Think we want to move to PA, dont know where (Pittsburgh: transplants, real estate)

[GoodSchoolols]

Hello,

My wife and I are growing tired of NJ and the insane cost of living (property taxes mainly) We recently were on a trip and visited Mountville. We liked the area and houses. We liked it was close to shopping, stores, restaurants. The area seems safe enough, but we arent experienced with PA, so I would appreciate if anyone has any towns that fit our criteria which is basically just not in the middle of nowhere and safe where we can buy a modest house for under 200k

When are you moving? In about a year - just started the planning process
Where are you coming from? - Dirty Jersey
Why are you moving? - Cost of living
Where will you be working? - Not sure yet
Have you been here yet? - Been to a few parts of PA, mostly Lancaster County. We really liked Mountville

Will you buy or rent? - Buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? House. Must be a single family house with no HOA fees, no restrictions on property (meaning if I want to put in a pool, it won't be a problem)
I am not picky on lot size, it doesnt have to be an acre of property, a 50 x 100 lot is fine with me. Looking to spend no more than $200,000 cash.

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married, yes have children
Do you prefer public or private schools? public - the schools dont have to be top tier, just not failing and dangerous.
Do you have pets? a cat
Do you want or need a yard? yes, doesnt have to be large but big enough for a pool
Are you keeping a car? yes
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? We are looking for an area that has shopping, stores, things to do but a quaint town atmosphere...or not too far from (like a 5 minute drive) from shopping, stores, entertainment, etc. We do not want to be in the middle of nowhere. If we want to go to the supermarket or the drug store, I dont want to drive more than a few minutes. We liked Mountville, but dont know too much about that area but liked the ammenities nearby.

What do you want to be closest to?

Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? We are looking for a safe area where we can walk at night and not have to worry about being raped or shot in the head. We are a young family, dont want to live in a retirement community.

Phillies, Pirates or Mets? No sports fans here.

[Wells5]

There are plenty of small localities in PA that meet your requirements. I've never been to Mountville so can't render an opinion. I do know that the general area has a heavy Amish and Mennonite presence and those groupings are generally not that welcoming to strangers who move there on a permanent basis.

I suggest that you look back through the C-D PA, Northeastern PA, Harrisburg, Lehigh Valley and Philly forums. There are many threads from people wanting to move into those areas.

Do you work from home or have an independent income? The towns with the most reasonable housing costs are either way out in the hinterlands or have lost most of their industries and are struggling economically. If you need to find a job, you should look to areas where employment is brisk like the Philly 'burbs, places around Allentown, Harrisburg area and greater Pittsburgh.

[ki0eh]

Also bear in mind the old real estate canard that it's cheaper to buy a house with a pool, than to buy a house and install a pool.

That also reduces the chances that one would be tripped up by some weird zoning rule (which could masquerade as a "stormwater permit" too - the pool could be a permitted use in the zone, but the pool itself and/or the patio around it could trip a restriction on percentage of "impervious cover" on the lot).

[ElijahAstin]

I haven't been to Mountville, but Lititz is an extremely charming town in Lancaster County.

[bigben1234]

Check out York. It is significantly cheaper than Lancaster and Harrisburg.

You should feel comfortable sending your kids to any public school district in York County, except for York City School District.

Stay out of the City of York, and you will be in a relatively safe area.

York is not in the middle of nowhere. It's pop. is around 50,000, just a shade over 100,000 if you factor in the suburbs. Plenty of shopping, and only fifty minutes from Baltimore.

York is also more welcoming to outsiders than the Lancaster Area because there is less of an Amish heritage here.

[CCG2015]

Hi Lanc. resident here. I live just outside Mountville in West Hempfield.

Mountville is very very small, you drive thru it in less than 5 min. then you're in columbia. After that is York in one direction or about 20 min from Lanc. in other direction. I also work in Lititz, the town another poster mentioned. You should not have a problem finding a home in that price range in Mountville but I doubt you'll find too many with a pool. Mountville does have its own local pool tho which is very nice. Property taxes are very high in some areas, mainly my area and Lanc City but I dont think they're too bad in mountville (maybe around $2500-$3000K a yr for school & county on a 200K house). I have several friends that went to Hempfield (school your kids would go to) and I never really hear anything bad about it. I dont have kids myself to know what really goes on but if there's issues in a school, you would hear it on the news.

Here's the thing with any area of Lanc. Co., its a very "cliquey" area and very much divided by school districts. there aren't too many 'transplants' here b/c most are born and raised here and have been here for generations. The high school cliques last a lifetime. Its a very conservative, family oriented area. Church, farming, hunting are main things around here.
We do have the amish but you dont bother them. driving along the buggies isnt the big deal ppl make it out to be. You just pass on the left when you can and respect the horses space. The Amish do try to get out of the way for you, unlike like the road bikers here. I find them to be more of a road nuisance than the buggies.

Lanc. is a very polite area but not exactly friendly. People keep to themsleves and i doubt you'll ever get to know your neighbors. Most ppl stay within their cliques. I do know of some ppl from NY & NJ who relocated here and they had a hard time w/ how the ppl. are. they kind of make fun of us for not being "overly friendly". In fact the Amish will probably be the friendliest ppl you meet..lol. Most locals are leery of out of towners and just dont bother with them. I dont know why that is but I can say after being here a lifetime, the friendliest ppl I ever met were the ones not from this area and unfortunately they didnt stick around long. I'm not trying to paint the ppl in bad light, just saying it would be very hard for someone not in the are to develop social circles or make friends. Even I do now that Im older and I was born here. Most ppl still run with the same cliques from HS b/c thats all you know. If you're big into church and stuff like that, you'll find plenty of that but even the churches have their cliques.

Im not sure what stores you found in Mountville other than a few small strip 'mall' shops but Park City is only 15 min. from there and the Outlets about 25 min from Park City. Tons of chain restaurants but thats about it. they seem to be the only ones that stay afloat.

Weather here is probably what you're used to in NJ. Our winters are long and rough and the summers seem to go by in quickly. In fact Im trying to sell my house so I can move out of this area b/c Im just sick of the weather and lack of job opportunities. Not sure what you do but you may find it hard to find work here. Jobs outside retail and service industry are scarce.

I dont see too many houses with HOA's. some small communities may have them but its def. not common. Getting a pool permit should not be difficult if you have the land but Im not sure how that works. I do know of a cpl ppl with them so it cant be that hard to get.

We do have crime here but its usually contained to the Lanc city and southern end. There seems to be a shooting a week lately but again its always in the city. You will hear of break ins and stuff like that but I think crime is going up no matter where you live. Overall I feel safe here but I would never let my door/car unlocked and there are certain areas you just dont go to at certain times. I do go walking and feel safe but it really depends on the area.

Not sure if this helps at all but being so close to the area your speaking of made me post. so odd to hear someone from another area wanting to move to Mountville since most ppl have never heard of it. If you have any other specific questions I may be able to help. I browse on here quite a bit looking for other areas to move. Good luck on your move.
Theres a chance I may run into you since its so small here and only a few local stores.

[ki0eh]

Nearly any residential subdivision platted in the last 10-15 years in southcentral PA will have a homeowners' association as a consequence of needing one to meet stormwater requirements. But they usually come with the full complement of rules.