Never moved - Harrisburg here I come!

[bronayur]

[SIZE=3]Well, I just joined and I do live in Harrisburg so hopefully I will be able to supply you with some decent information. The city is getting nicer every year, with more clubs better restaurants (outside dinning), several Neato Burritos which are delicious, you can get a huge burrito for like 5-6 dollars. There are also more cultural activities moving in like the Buddhist center on 2nd street. Some people complain that 2nd St is turning into drunk alley, which I would not disagree but it always does look lively and is so much of an improvement over the old Harrisburg where hardly anyone would go downtown and just walk around. A down fall is that the parking garages are a little steep like I had to pay 5 dollars to park to go buy a 5 dollar burrito. It seems like the area is getting cleaned up and that gentrification is spreading although in a funny way, my friend was a security guard and would see very sketchy people followed by rich lawyer like people all in the same new apartment complexes. I live above division street which is a really nice area as long as you are not too near highway 81 which is rather loud even after they erected those sound barriers, there is a lot of Jewish people in that area and they are so friendly, tree lined streets and easy walking distance to the river although farther down towards HBG is where the sidewalk paralleling the river actually starts. I would not say that there is a lot of rental places in the area it is more single family homes (Susquehanna township) but they are reasonable like 100-250,000 and the taxes are lower 25-30 per 1,000 rather then 70 per 1,000 like in Harrisburg City. Susquehanna twp also has better school then the city unless you send you child to a charter school, although I know they had one in the city, they were trying to shut it down because of technicalities. There are many areas in Harrisburg that have a high crime rate, although I have no problem driving through them but I would not want to live there. Of coarse Allison Hill above Cameron St up to 19th some parts of Derry St. although some parts are not that bad it just depends on where you are moving from and what you are used to..Linglestown is a cute little town with two coffee shops but you would need a car to go anywhere, Colonial Park has the mall a ton of stores and places to work near by but there is no feeling that you are in a real town..Penbrook is pretty nice, it does have a little town feel with some Ethnic Asian stores and it is very multicultural black, Latino, white although there is some crime I would not be worried to live there although I do not think I would walk around everywhere in the middle of the night there. Reservoir park area is not too great although they are cleaning it up, various shootings and robbing, they do have the Civil War Museum there although they don't advertise it enough so the tourists don't flow in. Shipoke is a really nice area but sometimes it floods and it is right near the 83 bridge which can be noisy. Steelton is ethnic too, a lot of old eastern European families and Russian, there is an Islamic mosque there and many black people, they do have one of the best basketball teams around, Highspire, not sure, I think it is nicer then Steelton but not too nice, Middletown is nice pretty cheap and near Penn State Harrisburg and the Airport so you might hear planes fly overhead. Progress area is ok, a lot of subdivions, and the same goes for the mushroom hill area near wal-mart off of 322 going towards Hershey. I like the people in Harrisburg although not the friendliest when you first meet them, they are very tolerant of people, Harrisburg was one of the first cities in the country to pass laws protecting Gays, Lesbians, and Transgender people in 1983..I really think the city is going up and up although hopefully they will get a handle on the crime. The city used to only have black and white people but now Puerto Ricans are moving in from I assume Lancaster, Lebanon, York, and possibly Reading which makes more cultural richness which I like! I have a ton of more information! Do you want to live on the East Shore or the West Shore, the only problem I see with the west shore is the massive traffic across the 83 bridge everyday. I will write more soon[/SIZE]

[OHIOtoPENNSYLVANIA]

Wow - thanks for all of the great information. The reason I wanted to live relatively close to Pennbrook is that my boyfriend lives there. I will be getting a separate apartment. I have heard really mixed feelings about downtown safety though it sounds like there is a lot going on and it would be fun. I just don't want to be worried about walking in and out of my apartment at night. In Ohio, I live between a shopping area and suburban neighbordood, and I like that a lot. It's easy to get to stores, but I can also go for a walk easily. I want to feel safe, but I don't want to be too far from the "happening" areas! Does that make any sense?

I have been to Neato Burrito and yes, it IS good!

[bronayur]

I mean there is the potential for danger in the Strawberry Square, 2nd st, front st, capital area but it is not huge but still a potential. It is a ton safer I fill because of all the people walking around almost all the time, I remember just five years ago when you would only see maybe one person every 5 mins and some homeless people around. It is also so nice walking across the walking bridge (Walnut St.) to CityIsland. Green St is also very nice and super safe, I mean you just have to walk around the area a couple streets in from the river and you know instantly the safe and non safe areas. The parking is a problem down there though and I think residents have to pay a certain fee to park, although I don't think that the apartments are really that expensive down there unless they went up just recently. There is also like hardly any traffic most of the time, downtown except on 2nd st because everyone is driving around to look pretty or looking for a parking place to go to a restaurant, some parts of third st. are nice too. I would encourage you to stay down there though if you want to get a little city feel, I know people who live downtown and they generally enjoy it unless you live right off 2nd st because of coarse there are bands and djs and just generally drunk people yelling and the bit.

[thedudeabides]

I just moved to the H myself in June of 07. I am renting a very big 2 br at the Italian Lake area just north of downtown. The building used to be very nice but has really been left to rot, although the rent is still quite high ($725 for roaches, utterly filthy hallways, and a collapsing porch ceiling). This town is really beginning to revert to its ghetto roots, so you will pay more and more to rent a place in a "good neighbourhood," which is pretty much nothing after above 2nd St. Find a nice, old place in town, lose the car, and get a good bike. Groceries are hard to come by in the city, though, as I have learned the hard way. If you are lucky and your work schedule flexible, you can get everything you need at the Broad St Market. Good luck.

[nocturnal rooster]

I was gonna live in the Harrisburg area, but I wanted to live another few years.

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by thedudeabides

I just moved to the H myself in June of 07. I am renting a very big 2 br at the Italian Lake area just north of downtown. The building used to be very nice but has really been left to rot, although the rent is still quite high ($725 for roaches, utterly filthy hallways, and a collapsing porch ceiling). This town is really beginning to revert to its ghetto roots, so you will pay more and more to rent a place in a "good neighbourhood," which is pretty much nothing after above 2nd St. Find a nice, old place in town, lose the car, and get a good bike. Groceries are hard to come by in the city, though, as I have learned the hard way. If you are lucky and your work schedule flexible, you can get everything you need at the Broad St Market. Good luck.

Sounds like you need to move out...Italian Lake isn't just north of downtown though, it's actually very close to some pretty ghetto neighborhoods that aren't getting any better (a lot of uptown right now) so no surprise it seems bad there.

[OHIOtoPENNSYLVANIA]

Hi - any thoughts about Aspen Hill vs. Treeview apartments?

[NikG]

OH to PA-Thank you! I would appreciate any help! I'm still having a hard time deciding where to live.

Does anyone know anything about King's Manor Apts, off Progress?

[OHIOtoPENNSYLVANIA]

THANKS to everyone for your feedback.

I decided to go with Treeview. I have heard King's Manor is good, but they weren't around by the time we headed over there. I had to increase my "max" rent a couple of times after seeing the apartments that fit the original budget I set for myself. Hopefully you won't have to do the same! I will say that the photos online just aren't a good gauge. you really have to see in person!

[HaleyBailey]

I am also moving to Harrisburg from Omaha, NE here in a few months. My fiance is from PA but I have never been there. Please let me know how everything works out for you.