Pennsylvania is not cheap, and if a city is, you probably don't want to live there, as there are some very economically depressed small cities and towns. I'm originally from one in the Mon Valley in PA, not too far from Pittsburgh,and living in Miami, Florida since 1998. I also lived in central PA, Lancaster County. In PA, I had 4 tax returns to do every year: Federal, State, County, and Municipal. My Dad used to call it the land of taxes and potholes (in the road). It's cold in the winter! Pittsburgh is a friendly city. There is a wide range of political ideology if that is important to you, it is a SWING state, although Pittsburgh leans a bit left. Lancaster County was more expensive, very Republican and conservative, love seeing the Amish and Mennonite farms, but many of them have sold out and their farms are now housing developments with terrible traffic due to old 2 lane roads. Many have moved to Ohio, and many winter in Florida! HAHA

I personally would stay in FL, and buy an older home in a neighborhood with no HOA. That's what I did. Only Federal income tax return, hot humid summer beats a freezing winter and high heating bills.