Live in Lancaster City without a car?

[Jessie Mitchell]

Originally Posted by masonbauknight

And I see there's also a C-town supermarket in the center of town and, in the suburbs, a large Wegman's and a Whole Foods. (I'd be OK living without those last two, though I do like them.)

We have cars and I will admit to many a hop out to Whole Foods and Wegman's.

If, lacking a car, you're really jonesing for a hit of either, each can be easily reached on city bus line.

[masonbauknight]

Originally Posted by Jessie Mitchell

We have cars and I will admit to many a hop out to Whole Foods and Wegman's.

If, lacking a car, you're really jonesing for a hit of either, each can be easily reached on city bus line.

That is great -- anyone would like to hit those two occasionally. How does a thoroughly American city manage such a European layout and scale? Guess it's an accident of history and a smart city hall over the years.

Another PA city that gets placed in this league (with high retiree scores) is Harrisburg. Very pretty, but I've heard it's grittier and more trouble without a private car. Maybe nice for a day trip via Amtrak, but live in Lancaster?

[Jessie Mitchell]

I read that about Harrisburg too, both those things, that it's nice but also not-that-nice. I'm not familiar enough with it to know. I have gone there on multiple occasions for live music or the airport (still want to get over to see the Civil War Museum), but I don't feel like I've seen enough of it to have a whole picture. The riverfront is very cool looking with those arched bridges. On the subject of grocery stores, Harrisburg (or at least near Harrisburg) got a Trader Joe's fairly recently. I do wish they'd opted to open it in Lancaster instead, but, hey, lucky for the Harrisburgers!

[masonbauknight]

Originally Posted by Jessie Mitchell

On the subject of grocery stores, Harrisburg (or at least near Harrisburg) got a Trader Joe's fairly recently. I do wish they'd opted to open it in Lancaster instead, but, hey, lucky for the Harrisburgers!

I like TJ's too. They have some kind of magic demographic formula (urban population, rates of post-HS education, income) for opening new stores. State College made the cut, and now Harrisburg. Hopefully, Lancaster will too in the next few years!

[JakeinChina]

Originally Posted by masonbauknight

And I see there's also a C-town supermarket in the center of town and, in the suburbs, a large Wegman's and a Whole Foods. (I'd be OK living without those last two, though I do like them.) I imagine tourists are much reduced in number in the winter, but no complaints from me about them: Tourism is an important reason for so many amenities in Lancaster City. It's all good -- I'll bet you can even walk to jury duty. I'll definitely check everything out once the cold weather is over.

Thanks so much for your informative posts. They're better than many travelogues!

At the end of the day, Lancaster city is great, but it's limited, esp with the whole grocery store issue. You will want to buy your groceries at Giant, Wegman's or Costco at some point. C-Town doesn't have much variety and it's customers are certainly low income.

Eventually you will want to drive to places in the nearby suburb of Manheim Township, which is directly north of Lancaster city. Don't get me wrong, Lancaster city is awesome, but I do think you will get the itch to visit places in Manheim Township nearby.