Moving to Chambersburg (Scranton, Washington, Fayetteville: to rent, crime, new home)

[amatrine]

We will be moving there from Arizona in May.

What is the situation with houses? We want to rent first, then buy.

Is it very hard to find a good home to rent and could you find something deecent in the $850 month range?

Also what are the current housing prices like for buying?

Also , what is considered the best elementery school there as far as test scores, and ratings?

We prefer to fnd something mabey on the outside of town. I want out of the city so bad. Was born and raised in a small town in PA and cant wait to return . Phoenix it too big, too hot, and I am tired of going to a restaurant where the people that work there do not even speak english. Anyway,
any info I can get would be great.

Also, what is the average monthly heathing bill, and are there flooding problems ? Thanks

Wendy

[CaptainObvious]

read the thread with the same name as yours for information on renting... http://www.city-data.com/forum/penns...mbersburg.html

Housing is generally relatively expensive, though slightly decreasing (like everywhere else) right now. Many people view Chambersburg as a "nice commute to Baltimore or Washington DC". These people are nuts, but they've driven up the price of homes nonetheless.

I was just having this conversation with family earlier tonight. The Chambersburg school district is generally regarded as excellent throughout. I wouldn't hesitate to send my child to any of the elementary schools in the district except for maybe Stevens Elementary. Falling Spring, Coldbrook, and Guilford Hills are well-regarded as well as Sharpe and Buchannan...just to name a few. Fayetteville Elementary will open a brand-new state-of-the-art building this year.

As far as "outside of town" goes. Nearly 2/3 of Chambersburg's population lives outside of the city limits. East toward Guilford Hills and North towards Scotland are very very nice areas. If you want specifics, let me know.

Flooding? It is not typically a problem at all in the area. There are two very very small streams that run through Chambersburg and I suppose homes that border them could flood, but we're not talking mass-flooding, rather isolated incidents of flash-floods that usually cause very minor damage.

I haven't the foggiest clue as to heating prices in the area. Sorry

Cap

[amatrine]

Thank you so much for the information.

I guess I wonder what housing is compared to here in the Phoenix area.

To buy a home here, that is about 3 bedrom, in a decent suburb , it starts around 200,000. You can get a new home as cheap as 130,000 but you have to live out in queencreek, which entails a large commute to work, and the traffic, so it is just not worh it. The average house rent is about 1,100 here a month. We got lucky and only pay 800 in our area, but that is not the norm.

My husband wil be transferring from Target DC to the one there. One nice thing is he is topped out here, and wage out there tops out 40 dollars more a week, so thats not bad.

We could also transfer to Amsterdam Ny , but in doing research found that that place is not a good place to live and has a lot or crime and problems, and that the schools are all shutting down. Plus side, is I still have some family in PA, near the Scranton area, and its only a bit over a two hour drive.
Other plus, even if property cost the same as here, at least Im out of Phoenix I sure do miss the 4 seasons, and just can not take another summer out here. It will be so nice to say goodbye to 120 degrees

Ama

[amatrine]

Oh one more question,

Do they offer DSL for internet service there?

Thanks

Ama

[military spouse]

Hi,
We moved to Chambersburg from Sierra Vista, AZ about 2 years ago. We really like it, but there was a short "adjustment" period. It initially seemed quite rural to us, but not anymore. Chambersburg didn't change, but our outlook has You will be about 2 hours from D.C. and about 3.5 hours from NYC. We have DSL through PA.net and have had no problems. Housing prices seem to vary quite a bit depending on what you are looking for. You might not need to live outside the borough to feel more rural than the PHX area. We live as far south in the Borough as one can live and still get borough utilities. I'm very happy with our neighbors and neighborhood. We are close to Hwy. 11 and I-81. Chambersburg and Queen Creek are really nothing alike. Queen Creek, atleast a few years ago, really had nothing and it seemed as if people had to go to Gilbert or Chandler for shopping. In Chambersburg, we just got a Target and several new restaurants. There is also a Walmart, Kmart, and very small mall. I think you will enjoy the weather after the monotonous summers in PHX. We were just in PHX about 2 months ago and had forgotton how hot it is out there

[amatrine]

Ahh good to know on the DSL thing, as I am thinking of starting a web design web management business there. Queen creek has really grown. They now have malls, lowes, and major shopping. The freeway is a mess because more houses than roads. My husband works for target DC and will there as well. Good to know they opened a target store there. ... I have live in small towns that only have two streets, so I know rural living. I love it. The only small town I hated was los lunas NM because it was a small town in the desert. We are trying to decide if mabey we should just buy and not rent.
My husband on the other hand has never lived rural and it will be an adjustment for him Im sure. Hes never even been back East, and I on the otherhand am from PA.

Wendy

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by amatrine

We will be moving there from Arizona in May.

What is the situation with houses? We want to rent first, then buy.

Is it very hard to find a good home to rent and could you find something deecent in the $850 month range?

Also what are the current housing prices like for buying?

Also , what is considered the best elementery school there as far as test scores, and ratings?

We prefer to fnd something mabey on the outside of town. I want out of the city so bad. Was born and raised in a small town in PA and cant wait to return . Phoenix it too big, too hot, and I am tired of going to a restaurant where the people that work there do not even speak english. Anyway,
any info I can get would be great.

Also, what is the average monthly heathing bill, and are there flooding problems ? Thanks

Wendy

I've lived there 18 years. Nice little town, albeit a little odd. There are 18,000 people in the Borough proper, but 50,000 in the Chambersburg 'micro-opolis' as it is called -- all of the surrounding townships, as Captain Obvious described in the other Chambersburg thread. Basically, that's the area from Fayetteville to St. Thomas, and Scotland to Kauffman.

You'll find it to be quite rural, I think ... but surprised by how busy a small little town can be.

I don't have kids, so I can't speak to the schools.

The utilities are very reasonable, as they are administered by the borough (it's strange getting ONE bill that includes the gas, electric, water, sewer, and garbage all in one).

Home prices aren't bad by big city standards, but are raised slightly by the 100-mile distance from Baltimore and DC. You'll find that property tax is relatively low, as well.

Hope this helps.

[Marodi]

Chambersburg area isn't RURAL, per se, it's more rurban in characteristic.