Relocating (Harrisburg, Lebanon, Carlisle: transplants, real estate, low crime)

[angel574]

My Husband will be starting a Regional Job that will cover Eastern Lower PA, Northern Maryland, Northern Virginia. Looking for a center point to live that has good Schools, Affordable Housing, Lower Property Tax, Easy Access to Highways, Low Crime Rate...Would prefer a smaller town that is close enough to a larger city with Museums, Zoo, Shopping etc. I have been looking at Mount Joy, Mount Wolf, Dover, and Palmyra...Seems like Hershey, PA would be a fun city to live near. Any suggestions you may have in any of the above would be greatly appreciated!!!

[ki0eh]

The Harrisburg area is favorably located logistically with respect to the area you mention, in fact a rep firm with similar territory is across the hall in our building at work. There are several threads in the Harrisburg area forum that might be worth perusing.

Hershey is clean, boring for the 20-something set, and very safe. With the apparent pending abandonment by the State of PA of the previous administration's attempt to equalize property taxes with state aid, the Derry Twp (Hershey doesn't exist as an organized entity) school district looks likely to solidify its relative financial advantage to other schools. For kids with a stay at home parent it's great with lots of activities scheduled generally during the day or right after school while most people have to work. It is no longer lily white as the Penn State Hershey Medical Center draws more ethnic diversity. The medical complex seems to dominate the immediate local population more than the chocolate company, although there still are three (in the process of combining into two) chocolate factories the chocolate workers are more likely to live in cheaper Palmyra and adjoining Lebanon County areas to the east. Derry Twp, Camp Hill, and Cumberland Valley are the schools closest to Harrisburg that carry a price premium but all are very affordable compared to the bigger northeast metros. I've noticed a small but seemingly growing number of NoVA refugees with no-fixed-location employment who move up for less hassle and lower cost of housing. Our across-the-street neighbor in Derry has a sister who moved to Camp Hill Borough.

Carlisle area would also be worth looking at, Carlisle Area schools are better than average as are adjoining South Middleton, both without quite the real estate premium of Cumberland Valley. This area offers a mix of rural, suburban, and town. I think some are turned off by high truck traffic in localized spots around Carlisle but the locals know how to avoid these areas, turn the corner and you're in a different century. Like Derry, CV, and to some extent Camp Hill, these areas also have some level of continual interchange of population with the outside world. Some other outwardly similar areas seem to have complaints by transplants of a too-inbred local paradigm.

[angel574]

Thank You for all the info...I will check out the Harrisburg threads!