Relocating to Chambersburg PA (Philadelphia, Lancaster: low crime, houses, to buy)

[jrice]

My wife and I are thinking of moving to Chambersburg this summer from Las Vegas. Aside from slower pace is there any other reason why someone might want to avoid moving there. The reason we chose (or are planning to choose) Chambersburg is the fact it is slower paced, low illegal immigrants, decent housing costs, good micro economy(according to a few articles I have read), and appears a good place to raise children. Besides any hidden pitfalls what is the winter like--temp and snowfall? Neither really bothers us (originally from upstate NY) and it is a welcome trade considering we deal with 115 degree summers

[pinetar10]

not so sure about the low illegal immigrants. go to downtown chambersburg and there are many mexicans. not sure if they're legal or illegal though

[jrice]

If they have the ability to speak english then its not a concern--because in Vegas they dont have or pretend not to have that ability

[mleo]

Chambersburg is a great area to raise a family. It's definately a slower pace than Las Vegas. In fact, it may be the total opposite of Las Vegas. You may want to check out the Hershey/Lancaster/Harrisburg area in PA. Let me know if you need some assistance with finding a home.

[CHIP72]

From passing through Chambersburg a number of times and spending a limited amount of time there, I think Chambersburg is a pretty good town. Having said that, I think there a number of towns in south central PA that are probably better than Chambersburg; Carlisle and Gettysburg come to mind.

One moderate and one minor negative about Chambersburg (one of which is applicable to many towns in south central PA):

1) There is a lot of truck traffic on Interstate 81. Like many communities along I-81, there are a number of warehouses within a few miles of Chambersburg, including at the edge of town. (Carlisle would be worse in this regard, while Hagerstown, which is about 20-25 miles south of C-burg across the Mason-Dixon Line, would be better.)

2) US 30 is fairly congested in the Chambersburg area, though nowhere near as bad as the worst roads in the Las Vegas area (like I-15 at rush hour, the Strip, or the major streets intersecting I-15 and the Strip).

Incidentally, I've been to Las Vegas a few times (not because of any interest in gambling, but because I have relatives who live in Las Vegas and Pahrump), and I really dislike Las Vegas. It's a bland suburb with an adult entertainment center in the middle, though seeing slot machines in convenience stores is interesting.

[jrice]

I like the fact its the opposite of Las Vegas actually. Since I plan on reopening my IT company there I wont need a job(travel is a part of my business). The housing market in Chambersburg looks ideal, we are looking at a 2100sft house on an acre for 280K--in Vegas you'd get a under 1700 sft and be lucky for a 18ft long by 6ft deep back yard--sand and rock(no grass).

[CHIP72]

One thing to keep in mind if you are traveling a lot (including presumably airline travel) is Chambersburg is not close to any significant, commercial airport. The closest airports to Chambersburg with multiple airlines would probably be (in order) Harrisburg, Washington Dulles, and Baltimore-Washington. Dulles and BWI are much larger (and generally cheaper, especially in the case of BWI) than HIA, though HIA does have service from every major, non-low cost carrier (American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, USAirways) to at least 2 of each carrier's hubs. That being the case, you may want to live closer to Harrisburg or York (BWI would be slightly closer, Dulles would be considerably further, and Philadelphia International comes into play as a viable option) or perhaps Hagerstown (both BWI and Dulles, as well as DC National, would be closer). Putting yourself closer to Harrisburg or Hagerstown would also provide advantages highway-wise, as both places are key crossroad locations (Hagerstown is where I-81 and I-70 meet). Harrisburg in particular has a lot of major roads passing through (I-76, I-81, I-83, US 15, US 22/322, PA 283, plus I-78 via I-81) and has good connections to many big and intermediate-sized metro areas in every direction extending away from Harrisburg. One final, potential positive with Harrisburg is it has fairly extensive Amtrak service to/from Lancaster, Philadelphia, and New York.

Just as a point of clarification, Chambersburg is about 50-55 miles southwest of Harrisburg and about 20-25 miles north of Hagerstown. Both places, especially Harrisburg, are much larger than Chambersburg and wouldn't give you the same kind of relaxed, small/intermediate-sized town living Chambersburg would. Neither place has major hussle and bussle anything like Las Vegas either though.

[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.

[jrice]

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.

Thanks. My son is going to be kindergarten for the start of the next school year.

I would like info, I have already received some from the Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce, which to my surprise was a nice coffee table book describing the town and its history. But I love information

The slower pace is a welcome change from Vegas. I have visited PA alot in my 20's (33 now) and we are planning on going to visit next month--see the sites, house hunt, etc

One thing to keep in mind if you are traveling a lot (including presumably airline travel) is Chambersburg is not close to any significant, commercial airport. The closest airports to Chambersburg with multiple airlines would probably be (in order) Harrisburg, Washington Dulles, and Baltimore-Washington. Dulles and BWI are much larger (and generally cheaper, especially in the case of BWI) than HIA, though HIA does have service from every major, non-low cost carrier (American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, USAirways) to at least 2 of each carrier's hubs. That being the case, you may want to live closer to Harrisburg or York (BWI would be slightly closer, Dulles would be considerably further, and Philadelphia International comes into play as a viable option) or perhaps Hagerstown (both BWI and Dulles, as well as DC National, would be closer). Putting yourself closer to Harrisburg or Hagerstown would also provide advantages highway-wise, as both places are key crossroad locations (Hagerstown is where I-81 and I-70 meet). Harrisburg in particular has a lot of major roads passing through (I-76, I-81, I-83, US 15, US 22/322, PA 283, plus I-78 via I-81) and has good connections to many big and intermediate-sized metro areas in every direction extending away from Harrisburg. One final, potential positive with Harrisburg is it has fairly extensive Amtrak service to/from Lancaster, Philadelphia, and New York.

The only airline travel I do is with my family for vacations, all of my business travel is road based, last year I put 15K on my business van.

[military spouse]

Hi,
We moved away from the area about 5 months ago, but we've kept a house there and might move back one day. It is a great area. There is a small hispanic population in the immediate downtown area, but it will seem microscopic compared to anything out west. Probably a several block area. We used to laugh when our neighbors talked about "the Mexicans moving in." We've lived in El Paso, Sierra Vista, Phoneix and there were some Hispanics in that immediate area of Chambersburg and a few Hispanic businesses, but definately the minority and you shouldn't be exposed to it unless you spend time in that area. Actually, there are a few taco shops on Main St. that are actually pretty good.

Our daughter really misses living there. She attended Marion Elementary (slightly over 100 kids) and it was such a good experience. I can't think of a better place to raise kids. Of course, Gettysburg, Mercersburg, Greencastle, Shippensburg and numerous other communities would be similar. Very nice people. I would suggest living in a "newer" development which might help you make friends. We lived in Laurich Meadows (Hwy. 11 and Mill Rd.) and there was a variety of housing that ranged from new to about 13 years old). There were a fair number of people that had relocated from other areas and made it much easier to meet people.