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Old 06-21-2011, 11:02 AM
 
20 posts, read 53,495 times
Reputation: 15

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I really need help quick need to give landlord notice soon to start new school year on time for kiddos..... here's my situation....

I'm a single parent of 2 kids that are multi-racial (black,hispanic/causesean). We currently live in Latrobe, PA which is not diverse at ALL which is one of the reasons I am ready to move out of here. It is too far to get to Pittsburgh too! I work from home so I don't have to commute - just need internet!

My kids are very much into sports (soccer & baseball/softball) and we like to get involved in the community with sports, outings, fishing, parks, etc.

Right now we rent a 3B/1.5B, 2 car garage with extra family room for $800 (nothing included). Now I know I'm not going to touch that anywhere out there. LOL...My family lives in King of Prussia so we would like to get closer to them but I cannot afford KP.

Here are 2 places that I am considering:

Lancaster County PA Apartment Homes - Bentley Ridge Apartments – Furnished Corporate Apartments – Lancaster PA Pet Friendly Apartments - http://www.bentleyridge.com/index.html
Bentley Ridge Apartments, 650 Bentley Ridge Blvd, Lancaster

Lancaster PA Apartment Homes – Greenfield Estates Apartments – Furnished Corporate Apartments – Lancaster PA Pet Friendly Apartments - http://www.greenfieldestatesapts.com/index.html
Greenfield Estates, 799 Patriot Drive, Lancaster

Can anyone give me your HONEST opinions on the schools (Conestoga SD), the diversity, the general area of living, commute to KP, sports, etc? I really would appreciate any help! We really want a place that is family oriented, lots of kids, lots of sports (esp soccer & baseball/softball), close commute to city/museums but not close enough to see building all around us. We have a wonderful view of the Appalachian mountains out here that I know we won’t have there but I don’t mind the farm view either!

Thank you so much!
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Old 06-21-2011, 05:02 PM
 
Location: DE
145 posts, read 320,705 times
Reputation: 76
My honest opinion of Lancaster Co is pretty harsh. I think it would be a VERY hard place to live as a single parent with no family in the area. Lancaster Co is very family focused, but their own family focused. We have lived in the area for seven years and even though it appears to be this great place to live I am excited to say that we will be moving away. We need some friends and frankly we have no found friendship or support to be a strength of the area. As a single parent, I would think you would need ALOT of that.
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Old 06-21-2011, 06:45 PM
 
20 posts, read 53,495 times
Reputation: 15
Thanks Whereshome - I do appreciate the honesty Is there a place you could suggest?
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Old 06-21-2011, 10:33 PM
 
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The Harrisburg area seems much more transient friendly than the Lancaster suburbs. Middletown is a fairly safe mixed race community that's certainly closer to King of Prussia than Latrobe is, easier to reach the big woods just north of Harrisburg than it is from Lancaster, not as pricey as some of the other Harrisburg area standard recommended suburbs, neither as scary as the City of Harrisburg or Steelton Highspire. The school district has its own radio station Welcome to WMSS FM - an unusual and interesting feature. Has frequent train service to Philly as Lancaster does, and also an airport with much better service than Lancaster's, and faster roads (at least on weekends) to Baltimore and DC too. Time wise it might be about as close to the Baltimore Inner Harbor as you might be to Oakland coming from Latrobe.

Carlisle is another relatively integrated place, with its Army presence and college and roads to everywhere, but it's 1/2 hour+ further from KP.
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Old 06-21-2011, 11:00 PM
 
20 posts, read 53,495 times
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Thanks ki0eh - never thought of Harrisburg area - just sounds congested to me...lol...but I will check it out. I'm open to other areas just don't want to be in the city. What about Ambler or towards that way? My focus is more on good schools with more diversity than Latrobe (i think any place will give me that! LOL) and great sports for kids.
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Old 06-22-2011, 06:39 AM
 
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Harrisburg like every other city in PA suffers from the short-sightedness of early interstate-era road planners and the near-impossibility of de-tangling under present conditions what they came up with, certainly both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia metros suffer similarly. The Harrisburg East turnpike interchange near Middletown was de-tangled at much cost along with a new Susquehanna River bridge but the Turnpike folks couldn't do much with the weird cloverleaf interchange from I-283 to PA 283. Then once you're on the Turnpike it's a straight shot to KP, which ain't so from Lancaster.

Also like the rest of PA the Harrisburg area is characterized by hyper-localism in municipal government, and its reflection in zoning and land use decisions - which means that here as in Latrobe you can turn the corner and be in a different century.
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Old 06-22-2011, 07:23 PM
 
Location: DE
145 posts, read 320,705 times
Reputation: 76
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bissie711 View Post
Thanks Whereshome - I do appreciate the honesty Is there a place you could suggest?
Parts of Harrisburg are very nice. I agree with the other poster. What about Southern York Co? I think there is a decent amount of people that commute from there to Baltimore, so that would maybe be a bit more diverse. I have no personal knowledge, though. What about the Allentown area? Or are you trying to stay near Lancaster? I wish you the best of luck! I have soooo much respect for single parents!
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Old 06-22-2011, 07:29 PM
 
20 posts, read 53,495 times
Reputation: 15
Thanks - I guess it doesn't really matter where I go as long as I am probably within an hour from KP, good schools and diversity. I am pretty open.

Yes being a single parent is hard but I tend to look at it as a priviledge in my kids lives. They grow so fast and it's an honor to raise them
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Old 06-24-2011, 11:08 AM
 
4,277 posts, read 11,787,860 times
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Within one hour of King of Prussia you might be better off posting in the Philadelphia forum or possibly asking about Reading or Ephrata, not Harrisburg or west of Lancaster.
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Old 07-25-2011, 06:49 PM
 
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I lived in Lancaster a number of years ago. There are things I miss about Lancaster. I never had a problem with crime while I was living there and I always felt safe. The countryside is also beautiful. I don't have any kids, but the schools there have a good reputation from what I remember. There are a lot of family oriented activities there but they are geared more towards the traditional family. I was raised by a single mother and found that some of the people I encountered there were judgmental when they learned about my background. As far as diversity is concerned, I'm white but my name is Spanish, and as silly as it sounds, sometimes I felt as if I wasn't white enough living there. Living in the city of Lancaster itself may be different as far as diversity is concerned, but in the outlying areas, you are treated like an outsider if you are not 'white' and were not born there.
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