Somewhere between York and Hershey (Philadelphia, Harrisburg: to rent, construction, school districts) - Pennsylvania (PA) -Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry Counties - City-Data Forum

rlmendozy · 12-12-2011, 06:11 PM

Hi all my family will be moving to the area this summer. We are in our 20's; I will be working in York and my husband will be working in Hershey at the medical center. We are looking for something in between that has good schools as our oldest will be starting kindergarten. We are also a mixed racial couple and would love to be somewhere diverse (as much as it possibly could be in central PA). Any suggestions?? We have looked at the Derry township and it looks perfect for a young family; but wondering if the commute would be too much the whole way to York. Thanks for your input!!

ki0eh · 12-12-2011, 08:10 PM

The SW area of Derry Twp with a Hummelstown address would be the closest in that school district to York (using the Turnpike bridge, that EZpass will take a bit of bite out of the monthly budget but running the I-83 bridge on normal day shift will lose you 15-30 minutes more each day each way) and has some racial diversity, the newer communities such as Deer Run appear to have a fairly high proportion of its residents working at the Med Center - think parents in scrubs in Gelder Park. Derry still has 1/2 day kindergarten, and the kindergarten school fell into a sinkhole and the timing of a multi-million dollar repair seems uncertain.

AFAIK the schools are pretty good in Mechanicsburg Area and West Shore Area, but Camp Hill (small) and Cumberland Valley (large) although slightly off track for your commute are the standard recommended schools of eastern Cumberland County (West Shore also includes Fairview Twp/York Cty), you'd be bucking traffic heading south on I-83 to York in AM and back in PM, but not so much from that zone to Hershey. New Cumberland borough in West Shore SD is relatively walkable, not super-hip but some signs of life for a young couple. Watch flood zones.

Middletown is a mixed race community, neither strongly recommended nor excessively disparaged it seems. It would be cheaper and closer to air and rail and York than Derry is.

Lower Dauphin has fairly well rated schools, a mix of Hummelstown Borough (solid not fancy old small town, has the local stores Hershey lacks) and more exurban/rural Londonderry and Conewago townships to the south of Derry. These latter two townships still have winding rural roads it's more difficult to commute out of.

uniklyu · 12-13-2011, 11:16 AM

Hello...my husband has accepted a job in York, Pa...I am originally from the DC area and feel it would be better to move to the DC area....My husband is from a small town in Pa called Donora....he wants to go back to Pennslyvania...because of the history that I have seen regarding Donora Pa...I am so scared to move to Pa....it was a steel town...and now its a ghost town....we are currently living in Georgia...things in Middle Georgia have dried up with businesses moving over seas...I am a hair stylist but my background is the Federal Government...Administrative Assistant...I want to get back into the Government and do hair part time...so having said all that...what is a great area around York Pa that is family friendly with great jobs and malls, hospitals, etc.

ki0eh · 12-13-2011, 08:04 PM

York area still has a good bit of industry (definitely not in the same classification as Donora which is about 4.5 hours' drive west of York on a good day) although some of it has moved out. Some folks there do commute south on horribly traffic clogged roads to Federal jobs in Baltimore, Aberdeen, or sometimes north to New Cumberland (DLA depot) and nearby Mechanicsburg (Navy depot), still trafficked in that direction too. Typically more jobs are open to status applicants but it's doubtful any are hiring hundreds of folks these days. York has a mall but larger malls would be down towards Baltimore like Towson Town Center and White Marsh.

teachbeach · 12-14-2011, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlmendozy

Hi all my family will be moving to the area this summer. We are in our 20's; I will be working in York and my husband will be working in Hershey at the medical center. We are looking for something in between that has good schools as our oldest will be starting kindergarten. We are also a mixed racial couple and would love to be somewhere diverse (as much as it possibly could be in central PA). Any suggestions?? We have looked at the Derry township and it looks perfect for a young family; but wondering if the commute would be too much the whole way to York. Thanks for your input!!

Probably New Cumberland (West Shore School District). Your commute to York will be about 30 minutes as would his to Hershey, for the most part you will be going against the Harrisuburg Traffic in the AM and then for the return in the PM. Derry Twp. to York would be stressful, there are some back road routes, but they wouldn't reduce your time on the road very much.

teachbeach · 12-14-2011, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uniklyu

Hello...my husband has accepted a job in York, Pa...I am originally from the DC area and feel it would be better to move to the DC area....My husband is from a small town in Pa called Donora....he wants to go back to Pennslyvania...because of the history that I have seen regarding Donora Pa...I am so scared to move to Pa....it was a steel town...and now its a ghost town....we are currently living in Georgia...things in Middle Georgia have dried up with businesses moving over seas...I am a hair stylist but my background is the Federal Government...Administrative Assistant...I want to get back into the Government and do hair part time...so having said all that...what is a great area around York Pa that is family friendly with great jobs and malls, hospitals, etc.

The York/DC commute is a nightmare, taking at least 90 minutes to 2 hours each way during rush hour. Routes 83/695 and the last chosen route to the DC area are always congested, under construction or with new traffic patterns as they repair, move accidents etc. The stress of that commute would be awful on ones' life!

York is a large county and a fairly good sized city. You don't necessarily have to live within the city limits to have a York address. There are many suburban areas/developments/sub-divisions and a variety of school districts from which to choose. As a hairdresser you would have no trouble finding a chair to rent and when you finally get your clientele established you could probably take/market yourself to any of the salon's and shops here in York. We are actually pretty progressive when it comes to finding trendy hip hair stylists, barbers and grooming facilities. There are two large malls and a number of other strip malls, we have Macy's, Bon Ton (Younkers, Carson Prairie or Burdine comparison), Penney's, Sears's, Ross, TJ Maxx, Bed Bath Beyond and all of the formula and fast food restaurants you would need/want. Lots of car dealerships, great medical care options, and wonderful school districts in York Suburban, Central York and Dallastown. There are also many businesses and industry facilities, and York is the county seat, so there are county jobs available. Harrisburg is about 30 minutes, Baltimore about an hour, and Philadelphia about 1 1/2 hours. It's a great community to raise a family~safe, cost of living is tolerable, good education system, lots of parks, festivals, parades, a wonderful central market and performing arts center, two colleges with activities and entertainment.