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Old 05-03-2020, 04:03 PM
 
1,138 posts, read 1,194,688 times
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We recently moved to Lancaster from living overseas for the past 20 years (originally from North Jersey and wife is from China) and I have to say we are blown away with how great the Lancaster area is. Since we have two young kids, we wanted good schools, and a backyard so downtown Lancaster wasn't an option, so we settled on Manheim Township which is a 10 minutes drive to the city of Lancaster.

I'm amazed with how much this area has to offer. Overlook Park is amazing, with the town library, a public golf course, two driving ranges, baseball/softball fields, dog park, hiking trails, bocci ball court, skate boarding park and so much more. All throughout Manheim Township there are trails and parks and the local town did such a great job with the landscaping and walkways.

One question I have is, where are all of these people who live in the Lancaster areas, working at? I don't see a booming service, tech or strong manufacturing sector outside maybe farming. There is a Whole Foods, Wegman's, Costco, Ethan Allen furniture store, Zale's and Jared Jewelry, and then there's the Park City Mall. Obviously there's money in this areas, but I just don't understand where all these people are working to afford these higher end retailers.
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Old 05-04-2020, 07:05 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,602 posts, read 77,235,199 times
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I'm glad you enjoy Lancaster, and welcome to Pennsylvania!

My ex and his family hailed from Lancaster County (Conestoga Township), and I always marveled at how bucolic the countryside was whenever we visited his homestead.

If you haven't explored yet then I highly recommend visiting Pine View Dairy (albeit I'd likely wait until they can fully reopen once the governor's COVID-19 orders are lifted). It's a great place with fantastic ice cream!

We also liked Tom + Chee. It's a kid-friendly grilled cheese and dipping soup chain that has a location not far from you. I forget if it was in the Whole Foods or Wegmans shopping center.

As far as employment is concerned I'm not really sure either. Out of my ex's family and friends? His father works as a machinist at a local factory. His mother works as an office manager at an office supply service. His parents' friends? One owns his own auto body and auto detailing shop, and his wife works as a Starbucks barista. His sister is a psychiatric nurse manager, and her husband is some sort of engineer. His other sister and her husband are both teachers. I really can't think of any one "linchpin" employer in Lancaster, but all of these colleges, hospitals, schools, factories, restaurants, stores, etc. combined provide a stable economy, apparently, as Lancaster County is exploding in growth on its own merit while being too far to reasonably commute daily to Philadelphia or Baltimore. I'd imagine some people along the 283 corridor commute daily to Harrisburg.
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Old 05-04-2020, 09:00 AM
 
Location: New York City
9,333 posts, read 9,185,202 times
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Between Franklin & Marshall, medical centers, agriculture, manufacturing, and satellite offices, there is enough to sustain a healthy economy.

Also, Johnson & Johnson has a decent sized office near Lititz.
Penn Medicine has a huge facility near Park City Center.
Plus parts of the Lancaster burbs are within commuting distance to some of the large employers in Chester County and world class medical / research centers in Hersey.

I'm sure there are other healthy industries, those are just off the top of my head. The general Lancaster area is actually fairly affluent, there is a lot of poverty in the city though.

And yes, Lancaster is a really cool town, definitely a hidden gem.

Last edited by cpomp; 05-04-2020 at 09:04 AM.. Reason: edit
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Old 05-04-2020, 09:58 AM
 
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Thanks Steel City. We will certainly check out the dairy farm and Tom & Chee place you mentioned.

Cpomp - Yeah, not only poverty but there is sadly serious crime in downtown Lancaster. Seems like a shooting (mostly drug related) every week. Large Puerto Rican community that reminds me of Reading, where some family live nearby, but it doesn't seem as bad as Reading. Thanks for the economic info. Makes sense.
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Old 05-04-2020, 07:45 PM
 
Location: Harrisburg, PA
1,028 posts, read 947,137 times
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Lancaster has a nice downtown, lot of shops, pedestrians, vibrancy. Reminds me of a combination York, PA (architecture, though slightly fewer rowhouses than York) and University Park (State College, PA). Lancaster County is fast growing, and it is very desirable. Lancaster city has some crime and gun problems, but unlike what you would find in other similar nearby cities like Harrisburg, York, Reading, etc. Lancaster has had a lot of investment in its downtown, especially over by F&M. Lot of nicer, well-maintained older buildings too.

To answer your question: a lot of people in Lancaster County work in Harrisburg (they take 283 to get to work). Before coronavirus, I know I-283 NB would back-up SIGNIFICANTLY in the morning to get onto I-83 SB to downtown Harrisburg. I also think many people in Eastern Lancaster County commute to the Downingtown, Exton, Malvern, Paoli, West Chester areas (even KOP, but that'd be a hike). A lot of people commute to Lebanon, Reading, and York areas too! Let's not forget that Lancaster County has many job centers too - Lancaster city, Elizabethtown (called Etown by many locals), Columbia, Willow Street, the massive Manheim Auto Auction, and Millersburg University.

Well good luck to you and welcome to Pennsylvania (PA)! (:
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Old 05-05-2020, 07:56 AM
 
1,138 posts, read 1,194,688 times
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Thanks G500.

I see lots of guys with NY Yankees and other sports stuff on their cars or wearing sports gear from the NY area. Is this also part of the economic boom of why Lancaster has grown so much in the past 5 to 8 years? Lots of NJ/NJ people I know have moved out of those expensive states into Lehigh Valley and other parts of PA. I would assume the same for Lancaster, but probably not as many as what I've seen in the Lehigh Valley area.
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Old 05-07-2020, 11:59 PM
 
Location: Lancaster, PA
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We moved to Lanc from Austin. We love it here, highest on the list was affordability, proximity to family, and excellent schools. I wouldn't call Overlook Park amazing but it's very nice.
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Old 05-08-2020, 01:19 AM
 
Location: Huntsville Area
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Lancaster County is maybe the premier diversified farm economy anywhere. The countryside is very, very beautiful and so many of the farms are Amish owned. There is also a large tourism business in the area, especially on weekends.

Lancaster area communities are very family centered and the local area schools are really great.

One of the big local employers is Case New Holland, with large haytool and baler factories in the eastern Lancaster town of New Holland.
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Old 05-08-2020, 05:28 AM
 
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We don't have anything that relates to a nice public town park in North Jersey which compares to Overlook Park. Perhaps other areas in the country have these large park's with many things to do for the kids and parents as well. I think it's pretty awesome and super happy to be in Lancaster.
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Old 05-10-2020, 01:07 AM
 
Location: Germantown, Philadelphia
13,937 posts, read 8,779,876 times
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Lancaster has to be the coolest smaller city on the entire East Coast.

It has a lively downtown that's home to the oldest farmers' market in the country. Great restaurants and shops, some architectural gems, lovely surrounding countryside — the most productive farmland in Pennsylvania to boot.

If the city itself is largely poor and Hispanic with a crime problem, well, it sure looks a lot better than Reading, and its downtown has more going on too. And frankly, it doesn't look all that poor.

And it even has a gay bar. (If Lancaster County is fairly conservative, Lancaster City is pretty liberal.)

I'm surprised that everyone trying to describe the pillars of the Lancaster-area economy aside from farming skips around the one manufacturing enterprise headquartered there: Armstrong World Industries, the leading manufacturer of flooring in the United States.
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