What's Hershey/Harrisburg like? (York, Lebanon: house, purchasing, middle school)

[laken]

Hershey area is lovely for quality of life (safe, clean, convenient, enough activities in summer - slow in winter. educated people from diverse backgrounds), but truly, in the outlying areas (where I work), people are very narrow minded and VERY closed to anyone who doesn't fall into the mainstream in terms of church attendance and thought processes in general. I am from Philadelphia and used to consider myself a conservative person. Living here has turned me so off to that mindset and now I am radically different from most people in this area in terms of my acceptance of views and thoughts and opinions that are not what folks here are mired in. My close friends live mostly in distant cities and areas, and that is a pity because I love this town, the cost of living, and my home here.

[Delmar]

Originally Posted by schoolteacher

My wife and I teach special education in Oregon but our grandkids are in Wayne PA. I may apply to a teaching position in Hershey PA and I am wondering about the quality of life there. We have been quite spoiled by the clear air and clean water in the foothills of the cascades but want to be near our grandkids. Are there places near Hershey/ Harrisburg that are in the country yet within a half hour of Hershey? What is the cost of housing?
My wife somewhat familiar with the cold winters and humid summers of the East Coast - but whatever thoughtful comments you can make about driving to and fro in the winter would be appreciated.

Hershey schools have a good reputation, but the teachers there aren't tolerant of any Holden Caulfield types -- you'll be the only one.

My advice is to apply to a school in the T/E school district near your grandchildren. There's more diversity there anyway.

[Delmar]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

To be fair, both whites and blacks have been rather cruel to me for being gay here in Northern Pennsylvania, so I suppose this state is just full of hate for everyone! LOL!

Rural PA is backwards and full of rednecks.

[Delmar]

Originally Posted by laken

Hershey area is lovely for quality of life (safe, clean, convenient, enough activities in summer - slow in winter. educated people from diverse backgrounds), but truly, in the outlying areas (where I work), people are very narrow minded and VERY closed to anyone who doesn't fall into the mainstream in terms of church attendance and thought processes in general. I am from Philadelphia and used to consider myself a conservative person. Living here has turned me so off to that mindset and now I am radically different from most people in this area in terms of my acceptance of views and thoughts and opinions that are not what folks here are mired in. My close friends live mostly in distant cities and areas, and that is a pity because I love this town, the cost of living, and my home here.

Hershey is the same way, only it puts itself on the top of the heap in terms of stratification.

[Delmar]

Originally Posted by dullnboring

I've only heard the "n" word used maybe 15 times in my entire life in a racial context, and all of those times were in Central Pennsylvania, an area where I've never even lived but where I have a lot of family and have visited countless times. It shocks and disgusts me each and every time I hear it. I can only imagine how much racism and intolerance I'd have seen and heard if I would've actually grown up there. Generally speaking, I've found that Central Pennsylvania is not a tolerant place whether it be in regards to race, religion, sexual orientation or political ideology.

Rural PA has never been diverse, so they have no idea what they're talking about.

[garriekeyman]

I currently work in the old Hershey high school building which is used as auxilliary office space for Penn State's Hershey Medical Center. This is adjacent to the current Hershey schools: high school, middle school, elementary. I think you would like the Hershey area, but I have to agree with the general sentiment of other posts, that Harrisburg itself is not the most advisable move. Hershey is clean with a small town persona, but expansive in that Hershey Medical Center is there, a major teaching hospital employing thinking, educated types. Hershey is known, of course, for its chocolate factory and amusement park of the same names (also major employers) and also is known for Milton S. Hershey school (not to be confused with the high school) with its sprawling attractive campus. The surrounding areas to Hershey are rolling and green, peppered with state game lands and working farms. Hershey is close to more metropolitan areas such as Harrisburg, Philadellphia ad Baltimore, but itself would be considered rural. As a former police officer from a neighboring county, I don't believe crime is a big issue in Hershey. As others have said, you may also like Chester county, but even more than Dauphin county, Chester county is starting to get extremely built-up. Traffic is a major problem in the Kennet Square area anymore, if you ask me. Hershey region is also starting to see increasing development, but to a lesser degree than those areas such as Kennett Square that are nearer to Phily. I think, too, that the housing will be more expensive in Chester County than in Dauphin County. Affordable housing can be found in dauphin. We are currenlty in the market, so I have been watching. I would have to say that I find Lebanon, York, and Dauphin counties all lower in cost, housing-wise, than are Lancaster, Berks, Chester and Bucks counties. In Dauphin county you should be able to find, say, a nice home on (even one on 2 - 3 acres) for somewhere in the mid 200,000 range. Good luck in your search and ultimately in your relocation. garrie keyman, Lititz, PA

[msprotestalot]

I grew up in Harrisburg and was eager to move away from it by the time I graduated high school, at which point I moved to new york city and spent half a year in London. I have been in new york three years now and come back to harrisburg during the summer months to see my friends and family and to work.

I will admit living here is not always the most exciting. Most of what people do for culture around here is go to the main drag of downtown and drink. On weekends it is extremely crazy and you have to be kind of crazy yourself to want to go down there (I usually have cookouts and sangria parties with friends instead).

I personally live with my parents in the area of Linglestown which is about ten minutes drive from downtown and extremely safe and beautiful. We have lots of land and it is very quiet here.

However, a lot of my friends have apartments downtown around the main section of second street where all the bars and coffeeshops are located. Their apartments are beautiful and the rent is ridiculously inexpensive. Some areas past Forrester Street are dangerous because there is a lot of drug traffic in certain poor areas of the ghetto, but the closer you are to the capital building the nicer it is. There is a beautiful view of the Susquehanna River from Front Street which I very much enjoy driving beside every morning on my way to work.

As for the cultural scene being "fake"--I can't attest to that. Rather, Harrisburg has a cultural scene that seems fake because in a large way Harrisburg is a commuter town so the people who come here are usually from somewhere else bringing their scene with them. This is refreshing in a way because it brings a nice, interesting feel to the scene, not like Harrisburg is a place where kids grow up and the only people around are the ones who never did anything with their lives and never left.

I am sure there are ignorant, uneducated people here. I have met plenty. But that can be true anywhere, and it's not an insightful thing to say about Harrisburg in general. I have personally spent a lot of time in school and plan to pursue my education until I have a doctorate in philosophy, and that has nothing to do with the fact that I was raised in Harrisburg. If I had never even graduated high school it wouldnt have had anything to do with being from Harrisburg either.

One good thing I have noticed around the more central parts of Harrisburg (not the suburbs) is the expanding gay community. People are becoming much more accepting, despite the many conservative republicans.

I am proud to be from Harrisburg even though I love New York too and plan to spend many more years to come there. But it will always be nice coming back to Harrisburg and growing up here has been extremely beneficial as far as education, proximity to other major cities, and the sense of community I have always felt (people who live here are typically very excited about it)

[vetegnc]

What is it that you want?

I live in State College, over an hour (closer to 2) from Harrisburg, but I traveled there frequently recently...and the drive is BEAUTIFUL. Point being, I would bet if you've always wanted to have your own patch of land in the country within 1/2 hour, I'm sure you could find very reasonable things (this is my fantasy...).

[openless]

Originally Posted by msprotestalot

Most of what people do for culture around here is go to the main drag of downtown and drink.

Usually only alcoholics do that.



Other people enjoy Whitaker Center, harrisburg symphony orchestra, many of the areas fine ethnic restaurants, which inculde thai, vietnamese, chinese, malaysian, italian, spanish, lebanese, mexican. There are many small museums in the area. Lots of things to do if you like to get outdoors, hike bike and walk. You can go on a tour of the State Capitol Building for free or visit the Pennsylvania State Museum, also for free. You could take a ride on the Pride of the Susquehanna riverboat, or visit Indian Echo Caverns. There are many buggies and covered bridges to explore in both perry and lancaster county, a 30 minute or so drive northwest or southeast.

[llzpa]

I have to disagree with most of you. I grew up in Mechanicsburg and moved to Baltimore, MD to go to college and then decided to move back after graduating. I have lived in Mechanicsburg, Enola and Hummelstown. Hershey is a very nice area as well. I personally prefer Mechanicsburg and Camp Hill to the other towns in the Harrisburg area. The schools are good (Camp Hill and Cumberland Valley) and there are also options for private schools in the area. Real Estate has gone up in the past few years, but it is still well below many areas in the country. You can easily get a nice 3-4 bedroom home in the 200's, however many new builds start closer to the 300's.