Relocating to Chambersburg PA

[insanemomof3]

the OP mentioned chambersburg not fayettville. I can speak only of chambersburg and my experience with marion elementary.
I didnt check out the town as much as you can from driving around, shopping and eating here, calling the schools..but our moved was job related and had to be sudden.
I agree it would be wonderful if we all had the opportunity to visit and vacation in the areas we want to live but thats not always a luxury.
this site was helpful in many ways in the past.
I have tried to talk to all the people I come in contact with. I am a nurse and very people oriented. I really am not taking this town personal. I think that on the few days I get a nice response or a smile, those are the days I cherish.
My son is doing better, and we just supplement the education he is getting now. I agree you make it what it is...we are not settling for less.
There are tons of new housing going in, as well as the new railroad is here,and trucking is definately a hot commodity in this area..
My husband is in trucking and doing well in a sluggish economy.
I just wanted to balance out what the readers were hearing from this community.
I do agree that the surrounding areas of chambersburg do appear to be much more pleasing..
good luck on your moves.

[GJHJ]

My wife, family and I moved her several months ago, and tonight is a perfect example of why we moved here. Everyone (except for a couple of teenagers) that has come to the door has been in costume, and they were all polite, including the teenagers. This area is wonderful and is a fantastic place to raise a family. I'm glad we were able to make the move here before they started school.

[h_van]

Originally Posted by insanemomof3

we have lived here for about 8 mnths now, and I have to say my entire family hates it. We have a child in first grade now, he attended kindergarden here also, the schools are old and run down. There are many many to chose from but that being said, they are poorly run. The english as a second language kids really hold back the english speaking kids. My son was an exceptional student prior to moving here, here he is bored and the class is so slow paced.
There are a LOT of mexicans here, and the town as a whole is not accepting of outsiders. It is growing some, but there are still no real good restraunts here or things to do.
we can wait to get out of this area asap.
also there are a lot of new town home, single family homes going up in the chambersburg, waynesboro, area and let me tell you looks are deceiving. The homes are being built fast and sloppy. They are also renting and selling to muliti families..so that the streets are starting to look like parking lots.
honestly if you want a nice place to raise a family,,try mechanicsburg pa

I've got to say that my family agrees with you. It is very hard to be a transplant in this area. My daughter goes to Corpus Christi -- only because of the poor school district in this area. I'll be honest and say that Corpus is not much better. When we went to register our daughter we took some of her records with us, along with grade expectations. Anyway, the public district informed us that this year would be an easy year for her, as she had done the fifth grade expections last year -- so the entire year would be review for her.
We relocated from Michigan and have found this area to be culturally dead. There is little diversity. People, being the "locals" are rude to us all the time. The school parents are rude to my family at sporting events and functions. We've never felt more isolated or out of place.
This area is quite consertitive. I understand that the locals have a comfort level within their community, and that's great for them, just not so much for others.
We've lived here for 5 months and our car has already been broken into, not to mention an attempted break in only 2 days ago. We've filed a police report and called about the attempt. The police were in our neighborhood 3 days ago with lights flashing and people lined up outside. It's so sad, especially since the community we are renting in is only 3 years old.
A great company brought us here, hopefully they will move us somewhere else in the next couple of years...
The only good thing about being here is that we are much closer to many other locations. We have to get out of town every few weeks, we need to get out and experience things. We head out to: Frederick, MD, DC, Baltimore, and many others. There is also absolutely nothing to do here. Everything is a good hour away. The only good place to eat is Montezuma's.

[insanemomof3]

I am sorry you are also experiencing this trouble. I cant agree more that the schools are really in bad shape.I wonder if we are on the same block! We do love our home but wish the property management company was a little more strict about the mutli family homes..My children are 7,3,1. we should get together as new families in the area and let our kids play..

[GJHJ]

Originally Posted by h_van

I've got to say that my family agrees with you. It is very hard to be a transplant in this area. My daughter goes to Corpus Christi -- only because of the poor school district in this area. I'll be honest and say that Corpus is not much better. When we went to register our daughter we took some of her records with us, along with grade expectations. Anyway, the public district informed us that this year would be an easy year for her, as she had done the fifth grade expections last year -- so the entire year would be review for her.
We relocated from Michigan and have found this area to be culturally dead. There is little diversity. People, being the "locals" are rude to us all the time. The school parents are rude to my family at sporting events and functions. We've never felt more isolated or out of place.
This area is quite consertitive. I understand that the locals have a comfort level within their community, and that's great for them, just not so much for others.
We've lived here for 5 months and our car has already been broken into, not to mention an attempted break in only 2 days ago. We've filed a police report and called about the attempt. The police were in our neighborhood 3 days ago with lights flashing and people lined up outside. It's so sad, especially since the community we are renting in is only 3 years old.
A great company brought us here, hopefully they will move us somewhere else in the next couple of years...
The only good thing about being here is that we are much closer to many other locations. We have to get out of town every few weeks, we need to get out and experience things. We head out to: Frederick, MD, DC, Baltimore, and many others. There is also absolutely nothing to do here. Everything is a good hour away. The only good place to eat is Montezuma's.

I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a bad experience here in Chambersburg. My family (wife, 5 year old boy, 4 year old girl) moved here in March, and we love it! We moved so that my wife could stay home with the kids before they start school (my son just started kindergarten at one of the public schools) and be there when they get home from school. My commute to work is now 80 miles one-way, but I think that it is more than worth it.

As for the break-ins, it has nothing to do with Chambersburg. As a former property manager of an apartment complex in MD, I can tell you that it is a symptom of most rental complexes.

As for the locals being rude, I can only tell you about our experiences. During our first trip to Wal Mart, we were greeted with a "Hello" or "Hi" by at least 5 different people, and just about every associate. Which is a stark contrast from the Wal Mart we used to shop at in MD where hardly any of the associates spoke to the customers, let alone in English. We went downtown for the Christmas parade, and had a great time, especially since it was OK to say "Merry Christmas".

Being close to other metro areas is very nice, if that's what you want. I was born and raised in Montgomery County, MD, just outside of DC, and have had enough of that hustle and bustle.

I hope your experience here gets better. And we can't wait to try Montezuma's.

[rosehaverisen]

hi, i am locating for any info i can get on this city, concerning renting a house, what the city is like, and what there is to do there. i'm relocating from cleveland ohio, for my job!

[pman]

can we hae ScranBarre do one of his/her photo tours of chambersburg?

[aacopd]

"As for the locals being rude, I can only tell you about our experiences. During our first trip to Wal Mart, we were greeted with a "Hello" or "Hi" by at least 5 different people"

Do Wal Mart Greeters Count??

[cyannsi]

Hello
Your post invited further information - Thank you. We're kind of misfits here in Reno - Hate gambling, prostitution, and the school system here stinks - it's like 45 on the list. Beside that, we're conservative and sold-out Christians - non denominational. Hubby is being transferred to c-burg - he's not caucasian - Eastern Indian decent. He's hightly educated and totally americanized. We left the east coast originally because he couldn't get a fair shake in promotions and the like (in SC) There was the good-ol boy mentality and hubby isn't a "good ol boy". Reno worked out very well for him in the way of not being discriminated against. I'm concerned about how will people treat him in Chambersburg - will he be welcomed? I can't bear to move to a place where we'll be shunned because he's a bit more tanned than the rest of us. I'm a stay at home mom and am looking for a good church to get involved in, bible studies, prayer groups, etc. .
How about schools? My 5yr old son is exceptionally bright - I have read that the PA schools are slow b/c they need to try to keep up with the foreign students. We'd even consider private/Christian school or Montessori. Would we be better off looking in nearby towns to live? We'll likely rent and looking for a newer style house.

Originally Posted by sharris

I live in Hanover PA about 40 min from Chambersburg. I moved to PA to buy an house I and my family could afford at the time. We love it here and will never move away. Found the schools to be sound. Taxes are good. Adams county area is still lower then most. Piece and quite. Low crime.
Aside from all that housing is very affordable compared to the west coast. Life is a bit slower in PA.
However plenty of shopping and things to do here.
Do you have school age children? I can send you school reports.
Have you visited PA? Need some local information?
What some house listings? I would be happy to send you anything you need. Just ask me...Good Luck.