Employment in Lancaster (Allentown, Reading, Harrisburg: living, shop, moving to)

[Redhead66]

My husband and I are considering moving to Lancaster and are wondering about the employment situation there. He saw an article in Forbes that Lancaster is one of the places with the worst job prospects. Hubby is a CPA. I have a very diverse employment background ranging from office management to building management, making me more flexible.

Any thoughts on the Forbes article? Any feedback about emplyment prospects? Thanks.

[faster_kitty_faster]

I lived in Lancaster for close to a year.
I ended up having to commute to a position I had with a company in Reading 34 miles north of where I was living.
I'm 45 years old.
I'm educated and have held many mid level management positions.
When I was searching in earnest in Lancaster the majority of job offerings came from temp services wanting me to commute to York, Mechanicsburg or Harrisburg.
It appears that there's still a very large problem concerning employment in Lancaster proper.
Jobs of any level just appear absent.
I now reside in Allentown.

My experience for you.

Good luck.


Julia

[whereshome]

If you are from the area or have a local sounding last name, then I would think you would be able to find employment easily. There are jobs in Lancaster. But they seem to go to locals first.

We lived in the area for 7 years. We are not from there. My husband had a great job there. The company was really good to him. He is not a CPA; in more of a technical field. But I really struggled to find good, solid employment there.

If you are not from there or have family there then I don't know what the draw to move there would be. It is a great area. There is tons to do. The shopping is great. But I am very glad we moved away and feel that I will have more job options here.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

One thing to remember about the area is that Harrisburg, York, and Lancaster are very tightly interwoven. Socially, politically, and economically, each city depends on the other two. Each is about 30-40 minutes from the other and many, many people live in one and commute to the other. If you can sustain this kind of flexibility, your job prospects will improve dramatically. Otherwise, I would have to agree that looking only in Lancaster proper might present some challenges.

There are a lot of good areas to live in-between all three. Middletown is an excellent start. York to Lancaster (or vice versa) is probably the most challenging of the three possibilities because of congestion along Route 30 -- though I haven't regularly driven this route myself.

[pman]

Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg

One thing to remember about the area is that Harrisburg, York, and Lancaster are very tightly interwoven. Socially, politically, and economically, each city depends on the other two. Each is about 30-40 minutes from the other and many, many people live in one and commute to the other. If you can sustain this kind of flexibility, your job prospects will improve dramatically. Otherwise, I would have to agree that looking only in Lancaster proper might present some challenges.

There are a lot of good areas to live in-between all three. Middletown is an excellent start. York to Lancaster (or vice versa) is probably the most challenging of the three possibilities because of congestion along Route 30 -- though I haven't regularly driven this route myself.

FWIW there is limited train service into Harrisburg via Amtrak's Keystone which is good if you work in downtown Harrisburg.

[motherofpearls]

I wouldn't move to Lancaster for job/career prospects. Its like moving to Alaska for beaches, palms and coconuts.