South East/Central PA living location ?'s

[Imgonnamissher]

I am not sure if this is the right forum, but I was wondering what people had to say about living in the Harrisburg, Lancaster, York triangle with regards to crime, traffic, and other personal feelings on the topic.  I know I can search for stats online, but I am more curious on what people think from their own experiences.  My wife and I are still extremely excited to be moving closer to home, but even though the in laws are right over the MD line, we don't know the PA area particularly well.  Maine has spoiled us I suppose, but before that we lived in Hyattsville MD and Takoma Park, so I suppose you could say we're used to extremes either way.  Incidentally, we have no intention of living in the cities themselves, but rather in the suburban or rural areas nearest to whatever jobs we land, so any comments on the smaller towns within commuting distance would be greatly appreciated.

Also, on a somewhat related note, many people are saying the Susquehanna is a shadow of its former self.  I am wondering if this means all the big fish are gone and you could still expect to catch a few smaller bass, or if the entire population of bass is truly dwindling.  I don't mind a day of catching smaller bass, but as a relative newb listening to people who have competed in tournaments, I sometimes wonder if what is acceptable fishing for a good time for me (catching ANYthing) is skewed from what the more experienced anglers consider a good time or a quality fishery.

[boatnik13]

As for crime > I can say that here in Harrisburg its alot smoother than Lancaster  or York. Its a small city and no red zones.  Everyone that I meet that is moving into the area agrees.  As for fishing > don't believe it till you try it. I hear smallies are really active now in the tri county area you mentioned.  

[Imgonnamissher]

Thanks for the reply!  Out of the three areas, I would want to live closer to Harrisburg is possible.  Interestingly enough, it looks like Gettysburg has been pushed to the forefront because of a potential job opening for my wife.  Even though it's farther from the Susquehanna, I gotta say that I think I would prefer teaching in a rural school over a city school based on my experiences.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I live in Fayetteville and my fiance works in Gettysburg.

If you move into the area, let me know.  Living in Gettysburg will give you about a 40 minute ride to the Susquehanna and about the same to Lake Marburg.

There is a gated community called Lake Heritage in Gettysburg.  DEFINITELY get in touch with me if you end up living there.  

[Imgonnamissher]

Will do!  We're going to be moving this summer.  I can't wait to go after the bass with my fly gear.  Up here in Maine we have a ton of smallies, but I'm looking forward to going after the bucketmouths too.  Gotta tie up some mouse and frog patterns.

[Walz]

I live in Grantville which is just outside of Harrisburg. I have to agree that this area is much better as far as crime goes as compared to York or Lancaster. I have lived in this immediate area almost all my life (lived in MD for 6 years) and its a great area to work and live. Also, as stated above Harrisburg is a small city with most of the surrounding towns being pretty rural so there is plenty of oppurtunity to teach at a smaller rural school and still be within minutes of the city.

As far as the fishing in the Susquehanna goes it has definitely declined in recent years in this area. It is still pretty decent though. It seems that although the quantity seems to have lessened I have been catching larger fish in general. The illness that has been killing the fish mostly effects the young, and it looks like that has also been declining gradually. The PA Fish and Boat site (http://www.fish.state.pa.us) has some info on it if you are interested. Look under Featured Topics > Susquehanna Smallmouth mgmt.

[zelmo]

Have you visited the area yet?  Within a very short drive of any of the hubs you can go from small city living to very rural.  Gettysburg is more of a big town, where HBG, York, and Lancaster have some dense suburban areas as well as the cities. Traveling between HBG and York, and HBG and Lancaster you will find a number of small towns and wide open areas.  You need to see it to find what appeals to you, then balance the commute to work with closeness to the river (if that is a priority.)

[Imgonnamissher]

The river is not a huge priority, especially since I'll still be less than an hour from it.  My first priority is going to be finding the nearest place I can catch a few sunfish without access trouble or too far away from my residence.  No super secret location stuff, just the easiest fishing I can find for when I want to kill an hour after work or something.  Where I'm at now, I have a couple of spots close by where I can expect to catch a few sunnies no matter what.  Definitely needed as a stress reliever.  After I find those spots, then I worry about branching out and finding the better waters.  As for visiting, we have not visited the area yet, but everyone I have talked to has had very positive things to say about Gettysburg, and my wife has a lot of family in the Hanover area, so we're not too worried.  Still going to do some serious scouting in all the areas I mentioned earlier though just in case.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

There is also a little town called New Oxford that has Conewago Creek running through it.  It has smallmouth in it. The largest I have seen come out of there was a touch over 20".

[zelmo]

Hanover is only 20 minutes from Gettysburg, and there is a lot of rural living around both.  As mentioned before, Lake Marburg (Codorus State Park) is on the east side of Hanover.  http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/codorus.aspx It is a pretty good fishery.  Do you have a boat?  They do rent boats there.  http://www.appalachianoutdoorschool.com/marina.htm  

I have never fished there from the shore, but seems like you should be able to catch panfish there.

[boatnik13]

Also have Long arm dam in Hanover  for walleye and pike I hear.

[Crawdadmike]

I have lived outside Lancaster, in Lancaster County and am lucky to have the river flow about 5 miles from me. In my opinion the better living for the money is NW Lancaster County. Very little crime and petty stuff. Harrisburg city in my opinion is not the greatest place as is none of the other cities. Try if possible to live in one of the little towns and be sure to check the school systems if you have kids. Certain districts are very bottomline as far as ratings. Good Luck. MikeS

[Imgonnamissher]

Just got back from the Spring Break vacation visiting the In Laws.  We checked out Gettysburg and Harrisburg and my wife got a job offer at a facility half an hour west of Gettysburg after an interview.  Fishing-wise, it would seem that (within a half hour radius) the Harrisburg area offered more warm water options, whereas Gettysburg will be offering more small stream and trout fishing,  however, I would think that once I did some searching, there is probably plenty of bass water nearby that I'll learn about once we're there.  One thing I like about Gettysburg is how close it is to the Maryland line and the fishing in Carroll and Frederick county.  Thanks again to all who added their two cents.  

[basser89]

So a half hour west of Gettysburg? That would put you around Chambersburg, right? Or are you not that far west? If you are around Chambersburg, that would put you close to SPEEDBEAD and about a half hour away from me down here in MD. There are a couple lakes nearby that area that SPEED and I have fished before. There's also the upper Potomac (obviously down by me) and a handful of other lakes around in my neck of MD too.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Which facility did your wife get an offer at?