Moving from Lehigh Valley

[ki0eh]

A problem with Elizabethtown is that, though the downtown is prettied up, it has an Amtrak station and a college, and nearly 10,000 just in the boro limits - there isn't much there in terms of employment or shopping - downtown has high vacancy. It's a long walk out to Giant or Weis from town. It might only be half an hour to Harrisburg or Lancaster without traffic - but it's about that half hour to drive to to get to everything.

Hershey is not as lily white and conservative as it used to be. Homes in the SW corner of Derry Twp have a Hummelstown address but Hershey schools, and aren't quite as outrageously priced as in the village center near the schools, but then it's along drive in to school activities. Less of a drive to the airport, though, one could probably cycle there. Many folks moved there from the coal region, or from Pakistan, or a number of other areas. If you have EZpass, going over the Turnpike bridge would let you get to Lewisberry quickly while not encountering the cost directly.

[CHIP72]

OP - I recommend Camp Hill based on your original description. The already mentioned places New Cumberland, Hershey, and Elizabethtown would be good, and Mechanicsburg would be fairly good as well.

Some other suggestions:

*Carlisle - if Elizabethtown is an option, Carlisle should be as well, and IMO would be somewhat superior to Elizabethtown. Carlisle is a college town (Dickinson), which is located not far to the west of downtown Carlisle. It is about 20 miles west of Harrisburg. The biggest negative with Carlisle is the truck traffic on I-81 and extensive industrial (warehouse/distribution) development not far outside the town near some of the I-81 interchanges.

*Hummelstown - similar to but somewhat smaller than and not quite as nice as Hershey, Hummelstown is a reasonably nice town, though a bit smaller than many of the other towns mentioned. It is about 10 miles east of Harrisburg, and less than 5 miles west of Hershey.

Towns like Middletown (10 miles SE of Harrisburg), Palmyra (20 miles east of Harrisburg), and Dillsburg (15 miles SW of Harrisburg) could also be options, but probably won't be quite as nice or arty as you'd like. All are reasonably nice towns though.

[g500]

Along with the responses to the thread, my recommendation would be to do a housing search online (most websites have a map feature showing the listings that meet your criteria). I am not sure about the Lehigh Valley, but the Harrisburg metro area is actually fairly reasonable in terms of housing costs, and this is a major upside to this area. The only areas that some would consider to be 'expensive' would be Hershey (in-town), and also some of the newer housing developments near Mechanicsburg - not Mechanicsburg Borough itself, but the areas surrounding with a Mechanicsburg address that are located in Cumberland Valley School District. Houses along both sides of the Susquehanna River can be expensive due to their scenic views (for example Front Street in Harrisburg and Wormleysburg - although many of these houses have been converted to large businesses and apartments, and areas of Lemoyne overlooking the city near Negley Park).

Personally I think this area is a much better deal than Lancaster County, which seems to be unnecessarily more expensive.

Other posters have mentioned Carlisle, which is a college town (reminds me of Chambersburg, PA a bit) located about 20 minutes west of Harrisburg. There are also Hummelstown (15 minutes East), New Cumberland and Camp Hill (10 minutes southwest), Linglestown (10 minutes northeast), Middletown (15 minutes southeast) and many areas in and around Harrisburg that are nice as well (considering Susquehanna, Swatara, Lower Swatara and Lower Paxton Townships).

Harrisburg city could be an option too - Downtown, Midtown and Shipoke areas specifically. Although you may want to be fairly warned that some people are concerned about the school district in Harrisburg (and also Steelton). I am sure results may vary and this may not ultimately be an issue, but it is something to investigate beforehand to be safe. Anyway gtg, good luck!

[bluewin888]

Harrisburg seems much cheaper than Lehigh valley?