Help/ suggestions for a first time road/ scouting trip across PA
Hi! Apologies in advance for a sort of long post but I guess being specific might be necessary in this case.
So, my husband and I are considering a move to Pennsylvania yet neither of us have really spent much time there. We've done quite a bit of "youtube tourism" to know that it's a place we think we would like but we're taking a 9 day trip there later in the month to kind of figure out whether that's true or not. My husband is retired and I work in the academic library field which has lead us to 3 potential cities to live in: Lancaster, Allentown, or Bethlehem (or somewhere or another in the Lehigh valley).
The plan is this: Landing in Pittsburgh, picking up a rental car, and spending 2 days there to check it out,. Drive to Lancaster for two more days, and then up to the valley to also do the same. We'll then drive back to Pittsburgh where we'll have one more day to hang out.
This is not really a post asking which place is best or anything but more of a "hey, I'm a tourist, what should I check out" while on this trip. This includes cool points of interest on our drive (I love really dumb tourist traps on occasion), places to eat, neighborhoods to check out in each of the potential cities I mentioned living in (neighborhoods to avoid living in would be useful too), and just about anything else in between.
A little about us since I know that helps with recommendations: Liberal types who enjoy the music scene, art scene, record stores, museums, quirky shops, etc. but we're open to just about anything. Pittsburgh in particular we could use help with since it's a larger city and a bit less manageable to plan for then say, Bethlehem.
Again, apologies for the long post but I appreciate any info you can all share!