Lebanon, PA Area (Reading, Harrisburg, Hershey: sales, affordable apartment, rent)

[xraydude]

Copied this to give all of you an idea of what I'm looking for. would also like to know what grocery stores you have in the area. Also what cable & internet provider is there, General cost for Phone/cable/internet? Would appreciate all the input anyone has. DM me if you would like
Thank You.

When are you moving? within 4-5 weeks If all goes well
Where are you coming from? Texas, but have lived in the north east before Texas
Why are you moving? Job relocation
Where will you be working? In Lebanon
Have you been here yet? Been thru there different times in the past

Will you buy or rent? Rent
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? 500 month
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? Doesn't matter would like to be about 30 mins from Lebanon at most.

Are you married or single? Do you have children? NO
Do you prefer public or private schools? N/A
Do you have pets? No
Do you want or need a yard? Doesn't Matter
Are you keeping a car? Yes and my motorcycle
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? calm and quiet

What do you want to be closest to?
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? As long as its clean quiet and safe I don't really care.

Phillies, Pirates or Orioles? None. not a sports fan

[SPSGuy]

If Lebanon is too much for you than just west is Annville and it is a beautiful town. A lot of the towns along the 422 route are old historic and beautiful in my opinion.

[sp2007]

FYI its 'Leb-in-in'.

[xraydude]

Thank you for the pronunciation knowledge. And to update this I was offered the position up there. now the hunt for a place to live begins. looking for a place rent for 500-550. As I said before in original post. Clean, quiet, safe. Would prefer to be in Lebanon area. Prefer apt. in private house, but can do complex with no problem. What areas would you suggest?
Thanks

[Flamingo13]

Originally Posted by sp2007

FYI its 'Leb-in-in'.

I think it's more like Leb-nin

[sp2007]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

I think it's more like Leb-nin

you are correct. I got too "in" happy on the keyboard.

[sp2007]

Originally Posted by xraydude

Thank you for the pronunciation knowledge. And to update this I was offered the position up there. now the hunt for a place to live begins. looking for a place rent for 500-550. As I said before in original post. Clean, quiet, safe. Would prefer to be in Lebanon area. Prefer apt. in private house, but can do complex with no problem. What areas would you suggest?
Thanks

Thats great news, pretty part of the state. I would suggest looking at Reading or Harrisburg newspapers/websites, they probably have the most Lebanon info. I think most of Lebanon is a safe quiet place. Check CD's Lebanon page for their interactive map that shows all sorts of info on the city.

//www.city-data.com/city/Lebanon-Pennsylvania.html

[ki0eh]

Lebanon might have a daily newspaper longer than Harrisburg will: Home - Lebanon Daily News

[bolillo_loco]

No matter what part of Lebanon County you’re in, it’s not more than a 30-minute drive to the city of Lebanon. With this in mind, that opens up a large swath of land. The northern part of the county is cheaper than the southern part. In the northern part of the county, you’ll have easy access to toll free Interstates 78 and 81, which means you can be in Harrisburg in 20 – 30 minutes. From the southern part of the county, there’s access to the Pennsylvania Turnpike I-76, which is a toll road.

Shopping for everything: There are several malls throughout the county, so no matter where you are in the county, you’re not more than 5 – 30 minutes from one of them. Many of them are strip malls, but there is still one indoor mall, which is Lebanon Valley Mall, and it’s centrally located smack dab in the middle of the county. Where you choose to live within the county will dictate your choice of shopping areas.

To the north, Jonestown, Lickdale, and Fredericksburg would be areas where one could rent an affordable apartment, yet you’re not more than 10 – 20 minutes from the larger shopping areas in the county.

In the south, Mt. Gretna, Cornwall, and Quentin are probably the nicest small towns in the county, but they’re also the most expensive areas to live.

In the southeastern part of the county, Schaefferstown and Newmanstown are nice and well within your 30 minute drive limit.

In the eastern portion, there’s Myerstown and Avon.

To the west, Annville, Palmyra, and Cleona are nice as well, probably more affordable than those towns mentioned to the south, but not nearly as cheap as the northern towns. Additionally, Palmyra suffers from heavy traffic during the early to late afternoon hours. It's paralyzing. For example, when there's no traffic, one can drive from Hershey to Lebanon in roughly 20 minutes, but during peak traffic hours, that drive could well be 45 minutes to an hour.

Just outside the city limits and within 20 minute walking distance, there’s West Lebanon and Pleasant Hill, and both of these areas are within short walking distance to the Lebanon Valley Mall.

Within the city limits of Lebanon:

I personally wouldn’t want to live within the city limits. Lebanon is not a rough town in my opinion. The north side of town is the cheapest, but has the most break-ins and seedy behavior and the south and south east part of town is the nicest and most expensive area to live. Finding a place to park can be an issue on the north side of town. They’re currently putting in overpasses for the main thoroughfare, 72 north and south. A main rail line, double track, divides the city in half and there are a lot of crossings to deal with. During the day and early evening hours, about one train every fifteen minutes goes through town. There are suburban communities within the city limits that offer plenty of parking, nice homes/apartments, but also command premium prices.

The lion’s share of places outside the city limits are roughly 95 – 99% white. Within the city limits the demographics depend upon where you are. It’s mostly white to the south side of the city and a rather generous mix of white and Hispanic to the north with a small but growing faction of blacks relocating to the area from larger metropolitan cities. The north west part of the city around 12th and Lehman Streets is densely populated with Hispanics from just about all parts of Latin America and the Caribbean Islands.

Depending upon where you’re from, race, culture and the like, one can hear Lebanon pronounced just like Beirut Lebanon, which the town’s named after to “leb-nin” or “leb – a – nin.” It’s really not an issue like it was back in the 70s and early 80s. With so many people that have relocated to the city from the 60s onwards, it’s really not going to matter.

I’m sorry that I can’t help you with specific areas. I’ve lived in this county roughly 40 years. I just thought I’d toss out some towns in the surrounding area as well as different parts of the city to give you an idea of what to search for. You didn’t specify what’s affordable to you. I live in the northern part, and my school tax is only 10 dollars a year. If I lived within the City of Lebanon, I’d pay about 300 per year if I’m not mistaken.

[xraydude]

Would like to thank everyone so far for the info that they have posted. I have been officially offered the position so I am headed up. I have looked at Annville and Palmyra. They both look good and what I'm looking for. I do like the smaller towns. I like Lebanon also due to shopping and being so close to work. So I have a toss up of where to go. The whole area looks very nice, which makes it that much harder. A couple other questions. What is the sales tax if you buy something in the store? and who is cable and internet provider? what is the average monthly cost for cable and internet and phone?
Thanks