Moving to PA ,Whats Duncannon like. (Lancaster, Harrisburg: crime, hotel, house)

[gsamo]

Im moving to PA from GA. I was looking at the Duncannon area.Can anyone tell me what the area and schools are like? What is crime like.

[oldhead]

Duncannon is like 20mins north of Harrisburg. its along the susquehanna river. Separated from the river by railroad tracks. Definetly a smaller quiet setting from my perspective, never lived there, but have a few friends there. The neighborhood seems very quiet, im sure there is not much major crime. But there will always be burglaries, car thefts/breakins, teenagers terrorizing the neighborhood, etc. The "Duncannon area" is bigger than the small town, so it depends on where your located exactly. There is a "downtown" area, a suburbs-like area, and a rural area.

The view of the mountains and river is awesome here, where the river cuts thru. We have "mountains", but theyre not very high, maybe 1200 ft? They drop of very sharply into the river. The geology is cool, you can see how the river has cut thru the mountains. Image of Harrisburg (broken link) here. The river is good for boating & fishing, dont think u allowed to eat more than 1 fish per month tho (pollution related). I used to have campfires on the river in Duncannon years ago, i think that is banned now tho. There is a Nuclear Power Plant (TMI/three mile island) about 5 miles south of HBG or 15miles south of duncannon, if that is a concern.

I looked at a house in southernmost duncannon area, & I worked in colonial park/paxtonia. It would have took me 35mins to get to work, and I wasnt into that, so i looked for housing elsewhere. I guess that depends on where your employer is located... If youre working in Harrisburg, and you want a quick commute, there are closer places.

The Harrisburg area is made up of a few smaller towns. Harrisburg in the center, then surrounded by Hershey, Grantville, Dauphin, Duncannon, Enola, Mechanisburg, Camp Hill, New Cumberland, and Middletown. Careful, the Harrisburg ZIP code is huge, i have a Harrisburg address, but I like 14miles away!

The area is divided by the Susquehanna River, so you have east shore/west shore. There are 3 large towns nearby Carlisle, York, and Lancaster... all within 45mins drive. If your looking for a less congested setting, try grantville, dauphin, duncannon, some parts of mechanicsburg. If your looking for a closer to harrisburg location, try paxtonia, colonial park, enola, camphill, new cumberland, middletown.

There are two routes to Harrisburg from Duncannon. The West Shore route is PA11/15S, its one lane each way, and usually congested and very slow... 35-45 mph tops. The East Shore route is a recently redesigned highway (2lanes each direction), very fast traffic flow. Traffic reqularly exceeds 75mph thru there, but speedlimit is 55 only. You would most likely want to travel accross the susquehanna via Clarks Ferry Bridge, the southwards on 322E.

Schools, i cant help you on at all.

any questions... contact me at hmc-parts@comcast.net

[garriekeyman]

Oldhead's post was thorough, so I probably have little to add. I live in Lancaster County and work in Dauphin County. I know Duncannon because I have a brother in law who lives there (a local TV station weatherman). I like downtown Duncannon; it is old and historic looking but needs revitalization. It sits right along the river. The public school servicing the town is Susquanita (sp?), I believe, because my nieces attended there. They seem to have had a wholesome high school experience. Personally, I find the traffic too congested on the main highways surrounding Harrisburg -- especially 322 and 11/15 which pass /surround Duncannon -- and wouldn't want to live there because of that. But all the towns in the metro Harrisburg area all yield quickly to more rural outlying areas, so it is possible to live rurally yet work in a more culturally diverse quarter if one desires.

[shedaisyfarkle]

I have lived in southern perry county all my life and i find it the most beautiful place. Duncannon is right along the Susquehanna River, a few short miles from Marysville where the longest stone arched bridge is located, the Rockville Bridge runs acrossed the Susquehanna from Marysville to the shores of Harrisburg. it is a wonderful site as you drive south on 11/15 from Duncannon to marysville and points south. I live just off 11/15 i have the most amazing view of the river and the mountains just beyond.

[rebster48]

I just moved to Duncannon about a month ago from Near Raleigh NC. Duncannon is a small town that is in need of a facelift. MOst of the people I have encountered here are blue collar workers and the average income
seems to be a bit low. Duncannon is loocated in Perry county. Seems that the only claim to fame that Perry county has is its claim that there is not one stop light in the entire county. The county dress colors are camo and most men sport scruffy beards. There seems to be a lot of roadhouse bars in the area and the pastime here seems to be drinking and hunting.

I guess thats about all I have to say about Duncannon except that it is along the App. Trail and hikers do dravel through the town. A lot of them stop at a an old Hotel in town where some town drunks reside. Rooms are only $20 per night and there is an old bar downstairs with old worn out barstools.

The river looks nice, but I believe it is polluted.

But you might like it here

[Dawne]

I have friends who live in Duncannon. They have one fourth grader and a preschooler. The Susquenita schools that serve Duncannon are very good and are easily accessible along Routes 11/15.

[CosmicWizard]

Duncannon has a positive reputation among Appalachian Trail thru hikers. It lies approximately halfway along the 2000 mile route from Georgia to Maine.

[Paty Vera]

I took part in an exchange program many years ago. I lived with several families in Duncannon, Pa. I have very sweet memories from everybody. They were really friendly. It's been a long time and haven´t heard from them.
They were The Rorhers , they had two kids, Robby and Ryan (They must be 40 years old now hehe)



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