Lesbians house hunting: Camp Hill? Lancaster? Other? (Harrisburg, Carlisle: how much, to buy)

[kschmitzster]

Hello!

I took a position at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine.
My partner and I are going to buy a house within reasonable commuting distance of Hershey. We have a list of things we want in a house/community...

1. We will not be ostracized for our sexual orientation
2. right # of bedrooms
3. big enough yard for 2 dogs
4. walkability to at least a park, preferably a coffee shop and a store where we could get milk in a snowstorm
5. A whole foods or a Wegmans or awesome farmers market

#1 is really important to us.

After many months, we've narrowed our search to 2 areas: Camp Hill and Lancaster (city).

Camp Hill is our favorite. We have found a house we really like.... so we're reaching out to ask whether there are folks who could comment on whether our impression of Camp Hill and Lancaster City as being reasonably accepting is accurate.

Thoughts?

Thanks for your help.

[JustMike77]

Lesbians House Hunting

For a second there I thought this might be a new HGTV program.

[ki0eh]

With respect to #5, the afternoon traffic between Camp Hill address areas and the Wegmans in Mechanicsburg is atrocious. Lancaster does not currently have a Wegmans, but it is coming soon. Lancaster has the Central Market which operates on a higher plane than Harrisburg's Broad Street market. So if #5 is important I'd lean towards Lancaster.

If you are working a regular day shift, Camp Hill to Hershey passes 2 traffic knots - inbound over the I-83 Susquehanna River bridge with many heading to the Harrisburg Capitol Complex, and also closer inbound to Hershey on US 322.

Curious about why you see Camp Hill as more attractive than Hershey itself (or Derry Twp/Hummelstown address locations). I doubt there will be any difference in LGBTQ acceptance.

[kschmitzster]

Thanks for both replies...

HDTV here we come!

As to the Wegmans in Lancaster, it is promised, but doesn't currently exist. We don't generally shop on weekdays anyway, so the traffic issue is not really a problem there.

Not working a regular day shift, I can go in early OR late, and stay early OR late... and I have experienced those knots. Having lived in Philly for 12 years, they are really quite tolerable.

Camp Hill is more attractive because it is walkable and there appears to be a much greater sense of community identity than the bedroom communities of Hershey/Hummelstown. I've walked my dog around all of these (and Lancaster) and Camp Hill has the 'feel' we are looking for. I just wanted to know if it happened to be more anti-gay than the rest of the area... sounds like it is not... so we're in the clear.

thank you both!!!

[Dandelion Garden]

Before I was with my husband, I dated a woman in the Camp Hill area and we never encountered any problems at all. Downtown Camp Hill is pretty trendy/progressive, in its own small-town way. Traffic can be difficult, but those of us who've lived in the area know how to go around the worst of it and you shouldn't have any trouble finding good ways to do that if you can choose when you go into work. Seeing openly gay and lesbian couples in Camp Hill is really pretty common. There's a gorgeous dog park not too far from Camp Hill (outside Mechanicsburg) where we used to joke that heterosexuals weren't allowed just because we had SO many lesbian and gay couples who brought their dogs.

You'd also probably LOVE the town I just moved to, Carlisle, as it's by far the most walkable of all the towns in Cumberland County and also very liberal/open-minded due to the heavy influence of Dickenson College. We even have a farmers market on the square every weekend. It may be farther than you want to drive to work (about 20-25 minutes more than Camp Hill), though the traffic snarls don't start until you get to the Camp Hill area, so it's a pretty quick shot up there. Housing prices are a good bit lower too. Could be something to consider depending on how much you're willing to drive.

I've never been to Lancaster City (despite living in this general area my whole life), but Lancaster County has a terrible reputation in the area for being unwelcoming and closed-minded, so if that or Camp Hill are your choices, I'd go with Camp Hill in a heartbeat.

[PUB]

I think you would be welcome in our community. The town government is trying to make that clear:

Camp Hill “ANTI-DISCRIMINATION" Ordinance.

Human Relations Commission

[Crashj007]

I lived out near Lewisberry and there were several "farm girls" in the area who had a pleasant life. There is a lot of property still available out there where you can have several acres and neighbors who don't bother to meddle.
One the West Shore you will always have a struggle getting to the East Shore and Hershey with traffic.
We spent a lot of time in Camp Hill and it would suit you well, I think. There is a very liberal Episcopal Church there, if that matters to you.
The area just south of Hershey is where I would settle if I was returning to Central PA. Lots of acreage and some nice developments with relatively new housing.

[ddavidv]

Lancaster has a pretty substantial gay community but they still live in the shadows a bit as this area is still pretty conservative. Taxes in Lancaster might be less than Derry Twp. Derry has a reputation of being uber-expensive.

Northwest Lancaster county isn't as conservative IMO as the southern part. Elizabethtown and Mount Joy are much closer to Hershey and right off 283. We are friends with a lesbian couple who live in a development in Mt Joy and I haven't heard them complain of any discrimination but it isn't a topic I bring up.

[Pilot1]

Camp Hill to Hershey would be too long of a commute for me. Why not look closer? I doubt anyone will care about your sexual orientation anywhere in, or around Hershey.