Is Hershey Liberal? Religious? (Lancaster, Harrisburg: transplants, lawyer, elementary school)

[scottmcdav]

Hi all,

My wife was offered a job at Hershey Medical Center and we are trying to guage how we might like Hershey.

We are pretty politically liberal and can see from voting results that the area is mostly purple, which is fine with us. But we are also pretty socially liberal, and we could use some help determining what the area is like in that respect.

Also, we aren't religious, so we would appreciate people's opinions on how religious the area is. We would be coming from the northeast where many people are liberal catholic. For the most part, they keep their religion to themselves. If you ask them about it, they will tell you... but besides that, they won't mention it. But we have also lived in the south where religion was quite prevalent and if you didn't belong to a church, you weren't going to have any friends. And God/Jesus/church was frequently mentioned in conversation.

Just trying to figure out if we would be a good fit or not. Thanks for your time.

[ki0eh]

Purple voting results? You must be looking at county level not municipal level. Hershey/Derry Twp considers itself a world away from the City of Harrisburg 12 miles away, and in many respects it is although both are part of Dauphin County. One of the 5 Township supervisors was just elected as the first Democrat in a long time to achieve that distinction, but she's a lawyer just like most of the rest of them. The Democratic Mayor of Harrisburg leads her staff in prayer, so even the Democrats are perhaps not quite what you might be used to.

I find the area to be somewhat more socially and religiously conservative than much of New York/New England in my own experience (growing up near Ithaca, I must say...).

It is common in this area for small talk to move quickly to "what church do you attend." Although I have less experience with the south, I do not think the presumption is quite on a southern scale.

The Catholic church in Hershey is definitely not any stripe of liberal.

Scheduling of many extracurricular events at the local schools in Hershey, and other groups (Scouts, etc.) presumes a stay-at-home parent, i.e. right after school. The minivan/SUV parade dropping off and picking up students is noteworthy, riding the yellow bus seems to be out of style even in elementary school. The Parent-Teacher Organization meets during the day, not just committees, the regular meeting.

The area is more welcoming to transplants than nearby Lancaster County suburban areas are said to be, but there's not too much liberal talk in casual conversation in these parts.

[scottmcdav]

Great information. And thanks much for your reply.

I was looking at the voter info here: //www.city-data.com/city/Hershey-Pennsylvania.html
which is at the county level.

Coincidentally, we also lived in Ithaca for 3 years and my wife went to undergrad there long ago. To me, Ithaca was the most perfect place for people like us to live. We were very sad to leave...

Your post is very helpful. We were wondering how different Hershey was in comparison to the general area, and it sounds like they are somewhat similar.

Thanks again

[ki0eh]

If you liked Ithaca, you're not likely to like Hershey.

[scottmcdav]

Great... good to know. Thank you again

[danwxman]

I always considered the Hershey area to be more "Country Club" Republican. That is, fiscally conservative but socially moderate. Similar to Camp Hill on the west shore. Also, there are a lot of transplants (like yourself) in the area who aren't as conservative as the locals.

For what it's worth, until I moved out of Harrisburg a couple years ago, my social circles were almost exclusively liberal. It probably helps that I grew up in the area and am young (mid 20s).

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by danwxman

I always considered the Hershey area to be more "Country Club" Republican. That is, fiscally conservative but socially moderate.

Certainly more socially moderate than some are - no seemingly overt racism, for one.

[sfchick]

I have heard some subtle racism at my work on the west shore, sadly. My husband and I lean more towards liberal also, and don't go to church. I think you will find this area to be quite conservative. To be frank, you may experience some culture shock if you are hoping to find any similarities between Ithaca and this area (we are new to the area also). Most people go to church, Hershey is quiet, with the exception of the new Troegs brewery, which is great. Nearby Lancaster has some art and food culture, but I find this area to be lacking as a whole. Not a lot of health conscious, forward thinking types that we have come across. You should definitely spend some time here before moving. We will, at some point, be leaving this area to get back to the things we miss. People from here love it and are very loyal and hopeful for its progress. We don't have that loyalty, and want greener pastures!

[scottmcdav]

Thank you all for your comments. Any areas close to Hershey that are small pockets of liberalism? We have young children so we would also be looking for a good school system. Private school could be an option for us as well as long as it isn't religious.

I realize that the overall area may be pretty conservative, but as long as we can make a few friends, and our children wouldn't feel like outsiders because they don't go to church, we would be ok.

Thanks again for your opinions. It's helps a lot...

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by scottmcdav

Any areas close to Hershey that are small pockets of liberalism?

Harrisburg city proper.

We have young children so we would also be looking for a good school system.

Whoops ... never mind then.