Family wants to relocate to PA from NY....Best CITIES?? (Philadelphia: appointed, apartment complexes)

[msinternational]

Family wants to relocate to PA from NY....Best CITIES??

Posted Yesterday at 09:02 PM by msinternational
My husband and I have two children 6 and 2. We are tired of the expensive city of NEW YORK!! We have been looking at different areas in PA but haven't gone to check them out. Areas of interest: Allentown, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh but open to suggestions. We are both working and going to college (My husband HVAC and myself Paralegal/Pyschology) so that is also a factor in our location as well as having close proximity to NY.

1) Culturally diverse areas
2) Decent School system
3) Low Cost to rent a house/OWN
4) Access to rail/airport
5) Things to do for families

Any Suggestions??

[pman]

Originally Posted by msinternational

Family wants to relocate to PA from NY....Best CITIES??

Posted Yesterday at 09:02 PM by msinternational
My husband and I have two children 6 and 2. We are tired of the expensive city of NEW YORK!! We have been looking at different areas in PA but haven't gone to check them out. Areas of interest: Allentown, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh but open to suggestions. We are both working and going to college (My husband HVAC and myself Paralegal/Pyschology) so that is also a factor in our location as well as having close proximity to NY.

1) Culturally diverse areas
2) Decent School system
3) Low Cost to rent a house/OWN
4) Access to rail/airport
5) Things to do for families

Any Suggestions??

well, harrisburg is the only one with regular rail service to NY (10 trips a day) though Pitt has one slow one (there is decent air service). I'm sure there are decent schools in each area. All three are relatively low cost to own relative to NY. Pittsburgh is the largest of the three.

[maestro]

are you sure you're not interested in the greater Philly area (Allentown/Lehigh Valley notwithstanding)? Philly is basically a smaller NYC but a lot more affordable for the inner-ring of suburbs, at least compared to NYC/north Jersey/LI. You could live an hour outside of Philly and have a nice town, great school system and fantastic access to all that Philly offers. It's not overly far from NYC either (I get from the northern burbs of Philly to the Verrazano within 2 to 2 1/2 hours depending on traffic/the time of day.

[oceantine]

I'm a little confused. Do you want to live in Pennsylvania and continue to work and go to school in New York, or do you want to just have close proximity to New York for the sake of visiting once in awhile? Because you said you and your husband looked into Pittsburgh, I'm assuming you don't want to do anything in New York except visit.

Once I'm sure what your goals are, I'll be able to suggest a few options.

[oceantine]

msinternational, I'm going to go ahead and assume you and your husband want to live, work, and go to school in PA, but just want close proximity to New York. For your needs, I would add Lancaster to your list of places to look into.

1) Culturally diverse areas: You may be disappointed in Pennsylvania if this is at the top of your wish list because Pennsylvania, in general, is not what I'd call culturally diverse compared to what you're used to in New York. Sure, there are some clusters of diversity in every city, but once you leave the actual cities, it's pretty rural and predominately Caucasian. Having said that, I'd recommend Lancaster based on a somewhat culturally diverse area and your other needs. I think you may be surprised to know that Lancaster has a good array of different cultures here. The percentage isn't great, but there are a good variety of Latinos, Hispanics, Puerto Ricans, African-Americans, Caucasians, and Asians. In addition, there is cultural diversity in the way of lifestyle as there are many Amish in this area with horse and buggies sharing the roads with tractor-trailers.

2) Decent School system: Lancaster County has decent schools with a good number of their teachers having Master's Degrees. If you're interested in Lancaster, I'd be happy to recommend specific districts to consider moving into.

3) Low Cost to rent a house/OWN: Rentals and housing are still affordable in Lancaster, unlike areas to the east of it. The average 2 bedroom rental in an upscale community with pool, etc. will run you about $800.00 to $1,000, and there are plenty apartment complexes that offer the same bedrooms for about $500.00 to $800.00 with less amenities. This area also has a lot of large 3 & 4 bedroom farm houses for rent in the $700.00 to $1,000.00 range. As far as ownership, the average price ranges from about $110/sqft to $130/sqft, which I think is reasonable. In today's market, you can of course get even better deals.

4) Access to rail/airport: Lancaster has an Amtrak station that's easily accessible from all living areas in this county and offers inexpensive daily rail service to New York. People routinely take it to New York for shows and shopping. As far as airports, the closest is Harrisburg International about 35 miles away, but I've only used them once because they don't offer many non-stop flights and they may not even have a direct flight to New York. I always use Philadelphia International or BWI for travel needs.

5) Things to do for families: Lancaster doesn't have anywhere near the activities that a larger city offers, but it does have a lot of family-friendly things-to-do. There are good movie theaters, excellent restaurants, The Fulton Opera House, Sight & Sound Theater, and other theaters that offer shows for both adults and children, the Strasburg Rail Road and other tourist attractions, Dutch Wonderland, and lots of seasonal activities. Hershey isn't far away, and Lancaster is in a good central location to visit bigger cities like Philly, DC, and New York. Visiting the Philly Zoo or historic attractions in that city is an easy one-day activity to drive to and from. It's also an easy drive for weekend trips to the Jersey Shore.

As far as schools, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology is right in Lancaster and may be a good option for your husband's HVAC training. There are other technology schools in the area as well. For you, Franklin & Marshall and Millersville University offer fantastic programs in Psychology and they're both located in Lancaster.

Considering your needs of wanting to be in close proximity to New York, without breaking your bank account for housing, I'd add Lancaster to your search of places to live.

[newmarlig]

Bucks County, PA. You are close to the Trenton and/or Hamilton station of NJT and you are 45 minutes from center city Philly. You can get to either Philadelphia International Airport or Newark Airport within an hour. Schools are excellent.

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by msinternational

Family wants to relocate to PA from NY....Best CITIES??

Posted Yesterday at 09:02 PM by msinternational
My husband and I have two children 6 and 2. We are tired of the expensive city of NEW YORK!! We have been looking at different areas in PA but haven't gone to check them out. Areas of interest: Allentown, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh but open to suggestions. We are both working and going to college (My husband HVAC and myself Paralegal/Pyschology) so that is also a factor in our location as well as having close proximity to NY.

1) Culturally diverse areas
2) Decent School system
3) Low Cost to rent a house/OWN
4) Access to rail/airport
5) Things to do for families

Any Suggestions??

The Harrisburg area is going to have all those things, however in terms of cultural diversity it is mostly white and Asian or Indian in the suburbs, however they are becoming more diverse. Great schools, including Cumberland Valley, Camp Hill, Central Dauphin and others...You really can't go wrong in the suburbs when it comes to schools. Cost of living is lower then Philly and the other big cities. Amtrak has a high speed line that runs right into downtown Harrisburg with another stop in Middletown (a suburb a few miles outside the city). This is the Keystone which goes to Philadelphia and then New York City. Tons of family activities (this is mostly a family-oriented metro) including all the Hershey attractions, plenty of museums, parks, City Island and lots more.