Thinking of Lancaster County Area- Any advice and will I be welcome (Harrisburg: rent, crime)

[Nativeson]

Hello Tristansmommy:

Lancaster county is not dry. But we do have State Stores where you can buy booze. Not available in markets.
I've lived here all my life and I don't see why it's so hard to make friends.. I work and live around people from all over North America, seems fine to me!

"A 4-5 BR house on a min of 1 acre of land... I like neighbors but not too close so that i have more privacey as well."

If this is what you want here..........bring your checkbook! We have these available, but they are rather pricey.

I hope this helps!

Welcome to what used to be the garden spot of the world!

Son

[TristansMommy]

Originally Posted by Nativeson

Hello Tristansmommy:

Lancaster county is not dry. But we do have State Stores where you can buy booze. Not available in markets.
I've lived here all my life and I don't see why it's so hard to make friends.. I work and live around people from all over North America, seems fine to me!

"A 4-5 BR house on a min of 1 acre of land... I like neighbors but not too close so that i have more privacey as well."

If this is what you want here..........bring your checkbook! We have these available, but they are rather pricey.

I hope this helps!

Welcome to what used to be the garden spot of the world!

Son

Thakn youn for your post.

.. well pricey is all relative. To me what a 4-5 BR on a property size of 1 Acre costts 1/2 the price of a 4 Br/ 2bth house (with only a small kitchen, LR and no basement - I live in a levitt house) on just underr a 1/4 acre that is about $400K!! My taxes are $7,000 / year or roughly a little over $600 month on my mortgage. So.. I can buy a house their that's twice the size on 3 x's the land for maybe about 1/2 what I paid for this one and 1/2 the taxes. (prices are RIDICULOUS HERE!!)

Also.. how gardeny is also relative. I'm sure the area has become more populated so it doesn't feel quite as rural to you as it once was, but to me it probably will have a rural feel.. or atleast more so than LI .. I look forward to a quieter calmer way to life...

Thanks again.

[Positiveone]

TristansMommy

Your right, its all relative. We also being originally from Long Island, currently in the Las Vegas area feel the same. Some say Lancaster is so rural anymore, but we were just there less then a year ago and its very rural compared to where i am in Nevada and super rural compared to Long Island. So you will have that rural feel for sure.

And yes the prices & taxes on Long Island are a joke!! I have friends on LI that pay 15,000-17,000 a year on property taxes. Here in Nevada the taxes are low, but that comes at a cost, poor schools, high crime , lack of police & so on.

I know many people from LI who are planning to move to Lancaster, and there already are a bunch of New Yorkers already living in Lancaster, so be yourself , dont change for anybody and in time you will meet friends.

The only thing i'm not so sure about is the employment in Lancaster County, the local newspaper there had a very small section, i did not hear of or see many large companies. Do you have jobs lined up?

Originally Posted by TristansMommy

Thakn youn for your post.

.. well pricey is all relative. To me what a 4-5 BR on a property size of 1 Acre costts 1/2 the price of a 4 Br/ 2bth house (with only a small kitchen, LR and no basement - I live in a levitt house) on just underr a 1/4 acre that is about $400K!! My taxes are $7,000 / year or roughly a little over $600 month on my mortgage. So.. I can buy a house their that's twice the size on 3 x's the land for maybe about 1/2 what I paid for this one and 1/2 the taxes. (prices are RIDICULOUS HERE!!)

Also.. how gardeny is also relative. I'm sure the area has become more populated so it doesn't feel quite as rural to you as it once was, but to me it probably will have a rural feel.. or atleast more so than LI .. I look forward to a quieter calmer way to life...

Thanks again.

[TristansMommy]

Originally Posted by Positiveone

TristansMommy

Your right, its all relative. We also being originally from Long Island, currently in the Las Vegas area feel the same. Some say Lancaster is so rural anymore, but we were just there less then a year ago and its very rural compared to where i am in Nevada and super rural compared to Long Island. So you will have that rural feel for sure.

And yes the prices & taxes on Long Island are a joke!! I have friends on LI that pay 15,000-17,000 a year on property taxes. Here in Nevada the taxes are low, but that comes at a cost, poor schools, high crime , lack of police & so on.

I know many people from LI who are planning to move to Lancaster, and there already are a bunch of New Yorkers already living in Lancaster, so be yourself , dont change for anybody and in time you will meet friends.

The only thing i'm not so sure about is the employment in Lancaster County, the local newspaper there had a very small section, i did not hear of or see many large companies. Do you have jobs lined up?

Thank you.. well I don't neccesarily have jobs lined up. I'm a Realtor here on LI and my husband makes a livign buying old and vintage items from people and reselling them.. we dont' have a brick and mortar store.. it's done on ebay and through connections. He buys gold and jewelry and resells, so we can do that anywhere we go. Plus, he will be in a good enough distance to NY to travel back and stay in touch with his contacts here should need be. I pretty much plan on being a stay at home mom (I want more kids) and when my kids go to school I'll pick up real estate again (I am good at it, but i want to spend time with my kids, so I don't do as much as I used to right now).

We are at the beginning phases of checking out areas. Right now I"m just ressearching on the net.. next step is to go and visit.

I really do look forward to getting off LI. I grew up here and there is much I will miss.. but it's not hte same especially since my family has left..

[Positiveone]

Sounds like you have a good plan! Your right Lancaster isnt that bad of a drive from LI. Have you been to Lancaster recently to look at real estate? When we were there we looked in Lititz, the area was very clean and seemed very safe.

This site here is pretty interesting, you can compare state to state stats--

Side-by-Side City Comparison

How old are your kids?

Originally Posted by TristansMommy

Thank you.. well I don't neccesarily have jobs lined up. I'm a Realtor here on LI and my husband makes a livign buying old and vintage items from people and reselling them.. we dont' have a brick and mortar store.. it's done on ebay and through connections. He buys gold and jewelry and resells, so we can do that anywhere we go. Plus, he will be in a good enough distance to NY to travel back and stay in touch with his contacts here should need be. I pretty much plan on being a stay at home mom (I want more kids) and when my kids go to school I'll pick up real estate again (I am good at it, but i want to spend time with my kids, so I don't do as much as I used to right now).

We are at the beginning phases of checking out areas. Right now I"m just ressearching on the net.. next step is to go and visit.

I really do look forward to getting off LI. I grew up here and there is much I will miss.. but it's not hte same especially since my family has left..

[meandb]

Hi all -

We've been researching Lancaster for months and months - finally, our home overseas sold and we will begin the serious search in October. Can anyone tell me where I'd be most likely to find:

college educated (and/or post grad) families, with stay at home moms - homes under $250K ---any of these???

Lampeter/Willow Street
Lititz
Mount Joy
???

or, tell me by districts (Lampeter, Hempfield, Warwick, Manheim...)

We have ideas, but wonder how "rural" we can get without being in solid farming community...
Thanks!

[teachbeach]

Stay at home Mom's-yes in Hempfield, Warwick and Lititz, but I bet the husbands are making six figures or better and gone quite a bit.
Great schools in all of the above.
Houses under $250-a stretch, unless you are willing to buy and fix up an older or one or a carpenters dream.
College educated parents-yes in Hempfield, Warwick and Lititz.

[Cleanmaxx Brian]

TristansMommy, I hear ya loud and clear!

I am looking in Hempfield, Warwick and Lititz and Penn Manor. My price range is 300 - 350K and I want to pay 5K in taxes or less...

We should get together...maybe you could convince my inlaws that there is more to life...

[meandb]

Ah ha -

No, no 6 figure salary here, just wanting to stay with the kids and I'll head back to work in a few years (RN) - all that to say, I'm looking for folks who don't mind living "lower" for mom to be at home -

The answer I got was Warwick/Lititz, and Hempfield - does this mean that Mount Joy and Lampeter don't have stay-at-home moms, or that they aren't college+ educated?? I have no personal problem with the farming community, but I don't either have anything in commom with them. Although I love love love a slower pace and appreciation for the land, gardening, animals etc.

I'll phrase it this way - we lived in Austria for 10 years --- when can we find folks who know immediately that there are no kangaroos there??!! (and I'm serious - you wouldn't believe the questions we get) - we want a semi-professional area with family values who keep up with the world a bit, ie. are informed about the EU or have traveled internationally, as my husband was born in Europe and we have travelled extensively because of living there - not for high end vacations...

Help?

[teachbeach]

Hempfield, Lititz and Warwick. Mount Joy is a great community, but a bit of a time warp for world travelers or keeping up with world events. Same with Lampeter/Strasburg. You'd be in tourist mecca there, just crowded all the time, especially weekends and hoidays. It's where the outlet malls are located, as well as many of the tourist attractions. The Warwick/Lititz and Hempfield areas are further north and west of the congested areas, and the clientele/residents are more likely to be college educated, professionals and in tune with world events.