Looking at places to move in PA - from NYC

[Patmcpsu]

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

I 500% recommend Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is absolutely beautiful. That beauty largely is beacuse much of that bountiful farmland is protected and why acres cost big dollars.

I would also suggest northern Dauphin County, just north of Harrisburg (which also has an Amtrak connection). This actually might be my new #1 recommendation.

Yes, I'm a big fan of Lancaster and it would provide everything that he's describing...except:

• He said he wanted to be 30-45 minutes from a big city. I'm not sure if Lancaster counts as a "big city", or maybe he's willing to compromise on the city's size after hearing our feedback. Lancaster has a downtown area with some bars/restaurants/shops, etc but it's more of a big town / small city.
• The job market - Sure there are accounting jobs in/around Lancaster, but it's slim pickings compared to Philly/Allentown. Everyone would want to live in Lancaster if it had a robust job market, but then again, it wouldn't be Lancaster anymore.

If you can find a well-paying and fulfilling job in Lancaster, by all means, go for it. It's not impossible, just harder. Luckily, the job-market is in your favor right now.

For reference, here's the population of the downtown areas in question:

• Philadelphia: 1.6 million
• Allentown:120k
• Lancaster:60k

[Joelyso]

Originally Posted by Patmcpsu

Yes, I'm a big fan of Lancaster and it would provide everything that he's describing...except:

• He said he wanted to be 30-45 minutes from a big city. I'm not sure if Lancaster counts as a "big city", or maybe he's willing to compromise on the city's size after hearing our feedback. Lancaster has a downtown area with some bars/restaurants/shops, etc but it's more of a big town / small city.
• The job market - Sure there are accounting jobs in/around Lancaster, but it's slim pickings compared to Philly/Allentown. Everyone would want to live in Lancaster if it had a robust job market, but then again, it wouldn't be Lancaster anymore.

If you can find a well-paying and fulfilling job in Lancaster, by all means, go for it. It's not impossible, just harder. Luckily, the job-market is in your favor right now.

For reference, here's the population of the downtown areas in question:

• Philadelphia: 1.6 million
• Allentown:120k
• Lancaster:60k

That's quite interesting. According to my observation ( https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pXY...w?usp=drivesdk ), there are more jobs in Lancaster Country than in Allentown. If you also consider the fact the population is half that of Allentown, that means there is technically twice as many opportunities available in Lancaster. This is what was so confusing to me give that homes are less expensive around Lancaster. Am I looking this wrong?

[rowhomecity]

Lancaster County is part of the Susquehanna Valley an area of 1.2 Million residents and 3 small cities: Harrisburg, Lancaster and York. Each carries their own 'metro' but all are within 35 - 40 minutes of one another, therefore they share and feed off of each other's economies.

This is a quick relation to understand how the areas differ.

Susquehanna Valley( Lancaster, Harrisburg, York) pop. 1.2 Million
Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton) pop. 875k

[Joelyso]

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

Lancaster County is part of the Susquehanna Valley an area of 1.2 Million residents and 3 small cities: Harrisburg, Lancaster and York. Each carries their own 'metro' but all are within 35 - 40 minutes of one another, therefore they share and feed off of each other's economies.

This is a quick relation to understand how the areas differ.

Susquehanna Valley( Lancaster, Harrisburg, York) pop. 1.2 Million
Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton) pop. 875k

Thanks for clarifying that. I narrowed down the search to only within city limits, but Lancaster still wins (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k10...w?usp=drivesdk) . Seems like a pretty good area to look for homes (in comparison to Allentown) when considering work, schools, and housing cost.

[toobusytoday]

You would be doing yourself a disfavor if you limit yourself to Allentown city limits. The largest employer, Lehigh Valley Hospital, is not within the city of Allentown, the main campus is in Salisbury township. The city of Bethlehem adjoins Allentown and people work in either city. Literally adjoins - I don't know which place I'm in when I'm at the west end of Bethlehem and the east end of Allentown. Popular work places where I live are any of the colleges Lehigh, Muhlenberg, Moravian, DeSales, Cedar Crest or PSU Lehigh Valley. I believe Muhlenberg is the only one in the city of Allentown.

[rowhomecity]

I vote Lancaster. Both the Lehigh and Susquehanna Valley enjoy a Whole Foods and Apple Store. (I make these retail markers for QOL as they are very particular where they locate).

The Susquehanna Valley metro is larger than the Lehigh Valley and the # of accounting jobs is actually quite profound with Harrisburg being a short 30 minutes away.

The Lehigh Valley is great and I am not discounting. But Lancaster right now has a slight edge imo. Althought Bethelhem is surely nothing to discount. Both are great. But I will say Lancaster and Chester Counties feel very similar in many ways, and they are both quintessential Pennsylvania.

Lancaster does not have a direct highway route to Philadelphia which in a positive way has limited the number of warehouses. Which is a POSITIVE in terms of quality of life.

[Patmcpsu]

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

I vote Lancaster. Both the Lehigh and Susquehanna Valley enjoy a Whole Foods and Apple Store. (I make these retail markers for QOL as they are very particular where they locate).

The Susquehanna Valley metro is larger than the Lehigh Valley and the # of accounting jobs is actually quite profound with Harrisburg being a short 30 minutes away.

The Lehigh Valley is great and I am not discounting. But Lancaster right now has a slight edge imo. Althought Bethelhem is surely nothing to discount. Both are great. But I will say Lancaster and Chester Counties feel very similar in many ways, and they are both quintessential Pennsylvania.

Lancaster does not have a direct highway route to Philadelphia which in a positive way has limited the number of warehouses. Which is a POSITIVE in terms of quality of life.

Rowhomecity nailed it, although I would have been a bit harsher about Lehigh Valley.

People/culture is a huge factor that nobody talks about - maybe because it's a sensitive subject or maybe because it's too specific to each individual's taste. I recommend visiting the areas and going to their malls, supermarkets, bars, and people-watch. See where you feel most comfortable; I love Lancaster's culture but I'm sure other people may hate it. If your fellow citizens frustrate you, you'll hate the area regardless of how trendy the food scene is or how many sports teams there are.