Where to live in the Harrisburg area and surroundings?

[itsajourney]

I have enjoyed reading thru the posts here. We lived in Mechanicsburg (Cumberland Valley School District) for 11 years. I had 4 kids that went to Cumberland Valley Schools and they loved it. I believe Cumberland Valley is all bussed--at least it used to be. There is a lot that we miss about the area. Thought of coming back a couple of times-but I don't like the long grey winters that we have up there. Of course now I'm tired of Florida--so I imagine I will become a "halfback" at some point--hopefully soon. I have to tell you though, the whole 11 years that we lived there-I always felt blessed with the beauty of the hills, mountains, historic towns, limestone farmhouses, easy access to many major cities, country stores, etc. It had such an impact on me that I am hoping to kinda, sorta duplicate it somewhere that has shorter winters.

There were so many quaint places--Boiling Springs--loved to go feed the ducks and geese there.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by itsajourney

There were so many quaint places--Boiling Springs--loved to go feed the ducks and geese there.

I lived in B.S., right in the old town, when I first moved to PA - and still regret moving away. (It's my wife's doing, she didn't want to be that far from work. ). I didn't mention this earlier since the OP seemed to want to be in the close-in West Shore. There are so many trails and parks around B.S. that offer seemingly infinte scales of exploration, from the hidden nature preserve behind the pool, to walking all the way to either Georgia or Maine on the Appalachian Trail that passes right by the lake. I think the South Middleton schools are OK, I'd try my luck there sooner than in Carlisle. One issue for renters there (as well as the A.T. thru-hikers) is no coin laundry, that's a trip into Carlisle. Karns food store, a nice local chain, is right on the edge of B.S., or strip malls on the SE edge of Carlisle offer shopping (and a less scary entry/exit to I-81 than when I lived there). Another problem with street parking in the old town is on the morning after a nice weekend day, my car would be plastered with the excess food coming out of the ducks and geese. Feeding the ducks and geese is presently discouraged, not necessarily for that reason, but due to alteration of their natural life patterns.

Mechanicsburg Borough (a small part of the Mechanicsburg postal address area) could be another nice choice - generally nicer well kept older homes and rentals, more shopping in a larger community, and of course closer to most of the shopping and work sites. Mechanicsburg Area SD seems to rank lower than the nearby Cumberland Valley, but Mech. seems to have more experiential learning things going on that maybe don't show up in those ranking scores. My wife for years worked with a career exploration program there in the intermediate school (several from her company did - they never got asked to go into the far East Shore area by their office, but did go to Mechanicsburg) and I've heard they do environmental programs with community volunteer groups as well.

Originally Posted by BevoInPA

I will be honest, I do not think people living in New Cumberland, for the most part, are taking care of their houses and I do not think it is a good investment.

The hiking club walks through New Cumberland Boro at least a couple of times a year since one of the most active members lives there, and I don't really notice dodgy stuff at a walking pace. I don't think as many folks in N.C. hire landscapers as in Camp Hill though.

[itsajourney]

I'm curious as to exactly where in Harrisburg they have to go. If I needed to go over to the east side towards Hershey or Capitol City Mall, I wouldn't want to live in Mechanicsburg, but if I were only going to the downtown area-that's not a bad commute at all. If I were moving back to the Harrisburg area, I would probably start out looking in the Mechanicsburg area again. Obviously, it's what we are most familiar with, but we really enjoyed living there. It was easy and convenient to get to anywhere.

Yea, I imagine the stuff from the ducks and geese would be a real pain if dealing with it every day. I know there was often issues with it being everywhere on the ground....made it hard to walk. We actually lived off of 114 for about 9 years, then moved to a house on Trindle Road--right close to where you make the turn to go to Boiling Springs.

I have missed Country Market and Ashcombs--we don't have anything like that at all down here.