Moving to harriburg pa from the deep south (Harrisburg, Colonial Park: apartment complex, rental market)

[jamjo]

Any advice on areas in Harrisburg that would appeal to an empty nest married couple from the Deep South. We've lived in Charleston, Atlanta and Birmingham. My husband will be working downtown. We want to rent the first year. Is the downtown area safe and are there good parks located there?

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Hi, and welcome to PA!

Yes, Harrisburg's downtown is about as safe as they come. Restaurant Row stretches along Second Street from Market to about State or North Streets. This area is packed with restaurants, bars, lounges, and nightclubs, and sees a very lively (and loud) crowd every weekend. Because of this, you will see an increase of nuisance crime (public drunkenness, disorderly conduct, etc) every weekend. I never have any trouble walking around downtown at any hour, but remember that this is a city, and situational awareness is always a good thing.

Riverfront Park runs the entire length of Front Street from Vaughn Street to Paxton Street. Off the top of my head I'd say it's about 5-6 miles long. During the summer there are numerous festivals held in the park between Forster and Chestnut Streets. There's also City Island across the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge. There are a few more parks tucked into the city, but you'll have to head up to midtown to see them. If you're into cycling, the Capitol Area Greenbelt provides a paved / dirt loop around the city.

Due to the proximity to the railroad, I-83, and the major arteries through the city (Front, Second, and Forster Streets), downtown has a constant dull roar of noise. You will learn to tune it out, but it's something that might be a culture shock if you aren't prepared for it. Like I just told another poster, if you're considering moving into Executive House, try to get an apartment that isn't on the Second Street side (ambulances & firetrucks).

If you can post some more details (see the sticky at the beginning of this forum), we can give you some more specific information.

[jamjo]

1.Pet friendly (1 Boston Terrier) with easy walking access
2. Safe
3. 1 bedroom will be fine (money going to plane tickets to visit family)
4. updated kitchens and bathrooms
5. husband will be working in city but what suburbs are nice and convenient to city (we're coming from Atlanta, so we're used to traffic)
Thanks for advice!

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by jamjo

1.Pet friendly (1 Boston Terrier) with easy walking access
2. Safe
3. 1 bedroom will be fine (money going to plane tickets to visit family)
4. updated kitchens and bathrooms
5. husband will be working in city but what suburbs are nice and convenient to city (we're coming from Atlanta, so we're used to traffic)
Thanks for advice!

1 - I think this is going to rule out most of the major downtown apartment complexes. You might be able to find an independent downtown apartment that will allow dogs, and I'm sure you could find a dog-friendly midtown apartment. Midtown also has a number of smaller parks scattered around, and you'll meet plenty of other dog owners on those early-morning walks.

If you don't want to / can't take the time to do a walking tour of midtown searching for dog-friendly apartments, your best bet is to look in the suburbs. Opinions will vary on this, but Susquehanna Township is probably my ideal suburb. Also look into Colonial Park and Union Deposit (both of these can suffer from ridiculous traffic). Most of the garden-style apartment complexes allow dogs.

2 - There's a risk of crime anywhere you go. Stay away from Allison Hill and the surrounding areas. Some people would say uptown is also pretty rough, but I say it's "working class".

3 & 4 - Prices on a one-bedroom will vary greatly, but you will have no trouble finding a very nice 1br for well under $1000. Most of the area complexes have kitchens from the late 80s / early 90s. We just don't have a high-end rental market that would justify anything better.

5 - Since "nice" is subjective, I'll give you some general traffic advice. Our beltway is I-81 to 581 to I-83. Rush hour is usually between 7-8:30 into the city and around 4-6 outbound. During evening rush hour, I-83 north is a parking lot from the river to about a half mile past the I-81 split. I-83 south backs up around the river, but not as bad.

Locations on the west shore of the river (Camp Hill, Mechanicsburg, etc) bear the very worst of the traffic. Those suburban roads were never designed to handle the volume they see today.

If I were working downtown and living in the 'burbs, I would consider looking for a place near Route 22 / Jonestown Road. It won't be fast, but at least it will be a simple drive.

[jamjo]

Thanks for all your input, I have one more question, can you think of a new (1-10 years old), upscale apt. complex that is within a 45 minute drive to downtown. I love the character of the older downtown high rises, but I lived in a character filled older home for 35 years and would like to have something fresh and new in the burbs to compare. I think I would anyway. I would like to check out both and can't find one complex online that looks upscale or new.

[ki0eh]

Madison Apartments 2009 or The Gardens at Hershey Meadows Apartments in Hummelstown, PA maybe?

[snuggler]

We live on the "West Shore" and like it. The Susquehanna river creates the divide between two counties and provides a boarder to Harrisburg (which is on the East shore).
We have lived in the deep South as well (Columbus, GA), and I think you will be in for some culture shock, and some of the shortest freeway on-ramps I have ever had the displeasure to encounter.
Good luck!

[jamjo]

There just doesn't seem to be a variety of housing in the area. B'ham and Atlanta seem to have more choices. Maybe I'm wrong. And I'm sure the people are as nice as everyone I've known from PA; it's just odd to be moving north when you're 57 years old. I think the winters are too cold down here.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by jamjo

Thanks for all your input, I have one more question, can you think of a new (1-10 years old), upscale apt. complex that is within a 45 minute drive to downtown.

Pennsylvania Place was largely rehabbed in 1998, but in my tour I noticed that the cabinets appeared to be 1970s-era. Also, my experiences with them have not been pleasant.

You might want to look at finding a condo for rent in Waverly Woods (Progress Ave north of Linglestown Road. Most of those were built 2000+. While they aren't an apartment complex per se, there are always a number being rented out.

Off the top of my head I can't think of any completely-new complexes. Several were renovated to varying degrees in the past decade (for example, one off Progress Ave just north of I-81 had the common areas remodeled, but didn't seem to have many improvements in the apartments themselves).

[ekeo]

That's the one thing I've noticed since moving here from the coast in Jersey - almost nothing out here is, "new." I've seen a few newer complexes while driving around the region but they are few and far in between.