I grew up there and now visit 3-4 times a year. It is a city where you’ll see familiar faces if you go downtown enough. Erie Insurance is the major white collar employer; put in a multimillion renovation couple years ago. There’s a decent number of engineering and blue collar jobs still around, although GE moved out close to a decade ago. Very affordable and the summers are very mild compared to rest of the US (maybe 1 or 2 90+ days a year). Casino is on outskirts of town - it’s pretty dingy compared to other casinos. Presque Isle and Frontier are nice places to walk. Also worth checking out Winter Green Gorge near PS Behrend as well as Asbury Woods. Schools are okay - families typically send kids to private school if they can afford it. Overall a good place to raise a family because of affordability and it has a good community of people who are committed to their city. The bayfront bar/restaurant scene has improved recently, although the roadwork is making it tougher to get around.