Move to Gettysburg and have a long commute? (Lancaster, York: how much, hotel) - Pennsylvania (PA) - City-Data Forum

JRingo1 · 12-12-2007, 02:14 PM

I am having a tough time with making a big decision on relocating to Gettysburg, PA. My wife is from Gettysburg and her parents live on a 50 acre farm. We would love to build a home on the land because we love it so much there. Here is the catch, I work in Lancaster which would be a 75 mile commute one way. Currently my wife stays at home with our kids, neither one in school. I feel it has always been our dream to live in Gettysburg on the farm. Any thoughts??

michiganmoon · 12-12-2007, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRingo1

I am having a tough time with making a big decision on relocating to Gettysburg, PA. My wife is from Gettysburg and her parents live on a 50 acre farm. We would love to build a home on the land because we love it so much there. Here is the catch, I work in Lancaster which would be a 75 mile commute one way. Currently my wife stays at home with our kids, neither one in school. I feel it has always been our dream to live in Gettysburg on the farm. Any thoughts??

I love Gettysburg so I can understand.

You love Gettysburg, but I assume you also love spending time with your family and spending time with hobbies. If you commute 75 miles every day...you'll end up spending nearly 3 hours every work day on the road...which takes time away from the previously mentioned things, while at the same time costs a lot of money in gas and wear and tear on a car. You'd be giving up a good chunk of $ and time to live in Gettysburg and how much free time would you have once there? Life is time after all.

Is there a way that you could get a similar job closer to Gettysburg? A way you could save enough money by using the family farm so that you could take a pay cut with a closer job that pays a bit less?

I guess just write out the benefits and the negatives in two lists and compare...and decide with your wife.

teachbeach · 12-12-2007, 07:54 PM

The 75 miles from Lancaster to Gettysburg is extremely tough. The direct route is Reoute 30, which is cumbersome, slow and downright boring for a day in/day out commute. I think the 75 mile commute would take you at minimum 2 hours, the part through York would most likely take 1/2 hour alone with all of the traffic and the lights.

Could you live 1/2 way between? The commute to Lancaster from the east side of York is about 45 minutes of straight highway, no lights. From the east side of York to Gettysburg takes an hour on a non-work day.

jfeagin · 12-12-2007, 08:31 PM

Don't do it. I have made this mistake. I live in Carroll Valley and commute 68 miles each way down to VA. 3 hours a day in the traffic (if I am lucky), over 100k on a 2 1/2 year old car, darn near nervous breakdowns at times. Lack of time with family, hobbies, and life and only 5-6 hours of sleep a night trying to do all of this... I am trying like crazy to find and IT job that actually pays anything close to here with limited success. I am probably going to end up moving down to Texas or Florida where there are IT jobs and I don't have to pay 400k for a 30 yr old POS house like in NoVA.

BTW G'burg is nice.

John

JRingo1 · 12-13-2007, 07:16 AM

Thanks for the replies, I greatly appreciate them. When I think of the commute it doesn't seem horrible, Rt 15 to the PA TP then 283 E. I actually work in NW Lancaster County. I would leave by 6:20am and be home by 6:20pm. When I say it, it doesn't seem bad, but not sure if I could do it day in and day out. The plan would be to look for other employment which is closer.

Marodi · 12-13-2007, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRingo1

Thanks for the replies, I greatly appreciate them. When I think of the commute it doesn't seem horrible, Rt 15 to the PA TP then 283 E. I actually work in NW Lancaster County. I would leave by 6:20am and be home by 6:20pm. When I say it, it doesn't seem bad, but not sure if I could do it day in and day out. The plan would be to look for other employment which is closer.

Well, 15 is an easy drive, relatively few cops except the last week or so of the month, same with the turnpike. They just redid the bridge and route 15 interchange on the turnpike, so you wouldn't have to drive through construction all the time. Turnpike in that section is boring as hell though.

Also, if the turnpike closes for some reason, your drive will easily be 2 hours.

Personally, I'd suggest atleast getting a place half way between so you don't spend your life driving. Family life is harder when 15 hours a week is spent driving.

Concerned Consumer · 01-22-2008, 01:36 PM

Hi there,

I am the spouse of a dogged commuter. My husband commutes to DC each day. 2 hours each way. It's brutal BUT....YES, I said but, I think in terms of major employment markets you'd be better to locate to Gettysburg...why? Well, one is closer to Frederick and thus you have a range of employment "south" of the PA border by only 25 minutes as well as points east in Hanover and beyond.

We moved here from PG County MD two years ago. We were tourists as children to Gettysburg and decided THIS is where we'd like to hang the hat, raise the kids. We got out of PG at the tail end of the market, bought a home FREE AND CLEAR, yeah buddy AND are actually able to live within our means, save for our kids and get this, actually think of retiring? yeah. Home is where you hang your hat, the other things such as money/employment are indeed heavy considerations. If you have a plan that's not too tightly interwoven or a job that can morph into consulting, utilize telecommuniting (which is how I stay employed) you can make this work for you.

If you have plans for kids the schools are terrific. One of my kids is super bright and totally functional above grade level: she's challenged for the first time in 9 years. My eldest has a learning disability; was failing every class had the teachers not passed her cause they knew she was trying....now, she's in a great IEP, she's earning honor roll grades and it's not, repeat NOT a handout. So, for what it's worth, this school district is prime for receiving grants, money, programs that other districts MIGHT not get because of the name and that it's the county seat.

good luck!

CHIP72 · 01-22-2008, 06:40 PM

The commute from Gettysburg to NW Lancaster County (Elizabethtown?) would actually be fairly easy; all 3 major route segments you'd use (US 15, I-76, and PA 283) are fairly uncongested. The only possible problem spot on a semi-regular basis would be the PA Turnpike/I-283/PA 283 interchange. The overall drive would be a lot of miles though and a lot of money going to gas.

Incidentally, Elizabethtown is a very nice town, so perhaps you could live in a place that has some similarities to Gettysburg but is also close to your work. If you really want to live close to Gettysburg but want to make the commute more manageable, I'd suggest living in Dillsburg, which is a decent town along US 15 about 5 miles south of the PA Turnpike. You'd be approximately 20-25 miles from Gettysburg and about 25-30 miles from Elizabethtown.

JRingo1 · 01-23-2008, 09:29 AM

CHIP72 & Concerned Consumer,

Thank you very much for your insight. We are moving forward to possibly build in Gettysburg. This process could take upwards of a year. During this time I will be actively looking at careers closer to the area. Know of any companies in the area who need an experienced marketing professional??

Thanks again.

Concerned Consumer · 04-16-2008, 07:41 AM

Hi JRingo,

Employment here is an interesting bailiwick. Marketing is a general kind of arena: if you can stand working colleges, you have admissions offices for Shippensburg, Gettysburg oh I know there's another one around here...ah, Mount St. Mary's College; they are highly competitive liberal arts colleges (Shippensburg's may be agricultural as well). There are of course the agricultural industry marketing.

If you are more of a maverick and accustomed to working with community initiatives or corporate initiatives a well motivated person could do very very well the Economic Development realm. This area has so many cottage type industries/home businesses, tourist camping blah blah blah along with your regular services.......now they are facing extinction because alot of them "don't get it: improve or be mowed over"..... and smaller service/trade businesses cannot afford or will not afford to hire people to meet the demands of the market. Local mechanic shops heel over to Goodyear and All Tune and Lubes....; local appliance dealers, again small franchises or family owned cooperatives (like grocery stores) go global and prices are fixed. Another good example for this "tourist is the decline of the small hotel - family owned easily maintained facilities tend to become the welfare motels and places for the indigent or displaced. I have two: both within a mile of my home north and south bound. Not that I'm against people in tough straights, especially with children, having a safe and clean place to lay their head but that's just it...if they get no money from the tenants, how can they keep the place up PLUS pay their taxes. The places become code enforcement and occupancy violations mightmares and the poor are stuck there. What's worse, is that these places are in terrific locations and can be revitalized to supply a product to a niche market. Probably not a lot of money involved. It seems we are in a cookie cutter world, where everything looks, smells, sounds and is marketed "the same".... Economic Development might be a great outlet to get "hold" of projects in development/data on the players, so you can key into them and maybe get your teeth into something interesting as well as enough to pay the bills. Adams County Economic Development. Gettysburg is the county seat so...good place to add to your list of possibilities. Good luck!
Concerned Consumer