Lancaster for Young Couple? (Philadelphia, Reading: real estate, for rent, amusement park)

[Atlaskish]

Hi, me and my wife are getting out of the military soon. We are a young couple and have been happily married for two years ( 24yr and 23yr of age). We are highly interested in Lancaster city/suburban surrounding area. Neither of us have lived in PA but this particular area is ideal as far as driving to each others families (about 3 hours to either one). I'm reaching out to anyone living in or around this area for input.

I know there are a few posts about this area but some of my questions are more specific.

What I need to know:
*How bad is the crime rate, specifically in regards to rapes, drugs and prop. dmg

*Cost of living and average availability of real estate for rent for about 1,000sq/ft. (we have two large dogs and a cat)

*I am originally from Annapolis Md and she from Barryville & Middletown NY. how does this area compare to both?

*Colleges? an opinion on Central PA College? It has caught our eye right now, we plan on going full time.

*Job availability

*Last and least important, I know there is a club in-city that has alot of rock bands come throught ect. Also know that there are a few irish pubs around. What is there to do for a couple that likes the rock, occasional bar scene?

Thanks for all your time in reading and any assistance you might provide.

[pman]

crime rates in the city are relatively high but like any city, there are good neighborhoods and bad. I'd be surprised if overall crime hasn't entered a longer term downward trend in lancaster city. it's a good place for young people as there don't seem to be a ton of them in the county (there are many, many senior facilities in the county and can seem, well, a bit on the quiet side even for a couple). that said, lancaster city is old, and you're talking about small yard and a rowhome...not that there's anything wrong with that, but some folks don't like it.

[Atlaskish]

Yeah I could tell from personal research that its a relatively quiet area. Trying to figure out where the middle ground is for us. We are not exactly keen on inner-city congested living but on the flip-side complete and total solitude would drive us nuts. More of the suburban type of people, the middle ground so to speak.

[pman]

I consider Lancaster city suburban like myself and the suburbs thereof exurban like since it's such a small place.

Middletown, NY As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 25,388 people, 9,466 households, and 5,963 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,907.1/km² (4,939.5/sq mi). There were 10,124 housing units at an average density of 760.5/km² (1,969.7/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 68.68% White, 15.13% African American, 0.75% Native American, 1.69% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.33% from other races, and 4.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.11% of the population.

Middletown, Orange County, New York - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 56,348 people, 20,933 households, and 12,162 families residing in the city. The population density was 7,616.5 people per square mile (2,940.0/km²). There were 23,024 housing units at an average density of 3,112.1/sq mi (1,201.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.55% White, 14.09% African American, 0.44% Native American, 2.46% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 17.44% from other races, and 3.94% from two or more races. 30.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race...Population 55,381 (2000) - urban 55,561 - metro 494,486[/quote]
Lancaster, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

looks like more fewer units per sq mile but more people per sq mile yet household size doesn't differ. must be something missing. the town is 2 sq mi larger than middletown. there may be some places IN the city that suits your needs, since those are averages and I'm sure certain parts are more dense than others (wonder how the college is counted). also, have you considered in-town living in Elizabethtown? similar pop density to both middletown and annapolis. small college town but twice the size of lititz and mt. joy. lots of locals trash lancaster city but it's really showing signs of improvement, IMO.

[danwxman]

Speaking of Central Pennsylvania College, the main campus is right outside Harrisburg and I have known some people who go there.... they all have had mixed to negative opinions of the college. From what I understand some of their programs have been lacking accreditation for years...but I do not know that as a fact.

[lorandsean]

Originally Posted by Atlaskish

Hi, me and my wife are getting out of the military soon. We are a young couple and have been happily married for two years ( 24yr and 23yr of age). We are highly interested in Lancaster city/suburban surrounding area. Neither of us have lived in PA but this particular area is ideal as far as driving to each others families (about 3 hours to either one). I'm reaching out to anyone living in or around this area for input.

I know there are a few posts about this area but some of my questions are more specific.

What I need to know:
*How bad is the crime rate, specifically in regards to rapes, drugs and prop. dmg

*Cost of living and average availability of real estate for rent for about 1,000sq/ft. (we have two large dogs and a cat)

*I am originally from Annapolis Md and she from Barryville & Middletown NY. how does this area compare to both?

*Colleges? an opinion on Central PA College? It has caught our eye right now, we plan on going full time.

*Job availability

*Last and least important, I know there is a club in-city that has alot of rock bands come throught ect. Also know that there are a few irish pubs around. What is there to do for a couple that likes the rock, occasional bar scene?

Thanks for all your time in reading and any assistance you might provide.

Hello. My husband and I have been living in Lancaster (right outside the city, in Manheim Township) for the last two years; he took a job in Reading, so we relocated here from central NJ. Some thoughts on your questions:

Crime Rate - this varies wildly by the area where you live. Parts of the city are awful, parts are fine. Areas just outside the city, like where we live, seem fine.

Real estate for rent - we pay $1300/month for a 2000+ sq ft townhouse. Rents seem very reasonable. Check Craigslist to get a good idea of what things go for.

I think Lancaster is comparable to Annapolis, minus the bay and the capitol. However, there is a lot of beautiful old architecture and history here.

Local colleges are a community college (HACC), and then Millersville University, Elizabethtown College, and Franklin and Marshall. The latter is the most expensive.

I can't speak to job availability. My husband moved here for a long-term contract and I work for a company outside the state. The unemployment rate seems lower than the national average but I am not sure.

The Chameleon Club gets lots of bands. There is an Irish Pub called Annie Bailey's. I would check Fly Magazine (available on-line) to get a sense of the local bar/club/restaurant scene.

Finally, I will advise you that what you will absolutely find the most difficult in your transition, if you choose to move here, is how hostile native Lancastrians are to outsiders. The vast majority of people we've met here are either from families who have been here multiple generations or are married to someone who is. They look very askance at outsiders and kind of question what you are doing here. As a result, it is difficult to make friends because as one person I met said, those positions are filled. They are no longer accepting applications - why would they when they are hanging out with the same people from their kindergarten class? Two anecdotes to that assertion. We met a man who has lived here for over 40 years, since he did his medical residency at the Lancaster hospital. He is a native of Philly however - and he told us that when he dies, his obit in the Lancaster paper will undoubtedly say - "Philadelphia man dies in Lancaster". Second, there was a lesbian couple who posted on City-Data at some point wondering how they would be accepted in this area (note that outside of Lancaster City, Lancaster County is a very socially conservative, religious area). A poster replied that people would probably have more of an issue with them being outsiders than being lesbians. For some reason, natives of Lancaster for the most part are not keen on people relocating here. Of course this has been our experience, your results may vary.

[slb9123]

I was forced to move here 3 years ago because my parents lost their business. I used to live in the Cincinnati, OH area and there you could be at a mall in 10 minutes and be at an amusement park in about 20. Here it is very different, it takes roughly 30-40 min to get to most places from where I live. Obviously I don't live in the city, but what I can tell you is that if you enjoy a night life and hate driving behind people going 10 mph to videotape cows in fields (during the tourist season) then Lancaster isn't for you. There is next to nothing fun to do here and it seems to me like you guys would enjoy a night life and things to do. I'm off to Miami, FL as soon as possible but that will be a couple years from now when I graduate college. Don't move here, you will regret every second of it!

[pman]

cincy is a large city, lancaster is not. pretty simple really. isn't cincy more comparable to pittsburgh than lancaster? if you want a big city, don't choose lancaster.

[slb9123]

I said cincy area, the city is called fairfield. It was a suburb area 30 min outside of cincy, so im not trying to compare a huge city to lancaster. If you like it here that's great. We are all entitled to our own opinions. I will go out on a limb here and say you are over 30 correct?

[pman]

Originally Posted by slb9123

I said cincy area, the city is called fairfield. It was a suburb area 30 min outside of cincy, so im not trying to compare a huge city to lancaster. If you like it here that's great. We are all entitled to our own opinions. I will go out on a limb here and say you are over 30 correct?

lancaster is not 30 min from Philly, still not comparable. yes I'm over 30, which may explain why I'm not comparing lancaster to a larger metro area. It's a small city. For what it is, it's okay. there are worse small cities out there and there aer better ones. only someone who is in college would be naive enough to think that just because someone's over 30 means they don't know anything. I'd wager I've seen a lot more than you. If I were 22 and liked large metros, I wouldn't choose lancaster. in fact, I didn't. I'm from just outside Philly, much larger than cincy.
according to wikipedia
cincy is 378k in 80 sq miles for a density of 4273 and a metro of 2.16 million
pittsburgh is 316k in a 58 sq mile area with a pop density of 5,636 and ametro pop of 2.46 million
lancaster is 55k people in 7.8 sq miles for a pop density of 7,614 in a metro of 495k
Philadelphia is 1..54 million in 135 sq miles for a pop density of 11,410 per sq mile in a metro area of 5.8 million (80 min by train to NYC)
Miami is 362k with a pop density of 6,558 per sq mi in a metro area of 5.44 million.
All I'm trying to say is that you need to weight your opinion. From the numbers above, it's obvious that pittsburgh and cincy are comparable, Miami and Philly are comparably sized, Lancaster is much, much smaller. Consequently, it's going to have a heckuva lot less nightlife than much larger places. people always think they're cooler than tourists but the fact is, we're all tourists at some time or another. Lancaster county is indeed full of older folks, my parents live out there, which is why I'm familiar with it. It's improving but for nightlife of comparably sized cities, I'd take Harrisburg over it. how much nightlife does middletown, ny have? it's half the size of Lancaster. FWIW, it's likley I'd feel the same way you do at your age but I'm from a large metro and wasn't much interested in small city living (though West Chester, PA is nice) to begin with, obviously this person is. From what I can say is that Lancaster is more interesting than it was even a few years ago. I'd guess that it's going to change if the trip time on the train to Philly is cut to 50 min, for better or for worse depending on your perspective.