Thinking of relocating to Gettysburg any info is a help (Harrisburg: mortgage, hotel)

[SCGiants]

I currently live in Myrtle Beach, SC for 11 yrs now. Orignally from Ct. I wanted a change and went south on a whim when I was younger and more daring. 11 years later I am married and I am growing very tired of southern living. I manage a gift shop for 8 years here and honestly I don't have much other work experience outside of hotel and movie theater management. Myrtle Beach gets 14 million visitors a year (mostly April thru August) so I am quite familiar with traffic issues in season as well as everything else that comes with a influx of visitors. I get laid off yearly here Nov thru Jan and am used to that although unemployment benefits are maxed out at $325 a week and with a mortgage things get tight this time of year. Knowing Gettysburg is also dependant on tourism I wonder if shops close up everywhere and if so does anyone know the max unemployment benefits? Hopefully I would get year round work though and not have this issue anymore. (although to be truthful afer dealing with 14 million visitors a year the 2 - 3 month layoff is nice in some ways lol)
I currently have a mortgage on a home built in 1985... .75 acre lot -stick built - around 1500 heated sq ft.. 1 car garage, shed, 3 bedroom - 2 bath with central heat and air... my yearly taxes are $600 a yr... and no that wasn't a typo --six hundred dollars a year on property taxes.
What I am wanting to know is what is the living like in Gettysburg or at most a 30 minute commute from. What are the better areas (I'd be looking to get the same mortgage around $150,000) but a much smaller yard. Pay is low here and I make around $35,000 to manage the gift shop. Is pay about the same I wonder.
This is just the beginning for us to be looking for someplace new -possibly. Both of our familes still live in Ct and we absolutely do not want to move back there as Ct. is super expensive and jobs are tough to find... plus I really need to stay in my profession. A drive to Ct from Gettsburg is 8 hrs (I used to visit there many years as a kid and remember that much)..and a 8 hr trip is MUCH better than 14-17 hrs. I want to get closer to home yet far enough away and Gettysburg used to be beautiful country back in the late 70's early eighties and I would love to work in a town selling gifts for the civil war instead of dolphins and beachy items ( I never was much of a beach person believe it or not lol).
My wife works at a hospital and can likely transfer since her co. owns hospitals nationwide. Also - how far away is Harrisburg from Gettysburg?
Again - this thread is my first attempt at looking into info about this so please have patience with the 20 questions and long post here.
Thanks for any help!

[Dawne]

Gettysburg is only about 20 to 30 minutes from Harrisburg. My family and I vacation in Myrtle Beach every year and would love to live there some day. I can tell you that tourism in Gettysburg is nothing like tourism in Myrtle Beach!

Depending on the community, you can probably get a similar house for a similar mortgage amount but your taxes will be at least double. I think you'll also find electricity costs are higher in Gettysburg.

Best of luck to you!

[Marodi]

Gettysburg is about 40 to 45 minutes to downtown harrisburg during normal daytime traffic conditions, definately not the supposed 20-30.

Right now the gift shops are sort of hurting due to the moving of the NPS center out of town to the south, resulting in less pedestrians and sales. The price you are looking for in a house is feasible, might be difficult, but I don't usually look for houses in the area, so take it with a grain of salt. The tax rate atm is 14.38 mils in the borough.

I'd also possibly recommend Hanover, since it would give your wife the choice of Hanover, Gettysburg or York to easily choose from, and the drive to Gettysburg is easy (though slightly more difficult if you live on the west or south of town). Some smaller towns otherwise would be New Oxford, Biglerville, Littlestown, or Fairfield. (granted if you are interested in any of those, another discussion might be needed.)

[Rtom45]

We had been considering a move to Hanover or Gettysburg but have decided against it. There is a considerable influx of people who work in Maryland that is driving up the cost of living.