Small towns with country feeling outside of Harrisburg? (Reading, York: rent, houses)

[S.Joel]

My family may be relocating to Harrisburg area. My husband would be working in Harrisburg. The city,however, is not our thing. I am looking for an affordable area that is a little more rural, but still a reasonable commute for my husband. I would like to be no more than 30 min. from shopping etc.(my son is very involved in martial arts, and scouts). Schools are not really an issue for me as I home school my 8 yr. old son and plan on the same for my 2 yr. old daughter when the time comes. We now live in a small Mountain community in Northern California. We love it, but it is just too expensive. We were looking in the New Castle PA area ,but it now seems that my husband's co. may need him more in the Harrisburg branch. We would like to find a home or a manufactured on its own lot for under $100,000, and decent rent on a 3 bdr. house(while we scope out the area until ready to buy). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[sirron]

Across the river in Perry county you should have some luck.

[S.Joel]

I was looking at Perry Co. Good to know I may be on the right track. Thanks for the feedback. S.

[CHIP72]

The housing cost range you mentioned might be a little tough to still be within 30 minutes of Harrisburg and its shopping areas; you'd probably be at the outer limits of that time range. Besides Perry County, I'd suggest northern Dauphin County (near Halifax, Millersburg, or Elizabethville), western Cumberland County (west of Carlisle; the Newville area might be a good bet), Lebanon County outside the immediate Lebanon (city) area, or somewhere near US 15 and/or PA 194 in Adams or western York Counties. There are probably many places in the areas listed above that would have the country-style living you are looking for that are fairly cheap and relatively close to Harrisburg.

I'll note that depending on where you go, you might be fairly close to the shopping areas in the York, Hanover, Lebanon, Carlisle, or Sunbury/Selinsgrove areas. All of those areas don't offer as much shopping as the Harrisburg area (excluding York to some degree), but you'd also have a little more variety in that you could easily go to Harrisburg and one or more of those areas for shopping.

[bolillo_loco]

Travel time in minutes:

Grantville is twenty minutes northeast via I-81
Jonestown, Oh no, Fredericksburg, Lickdale are one half hour northeast via I-81

These small towns that I’ve listed in Lebanon County have a population 1,000 – 2,000 residents. You’re not far from shopping for your basic needs. You’re ten – twenty minutes away from Lebanon, half an hour from Harrisburg, forty-five minutes from Reading, and an hour from York. Lebanon County is much cheaper to live in than the surrounding counties, save for Schuylkill County, but that’s out of your range. It’s at least a forty to forty five minute drive from Pine Grove to downtown Harrisburg, via I-81.

Grantville falls on the border between Dauphin and Lebanon County.

If you use “google earth,” you’ll notice a small mountain range that travels from just north of Harrisburg, all along the small towns I’ve mentioned. You may well want to look for something in this area. The mountains in this area are 1,500 feet – 2,000 feet above ground level. Ground level in this area ranges from 200 – 500 feet above sea level, so as you can see, these mountains are quite small.

Since you’ve mentioned that you’re in the mountains of California, you may enjoy the Linglestown area or the fishing creek area. Linglestown has the mountain range directly to the north, while the fishing creek area is in a narrow valley between two mountains.

Good luck with your search.

[S.Joel]

Thanks much for the suggestions. I'll keep researching.
S.

[CHIP72]

The Mount Holly Springs area in Cumberland County south of Carlisle might also be a possibility for you.

[S.Joel]

I have another question for everyone. How are race relations in this part of PA? I ask because my family is inter-racial. I am not really concerned for my husband and myself, but more for my bi-racial children. We now live in a predominantly white area and have never had a single problem. In fact my husband grew up here and has really never experienced any overt racism( most would assume he is black though actually bi-racial himself). So, I don't really expect problems but this is a totally different part of the country and I thought I should pose the question. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks again for feedback and have a great day. S.

[CHIP72]

South Central PA is a fairly conservative area, though not as conservative as the areas to the north and west of the region. It is possible you may have some issues depending on where you live; your desire to live in a fairly rural area runs at odds with the mixed race issue/concern. The closer you are to Harrisburg, the more likely you won't have any race-related issues. This is probably more true on the east side of the Susquehanna River than the west side, though that's not a hard and fast rule.

[S.Joel]

CHIP72, Am I understanding correctly, that you think race might be less of an issue to the east of the river? Around the Carlisle area, for instance? I do understand that our desire to continue to live in a more rural area may seem at odds with a desire for acceptance of diversity. I am hoping that we can find a place similar in attitude to where we live now. In some ways it would be great if we liked a more urban area. I found some great prices on some beautiful houses in Harrisburg. However, we just really love the country, and that never seems to be very diverse wherever you go. I just don't want to end up somewhere where my children are persecuted in any way. We looked into Tennessee a few months back and decided against it, in large part due to the race issue. The feedback I got then was that my kids would assuredly hear the N word and experience some of the backlash of ignorant thinking, but perhaps it would be a life lesson I would be there to help them through. I know that I won't be able to protect them forever but I am certainly not going to throw them to the wolves as a character building experience. If I had my druthers they can develop character in a variety of other ways. If this transfer pans out, I do hope we can find a suitable place to call home. Where we are living now is just too expensive, a California downfall. In PA we could buy a house and just really increase our standard of living, which I just don't see happening in CA. I would love more feedback on this issue from whoever feels inclined to respond. I am remaining hopeful and optimistic. Much Thanks. S.