Help with relocation to York/Harrisburg area... (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: real estate, crime)

[Hemingway]

OK, so I put these questions out there on the Philadelphia forum(Probably the wrong one!) and got no response...so I'll try this again here...
I am a native of NJ who sold high and moved to the Pittsburgh area (Plum Boro) and bought low(er) about 3 yrs ago. My hubby travels by air 5 days a week in the Northeast, from the tip of Maine to the DC area, and points in between. We would like to stay in PA but move further east, to be more centrally located. I have two teenage daughters-one will be off to college (hopefully), the other we will be putting into private school (hopefully York Country Day School).

I am interested in the York/ Harrisburg area...mainly for the benefit of the airport. I am looking for a small town feel, more rural than suburban. I would like to be south of Harrisburg, hopefully within an hour (or so) of the Airport. Our taxes here are a bit high $5000.00 total on a house valued at $190,000.00, I would like to lower that a bit. As far as housing, we would like to stay in the $200,000.00 range...

The big question....is this doable??? is there any area (other than this one) that meet these criteria, or does this place not exist? I really like what I see of Central PA.....I am hoping this will be possible! Thanks in advance!

[e'smom17]

Hemingway,

Yes it is doable, but it depends on what your standards are. I live in York currently and I can tell you new construction starts at $250K and up. An older home, in the "rural" areas of say southern York county -delta, brouhgue, felton, windsor, you can probably get for less. HOWEVER, be advised that you may be shocked at the number of southern flags you see in that area. The schools are so so. (IMO) Dallastown, Central York and York Suburban are the highly prized districts in the county. I do not know alot about the Harrisburg area so I won't speak on that. The only other thing I can mention-is this-if you consider York, bear in mind the airport is in Harrisburg and the commute up 83 can be hectic, especially at peak times. This is a major interstate, yet it is only 2 lanes going North and South. I'm not a big fan of it. I hope this helps, if you need any other information, feel free to PM me, I try to check the site every 1-2 days. Good Luck!

[Positiveone]

I cant help all that much, but i do have a cousin who moved from the very pricey high taxed Long Island to " Mount Wolf PA " Thats a suburb of York, north of York Pa and i think 45 mins south of Harrisburg. She loves it there. I believe there are homes in the 180-200'000 range. Her taxes are around 2500- maybe 3500.00. The crime is very low in her area, very clean, about the same weather as NJ. I guess enough shopping.

Sorry thats all i know of that area. Good Luck!

Originally Posted by Hemingway

OK, so I put these questions out there on the Philadelphia forum(Probably the wrong one!) and got no response...so I'll try this again here...
I am a native of NJ who sold high and moved to the Pittsburgh area (Plum Boro) and bought low(er) about 3 yrs ago. My hubby travels by air 5 days a week in the Northeast, from the tip of Maine to the DC area, and points in between. We would like to stay in PA but move further east, to be more centrally located. I have two teenage daughters-one will be off to college (hopefully), the other we will be putting into private school (hopefully York Country Day School).

I am interested in the York/ Harrisburg area...mainly for the benefit of the airport. I am looking for a small town feel, more rural than suburban. I would like to be south of Harrisburg, hopefully within an hour (or so) of the Airport. Our taxes here are a bit high $5000.00 total on a house valued at $190,000.00, I would like to lower that a bit. As far as housing, we would like to stay in the $200,000.00 range...

The big question....is this doable??? is there any area (other than this one) that meet these criteria, or does this place not exist? I really like what I see of Central PA.....I am hoping this will be possible! Thanks in advance!

[e'smom17]

Mount Wolf is nice but currently has the highest tax rate in all of York county. (ouch!)

[Hemingway]

Wow! Thank you for the quick replies...Yes, the commute to the airport would be a concern...since we made the mistake of moving ACROSS the city from the airport here...so although timewise it is OK-we have to pass through the city to get there! I will look at more specific areas, and ask more info about those.

Taxwise, we got hit hard here and just don't want to make that mistake again. Although $3500.00 is a little more than I would like, it is still alot less than Plum Boro/ Allegheny county. I have learned to ask about ALL of the taxes: county,school/municipal, and city etc.

I am most concerned about the area. I live in a town that is 30 sq. miles total, with no discernable town 'square'. My kids have friends in the same town, that live 15 miles away. The town is subdivided into areas, which doesn't promote cohesiveness. Is it bad?..not at all---it is a nice place to raise a family, just not my kind of place. A small town 'feel' or 'quaint' is what I am aiming for.

The towns that have popped up in preliminary research have been Dover and Red Lion along with some surrounding towns. Are either of these options?? Again I want to emphasize that I only looked at real estate, so I am by no means knowledgeable about the towns themselves.

Thank you SOOO much!!

[momix5]

what about Elizabethtown? That looks nice and Rheems?

[pspdick]

Two words: York Springs.

That may be too rural. Hanover would love you.

[Hemingway]

PSPDICK.....

Could you clarify? I don't really understand your statement.

[pinetar10]

shippensburg is within an hour of harrisburg, and it is rural and has housing in your price range, so maybe give that area a look.

[Hemingway]

Thanks Pinetar10-

Shippensburg is a bit far from the school we are interested in for my daughter (York country Day School). Although admittedly not the only private school in the area...the only one in the vicinity of Harrisburg(??). Would the area EAST of Shippensburg be worth looking at?