folks, lake in the center of town, bordered by the beautifulDelaware river,and the Delaware canal state park runs thru the town ,no crime, top public schools in the state, 30 min to Philly1 hr. from NYC , and lots of recreation opportunities.
I’m a. Pennsylvanian and I couldn’t agree more with your choices, however there are a great many more places that could be added to this list. Also great features are you are close to NYC, center city Philadelphia, the Jersey shores and the Poconos. Having traveled all over the USA AND EUROPE I still like coming back to Pennsylvania to live.
You need to travel futher to the northwestern part of Pennsylvania. Like the borough of North East, Erie County, Pennsylvania. It is on the shores of Lake Erie, and people who have swam across Lake Erie start at Long Point Canada and swim 24 miles to Freeport beach in North East, Pa. And in July we have the North East, Pa Fireman's Chery Festival and (i thnk) largest and best Firemen's Parade. And home to lots of wineries and a Welches plant in town.
Mt Carmel definitely is far from the largest town in the area. I live in the area (Shamokin) and it’s double the size and only 8 miles away. Also when people fled Centrailia many were offered brand new homes as payment in an area called Denmar Gardens which is actually in Kulpmont.
You missed a couple of the GREATIST PLACES to live and raise a family. Berlin, PA, and Somerset, PA, Reasonable cost of living, very good schools, a lot to do in their general areas, in the mountains and loaded with history. I plan on moving to one or the other now that I am retired.
I think your afraid to go past the center of the Commonwealth. Many of the Boros in western Pa have recovered with the steel mills closing. They in themselves have become communities rich with small shops and unique restaurants.
Alright, what are some of your favorites of those? If I had to add another from that region, maybe I'd take Scottdale, New Brighton, or Vandergrift. Some people here also voted for Mount Pleasant and Ligonier.
Leechburg, Indiana, Mt. Pleasant. There are many small Boros that have recovered from the mills closing down. They bring a more healthier aspect to living there.
I'm in a small town near Jim Thorpe about 4 miles away and the one thing loved to do is ride the train. The Reading & Northern R.R runs two trains one out of jim thorpe LHGSRR aka Lehigh Gorge Scenic R.R and the other RBMN aka Reading Blue Mountain & Northern which you get on at reading outer station in Reading Pa and the train takes you on a 3hr trip to Jim Thorpe passing through Port Clinton,Tamaqua and Hometown and many other small towns, Highly recommend.
I’m from a town just a few miles away from Jim Thorpe and love the area. However, it can be a pain battling the droves of tourists so many locals to the area typically plan to go around the town or optimize when they need to drive through if that’s their only option
Grew up in Chester County (Philly burb) and West Chester has main 2 one way streets entering and exiting town so the diddy is you enter town ‘Gay’ and leave ‘High’ (streets)
You really chose to ignore southwestern PA. You missed the mark by not including Mount Pleasant and Ligonier. Also Charleroi is along a river and used to be a thriving town 40 years ago, but it is a rundown, unsafe, ugly, depressing place now.
I agree about Ligonier. The area around Fort Ligonier and Idlewild is so pretty! Mt. Pleasant is falling apart, though. I couldn't agree with your assessment of Charleroi more. The last time we were there, it was to make use of a laundromat because our washer quit on us and was awaiting repair. We tried to be in and out as fast as we could- didn't even fold the clothes, just threw them from the dryer to the basket and went. There were a bunch of kids with some adults there, the adults weren't minding the kids, and one tried to grab my blind hubby's white cane. When he wouldn't let her have it, she made g*n fingers at him, "hood" style (sideways) and pretended to sh**t him. Yeah, Charleroi is FANTASTIC **eye roll**
Its Mount CAR-mel. Use to live in Fountain Hill. Next to Bethlehem. Yes, New Hope and Provincetown, MA are more culturally similar. Mauch Chunk good #1 choice.
Norristown is a larger Borough than State College, I believe. I don't even think you need to consider the bordering townships of East and West Norriton to conclude that; but maybe that's the nuance of it. It's the County Seat of Montogomery County. 10-15 min from Philly city limits in the NW of the city. My hometown!
I have to agree with a lot of what’s been in ur videos. I use to live in McKees Rocks and you’re right about McKees Rocks. Now I live in Dayton Pennsylvania 15 miles out of Kittanning pa. I’m between Kittanning and Punxsutawney, PA
I’m from right outside Pittsburgh but I’m shocked you left Bethlehem, PA laying in the wayside. Being that I’m mostly familiar with southwest PA maybe that’s why I fell in love with Bethlehem, or maybe it was the college town atmosphere, plus it also was a Moravian town, and we happened to stay there during their Oktoberfest which was amazing. Another thing that stuck out was that it seemed to be a bit of a retirement community for OG hippies and the restaurants on Main Street offered a plethora of different cultural cuisines, I’m talkin Kenyan to good old fashioned Americana micro brewery pub house and obviously Italian and I think maybe a Spanish restaurant, it’s been over 10 years since I’ve been there, but the Moravian Library was amazing. As strange as this’s going to sound, the cherry on top for me was the old steel mill in the background on the river, it just wasn’t the same as the steel mills where I live, it just seemed like it belonged on a movie set.
