Lititz? (Lancaster, Elizabethtown, Mount Joy: appointed, low crime, houses)

[Audry524]

Lititz is one of the many towns we're considering relocating from CT to and would like some info. It looks like a wonderful family town!

We have 3 children so I'm familiar with the schools there so I'm looking for further info. Can anyone give me info on the community, things to do, and the general philosphy of the people that live there.

Also, I keep reading on here about people in the Lancaster area not being very accepting of outsiders. Does this hold true in Lititz? This is crucial to us because I wouldn't want to live in a place where we weren't accepted.

Thank you so much in advance!

[Dawne]

My grandmother's sister is in a nursing home in Lititz and her son (my dad's cousin) lives in a nearby town. It's such a beautiful area. I always enjoyed going to the pretzel factory (just a small building, like a house really) and being able to hand twist my own pretzel. There's also a small park where kids can feed ducks and some sort of chocolate museum or something right next to the park. It's been a while since I've actually been there, but I have great memories of the town.

[lititzman2003]

I moved to Lititz four years ago from Philly, and I can honestly tell you it was one of the smartest things we ever did! Yes, some of the people in the county can be alittle standoffish, but don't let that be a factor in your decision. Like most towns in Lancaster County, it's conservative in nature, and that's a good thing. We have many activities here, from parades to the incredible Craft Show in August. The Community Center is one of the best in the county. Dawne mentioned Lititiz Park, which is very family friendly and well maintained. After leaving the park stop in to Wilbur's Chocolates, Greico's Ice Cream or Spill the Beans; you won't regret it! The shoppes downtown are diverse, clean with plenty of parking. There are a number of doctors, dentists, notaries, pharmacies, etc all within the city limits. Lancaster General Hospital has an annex in the southern end of town. Warwick Township has an excellent police department that works in conjuction with Lititz Borough police. You already know about Warwick Schools and their excellent reputation. Traveling can sometimes be difficult, but most of time access to the major highways is pretty easy.

Overall, Lititz is a safe, well-managed town. Feel free to send me a private message if you any particular questions that you think I could help you with.

[trlstreet]

Lititz is nice but really becoming quite developed (like most of Lancaster Co.). When I moved to Lititz in 1990, there were a few stoplights and the town was surrounded by farmland. Today, dowtown is much the same as it was but developments have exploded, bringing a good amount of congestion w/ it. I know this is happening all over the place but I am particularly sad to see it happen to Lititz.

As a Warwick grad, I will attest that the school district is excellent. Performing arts and athletic programs are excellent to go along w/ top notch academics.

The area is extremely conservative but I never had a problem w/ others being intolerant of my liberal viewpoints.

One other point, tourism tends to take over town during the summer and it can get quite crowded at times. If you like antiques, craft shows, etc... then Lititz is your town.

I'd also check out some other locales w/in Lancaster County (Elizabethtown, Mount Joy, Marietta, Maytown, Mountville to name a few). Lancaster has many great small towns, I would take a look at a few as they all have their own personalities.

[KoZmiC NinJa]

I dont think anyone could be disappointed with Lititz.
We considered it before we moved to Vt. and there isnt a
day that goes by where I dont regret choosing Lititz instead
of Vermont.

[Okhotneek]

I'm not fond of Lititz. If you're stuck in Lancaster County though, it's about the best you're going to get. It's very white....if you're Hispanic or black; you aren't welcome and will be stared at. If you're white then they aren't as closed off....since tons of development has brought a lot of new families in the area. The downtown is seriously bland. I don't know why people bother driving out here. All the shops have is overpriced knickknacks. They have craft fair every year that shuts down the entire town to traffic. If you live anywhere near "downtown" then you're out of luck. The elementary school downtown usually shuts traffic down daily also....for some reason the kids need traffic guards posted on every corner 3 miles away from the school. Oh and buses stop at every single house. The kids here don't walk from a bus stop...literally, every time we're behind a bus it will stop like, 2 houses down from the last stop where the kid lives....I'm not exaggerating, and no it was not a busy street.
The people are also VERY religious. If you're Buddhist or Muslim, be prepared to be told you're going to hell. My Muslim friend won't come to Lititz anymore because of how rude the people are to her. The people are very narrow minded and they think Lititz is just the most amazing place in the world, even though they've never been anywhere else. They're very stuck up, materialistic and don't know how to raise polite children. Not to mention it's getting very overpopulated and the traffic on 501 is terrible.
I'm planning on moving as soon as I graduate from college. I've lived in a lot of places across the U.S. and in different countries. The view point from someone that is from Lititz and someone that moves here is VERY different. I think some reasons I hate it so much is, I'm not Mennonite (my family is Buddhist) so I have a lot of trouble with people accepting that and I'm darker.
Lititz does have a low crime rate, a decent gym, 2 decent jogging trails, an ok park, good schools (if you aren't black, they have had big racism issues)....well, that's all the positives I can think of.

[ScranBarre]

You'll run into problems with "acceptance" everywhere though, so it's not really fair to criticize Lititz exclusively for being narrow-minded. I'm an openly-gay male in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and people here aren't exactly too "fond" of me either. Do I blame folks here for being backwater? No. Why? I know most Americans are this way so it's not fair to diminish the reputation of my area when the whole nation is replete with racism, prejudice, hatred, and homophobia.

[lititzman2003]

It's been a year since I last posted my reply to Audry524 and I still stand by most of what I said about Lititz. Yes, we do have a large Craft Show in August but few people, even those that live in town, complain about it. I don't agree about downtown being "bland"; there are a variety of shops and they all seem to thrive. Trust me, I've been through just about every town in Lancaster County and Lititz has one of the most attractive downtowns among all of them. Traffic on 501 can be a challenge, the area is very populated and the buses can be annoying when you're late for work but the usual stop only lasts about 20 seconds.

I do agree with Okhotneek about the people. My neighbors are into themselves and have little regard for others. I was recently on crutches and several of them watched me as I struggled with trash cans, picking up the mail, etc. They all knew I was hurt but not one of them offered to help, call to see if I needed anything, etc. I like to think people are like that just here and not the rest of the world.

Bottom line: if you're under 40, have young kids, and act and look like the rest of your neighbors then you may have a chance of being accepted.

Sorry you had a bad experience, Okhotneek. Hope you find happiness somewhere.

[Angelo76]

If you wanna raise little christian fascists Lititz might be the ideal place for you.
The people are racist and standoffish.I don't understand why they brag about having "christian values" As if Jesus was a member of the Nazi party.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by Angelo76

If you wanna raise little christian fascists Lititz might be the ideal place for you.
The people are racist and standoffish.I don't understand why they brag about having "christian values" As if Jesus was a member of the Nazi party.

With all due respect you're being very unfair to Lititz. Rural and suburban Pennsylvania in general is rather conservative, hence why President Bush almost won here in 2000. To be fair I myself have been feeling less and less connected to my faith as of late as I hear my fellow Christians hiding behind their religion to slam me and my fellow homosexuals with nasty remarks; why be a Christian if it involves being nasty to other people?