Cumberland county pa, the polution? schools? things to do? family life? looking to buy home (Philadelphia: crime, houses)

[lookingpa]

Recently visited camp hill and mechanicsburg the area is beautiful.. we saw a place in countryside community and felt right at home. It all looks too good to be true! any crime in the area? also big question what kind of mill is outside of town and is polution an issue in the towns? it is safe for children? and the cost of living i heard was low. any information would be great! thanks!

[Bettylou22]

i grew up in carlisle and while this area is beautiful, it's extremely close-minded and conservative. for some reason it's cool to be "tough" and that breeds insecurity and aggression. There's nothing to do so the kids end up doing drugs to pass the time. I just moved back to the area after being away for 10 (not stepping foot in PA for 4 years) and I don't see much difference here than when I was growing up.

Honestly, if I were you, I'd pick a healthier place to live.

[lookingpa]

Thank you for your comments iriekate. When you say "close-minded" and "tough", would it be possible for you to give a little more context? I mean, i am from New Jersey and currently living at the Jersey Shore - it can't be much worse than that! I can't imagine the drug problem being any worse than it is here either. Believe me, their is plenty for kids to do here, but it doesn't stop them.
In any case, i appreciate your advise and will look more closely into the issue.

P.S. - Just curious...why did you move back if you don't mind me asking?

[ki0eh]

Nowhere in Camp Hill or Mechanicsburg do you find tagged burned out buildings or razor wire. Maybe a little of that in Harrisburg or even the north side of Carlisle. You'll find lots of quiet subdivisions around the older small town cores. The pollution concerns basically come from truck exhaust since this area is a major hub for truckers. There's not much basic industry left, mostly office parks and truck terminals/warehouses.

When I moved to Boiling Springs from out of state, the moving van driver had some words with the town drunk and called 911, citing "company policy." Within 10 minutes there were three State Police cars on the street, in late afternoon just as folks were coming home from work. They left soon thereafter since there was nothing to the "incident", but for three months afterwards folks talked about "the day the police were here".

Everywhere else I've lived, folks would talk about stuff disappearing, vandalized cars, broken windows, etc. In eleven years living and working in West Shore then in East Shore suburbs, none of that kind of thing seems ever to happen to anyone I work with, see in church, or in clubs.

I would definitely agree that the area is politically and socially conservative, and if you like spicy food, you won't find it here. (Well, maybe at Wegmans.)

[itsajourney]

We lived in Mechanicsburg for 11 years and absolutely loved it. Mechanicsburg and Camp Hill are both quite safe. At the time we lived there I had 4 kids in Cumberland Valley elementary and middle schools. I really like the school system and it was highly rated at the time. We have been gone since 2001, but my kids liked it and would move back in a minute if they could.

I adore the little town of Boiling Springs. We used to go to walk around the lake. Appalacian Trail passes right there so you can easily say you have hiked along the trail. :-)

The area does tend to be more conservative, but I never got the impression of "tough" or rough edged. There are lots of things to do and places to go to explore--esp. if you like the outdoors or history.

If you are coming from New Jersey, it will be quite a lot less expensive. Don't know where you are at, but I was just over in the Somers Point/Ocean City/Cape May area 2 weeks ago. I'd pick Mechanicsburg easily.

[lookingpa]

Thank you all for your comments! I don't think the conservative attitudes will be an issue for us, but I would appreciate a little more insight if possible. Can someone give me an idea of how conservative it really is? like compared to what?

Thank you!

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by lookingpa

Thank you all for your comments! I don't think the conservative attitudes will be an issue for us, but I would appreciate a little more insight if possible. Can someone give me an idea of how conservative it really is? like compared to what?

Thank you!

It's a typical family values conservative Republican county, by majority. However, it is not what I would describe as "hardcore" Republican or conservative by any means. It's really just more suburban Republican then anything else and the county has been moving more that way with the influx of new residents the past couple decades. Obama got 42% of the vote here.

[itsajourney]

I agree with the above. It is very average in the conservative category. There is no hard-core extreme right-wing stuff. I have been looking into relocating to some of the southeastern states and I have almost decided against doing so because of the extremely conservative attitudes and what I call "backwoods mentality". In a lot of the southeast whether you are accepted or not depends on: where you are from; do you believe in the confederacy; not if you go to church--but which church do you go to; what color is your skin (and I'm white); etc. There is none of this in PA. At least I never encountered it in the 11 years I lived there.

I am speaking in particular of the Harrisburg area. I might tend to think as you head into the central and western part of the state and into the mountain areas, conservative republican values might be a little more prevalent. However, as you head closer to Baltimore and Philadelphia, Democratic values become more prevalent.

Cumberland county is a great place to raise a family and I do regret taking my kids out of school there to move to Florida. They were way ahead of the kids their own age when we moved down here.

[svh68]

Originally Posted by lookingpa

Thank you all for your comments! I don't think the conservative attitudes will be an issue for us, but I would appreciate a little more insight if possible. Can someone give me an idea of how conservative it really is? like compared to what?

Thank you!

I too am from the Jersey Shore and now live in the Boiling Springs. I use to live in Carlisle. Here's my email winluan@aol.com. I have LOTS to tell you, if you are still interested in opinions. Have you moved here yet?

[TehStone]

Originally Posted by danwxman

It's a typical family values conservative Republican county, by majority. However, it is not what I would describe as "hardcore" Republican or conservative by any means. It's really just more suburban Republican then anything else and the county has been moving more that way with the influx of new residents the past couple decades. Obama got 42% of the vote here.

Agreed. I have seen a good bit of racism and general closed mindedness from people from this area, but they're really rather nice...