Moving to Chambersburg

[cincur63]

Originally Posted by george1020

We are planning on moving to the Chambersburg area in the fall of 2011. We are retiring and will need some info about housing, utilities, shopping, taxes,& weather. We are originally from the Pgh/Altoona area and are not familiar with this area. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Well as far as shopping the best shopping is in carlisle or hagerstown md, it's also a short drive to west virginia or harrisburg. There are plenty of local stores for food , clothes, necessities. It depends on what type of shopping and lifestyle you are looking for. The gas is currently about 3.75 a gallon. The utilities, i have a hard time judging as they were so high where i used to live. I think they are reasonable here, i have a 2700 square foot home with two heat pumps (all electric heat) and the max during a very cold winter month was $450. The property taxes i pay on this home on a half acre is $3200. The services are not the best, but if you are retiring you won't need to worry about most of the services. I believe the weather will be slightly milder then where you come from in altoona area. We get a few snow storms in winter, alot of rain in the spring, and summers are fairly warm and humid, but nothing too terrible like the south. As far as housing, it depends on what you want... there are alot of empty townhomes, many still being built. There is a newer community with one level homes on small lots, which is attracting alot of retirees, that's called the enclave. In shippensburg, they have a modular home community with retirees and that is still a work in progress. fayetteville , also offers many options. Gettysburg is near by and has alot of activity and a cute town.

[cincur63]

My one thing to add is that as a retiree i think the healthcare issue should be important to you. In this area the general hospitals are good for just basic care. You are lucky to have baltimore , york, harrisburg, and hershey hospitals within one to two hours. It is inconvenient for some to travel that far for care, but if you have a need for a specialist, that is most likely where you'll have to go. Chambersburg often has to fly people there in emergencies.

[cincur63]

Here's a list by medical specialty of what is available here or nearby:
Pediatrics - local - if a pediatric specialty then out of area
OB/GYN - local - preemies are out of area
Neurology- some local , most prefer out of area
Neurosurgery - out of area
Cariac - good cardiology group but limited in what they can do, can do caths and stents. Open heart surgery, bypass, valve replacements, EP studies, Pacemakers, ablatations all have to go out of area.
General surgery - avoid unless dr carter, otherwise go out of area.
Orthopedic - most procedures can be done locally, long waiting list to get in.
Rheumatology - most go out of area, and still a long waiting list.
podiatry - local
opthomology- local
cancer - out of area
blood disorders - local
Any type of transplants - must go out of area
Urology - local mostly , some go out of area
GI - local mostly, some go out of area
Lungs/pulmonology - some local, many don't like, so go out of area
ENT- local , some go out of area
general practice - mixed reviews, complaints of having trouble getting appointments, finding one they like etc... very mixed reviews (just like the boards)
Diabetes - could be better, but many stay local

[jvarner]

Chambersburg is a great town to live in. We moved here about 3 years ago and absolutely love it. If you are planning to buy a house..real estate is relatively cheap. I would definately recommend looking around Scotland area. Lot of seniors prefer this area. Scotland Run community is also a great place to look at. Home are very reasonably priced right now and HOA is great. Good Luck......