Harrisburg ranked 6th best metro in the country for relocating singles (Philadelphia: real estate, tax rates)

[danwxman]

Midstate a mecca for relocating singles
SEAN SIMMERS, The Patriot-News
BY MARY WARNER / Of The Patriot-News, 11/01/07 5:25 PM EDT
UPDATED: 11/01/07 10:16 PM EDT

Commutes are easy here. Jobs are bountiful. Tax rates are reasonable, and so are rents.

That makes the midstate one of America’s most attractive areas for singles choosing a new place to live, a new survey says.

Researchers from Primacy Relocation and Worldwide ERC, along with Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed, ranked Harrisburg/Carlisle sixth among the largest 100 U.S. metropolitan areas in features likely to help singles make a successful transplant.

Kris Weisburger, 52, an accounting assistant at the Neiman Group advertising agency in Harrisburg, said her experience confirms the findings.

The midstate’s low cost of real estate and lack of congestion were prime attractions for her. Moving to Mechanicsburg two years ago from Rockville, Md., was “the best thing I ever did,” she said.

Elizabeth Gray, 28, who moved to northern York County almost three years ago from a suburb of Raleigh, N.C., was surprised that the midstate ranked so high on the survey, given all the competition.

On the other hand, “I’m proof it works in this area,” she said. She found a public relations job, the Susquehanna River and plenty of “like-minded people,” including one who’s become her boyfriend.

The survey, in its fourth year, showed the Harrisburg area moving up from 11th the last two years and 23rd in 2004. The only other Pennsylvania areas in the top 25 this year were Pittsburgh at 25 and Philadelphia at 13.