Dream town (Pittsburgh, Scranton, Lancaster: real estate, condo, homes)

[Jennifer Parschauer]

Does this exist in Pa?? And if so, where??

Population 10,000-75,000
Kind/curteous
Blue/white collar mixed community
Ethnically diverse
Evironmentally conscious (recycling, not wasteful etc.)
Health conscious
Community involvement
Neat, kept properties
Reasonable taxes/real estate
Family values

[heyheyhey]

its called johnstown, pa.

[mjk1093]

Try Harrisburg for something a little more diverse and less remote than Johnstown. There's certain neighborhoods to avoid but the city's been on a bunch of national "Top 10 Places to Live" lists (check Google for info).

The riverfront is beautiful - there are great restaurants, nightlife if you're into that, unemployment is very low and it is very affordable. My neighborhood has become mainly Indian/Pakistani in the last few years and despite what some local yahoos say they're very nice people.

[trlstreet]

I second Harrisburg. If H-burg is a little too large for you, perhaps take a look at Mechanicsburg on the west side of the river. It is only 10 mins from downtown Harrisburg and is a nice small town ~ 10 - 15,000. Also look at Hummelstown on Hershey to the east of the city.

In western Pa, Franklin is nice if you like rural. Squirrel Hill and Edgewood are both suburbs of Pittsburgh but match your criteria (high property taxes though).

Edit: I realize some of those towns are not very ethnically diverse. Squirrel Hill is very ethnically diverse, the rest not so much.

[ScranBarre]

Come back and post this in 2020, and I'd definitely say Scranton, hands down! ;o) The city has progressed so much in the past five years, and I only foresee better things to come as more of the NYC crowd continues to move in!

[Jennifer Parschauer]

Well thanks! We were looking at Hummelstown-Palmyra (Hershey included but is a bit pricier), but I had only read negative about Harrisburg until now. We prefer that mid to eastern section of the state with family in Gettysburg and DC. But I'm so glad those names popped up. As for the others, I'll do my homework... Anything I might not like about these areas??

[mjk1093]

Originally Posted by Jennifer Parschauer

I had only read negative about Harrisburg until now.

That's referring to some parts of inner-city Harrisburg which are to be avoided. The area as a whole is very nice.

[trlstreet]

Harrisburg has bad parts but many good ones as well. The heart of downtown and the area within 3-4 blocks of the river is great. It gets a little shady moving further east.

Also, I forgot to mention Elizabethtown. It has a population ~10,000 and is within a half hour of both Harrisburg and Lancaster. It is a college town and has a lot to offer.

Columbia ia also a town on the upswing along the Susquehanna river between York and Harrisburg. I see a lot of potential in Columbia, it has a yet to be redeveloped business district while the residential areas around it include many interesting old homes and row homes.

[mjk1093]

Originally Posted by trlstreet

Columbia ia also a town on the upswing along the Susquehanna river between York and Harrisburg. I see a lot of potential in Columbia, it has a yet to be redeveloped business district while the residential areas around it include many interesting old homes and row homes.

Supposedly they're building two huuuge new condo towers along the river down that way, and way I say huge I mean like those across the Hudson from Manhattan. Start of a trend or white elephants? We'll see. Knowing PA it'll take 15 years for the project to get out of court and another 15 for it to be built anyway.

[paintballer1708]

LOL i wouldnt say Johnstown at all. I would look at Dormont, PA. Nothing better than a suburb that is minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. Amazing little downtown, connected to Pittsburgh along the T and you can see Pittsburgh's skyline from certain points of town.