Moving to Dover, York County (Sunbury: house, high school, live)

[Debaroo]

Originally Posted by brandre

The dover schools would not be my first choice in York County but they are very high on the list. I would have rated Central, West York, Dallastown and Red Lion better academically but Dover is probably next and it has some other plusses. It is far from a bad choice.

BTW, my kids were in Dover for the first years and I was not concerned at all, the system is better now than in 1973.

Just be involved as a parent, that is more important than the school.

There is some clannishness in York county but it is far better now than 40 years ago, and if you are genuine it goes away quickly. York countians think they live in a good place, if you go around badmouthing the area, they will consider you an outsider 20 years after you come. If you get with the program of looking for things to do to make it better and being a part of it, you will be and relatively quickly.

Forty years ago minorities had a tough road in the area. Today the upscale suburban areas are open, not only legally but socially. There is probably more social resistance to minorities in the middle to lower blue collar areas and that is getting better - and it is better than the upscale ones were 20 years ago.

Dover is good... Really... But avoid moving to Hanover if you are not an "American" as they put it. That is redneck country. There was open KKK activity not too many years ago, it has quieted but that usually means it is underground. The last of this I have seen in the York area was nearly 20 years ago 87-90) the KKK came in from the outside and handed out literature in West York. It did not gain traction there.

I never realized somewhere so close to me, 3 hours, was that way. Rednecks in Hanover? KKK around? Just the sound of it makes me want to stay away from Hanover. Other nice places in PA tho. These forums are great for advice.

[Debaroo]

Originally Posted by teachbeach

I've read about how unhappy new people feel when they first come into the area. I understand that. These old, German families don't run out their front doors and embrace you with hugs. They are mainly blue-collar, hard working, family focused people. They aren't running out for formal wear, champagne swilling, fund raisers. They will want to get to know you before they warm up to you. Once they do, you will have a friend for life who will help you out with anything. Are there some stinkers there? Sure. There are stinkers everywhere. Ya just gotta hope they aren't right next door.

I found this to be true when we moved here, but after understanding and realizing that most of my neighbors have huge families and are so involved with their extended family members, they have their "friends for life". Through involvement in church, with my job and other organizations, we've found that most of our friends are others who have relocated to the area. We've assimilated into the area, but will never be considered Yorkers. It's okay though, our neighbors are great, will do anything for us, but just aren't the come over anytime for coffee type of people.

So true, stinkers everywhere. I'll never be a Yorker, that is something you have to have put years into, as anywhere else. I'll always be a Jersey Girl but that dosen't make me disrespect anyones area. I don't think I'll feel like a outsider since we are really getting pushed out of Central NJ by all the NY'ers coming here. It's the same all over. People should be worried about terriosts and illegal aliens more than who is a true "Yorker" or not. Why are people so territorial? It has to be like this all over the world..

[huttonfamily]

My husband and I are considering moving to Dover, PA this summer. Interested in reading your replies.

Another Baltimorean moves to PA

[Orion17]

Originally Posted by huttonfamily

My husband and I are considering moving to Dover, PA this summer. Interested in reading your replies.

Another Baltimorean moves to PA

There ar eplenty of threads about living in PA, especially if you plan on working in MD.

I 83 is the only way to fly, and fly you must. I leave at 5 am (or there is a 7:30 window where traffic isnt bad) to get to towson. From exit 10 it takes 30 minutes in normal traffic.

I would make the drive during the normal time you or your husband would leave and see what it is like.

Dover is a little farther north than my drive, so you would probably have to figure out the timing to best suite your needs.

[adamsgfd]

how would the commute from york to new york be

[jmy18964]

I too am moving to Dover with a family- 3 kids. I am wondering what there is to do? are there pools? parks? theatres? I'm having trouble finding answers to my "Dover Area" questions on-line. Any input is good. I'm a city girl at heart and I'm worried about moving here.

[jmy18964]

I'm concerned about the lack of friendly nature in the area. Do you still feel this way?

[jmy18964]

did you move to Dover? we are planning a move and not sure of the area.

[Crocostimpy]

It's been a while since we moved away from Dover (because of job, not by choice) but we really liked it there. We had moved from Ohio and found many others in our new subdivision were from out of state. More than a few commuted to Baltimore for work. One even to D.C.! I wouldn't say people there were unfriendly, and we made friends with folks from out of our neighborhood through the kid's schools. And BTW we thought the schools were very good.

As far as stuff to do, there aren't a lot of local parks; at least not by where we lived. There is a YMCA with a pool. There is a state park (can't think of the name right now) to the North that has a lake you can swim in. We went there frequently. The closest theatres are about five miles south at the mall on Rts. 30 and 74. There are probably other things to do that are close but we just never looked for them. Hershey Park is less than an hour. Gettysburg about the same. Incidentally, there is no reall easy way to get to I-83, which runs North and South through the York. Like most people you can go down 74 to 30 but it's pretty congested. I worked on the east side of York and took backroads to 83. It took maybe 15-20 minutes to get to 83. From there it was not much more than 5 minutes to work.

In the end we liked it there and were sorry to have to move. Dover is a small town. We liked that we were away from the congestion of York, but weren't too far away to go shopping or out to eat.

[samchap]

I have a job opportunity in York and may be moving to the area. I was wondering if anyone could recommend areas to look for an apartment. Is the area around HACC ok? I am a single guy and don't need a lot of luxuries. I would be interested if anyone knows about theareas the city is redeveloping would they be a good place to live?
Thanks