Walkable areas - PA small to mid sized cities

[Physics Guy]

Thanks. Nice insights on places that aren't normally discussed.

[Ruth4Truth]

Have you looked at New Hope? It's across the river from Lambertville, NJ. The whole area is beautiful, both towns are quaint, there's easy access to walking/hiking in the area. New Hope tends to get a lot of tourists on weekends, but all you have to do is walk across the bridge to NJ to leave that behind.

[Jessie Mitchell]

My husband and I moved to Lancaster (from the west coast) about a year and a half ago. Our general age and interest and stage-of-life profile is very similar to yours. We also wanted walkability, not-too-difficult access to some natural areas, a lively cultural scene. Only other thing was that we wanted a city with a train station. That limited the options from all the great ones that have been suggested to you.

The positives and negatives of Lancaster are pretty well known as it seems to be a popular place to relocate. Will say, though, it has worked out well for us. We live in the city. There is some very nice work going on with renovation/remodel of historic buildings. (We made off-street parking a priority when house hunting. That often adds to the price tag of a house a bit and limits the options, but your budget would easily allow for that.)

[Physics Guy]

Originally Posted by Jessie Mitchell

The positives and negatives of Lancaster are pretty well known as it seems to be a popular place to relocate. Will say, though, it has worked out well for us. We live in the city. There is some very nice work going on with renovation/remodel of historic buildings. (We made off-street parking a priority when house hunting. That often adds to the price tag of a house a bit and limits the options, but your budget would easily allow for that.)

The off street parking bit is surprising. I haven't looked at Redfin recently but a month ago I didn't see much that included at least 1 off street spot. I should do another pass to see what else is on the market. We're not moving until 2023 but I'd like to have a good idea of what might be available.

Thanks.

[toobusytoday]

Sorry for just noticing this post. Did you want it moved to the general forum or are you really looking into the Harrisburg area? People from the rest of the state won't usually be jumping over here.

[Jessie Mitchell]

Originally Posted by Physics Guy

The off street parking bit is surprising. I haven't looked at Redfin recently but a month ago I didn't see much that included at least 1 off street spot. I should do another pass to see what else is on the market. We're not moving until 2023 but I'd like to have a good idea of what might be available.

Thanks.

Yeah, keep your eyes out. Homes in the city with parking are somewhat limited and definitely more sought after, but they are not total unicorns either.

I will add that Lancaster can be a very fun city. There is a lot of cultural life here for a city of its size and a food scene if you like that kind of thing. We've found some things we just really enjoy doing here on a regular basis. I like the stimulation and would rather live in the mix of it rather than drive in from outlying places just to visit it. But that's just me.

[Nefret]

Has anyone mentioned Carlisle. It's worth a look if you're scouting the Harrisburg area.

[Physics Guy]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

Sorry for just noticing this post. Did you want it moved to the general forum or are you really looking into the Harrisburg area? People from the rest of the state won't usually be jumping over here.

I'll assume you are asking me as I am the OP.

I'm looking at both Philadelphia (I have a thread there) and the more South Central area. I put this thread here because there were already threads about Lancaster here. For the most part I am not that interested in the northern part of the state or the areas near Pittsburgh at this time so the general portion seemed like it might get responses that I didn't really need. But feel free to move it if you see fit.

[Physics Guy]

Carlisle was part of my original question but no one has really seemed to jump to promote it.

[JakeinChina]

Many of the condo buildings in Lancaster City are filled with retirees, and it makes for a nice community. We purchased a condo in the Press Building at 41 West Lemon St in Lancaster city. It's a beautiful building in an excellent location and walkable to everywhere. You could get a 2-bedroom 2 bathroom with a balcony for 400K. Each unit comes with at least one, sometimes 2 parking spots in a garage.

There are a few really nice buildings in downtown Lancaster city, it's just that they don't come on the market that often.