Where does my family belong? (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: fit in, low crime, new home)

[Joysey77]

The state is so large I dont know where to begin to look. There are certain things I am looking for and have researched one county after another, one region of PA after another and am just confused where to go.I am a stay at home mom and my husband will be retiring soon. We have 5 kids so good schools are a must. Low crime is a must. I can afford about 250000 for a house and would like a little land if possible. Im also very conservative, Italian and Catholic so being around people similar to me would help. I will have a horse so parts of the state that have many farms for boarding and training will help. Im concerned with flooding. I just lived through Sandy and watched the bay flood down my street. So low chance of flooding is essential, if possible. I need to be within 2 hours to an excellent hospital and major airport. Also, I dont want small town or big city. Maybe 30-50000 would be nice. Im coming from Jersey and dont want to much of a culture shock lol!What do you recommend?

[Icy Tea]

Berks might be a good choice for you. You could get a big farm house with a few acres for that price which would be lower tax wise and price wise than some neighboring counties. I know of some horse trails around Birdsboro and Hopewell and Exeter( Thun Trail, Haycreek, Horseshoe) plus around Bluemarsh. You'd be close to New Jersey and crime is low except inside Reading city proper. Crime drops dramatically at the city limits. Dog walking is big on those trails.
Flooding is occasional but limited low lying areas near creeks and the Scuylkill River. There are italians and catholics, Exeter Twshp has a big new catholic church near a big new grade school. They just had a merger of the two catholic schools. There's also a new grade school near the Junior and Senior High in Reiffton. Reading Hospital is top rated as is St. Josephs although St. Josephs is kind of distant north of Reading. There are satellite health centers and private clinics. 2 hours would get you to Philly airport. Reading airport is small but has commuter service and Lehigh valley ariport is bigger. Oley is very rural and so are the areas east and north of it.
Culture shock? Expect a more quiet laid back more conservative lifestyle with no extremes, religious or political. Theres not much of a club or bar scene. Shopping is well represented and food costs are slkightly lower than average.
Check the area out. But please, if you do come remember that this is Pennsylvania and not New Jersey and we want to keep it that way even if it isn't perfect. And wearing NY sports team caps gets you no points and nobodys really impressed by NYC. Reading is crawling with posers who get laughed at behind their backs. Even Philly doens't impress the locals beyond a love/ hate of their sports teams.

[Joysey77]

Why is it that people, no matter what state Im researching, and Ive looked into many, have the need to tell me not to turn your town into NJ? I dont understand. I always ask simple questions where is best for my family and in turn get a NJ comment. It gives the impression that your very nasty for no reason

[Hopes]

I was going to recommend Pittsburgh because we have a great cost of living and have lots of Catholic Italians here. It's a nice sized metro where you can live in the suburbs that have farms and horse stables just 15 minutes away from downtown.

Since you said you want to live in a town that has 30k to 50k population, I'll help you narrow it down by listing the towns in Pennsylvania that meet your population criteria.

49,528 -- Harrisburg, PA
46,320 -- Altoona, PA
43,718 -- York, PA
42,034 -- State College, PA
41,498 -- Wilkes-Bare, PA
33,972 -- Chester, PA
29,381 -- Williamsport, PA

York is 1 hour away from Baltimore and 2 hours away from Philadelphia. Both have major hospitals and airports. IMO Baltimore has the best hospital in the eastern region.

Altoona, you don't want to move there. While it's 2 hours from Pittsburgh, it's a declining town.

Harrisburg is a serious consideration. It's 1 hour 48 minutes from Philadelphia and 1 hour and 2 minutes from Baltimore.

State College is too isolated and probably too liberal.

Williamsport is farther than 2 hours away but you could pick a town between Harrisburg and Williamsport, such as Selinsgrove and have the best of both worlds. I'm not familiar with Williamsport, but Selinsgrove and areas around it are very nice. This is Amish country (like York) with lots of farms but lots of little colleges. You'd be surprised by the amount of wealth and employment there is in this rural area. Even then, Selinsgrove is 30 minutes further than your 2 hour requirement.

I don't know anything about Wilkes-Bare and Chester, except Chester appears to be an old river town right in the heart of the Philadelphia metro.


By process of elimination, it appears as if Harrisburg and York are your top contenders.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Joysey77

Why is it that people, no matter what state Im researching, and Ive looked into many, have the need to tell me not to turn your town into NJ? I dont understand. I always ask simple questions where is best for my family and in turn get a NJ comment. It gives the impression that your very nasty for no reason

Just a guess. You say you're from NJ and Italian and images of those classless women on the Jersey reality shows pop into mind. I'm sure you're nothing like them. It's just guilt by association on the internet. In person, you won't get that attitude because people will have an opportunity to see that you have intelligence and manners.

[Derp-D-Derp]

I've been to several states, including NJ. I used to go there often.

People from NJ (where you are from) and Maine (where I moved to 2 years ago) are very different. From accents to personalities, most people only know Jersey from Cake Boss, Jersey Shore, SNL, and The Real Housewives-type shows. For one, Jersey is far more ethnic than a lot of other places. When I was living in (far) upstate NY, we had sections of the city that were Italian, German, Polish, Jewish, etc., but it wasn't a big state-wide thing.

There are other places, like Rhode Island, where Federal Hill is mainly the Italian-section of the town. And, so I don't seem completely bigoted (which I defintely am not), the yellow lines between the traffic lanes were orange and green, last time I was in Providence.

Jersey is unique but, as such, I think it's important that it is not like every state. We all have our similarities and differences, but you are leaving a very specific area and entering the unknown. It's important that you learn to adapt to your new community.

You sound like you want obscurity, but with all the expectations of your new home territory, I don't know if you'll have the opportunity to find everything you are looking for.

Also, as you most likely know, PA is Amish Country. If I knew someone in your circumstance, I would assure them of the possible culture shock. But, be open to it and embrace it. Most people learn to live and let live. We respect the differences of others and embrace them.

Good luck, I'm sorry you survived Sandy, hopefully you'll find PA to meet your expectations.

[Joysey77]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Just a guess. You say you're from NJ and Italian and images of those classless women on the Jersey reality shows pop into mind. I'm sure you're nothing like them. It's just guilt by association on the internet. In person, you won't get that attitude because people will have an opportunity to see that you have intelligence and manners.

Thank you so much for that. Im just mother who actually is very conservative and very catholic and doesnt fit in NJ or anything like the reality shows. I just want a nice home for my kids and my husband and a quiet place to live with some land

[Joysey77]

Originally Posted by Derp-D-Derp

I've been to several states, and NJ is one. I go there often. For instance, people from NJ (where you are from) and Maine (where I moved to 2 years ago) are very different. From accents to personalities, most people only know Jersey from Cake Boss, Jersey Shore, SNL, and The Real Housewives-type shows.

people need to stop spending so much time watching TV

[Hopes]

Here are the Catholics in Pennsylvania in red. You want to stay away from Philly because the population is too congested and the housing prices are higher. The red clusters to the left of Philly are Harrisburg and York. The huge red area on the far left of the state is Pittsburgh. You should seriously consider Harrisburg, York and a Pittsburgh suburb. I believe housing in the York area might be more expensive due to Marylanders hopping the border for lower taxes. If that's the case, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh are your best options.

[Derp-D-Derp]

To Josey:

Agreed .... but most of Maine is watching Honey Boo Boo! LOL