Moving from Utah to Harrisburg area (Pittsburgh, York: apartments, lease, high crime)

[n3wbi3]

I'm moving from Utah to the Harrisburg area. Never have lived in a real city. The downtown area looks like a place I would love to live (bars, resturants, social activity). Looking for recommendatioins for apartments in the downtown area. I have a yorkie so it would need to be pet friendly.

[theunbrainwashed]

Move to an apartment in the downtown area. Have a look at apartments.com for listings or look at the local newspaper Penn Live. I would not live anywhere but downtown Harrisburg, the city is a dump once you get outside the nice pretty riverfront area. If safety is your main priority, and not nightlife, I would recommend Mechanicsburg or Camp Hill. Rule of thumb is, if the apartment or house is located inside the Harrisburg City School District, I highly advise against living there unless it's in downtown

[1timbo1]

The only complex I know of that is pet-friendly is the Grayco (on North St. between Front & 2nd). Rents are competitive and all-inclusive (minus cable/internet) and that includes NO pet fee. That's the only larger complex I know of that allows dogs downtown, I believe Executive House allows cats. Check some of the independent listings downtown or Lemoyne/Camp Hill on the west shore which will put you at a $5 cab ride to the downtown nightlife.

If you're younger and single, I definitely recommend downtown. You'll probably be able to tell within a few months if you'll like it long-term or not. If it's the first time you're living in a city, it's a good one to move to, not terribly huge but still has many of the big city amenities, including a frequent train that'll get you to Philly in 1.5hrs, NYC in 2.5hrs.

[clsmoothcat]

I've lived in the greater harrisburg area for most of my life (mid 30's). Harrisburg has indeed had some nice revitalization that really took off around in the early 2000's. Things have slowed down in my opinion in terms of the revitalization but so have many places around the nation.

Just to mention, I lived in SLC myself for about three years as well as in California so I've lived in a few cities larger than Harrisburg as well. I forget the exact words of the other reply but I would agree that living in harrisburg can be a little dicey in terms of quality of neighborhoods. Very pocketed, some nice within close proximity to long standing high crime areas. The city school districts have been a huge topic of conversation for the past five years or so in the news because of poor test scores and lack of money. (this may not matter to you-just sayin)

I don't want to sound neg. at all, just that i completely agree with the person's comment about living on the west shore. I really don't know anyone personally that would trade the comfort, easy parking, access to shopping, safety, etc. that are had by living across the bridge for the "excitement" of living right around downtown. (it's so close, dont let that bum you) Now that's just my experience-take with a grain of salt. The camp hill area has nice neighborhoods, movie theaters, farmers market (west shore), nice hospital, groceries, great restaurants, gyms, and on and on all within 5 min. drive - some walking depending on where you live. Kind of a hassle getting in and out of the city to do everyday things just to be close to nightlife.

If you really love the city then by all means. I still think i'd opt for a shorter term lease on the west shore first and then really get a feel for the neighborhoods in the city. This area has a great quality of life and is generally very safe. The only places that have much violent crime are the cities (York and Harrisburg).


Anyway, if you move here then welcome to the area. Hope

[n3wbi3]

Thanks everyone for the replys. I was in town last weekend looking all over the place. I did like the downtown area and actually looked at an apartment at Mulberry Station. a friend recommended it and they accept dogs. Pretty nice and I loved the fact that the two bedroom apartment has a two car garage. I have a car as well as a motorcycle and am use to at least a carport for protection. I've notcied most places don't have covered parking. When I got back I saw a place online called River Plaza. It looks pretty nice and has underground parking. Has anyone heard of those two places? Are they in good areas?

Thanks again for your responses.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

[DowntownHarrisburg]

River Plaza is a decent choice, but their garage will flood when the river approaches flood stage. It doesn't happen often, but my concern was, "what if it happens while I'm out of town?" I noticed that some of their apartments, even the recently remodeled ones, don't have grounded three-prong outlets. When we toured, I asked about this, and was told that I'd have to bring in an electrician at my own expense to fix it. That was a turnoff.

River Plaza's location is a bit far from downtown. You'll be safe walking along Front St at all hours, but going east of Second in that area can be a little sketchy at night. To give you some perspective, downtown's nightlife / entertainment district is along Second Street between Market & South. Most of midtown's (the city's arts / culture district) happens along Third between Forster and Verbeke. And Old Uptown, the newest hotspot, is from around Front & Reilly to around Third & Maclay. North of Maclay, you need to be more cognizant of your surroundings than you do in midtown or downtown. I'm not saying the entire area is bad, just that it has more than its share of shady corners.

Is Mulberry Station still all-electric heat? Electric heat can be very expensive in this area due to its relative inefficiency compared to other sources. Keep that in mind when pricing your rent. I speak from experience when I say that your best bet is to get an apartment as close to the train station as possible, or at least stay as far back from Second Street as possible. When ambulances come into the hospital at Second & Chestnut, they usually have their sirens wailing from I-83 all the way to the hospital. This happens at all hours of the night, and if you aren't used to it, it WILL wake you up and drive you crazy. I know this because I live in Executive House overlooking Second and I-83. Fortunately, my bedroom is on the side facing away from Second, but if we're in the living room, we can hear them loud and clear.

Speaking of EH, they don't allow dogs. Grayco is the only one I know of that does, and I can't recommend that place enough. Did you take a look at it? Have you checked into Towne House?

As for the other poster's comment about crime, I disagree. There's no "safety issue" living downtown. There ARE some parts of the city where you can easily find trouble, but not downtown. It all depends on your personal level of comfort in a city. If you've never lived in a city before, I would avoid going east of Cameron Street and north of Reilly late at night until you become more familiar with the individual neighborhoods in the area. It's not that those areas are all bad, it's just that you're going to run into some patchy neighborhoods that are best avoided. I've also heard it said that if you can see the river or the capitol dome, you're in a decent part of town -- and this is still mostly true.

On the flip side, downtown and midtown offer a level of walkability that doesn't exist anywhere else within a 30-minute drive. From my apartment, I can walk to dozens of restaurants, martini bars, nightclubs, ultralounges, dive bars, live music venues, Irish Pubs, sports bars, you name it -- all less than five minutes away.

There's also Riverfront Park, a miles-long stretch of cycling / jogging / dog-walking trails along the Susquehanna. Riverfront Park draws steady crowds year round, especially in the warmer months -- but never gets overcrowded. There's an old, historic, wrought-iron pedestrian bridge linking downtown to City Island, home of the Senators baseball team, Metro Bank park, more trails, stands, and geese. Lots of geese. Riverfront Park also plays home to numerous festivals throughout the year. Right now Kipona -- the oldest waterfront festival in the US -- is going on. This year a new promoter is booking all the shows, and it actually has a really good music lineup. This is to say nothing of the shows brought into places like Appalachian Brewing Company, Whitaker Center, and all the venues along Second & Third Streets. Then there are the multiple on-street block parties throughout the year. The Amtrak station is located at Fourth & Chestnut, with direct service to Pittsburgh, Philly, and NYC.

The west shore also has a lot to offer, don't get me wrong. But it doesn't have the walkability and density of downtown. Downtown you'll stroll to your favorite coffee house; on the west shore, you'll get in your car and drive to a Starbucks. Downtown, you'll meet your friends at a local watering hole like Shady McGrady's (midtown), Sturges Speakeasy, Zembie's, Carley's, Brick Haus, Anthony's, Pep Grill, Molly Brannigan's, or any of the other dozens of venues -- all within easy walking distance. And you'll never have to worry about driving home after having a few. On the west shore, you'll get in your car and drive to Applebee's or Friday's. Downtown, you'll walk to Broad Street Market or your local grocer for shopping. On the west shore, you'll get in your car and drive to the supermarket. Neither choice is "wrong", it's just personal preference.

If you're young and single, downtown is where it's at. Even in my mid-30s and no longer single, I still love it down here. You can't beat the vibrancy. You'll have your entire life to settle down and buy a sensible home in the suburbs; I recommend living a little first.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

[MatildaLoo]

I don't mean to hijack the thread but Shady Mcgrady's is open? When I was stayin
g in Harrisburg it had caught fire. This is great news!

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by MatildaLoo

I don't mean to hijack the thread but Shady Mcgrady's is open? When I was stayin
g in Harrisburg it had caught fire. This is great news!

Yup. It opened a few months ago, but the decor has traded kitschy hole-in-the-wall for Ikea. Blue and yellow everywhere. Still a good draft list, but the crowd is a little pretentious these days. A real shame.

[MatildaLoo]

Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg

Yup. It opened a few months ago, but the decor has traded kitschy hole-in-the-wall for Ikea. Blue and yellow everywhere. Still a good draft list, but the crowd is a little pretentious these days. A real shame.

Boo!!! Billy Dee Williams would not approve

And just to keep this post on topic, to the OP: I think you would really like downtown Harrisburg as long as you rent. It's a good place for young professionals to live. The West SHore is nice but it isn't as walkable. In downtown Harrisburg you can walk to all of the places that DowntownHarrisburg mentioned and, if you have a car, you can just zoom over the bridge to the West Shore for things over there. If you live on the West Shore chances are you won't come to the city because parking can be a pain, so you might miss out on a few fun times

[n3wbi3]

Thanks everyone for your post.

I moved in to my downtown apartment on the 30th of September and I'm extremely happy. Now I just need to get more familiar with the area.
Where's the best place to meet new people in the area?
Thanks again!