Lancaster - yes or no? (York, Ephrata: crime rate, mortgage, new home)

[dazed_confused]

Help, please! We recently came home (to Long Island, NY) after a trip to Lancaster and are considering a move there. We are looking for a place within 3-4 hours drive of NY to visit family who remain here. We have 2 kids (age 8 and 6), so schools are important; are looking for a suburban setting (neither too city, nor too rural) We liked the School Lane Hills area - should be able to afford to trade up to a home in the lower end of price range there and still have a manageable mortgage payment.

But now upon further research (including reading postings on this forum), some questions are arising. According to one school-rating website, the public schools in the School Lane Hills area look questionable and I'm concerned that kids might be too "insulated" in private school. Ideally would like them in a public school, exposed to diverse population, but not sacrificing safety or educational standards.

Also, some posters bring up crime rate as a source of concern in Lancaster, as well as a "we hate outsiders" mentality being encountered.

So, can anyone out there shed any light on schools, crime, feeling welcome (or not) in School Lane Hills or elsewhere in the Lancaster area? Or can anyone maybe alternatives that might fit the bill elsewhere in PA?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[Dawne]

Dazed-Confused, the Lancaster area is so beautiful. Perhaps considering a neighboring community such as Ephrata, Lititz, or Strasburg would be better than Lancaster itself. Sorry I can't shed any light on School Lane Hills, as I'm not familiar with that area.

I wish you luck in your search. I'd suggest finding a neighborhood or area that you like and then talk to people in the stores or if someone's out in their yard, just stop and ask them questions.

[Oldiebutgoodie26]

Your kids would be attending the School District of Lancaster. It's a city school system- complete with all the ills of a city. Yep, your kids will be in classes with minority students (diversity!), but McCaskey HS has about an 80% graduation rate. Personally, I would not let my kids go to SDL if I could avoid it, just so they can experience non-white friends. Their future would be too important, but, that's just me. There are minority kids in Warwick SD (Lititz), Conestoga Valley SD, Manheim Township SD, Hempfield SD- and these are good public schools. You would definitely be sacrificing safety and educational standards in the SDL, in my opinion.

Hmmmm...lots of us (not all) have agreed that this is NOT a friendly area, especially to outsiders. I mean, it is palpable here, this feeling of people putting up a brick wall. Visiting here and living here are two completely different situations! I would do some more research before signing on the dotted line.

[amsm196]

I keep hearing that also as i read through some of these forums about the " Lancaster County " locals not being so warm towards newcomers, but does anybody here live in Lancaster County ? If so why would they be so rude or mean to newcomers? We do live in a free country, we can move anywhere we want. I'm originally from Long Island NY myself and now Vegas in both places i dont mind and never really seen any problems when newcomers move into NY or Nevada.

[jeb412]

I too, have been on this forum, looking into moving to the Lancaster County area--specifically Lititz, Manheim. If there are more than a handful of us, just on this thread, thinking of relocating to the area, than there must be many more out there as well. If there is an influx of us "outsiders" (although I currently live only an hour and a half away), then the whole "brick wall" situation might be a mute point. With that many "newbies" to the area, we're bound to find friends. Right?

[snowghost]

Log on to other sites, and particularly to postings for areas experiencing growing pains- you'll be likely to find a lot of resistance, and even pressure, to new people coming in. Why? We want to change things. We build enormous new homes with our out of state dollars, we think our way is better, if the locals will just open their eyes, and if we're moving to rural areas, we look upon the locals as bumpkins. Its all over! I've lived in small towns across the US, and I read evidence of this in all small town local papers. If you want to move to a place where people NEED new blood and money, then you'll likely find open arms. I find that I make friends with others who have moved in and are like me- I'd like some greater diversity (even in upbringing) among my friends, but its natural to be drawn to those like me. In my current town, I joke that I only have one friend who was actually born in that state, and she's not considered a local because she just moved to this town 15 years ago!

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by amsm196

I keep hearing that also as i read through some of these forums about the " Lancaster County " locals not being so warm towards newcomers, but does anybody here live in Lancaster County ? If so why would they be so rude or mean to newcomers?

I do not live in Lancaster County, but my parents were born & raised there, and my brother lives in Lititz. Dad grew up in Lancaster and Mom in Ephrata.

Lititz is a quaint old town surrounded by beautiful countryside. It's gaining in popularity among young, educated professionals, and the median income is a bit higher then Ephrata and Manheim ... as is the pct of college-educated residents. I believe the median age in Ephrata the youngest of the three. (www.moving.com allows you to view these types of things in a side-by-side fashion). Anyway, all three have their charms.

As far as locals' attitudes towards newcomers, I don't find folks to be rude or mean. Some believe that the multi-generational locals are not as welcoming and outgoing as they could/should be, and I suppose this is sometimes true; but I've found this to be true in a lot of small towns - not isolated to Lancaster County - in which people grow up and live within the same circle of friends their full adult life ... not that there's anything wrong with that.

I assure you that there are plenty of warm, kind people, as well.

[amsm196]

Thanks everybody for the helpful info. Jeb where are you originally from? We are a family of 4 also looking into the Manheim area, we visited Lancaster County in October, but it was a very short stay and had very little time to get a real good feel for the area, We did drive around alot day & night and we didnt run into any bad areas.Currently we live in Las Vegas Nevada and on a daily basis i have to drive through some pretty bad areas when i travel to & from work, i really cant see the Lancaster crime being anywhere near as bad as it is here, drive by shootings happen almost every few nights here.

We happen to live in the safe part of Vegas ( Thank God ).

Does anybody here know how well the job market is in Lancaster County? No particular job, just the market in general.

Thanks again ------T

[Coben Majere]

I grew up in Lancaster Co....Columbia, near the river to be more specific. People can be hard to know, but once you are in it's ok. I think we are mistrustful of outsiders and expecially because of those "big city" types.

Many have seen beautiful countrysides, filled with rolling hills and farms turn into the "big city people magnets" called OUTLET malls. Not to mention the crime that has come here from the drug trafficing. Phila/Balti/NYC all seem to have a pipeline to Lancaster/York with gangs in the city centers. The areas outside the City are still very beautiful though. I wouldn't live in the cities if someone gave me a house!

You will love the area though, despite the problems of crime. It's nothing that isn't happening everywhere else.

[dazed_confused]

Thanks for all of your comments, ideas and above all, your honest opinions. While we love the School Lane Hills neighborhood I mentioned, the school situation is a deal-breaker. Checking into some of the other areas with better school districts, the home prices don't seem that much lower than we have here in NY. I think I see alot of weekends in PA in my future, exploring Lancaster suburbs (and maybe other areas) to hit upon the perfect spot. At the very least, we'll have some good family trips. Thanks again and good luck to all of you fellow "home hunters" out there.