Chambersburg, PA - merged threads (Fayetteville, Montgomery: apartment complex, rental, homes)

[jrice]

I like the fact its the opposite of Las Vegas actually. Since I plan on reopening my IT company there I wont need a job(travel is a part of my business). The housing market in Chambersburg looks ideal, we are looking at a 2100sft house on an acre for 280K--in Vegas you'd get a under 1700 sft and be lucky for a 18ft long by 6ft deep back yard--sand and rock(no grass).

[CHIP72]

One thing to keep in mind if you are traveling a lot (including presumably airline travel) is Chambersburg is not close to any significant, commercial airport. The closest airports to Chambersburg with multiple airlines would probably be (in order) Harrisburg, Washington Dulles, and Baltimore-Washington. Dulles and BWI are much larger (and generally cheaper, especially in the case of BWI) than HIA, though HIA does have service from every major, non-low cost carrier (American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, USAirways) to at least 2 of each carrier's hubs. That being the case, you may want to live closer to Harrisburg or York (BWI would be slightly closer, Dulles would be considerably further, and Philadelphia International comes into play as a viable option) or perhaps Hagerstown (both BWI and Dulles, as well as DC National, would be closer). Putting yourself closer to Harrisburg or Hagerstown would also provide advantages highway-wise, as both places are key crossroad locations (Hagerstown is where I-81 and I-70 meet). Harrisburg in particular has a lot of major roads passing through (I-76, I-81, I-83, US 15, US 22/322, PA 283, plus I-78 via I-81) and has good connections to many big and intermediate-sized metro areas in every direction extending away from Harrisburg. One final, potential positive with Harrisburg is it has fairly extensive Amtrak service to/from Lancaster, Philadelphia, and New York.

Just as a point of clarification, Chambersburg is about 50-55 miles southwest of Harrisburg and about 20-25 miles north of Hagerstown. Both places, especially Harrisburg, are much larger than Chambersburg and wouldn't give you the same kind of relaxed, small/intermediate-sized town living Chambersburg would. Neither place has major hussle and bussle anything like Las Vegas either though.

[sharris]

I live in Hanover PA about 40 min from Chambersburg. I moved to PA to buy an house I and my family could afford at the time. We love it here and will never move away. Found the schools to be sound. Taxes are good. Adams county area is still lower then most. Piece and quite. Low crime.
Aside from all that housing is very affordable compared to the west coast. Life is a bit slower in PA.
However plenty of shopping and things to do here.
Do you have school age children? I can send you school reports.
Have you visited PA? Need some local information?
What some house listings? I would be happy to send you anything you need. Just ask me...Good Luck.

[jrice]

Originally Posted by sharris

I live in Hanover PA about 40 min from Chambersburg. I moved to PA to buy an house I and my family could afford at the time. We love it here and will never move away. Found the schools to be sound. Taxes are good. Adams county area is still lower then most. Piece and quite. Low crime.
Aside from all that housing is very affordable compared to the west coast. Life is a bit slower in PA.
However plenty of shopping and things to do here.
Do you have school age children? I can send you school reports.
Have you visited PA? Need some local information?
What some house listings? I would be happy to send you anything you need. Just ask me...Good Luck.

Thanks. My son is going to be kindergarten for the start of the next school year.

I would like info, I have already received some from the Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce, which to my surprise was a nice coffee table book describing the town and its history. But I love information

The slower pace is a welcome change from Vegas. I have visited PA alot in my 20's (33 now) and we are planning on going to visit next month--see the sites, house hunt, etc

One thing to keep in mind if you are traveling a lot (including presumably airline travel) is Chambersburg is not close to any significant, commercial airport. The closest airports to Chambersburg with multiple airlines would probably be (in order) Harrisburg, Washington Dulles, and Baltimore-Washington. Dulles and BWI are much larger (and generally cheaper, especially in the case of BWI) than HIA, though HIA does have service from every major, non-low cost carrier (American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United, USAirways) to at least 2 of each carrier's hubs. That being the case, you may want to live closer to Harrisburg or York (BWI would be slightly closer, Dulles would be considerably further, and Philadelphia International comes into play as a viable option) or perhaps Hagerstown (both BWI and Dulles, as well as DC National, would be closer). Putting yourself closer to Harrisburg or Hagerstown would also provide advantages highway-wise, as both places are key crossroad locations (Hagerstown is where I-81 and I-70 meet). Harrisburg in particular has a lot of major roads passing through (I-76, I-81, I-83, US 15, US 22/322, PA 283, plus I-78 via I-81) and has good connections to many big and intermediate-sized metro areas in every direction extending away from Harrisburg. One final, potential positive with Harrisburg is it has fairly extensive Amtrak service to/from Lancaster, Philadelphia, and New York.

The only airline travel I do is with my family for vacations, all of my business travel is road based, last year I put 15K on my business van.

[military spouse]

Hi,
We moved away from the area about 5 months ago, but we've kept a house there and might move back one day. It is a great area. There is a small hispanic population in the immediate downtown area, but it will seem microscopic compared to anything out west. Probably a several block area. We used to laugh when our neighbors talked about "the Mexicans moving in." We've lived in El Paso, Sierra Vista, Phoneix and there were some Hispanics in that immediate area of Chambersburg and a few Hispanic businesses, but definately the minority and you shouldn't be exposed to it unless you spend time in that area. Actually, there are a few taco shops on Main St. that are actually pretty good.

Our daughter really misses living there. She attended Marion Elementary (slightly over 100 kids) and it was such a good experience. I can't think of a better place to raise kids. Of course, Gettysburg, Mercersburg, Greencastle, Shippensburg and numerous other communities would be similar. Very nice people. I would suggest living in a "newer" development which might help you make friends. We lived in Laurich Meadows (Hwy. 11 and Mill Rd.) and there was a variety of housing that ranged from new to about 13 years old). There were a fair number of people that had relocated from other areas and made it much easier to meet people.

[jrice]

We are looking at a property on Bell Ave. We should be flying out next month to finalize everything.

You are right, a small minority spanish community is nothing compared to out west. Here in Vegas the majority of the population (total) only speak spanish, a news piece said something to the effect of 54%

[Silviab]

Hi,

My daughter and I would like to move to PA. We'd like to live in a smaller
town setting, slower paced than the Bay Area.

Are there hospitals and medical facilities in Chambersburg, or nearby?
I have to be fairly near a medical facility.

Is the area of Fayetteville pretty safe?

Thank you,
Silvia

[firefightermom]

There is one hospital in Chambersburg, and it is called Chambersburg Hospital,haha. It is located just outside of downtown on Rt 30. Hershey Medical Center is the top place to go for big time problems. Fayetteville seems ok, but when I moved here my realtor told me it's the poorest area of Chambersburg. There is a lot of new building going on and I did see a lot of nice looking houses there. They have a brand new elementary school too. We moved to Greene Township, near the mall, and it's very quiet and nice.

[Silviab]

Thank you. Is Fayetteville the county or a city? We are looking for
a town not too far from the Valley Forge area, but quiet with farms.
Unfortunately, I need a hospital nearby for annual screening.
Thanks so much.
Silvia

Originally Posted by firefightermom

There is one hospital in Chambersburg, and it is called Chambersburg Hospital,haha. It is located just outside of downtown on Rt 30. Hershey Medical Center is the top place to go for big time problems. Fayetteville seems ok, but when I moved here my realtor told me it's the poorest area of Chambersburg. There is a lot of new building going on and I did see a lot of nice looking houses there. They have a brand new elementary school too. We moved to Greene Township, near the mall, and it's very quiet and nice.

[pinetar10]

Fayetteville is a small town about 7 miles from chambersburg. this area though is not that close to vally forge. its at least a few hours away.