Moving to Lancaster, PA area from Florida... alittle help please...

July 7, 2015 1:34 PM

I"m taking a new job in Columbia... I figure i can live in York, or Lancaster.... All my (new) co-workers tell me Lancaster is better... To us (wife & 2 kids) it's about the school districts.... We're gonna rent for a year before we buy, but want to ensure where ever we rent, that if we in fact do buy in a year, will be in the right area where we won't have to move the kids out of school (again)... We both like live music... are we going to have a hard time making friends, or my wife finding a job???

Regarding the Schools, My realtor told me that if we live in Lancaster, Manheim School district is the best.... My research tends to agree... but is there any personal experience out there? I have a 15 yo daughter going into 10th grade.. She's not into sports, clubs, or anything like that... She likes to read, isn't too much of a girly girl...but more of a science fiction geek...

My son is 11, going into 6th grade... smart...but has Asperger's.. & I'm alittle worried how he will get along with the other kids & if the school will have the support he may need (he's been mainstream with alittle help, for about 2 years... )


Regarding my wife, she has extensive experience in retail...mostly clothing, shoes, boutiques, etc... not sure if there is any kind of Mall or something she can find work ...

i also know she's more of a "city girl"... and would prefer some kind of nightlife, etc...we love seeing live bands, etc. Where are the places in the Lancaster, PA area to find this?

We're moving from Tarpon Springs, FL... so we have Clearwater, Tampa, etc... I know we're about 30 min from Hershey (Hershey Park)... i'm just wondering what else there is to do in this region... are we gonna hate it (hope not, as we're moving in a week)....

I'm also not sure how my wife can make friends, or us (as a couple)... Of course, i have a conduit being work...but i don't expect too much out of that...

and no... we're not very religious.

We all (as a family) like the renaissance festival, comicon, etc...

All help and advice is greatly appreciated !!!!

I'm happy to answer any questions....

posted by foodybat to Travel & Transportation around Lancaster, PA (7 answers total)

Welcome to Pennsylvania! I'm a shameless booster of Lancaster, so...

Manheim has a pretty good reputation as far as schools go. The town itself is on the small side (no bad thing) and football madness takes over in the fall. Posters everywhere down the main drag, "Go Barons" signs in shop windows. Every October, the high school cancels classes for a few days (or used to) for the Manheim Farm Show, which is a small but fully enjoyable event with livestock, 4-H projects, carnival rides, etc.

Park City Mall is just outside of Lancaster city, and the Tanger and Rockvale outlet complexes aren't that far from Lancaster. Plenty of retail shops out Route 30!

Look, city life in Lancaster is not going to be New York City-amazing, but it has become both more gentrified and more arts-oriented over the last 20 years or so. First Fridays are packed with galleries, etc. And the food scene? Terrific! F&M College brings interesting speakers and performers. Central Market (T, F, Sat.) is AMAZING. Nightlife? Uh... Well, there's the Chameleon Club. And Amtrak runs daily trains to Philly.

I do not love Hershey. YMMV.

Renaissance Faire is just up Route 72, north of Lancaster. Not a hard drive at all.

Lancaster County is more conservative than the city of Lancaster.

I think you'll have to make your peace with this part of the world--it is slower, less flashy, less progressive than many other places. But there is often something wonderful about its gentler, slower approach to life. Please MeMail me if you want more specifics. Have a good move, and welcome!
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:04 PM on July 7, 2015 [4 favorites]

Regarding school districts, Manheim Borough is not the same as Manheim Township, the latter of which is better regarded academically.

Otherwise, MonkeyToes has pretty much said everything I was going to...

Welcome!
posted by Princess Leopoldine Grassalkovich nee Esterhazy at 2:10 PM on July 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

I did my residency in Lancaster in 1992-95. I went expecting a complete backwater and found it to be, to this day, the nicest city I've spent time in with the possible exception of Portland OR. So perhaps it has gone downhill, but I doubt it. There was a ton of nightlife, great restaurants, amazing farmer's markets in the city, and I never felt any overt religiosity. I was impressed and pleased by the large variety of ethnicity as well. And it is in a beautiful part of the country. I expect the schools are likely helped by the professionals who settle and stay behind for teaching and medicine among other professions. Good luck.
posted by docpops at 2:27 PM on July 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm not a resident of Lancaster, PA but my whole family is from there and I've been visiting the area for the last 40 years so I have some insight. Everyone in my family thought that Lancaster Country Day was the best school in the area - my niece went there for a while. But it is a private school and I think that she eventually asked to transfer to McCaskey to be able to attend a larger public high school and that worked for her.

F&M and the Pennsylvania College of Arts & Design are both based in Lancaster and they bring in a young vibrant population with plenty of energy. Speaking as a New Yorker there is a really wonderful vibe to the downtown area with indie shops, fun architecture and plenty of public space.

I do love the food. There are certain regional specialties that abound and that I'm sure you will learn to appreciate cough lebanon bologna. I was just thinking the other day of visiting my grandmother for the express purpose of picking up melon, corn and tomatoes to bring home. Maybe in September. Central Market is amazing and I also love the smorgasburgs like Bird-n-Hand. Mr. Bill's is great for seafood - it's hard to get a decent blue crab in New York.

As you may know there is a large Amish and Mennonite population and so out in the country you will absolutely notice religious overtones. Neither religion does much in the way of proselytizing however.

On the socializing tip - I think my well-traveled ex-Hollywood aunt who relocated to Lancaster met people through yoga and she and her husband were also members of the Hamilton Club. I think they were members for the social aspect but also for the gym.

It's a great and interesting place - I hope you will love it.
posted by rdnnyc at 3:03 PM on July 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

Fig magazine highlights Lancaster's many treasures.
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:36 PM on July 7, 2015

Also, if you like classical music, the Gretna Music series is great, and there's a wonderful early music series in Lancaster.
posted by Princess Leopoldine Grassalkovich nee Esterhazy at 11:13 AM on July 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Great thread, with great advice. My cousins, Hempfield and Manheim Township graduates all, have done well in life, and their children are attending those same school districts. To address MoonOrb's parenthetical comment: my mother grew up in Lancaster, and I have a lot of family there. I, in contrast, grew up in York, where my parents still live. There are some decent things about York, but, overall, Lancaster is much nicer than York. If I were in your situation, I'd definitely pick Lancaster.
posted by cheapskatebay at 1:28 PM on July 8, 2015 [1 favorite]