Hershey, PA Bound (Washington, Linglestown, Hummelstown: fit in, transplants, houses) - Harrisburg area - Pennsylvania -Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry Counties - City-Data Forum

Verolee · 12-08-2006, 11:06 AM

Can anyone tell me a little about Hershey PA. My folks moved there last year and after visiting them my family and I are thinking seriously about moving there in 2007. I have a 9 year old (4th grade) and a 11 year old (5th grade), so I am interested in everything from how the schools are to climate and cost of living. It appears that Hershey is a very safe area to live. I will be coming from VA, just outside of Washington, D.C. so that is kind of an important point and one of the reasons I would like to move there. Any advise you can give will be greatly appreciated! Thanx, and wish everyone a good holidays.

susquehannock · 12-08-2006, 03:05 PM

Other than being a tourist trap, I believe it's a decent place to live. I imagine with Hershey Park and the chocolate factory, the traffic could get congested.

Hershey park also has two sports arenas which are also used for big name entertaintment such as concerts and pro rastlin'. I would imagine with all the commerce, the taxes should be at the very least, be affordable. (just surmising)

bnepler · 12-09-2006, 08:52 PM

It's a good town to raise a family. The entire area is made up of small towns, good people.

Verolee · 12-11-2006, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bnepler

It's a good town to raise a family. The entire area is made up of small towns, good people.

Thanks for the info. I think it will be nice to get back to "real America."

openless · 12-11-2006, 07:57 AM

Hershey is a great place to live. Technically the area is called Derry Township, and it is served by rts. 322 and 422. It is a very nice and safe place to live, the property taxes are the highest here in the county, and some of the highest in the area. There are plenty of employment opportunities in the area, such as hb reese, hershey chocolate and PSU Med Center. It is home of the Hershey Bears hockey team and the Giant Center (which has high quality music acts) and the Hershey Symphony Orchestra. It has dozens of places of worship and over all it is a great area to live. The townships around it in lebanon and dauphin counties are growing at an alarming rate, there are literally thousands of houses bgeaing built all over the place, and traffic has really really worsened in the last decade. There is of course like any other town in america an availability of drugs if you know where to like and who to talk to, but that shouldnt worry you too much. It is a very quiet, tree line street type of community (with working trolley). Hershey is considered Upscale by some, but Nearby Hummlestown has many more retail and dining establishments.

bnepler · 12-11-2006, 05:07 PM

I was born and raised in Hummelstown. It's grown, but hasn't changed that much. I lived there for 20 years, then moved closer to the mountains in Linglestown where I raised a family and moved after 32 years. The entire area is great, but too cold for me. That's why I live in Florida!!!

Verolee · 12-12-2006, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by openless

Hershey is a great place to live. Technically the area is called Derry Township, and it is served by rts. 322 and 422. It is a very nice and safe place to live, the property taxes are the highest here in the county, and some of the highest in the area. There are plenty of employment opportunities in the area, such as hb reese, hershey chocolate and PSU Med Center. It is home of the Hershey Bears hockey team and the Giant Center (which has high quality music acts) and the Hershey Symphony Orchestra. It has dozens of places of worship and over all it is a great area to live. The townships around it in lebanon and dauphin counties are growing at an alarming rate, there are literally thousands of houses bgeaing built all over the place, and traffic has really really worsened in the last decade. There is of course like any other town in america an availability of drugs if you know where to like and who to talk to, but that shouldnt worry you too much. It is a very quiet, tree line street type of community (with working trolley). Hershey is considered Upscale by some, but Nearby Hummlestown has many more retail and dining establishments.

Thanks sooo much for the info and encouragement. I really think we will like the town and area. I will check out Hummlestown too if its not that far, but one of the reason to move there was to be close to aging parents. However, do you know anything about the schools systems between the two towns? Also, of course, wanted to move to area that was a bit slower than the Washington, D.C. area. Thanks again.

micrguy · 12-12-2006, 05:55 AM

If you can handle the cost of living and the taxes in northern VA then you can handle the taxes in Hershey. We lived in Hershey while my wife was in grad school and were shocked at all of the new ways that a local township can create taxes. They had a property tax, a school tax, a township occupation tax and then also had a local income tax. But the schools are great and Hershey has more police than a city that size needs. The police will actually stop people that look like they are hitchhiking or walking through town and then drop them off in the next town. It's a really safe town.

The downside to central PA in general is that it is next to impossible to make friends if you're family did not move to PA back in the 1800's. Hershey is the easiest place to fit in because the medical center attracts a lot of out of state transplants. I met one family that had lived in central PA for 15 years and still none of the neighbors would talk to them. The only friends that my wife and I made were other students at the Hershey Med Ctr, the natives were not that friendly.

Verolee · 12-12-2006, 08:08 AM

Greatly appreciate the insights. My wife and I tend to be very friendly and like to feel part of a community, so I'm sure we will miss that very much. I can only hope that because of our personality and nature, that we become accepted. I agree that towns become very imaginitive in ways to collect taxes. In researching possible places to live, we have found that they all seem to be about the same in that regard. You either pay it directly upfront in income tax, or they get you in some other way; it all seems to equal out. Thanks.

bnepler · 12-12-2006, 08:29 PM

I disagree with the lack of friendly people. The area is a bit on the "conservative" side. There are many small towns in a 10 mile radius od Hershey. They have good schools in Hershey. The people are just as friendly there as anywhere. They say the same in Florida, but maybe it's me, I find friendly people everywhere.