Baltimore vs. Wilmington, DE vs. Harrisburg, PA vs. York, PA (living, best)
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Best city/metro area in which to relocate, if you had to? Please only vote if you personally know or know of at least 2 of the places on the list. If you are black, let me know, and your picks, and I will give your vote some extra weight.
York, PA (Metro Area) vs. HArrisburg, PA (Metro Area) vs. Wilmington, DE (Metro Area) vs. Baltimore, MD (Metro Area)
Most important is your reasoning in your pick. Because my situation is almost certainly going to be different from yours, unless you are also head of a multi-racial, multi-cultural, family of 3 that votes left (me - white New Englander), right (my wife, a West African who doesn't get to vote, but would if she could), and center (my 16 y.o., born in DC, most comfortable in PG county, and running for Senator any day now).
Other factors in what will inform my decision as to where to move:
- Family originally created in DC. In-laws/relatives still around there. Politics and civic discussion runs deep.
- Broad minded, globally aware, and like living near universities as that is where the marketplace of ideas is bright.
- Historically living on 1 income, mine, who is trying to shed a history of working for nonprofits in the field of digital marketing
- Wife is West African, and we are foodies. Space for gardening would be nice, but also we need access to good/organic/fresh food and SPICE. Specifically, PEPPERS!
- As we are now moving away from 2 years of small town RI, where they don't get friendly with you if you didn't go to high school with them, we do crave friendly neighbors
- Different towns in PG county MD was where we felt most comfortable in the past, in terms of daily living
- While I initiall like plenty of digital marketing opportunities, I only need 1 job, and I'd prefer less competition for that 1 job, thank you
- We need to rent now, and save enough for a home (house, condo, etc.) of our own, so cost of living should be low, but..
- We of course don't want the crime that frequently comes with it and,
- as I am used to 2 hour commutes (either in a car without traffic, or via public transport), I don't have to necessarily work near where I live, but it would be NICE to one day, get home and not have to go immediately to bed, ready for the early morning return trip
- My wife needs people around that are going to work WITH her and not AGAINST her (not like here)
- My son should study law/civic planning/public policy/politics/economics once again, as that is clearly his bent. He works well in Quaker school environments
But enough about my situation. Tell me about your picks.
Baltimore metro seems like the best choice. It's a big city of small neighborhoods less pretentious than the DC area. In your case, the northern suburbs of Baltimore would be ideal and University of MD school of law for your future senator. There are plenty of farmers markets for your wife in the area as well. York, PA has become a satellite city of Baltimore with plenty of cummuters during the week, and party goers, family outings during the weekend.
Besides the suggestion above, if you went with the Harrisburg area, I'd say that Susquehanna Township, parts of the Central Dauphin school district and perhaps Middletown may be communities to look into. They are suburban areas with a good degree of racial diversity and Black percentages. Susquehanna Township is about 25% Black and has the 19th highest Black percentage in regards to the residents within the school district boundaries in Pennsylvania. Here is an example of a census tract within that school district: Census Tract 022000 in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 11-24-2015 at 03:45 PM..
I'd go with suburban New Castle County, outside Wilmington.
Newark has SEPTA train service to Philadelphia. It's pretty similar to the Baltimore suburbs in terms of social liberalness, diversity, and shopping, but the cost of living is a little lower. Delaware also does not have a sales tax.
However, it's not as diverse as Prince George County, which I consider a DC suburb.
Richmond might work too.
I'd go with York last. It's struggling economically. As Central PA could be rather socially conservative.
I'd go with suburban New Castle County, outside Wilmington.
Newark has SEPTA train service to Philadelphia. It's pretty similar to the Baltimore suburbs in terms of social liberalness, diversity, and shopping, but the cost of living is a little lower. Delaware also does not have a sales tax.
However, it's not as diverse as Prince George County, which I consider a DC suburb.
Richmond might work too.
I'd go with York last. It's struggling economically. As Central PA could be rather socially conservative.
Actually, both PG County MD and New Castle County DE are both diverse. You would just switch PG County's Black percentage with New Castle County's White percentage.
Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
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Well, seeing as how I'm currently living and working in Wilmington, DE (and I'm half African-American, half Dominican if that helps with the weight part), I'll give you my two cents on it. A couple of caveats, though: I have no experience whatsoever with York and Harrisburg, and my knowledge of Baltimore is pretty much strictly touristy (aka Inner Harbor and Camden Yards trips). Also, while I'm an off-and-on Delawarean of 15 years, I've lived mostly in Kent County and Newark, DE (Newark is only 15 miles from Wilmington, but it's different enough, as it's a college town first and foremost). So I'm a bit of a Wilmington newbie myself.
Now with all that said, going down your list, it seems Wilmington would work for you. Wilmington proper, along with the rest of New Castle County, has a lower COL when compared to the surrounding areas of PA, NJ and MD. And since you're used to commutes, once you go down into Kent County , DE, still only 60-80 minutes to Philadelphia, property and COL becomes dirt cheap. Can't speak on digital marketing opportunities, but there are a lot of white collar jobs in and around Wilmington (finance, pharmaceuticals, law, healthcare)--I'm sure there's plenty of need for digital marketing in those industries. And Comcast has a heavy presence in the area, with Philly being its HQ and easily commutable to.
I'm Dominican, so not West African, but I've seen a couple of African restaurants/food marts in the area (and Philly has quite a lot)--Wilmington proper is majority black, and the area is a big immigrant magnet for people looking for a low-cost alternative along the BosWash corridor. The suburbs are also fairly diverse, so there's definitely a global mindset in the area and a ton of ethnic food options. Politically, New Castle County is very blue, with notable conservative elements, and there is an active political scene, especially at UD. And speaking of UD (my alma mater), since you're looking for a university with a marketplace of bright ideas, the Newark area will definitely fit your bill. The university is considered a Public Ivy and is teeming with your typical college atmosphere of free thought/expression. Would also be great for your son, though if he wants to study law, the only school in Delaware for that is at Widener in Wilmington (Temple in Philadelphia is also a great, commutable law school choice).
So based on your criteria, I think Wilmington (or anywhere in New Castle County and even Kent County, since we're such a small state) would work for you. We have a cheaper COL (no sales tax), a diverse and global population, a politically active university that ranks highly, and a great location on the Northeast corridor. You can easily commute by rail or car to Philadelphia within 30-45 minutes, or Baltimore within 60-75 minutes (and NYC or DC within 120-150 minutes if you have the time and money). There's enough here in terms of activities and nightlife that you can stay local, and you also have the huge bonus of Philadelphia/Baltimore being viable weekday options, with NYC/DC being weekend options. And has been mentioned, you're a notable part of the Philadelphia metro, and can easily access all of its offerings (Philadelphia, King of Prussia, West Chester, etc). Baltimore is clearly the bigger and better city, but it's also more expensive. York and Harrisburg are probably more expensive as well, and a bit further from DC/Balt/Phila/NYC. Based on what you've asked, I'd go either Wilmington or Baltimore.
Really good info so far! Good starting points for me to continue my investigation.
CKHThankGod--Oakwood is in NY state, and we actually got their literature. Beautiful area. My wife is partial to that area in general, having fond memories of going to Bard college. But when I do a search, there are little-to-no jobs for me there. Charlottsville, VA is the local of the other school you pulled up. I asked my wife about C'ville the other day, seeing as it was in first place for best place to live by one of the many white liberal establishment people's media outlets. (in other other words, I would love it there.) But over the years, we have heard enough from one black person's distress of living in that area, and we have spent enough time in southern VA to know that we would have to proceed with a certain amount of caution (prob. too much for us to enjoy) to live as a non-military family that far south in VA. Hampton Beach , Chesapeake, VA, those places might merit some further investigation. But we are talking about island oasis in the sea. But then again, I am also considering York and Harrisburg. But I gotta tell you that after a few years of living in RI, I know the virtues of living in a small state. You can get things DONE! So, this is all great food for thought.
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