Pennsylvania Babies

Ok, Hbg ladies, talk up your town to me

DH and I are talking about moving.  We live near State College now and like it, but every now and then we talk about moving to be closer to our families. 

We have 3 stipulations - that we can afford to live there on DH's salary, that it's easy to get to/close to an airport, and we can get high speed internet.  It seems like Harrisburg meets these 3, plus being close to our families.

So, why should we move to Harrisburg?  And if we're really going to consider this, what are some places to live/school districts we should research?

I doubt we will move, but as I really  know nothing about the Harrisburg area, I really can't rule it out.  So, TIA!

Re: Ok, Hbg ladies, talk up your town to me

  • I really like the Harrisburg area. I used to live downtown which I absolutely loved but we needed more space for ourselves and our dogs.  I live in Enola now but still in the Cumberland Valley school district.  We used to live in Mechanicsburg (and in CV).  It's a great - but large - school district.  We are on the "West Shore" and are about 20-25 minutes from the airport. It's a very easy drive.  You can find really nice homes from probably about 200K (not sure that it's gone down a ton here) to the millions in my immediate area. 

    Central Dauphin or CD East is good (can't remember which - one is good and one is bad).  Hershey is also a good school district. Those are both on the East Shore which is on the northern side of the city and a little closer to the airport. 

    I have lived here since the Fall of '01.  The area has really blossomed.  There are some great restaurants (a few in Hershey and a couple downtown) and the shopping has really gotten a lot better too.  It's still definitely lacking for me (especially after having almost anything at my fingertips in Los Angeles) but it's good enough to get by for the most part with an infrequent trip to the Baltimore area or King of Prussia.

    I really enjoy that we're close to NYC, Baltimore, Philly, and Atlantic City.  I love going to see minor league baseball and hockey games which are great and relatively inexpensive for family entertainment.  

  • I personally love the State College area and I would love to move there :) 

    There are lots of great school districts depending on where you would want to look for a house.  You would probably want to narrow it does East Shore vs. West Shore of Harrisburg.  There are great communities on both sides.  I would think cost of living is the same here as where you are.  

    And LOL-- does anywhere in the country seriously not have high speed internet?  This baffles me!

    GL!

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  • imageinnerpeace:
    And LOL-- does anywhere in the country seriously not have high speed internet?  This baffles me!

    This baffles me too but sadly enough the ILs DO NOT have an option for high speed and they live about an hour north of Harrisburg.  Its insane to me.

  • I like Harrisburg, but I wouldn't want my kids going to LARGE schools. But that's just me. I like small towns such as Elizabethville, Halifax, Millersburg, etc. We currently live in Dauphin but hope to move to Halifax before Hannah starts middle school (perferably in the next year). I grew up in the country and really like it and would love to move back. It's not far from Harrisburg, maybe 40 min drive. Middletown airport isn't far from Harrisburg.
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  • I live in Mechanicsburg which is about 15-20 minutes outside of harrisburg, so 20 miniutes from the airport and all of downtown area. But its on the west shore which in my opinion is much nicer of an area. I love love love living in Mechanicsburg, I just moved here about 4 years ago. Mechanicsburg has TONS of shopping and restaurants (especially along the Carlisle Pike) great schools and the people are very nice here. I would highly recommend it over any other HBG surrounding area. Other than that I do like Hershey too but its much more pricier than Mechanicsburg is and its just as nice in my opinion.

     Hope to see you around!! :)

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  • imageinnerpeace:
    And LOL-- does anywhere in the country seriously not have high speed internet?  This baffles me!

    My dad lives 15 minutes outside of Scranton and got DSL 2 years ago.  It barely qualifies as high speed internet!    I'm sure if we went 2 miles up the road from his house, they wouldn't have it!

  • We live in Mechanicsburg, which is across the river from Harrisburg.  I work in the suburbs of Harrisburg and it's a 14 mile drive (about 20 minutes or so) to work, so we're pretty close to the city.

    I absolutely ADORE living in Mechanicsburg and so does my husband.  It's a very nice area - lots of different styles and prices ranges of homes to choose from.  Many different restaurants and shopping options.

    I love how close we are to bigger cities (about 2 hours from Philly, 1.5 hours from Baltimore) and how much stuff there is to do around here.    I'm originally from a tiny little town so this area is so much bigger to me.

  • I'm an East Shore gal who has lived this side of the river since I was born.  Grew up in Lower Paxton Twp. (on the mountain, in the middle of the woods), and I've lived in Susquehanna and Swatara Townships.  All suburban to rural areas.

    Central Dauphin is a decent district, but CD East High has more behavior/discipline issues than CD High; the communities it draws from are generally less affluent than CD High communities.

    My DH grew up in the farms and fields of Grantville, went to Lower Dauphin and loved it.  We'll likely look to move to that district in the next few years because it's close enough to Harrisburg and Hershey, but still feels like the sticks.

    Ironically, the only time I didn't live in this area is when I went to Penn State and lived in State College!

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