Considering relocating to Eastern PA From the Deeeeeeep South. Crazy? (Philadelphia: to rent, condo)

[Pullenaway]

The wife and I spent the last 4 days exploring York, Lancaster, and parts of Cumberland around Harrisburg.

1. rowhomecity knows what he's talking about. Several other posters earned my respect as well. Thank you all for being so honest.

2. We really liked Lititz, Mechanicsburg, and Camp Hill. York was similar to where we live in AL, minus the nice topography and old architecture. And we witnessed the biggest (neighborhood?) yard sale I've ever seen. The people in Lancaster that we encountered were all very nice.

3. Firehouse in Harrisburg was fantastic. We also ate at Lombardos (Lancaster), Victor's (York), Roma and Bull's Head (Lititz), and the Red Lion Bed and Breakfast. Didn't have a bad meal anywhere.

4. Is there anywhere in PA where the ice cream isn't amazing?

5. We have to go back. Lots more exploring to do.

[MarketStEl]

rowhomecity knows his stuff, but I'd quibble a bit about his characterization of the entire Greater Pittsburgh area as doing well.

Pittsburgh itself has rebounded, and that's bringing Allegheny County along with it, but the other counties that make up Greater Pittsburgh right now remain stagnant, as the high-tech industry that's sparking Pittsburgh's recovery simply isn't spinning off jobs in sufficient quantities to replace those that the steel industry produced. Those steel jobs kept most of the smaller cities outside Allegheny County in the Pittsburgh region* humming. Most of those smaller cities aren't humming now. The metro as a whole continues to lose residents as of now. We can, however, hope that the tech industry, the area's colleges and universities (in particular Pitt and Carnegie Mellon), and UPMC will reach critical mass in the near future and start spreading new employment beyond Allegheny County.

*One of those cities is Braddock, whose mayor just knocked off the sitting lieutenant governor for his party's nomination for that office. John Fetterman (D) may well be one of the most unorthodox politicans this state has ever seen: he has the build of a bouncer at a biker bar and the brains of a Harvard grad (which he is). On his left arm is tattooed Braddock's zip code; on his right, a tick for each of the murders that took place there in 2015. Braddock is still not doing all that well, and he has proved to be one of the few Democrats who seem to be able to speak to Trump supporters in their own language. (Allegheny County continues to vote Democratic, but the other Metro Pittsburgh counties all went for Trump in 2016. In a perhaps useful contrast, all of Philadelphia's collar counties, including Chester, which usually votes Republican, went for Hillary Clinton that year.

[wharton]

Having spent most of my adult life as a Monroe county (Pocono) resident, and now living in Strasburg in Lancaster county, I have to say that I'm blown away by the nearly limitless, and valuable info. that rowhomecity took the time to present. I actually learned a few things. If my two cents are of any value, I'll drop them off here.

I retired, then searched a huge part of the eastern 2/3rd of the states, over a 2-1/2 year period, while the wife and I decided where to buy our last and best place to relocate to. We gave very serious consideration to Wellsboro, the Danville/Bloomsburg area, Lewisburg, Hershey, Elizabethtown, and every inch of Lancaster county, except the really rural southern region (it's a HUGE county, BTW) I really believe that we found as close to a perfect place as we could of, given our situation. We were in no hurry and took eight months to find a place. We watched several desirable Lancaster county homes disappear in days after they were listed. The house we ended up with was listed on a Thursday morning. We bought it that Saturday, after spending the day outbidding others, and paid about 3% over asking. I'm not saying that all the county is one red hot market, or that you will be in ugly bidding wars, but don't be surprised to spot a great home in, or near Lititz, and find that it's under contract a few days after it was first listed. The only other issue that I would mention, that doesn't get enough airplay in the talk of how awesome LC is, is traffic. By the time you pull the trigger on a place, you want a deep understanding of the two types of traffic, and how they impact your life. First, there is plain old commuter traffic. If you need to use any of the "pikes" Oregon, Lititz, Fruitville, etc, in your travels, while heading north of the city, during drive time, take the time to figure out how this would impact your quality of life. The same goes for 30, 222 and 283. There are parts of these routes that become a slow crawl, twice a day. The other issue is tourist traffic. There are eight million tourists stumbling around the county every year. They can turn Lititz, Intercourse, Bird-in-Hand, Strasburg, and even the city into a mess, depending on the day and season. There are festivals that cause Lititz to be packed solid, and times when you can walk the main tourist shop streets faster than you can drive through town. In our case, this weekend Thomas the Train is in town, a few blocks west of our house. If we were to meander toward Gap this Saturday, we would have to deal with a few thousand little ones and their parents, as they experience the magic of Thomas, and friends at the Strasburg Railroad. I think it's great, but it can really tie the local roads in a knot, for a while. The same goes for traffic at Sight and Sound, and even the outlets, especially during the Christmas season.

Ideally, you will find a teaching gig, and a home within a few blocks of the school, and none of this matters, but don't let a realtor gloss over it. Good luck, I wish you all the best. This is a great area, and the schools are not only highly regarded, but well supported by the community.

[Pullenaway]

Some questions for anyone who is interested in giving us some feedback. Anecdotal is of course okay:

Assume we'll be living in Cumberland, York, Lancaster, or Lebanon Counties.

1. What's your guess for the cost of insuring two cars, a 2015 Transit and a 2006 Odessey in PA? I'm assuming $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury; $100,000 property damage; $5000 medical with a $500 deductable (Comprehensive/Collision). Currently we're at $2180 annually in AL using the given numbers.

Trying to avoid getting quotes from the company websites at this time since we're not moving before May. We did get one set of quotes and the most expensive for the zip codes we offered was around $1750 per year through Progressive. I found that very surprising since I did expect car insurance to cost more in PA than in AL.

2. For the given counties listed, any thoughts on average electricity bills? We could assume gas heat for this estimate. We currently pay 10.9 per kWh. We're looking at houses between 2000 - 2700 sf. I know this may be tough to guess, but we'll take any anecdotal information anyone's willing to provide. Further, what are the typical gas rates for the areas listed? Anyone have any ideas? If not, any company names are welcome.

3. Average water bills...anyone have thoughts on what they could be? Ours is, in a dry month where we water twice a day for at least 10 days, not more than $40 - 50. We average $26/mo. if we don't water the grass.

4. Who are the preferred ISPs in the counties listed above? We currently use AT&T and have a 5 GB shared plan between two phones. We also have U-Verse at the house for home internet and it's pretty good...30 - 50 Mbps down and 40 - 60 Mbps up.

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by Pullenaway

Some questions for anyone who is interested in giving us some feedback. Anecdotal is of course okay:

Assume we'll be living in Cumberland, York, Lancaster, or Lebanon Counties.

1. What's your guess for the cost of insuring two cars, a 2015 Transit and a 2006 Odessey in PA? I'm assuming $100,000/$300,000 bodily injury; $100,000 property damage; $5000 medical with a $500 deductable (Comprehensive/Collision). Currently we're at $2180 annually in AL using the given numbers.

Trying to avoid getting quotes from the company websites at this time since we're not moving before May. We did get one set of quotes and the most expensive for the zip codes we offered was around $1750 per year through Progressive. I found that very surprising since I did expect car insurance to cost more in PA than in AL.

2. For the given counties listed, any thoughts on average electricity bills? We could assume gas heat for this estimate. We currently pay 10.9 per kWh. We're looking at houses between 2000 - 2700 sf. I know this may be tough to guess, but we'll take any anecdotal information anyone's willing to provide. Further, what are the typical gas rates for the areas listed? Anyone have any ideas? If not, any company names are welcome.

3. Average water bills...anyone have thoughts on what they could be? Ours is, in a dry month where we water twice a day for at least 10 days, not more than $40 - 50. We average $26/mo. if we don't water the grass.

4. Who are the preferred ISPs in the counties listed above? We currently use AT&T and have a 5 GB shared plan between two phones. We also have U-Verse at the house for home internet and it's pretty good...30 - 50 Mbps down and 40 - 60 Mbps up.

I can speak to car insurance on 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander, 2015 Dodge Ram in Carbon County. With Geico was I was paying about $2900 a year for double stacked, full tort with the same limits you listed. I moved over to Root insurance and am paying $1856 now.

[Pullenaway]

Could use some help if anyone's interested.

Looking at the Exeter School District for a variety of reasons, including possible job-related ones. I am reading articles in the Reading Eagle about the financial situation of the Exeter Township SD. Basically, they're looking at a 4.5% tax hike. In addition, enrollment is declining as per this article (from 2018):

Exeter school board examines budget, transportation

Does anyone have any info about this school district besides what I can find on the internet? I am not sure I can risk moving a large family for a job in a district with such issues.

I have the links to the articles here:
https://www.readingeagle.com/news/ar...es-45-tax-hike

and

https://www.readingeagle.com/news/ar...a-tax-increase

That area already has some "high" taxes on houses (Most we've found for what we need in terms of BRs and square footage)are in the $4500 - low $7000 range). I have an MLS portal set up so I can see available houses with my needs. That observation about the property taxes comes from the houses we've looked at through said portal.

Any thoughts? I have to schedule the flight up this weekend and will be in the area next week.

[Pullenaway]

4/5/20 Update

I hope everyone on the PA board is well. To catch those of you who would like to know, I had two different job offers last summer from 3 face-to-face interviews. Long story short, had to decline both because we got our house on the market in AL too late and it didn't sell in time to accept either job, although one wasn't able to offer the salary we need to make the move.

Moving forward, we're trying again. Nothing's really changed from the last time I posted vis a vis our requirements and wishes.

Could anyone give some insights into Manheim Borough? I have a possible opportunity in Warwick SD (Lititz/Lanc Co) and am having a hard time finding affordable housing. There are a couple of houses that may fit the bill in Manheim Borough, but I am getting mixed vibes regarding crime. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

[Pullenaway]

Welp, here's the *final* update...

Got a job yesterday. Really good one, actually.

The fam and I are moving soon!

Thanks to anyone who contributed to this thread. Dreams do come true!

[Jeanie Beanie]

Wow! Congratulations - it's been quite a journey. Keep us posted on how things unfold. Are you still thinking of moving to Manheim Borough? (I have no knowledge of that area, sorry.) Also, when you get here, let us know what strikes you as funny/odd/curious. Often, we locals don't see the quirky stuff. What? No scrapple for breakfast!! LOL

Welcome to your new home...

[Pullenaway]

Originally Posted by Jeanie Beanie

Wow! Congratulations - it's been quite a journey. Keep us posted on how things unfold. Are you still thinking of moving to Manheim Borough? (I have no knowledge of that area, sorry.) Also, when you get here, let us know what strikes you as funny/odd/curious. Often, we locals don't see the quirky stuff. What? No scrapple for breakfast!! LOL

Welcome to your new home...

I will! My wife and I are coming up this weekend to do house shopping.

Manheim Borough is out. I got a job someplace else. Thanks, though, for asking!

It has been a journey indeed!