From Texas to PA - suggestions on acreage please! (Lancaster: 2011, house)

[OneTexasNative]

We are considering moving from Texas to somewhere in PA in 2010/2011. We like to garden and spend time outdoors so the Texas heat and drought are just too much for us. We own our own Internet business so employment is not an issue (though Internet access is).

We would like to buy some land (10 - 50 acres) with a house in the $300 - $500k range. Preferably, the property would be within a 30 - 45 min. drive from reasonable shopping, etc. We are somewhat private people, so the social aspects are not that important.

What is important is the land (rolling hills, trees, acreage), proximity to a reasonably good sized city with medical and shopping and not too much snow! Coming from Texas we don't want to be snow bound for six months out of the year.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions in your beautiful state.

[ki0eh]

With that type of land requirement and cost, you'd probably be looking in the more rural 3/4 of the state to try to meet your price point.

Perhaps the first try would be the Bloomsburg and Sunbury/Selinsgrove areas. There is box store shopping in Wilkes-Barre, Selinsgrove, and between Montoursville and Muncy, which are three points of a triangle centering on Danville and the regional Geisinger medical center. It will snow in this area but less so than further west and north.

The second possibility may be northern Bradford County (NOT the City of Bradford, totally different part of the state), near the Guthrie medical complex in Sayre, and box-store shopping in Horseheads/Big Flats NY between Corning and Elmira. This will be colder than the Danville area, and also a bit more remote from the larger Northeastern cities.

The final possibility might be the northern sections of the Harrisburg area - with box stores at two exits of I-83 east/north of the Susquehanna River crossing, and the Penn State medical college and complex in Hershey. You might be pushing your radius from these points to meet your price point, but possibly check eastern/northern Lebanon County (Myerstown and adjacent), "upper" northern Dauphin County (Elizabethville and adjacent), and Perry County (still no traffic light in the whole county; Newport and adjacent).

Broadband coverage is sometimes tricky to find. There are many smaller telephone and TV cable companies in PA that are fine providers, however especially in rural areas you need to look beyond the big names Verizon and Comcast/Time Warner, to also look at Embarq, Windstream, Frontier, Blue Ridge, Service Electric, and plenty more.

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by OneTexasNative

We are considering moving from Texas to somewhere in PA in 2010/2011. We like to garden and spend time outdoors so the Texas heat and drought are just too much for us. We own our own Internet business so employment is not an issue (though Internet access is).

We would like to buy some land (10 - 50 acres) with a house in the $300 - $500k range. Preferably, the property would be within a 30 - 45 min. drive from reasonable shopping, etc. We are somewhat private people, so the social aspects are not that important.

What is important is the land (rolling hills, trees, acreage), proximity to a reasonably good sized city with medical and shopping and not too much snow! Coming from Texas we don't want to be snow bound for six months out of the year.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions in your beautiful state.

I would recommend Perry county. The county is all rolling hills, farmland and wooded areas with mountains along the southern, western and northern edges. It's rural with a smattering of small towns yet only a half hour or less from suburban Harrisburg which offers plenty of shopping and good hospitals.

[pman]

a garden or a family farm?

[OneTexasNative]

Garden - not a full fledged farm, though would like the ability to have chickens, etc. i.e. no zoning restrictions. Thanks!

[ki0eh]

There still are municipalities with no zoning restrictions at all in the entire township (or even some boroughs). In PA, rules go by the local township, borough, or city (there are some 2,500 of these units in the state, and all land is contained within one - no "unincorporated" areas) - not by the county. You might want to check out folks' replies to the poster "lialleycat," although she was limited to the eastern parts of rural PA for family proximity.

[Rtom45]

I suggest you look to the northwest of the Lehigh valley, out towards Kempton and New Tripoli.

[Hopes]

You'll get more land for your money in Western Pennsylvania. Property is more expensive in Eastern Pennsylvania.

[toobusytoday]

I suggest North Carolina or Virginia. Seriously, if you want some land and don't want to pay a lot, stay South. You would have a hard time finding 10 acres for under $500,000 within 30 minutes of decent shopping in Lehigh County.

And our winters are not really mild. Don't get me wrong, I love where I live but it's cold from November to March and that's a long time for people that aren't used to it. Lots of southern states have a change of season but the season's are balanced into three months each. We lived in Roanoke Virginia for a year and found the weather to be just like that. And it's just as pretty!

Really want Pennsylvania but not so much snow? Stay in the southern section. Want it affordable - go at least west of Lancaster County.

[Raena77]

Originally Posted by Hopes

You'll get more land for your money in Western Pennsylvania. Property is more expensive in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Heck yeah it is..however we are really building the local towns up. It is still very pretty here and yet are getting more and more convient here. You have all the stores..The famous outlets are here. Grochery stores galore..lots of local mechanics...many small town businesses too. Not far from King of Prussia or Valley Forge. And the net business is very big here too!