What is the "best" county to live in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: fit in, crimes)

[sgryder]

My husband and I are being relocated to York PA. after doing quite a bit of research we have found that PA taxes are quite higher then they are in TN. Can soemone please tell me out of the counties I have listed below which one would be best. We are looking to be close enough to the city to drive in but would rather be in the burbs where it is quite.

DAUPHIN
YORK
BERKS
MONTGOMERY
LANCASTER

Any infor you have woud be great, I'm going crazy trying to figure out the high property taxes.

[North Beach Person]

You have a more difficult job figuring things out in PA than you would in TN. In PA counties aren't all that important, what you will need to do is look at the individual school districts (not usually county based) which will each have varying tax rates, local taxing authority, differing assessment floors (some areas in PA haven't had a comprehensive reassessment since the 1960's). Municipalities also have taxing authority as do Townships outside the towns, and the county takes a little, too. Your tax bills from the schools come at one time of the year and the tax bills from the other entity comes at a different time, each are due at different times. Many areas work on a fiscal year based on 01/01-12/31 not the usual fiscal year of 07/01-06/30. Most, if not all, towns have an EMS tax, capped at $52/yr for the priveldge of working there. Some towns also have a personal property tax based on your job class, not necessarily what you own.

[bobsmith]

If by "the city" you are referring to Philadelphia, only Montgomery County will put you in commuting distance from your list. Parts of Berks would too, but it would be a bit of a stretch. But each of the five counties is anchored by its own mid-sized city (Harrisburg, York, Reading, Norristown, and Lancaster respectively).

Other than that, it depends what you are looking for. Each county has urban, suburban, and rural points. It all depends on what you do and how much you are wanting to spend. Houses are very expensive here, particularly in the Philly metro but generally anywhere south of Blue Mountian (where all 5 of these counties are located).

And NBP is completely right about the individual school districts.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Some towns also have a personal property tax based on your job class, not necessarily what you own.

That's referred to as the "occupation tax" (not the same as declaring your computer as property as is done in some other states). Not all areas classify your "occupation" into different categories for the purpose of this tax - for instance, Dauphin County municipalities charge everyone the same.

With that said, the big variation in local taxes is from school district to school district. Call your municipal tax collector to find out information. (Municipal means the township, borough, or city. NOT THE POST OFFICE ADDRESS!) There are over 2,000 municipalities in PA. Have fun!

You will find that neighboring states to PA have generally higher tax burdens, even if they are less medieval about it. Many Baltimore area commuters have moved to southern York County to escape taxes.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by sgryder

My husband and I are being relocated to York PA. after doing quite a bit of research we have found that PA taxes are quite higher then they are in TN. Can soemone please tell me out of the counties I have listed below which one would be best. We are looking to be close enough to the city to drive in but would rather be in the burbs where it is quite.

DAUPHIN
YORK
BERKS
MONTGOMERY
LANCASTER

If by "city" you mean the City of York - Montgomery and Berks counties are not close in commuting time to York - talking well over an hour to two hours one way. Not sure where in TN you're coming from, but be aware PA roads are a lot slower than what I remember of Chattanooga or Nashville from business travel.

York County is the closest, and offers many different styles of housing from row houses to small lot older suburbs to newer townhouses and McMansions to farmettes.

Next closest is Lancaster County over the US 30 expressway across a mile wide river with few bridges. Many suburban areas on the west side of Lancaster (LANK-uh-stir). Also around the small college town of Elizabethtown which is good for intercommutability among all of York, Lancaster, and Harrisburg but pushing over 30 minutes by the time you get this far into Lancaster County.

Adams County is the next closest - the Gettysburg National Military Park and zoning to protect it cuts way down on the sprawl one would otherwise see in that locale, but roads get slower. Cumberland County areas would be the next closest but you're starting to get to a 30 minute minimum commute during normal work hours. Camp Hill Borough is the older kind of leafy streetcar suburb where all the kids walk to school. Dauphin County suburban areas east of Harrisburg, such as Hershey, are pushing 45 minutes to anything with a York address.

[NYMD67]

Hi, we have just recently relocated here to PA.
I do have to say that the taxes,counties,townships,municipalities,etc.. were very difficult to research when we were trying to determine where we wanted to live,with school districts also being extremely important to us.
My husband's job is in Reading (which is Berks county) however we already knew that living right in Reading was not an option for us,just not very positive things about Reading,although I am now learning it is basically like any other small sized city with it's usual crimes.
After you leave the "city" area,the suburbs here are very,very nice.
I spent several months researching the area and school district and found Schoolmatters.com to be extremely helpful in our search.
We decided on the Wilson school district and live very close to Wyomissing.
It is a beautiful area with a lot to offer for families.
We are still learning our way around and have to warn you ,with no offense meant to anyone,that "local" people are not really quick to warm up to "transient" people.
With that said,we have met some very nice people,most not originally from here as weird as that is.
We are extremely happy with our daughter's school,her teachers,the administration,etc...

Good Luck with your search and with the new job!

[sgryder]

Thank you to all for your help. Although I myself am not from TN I'm quite aware of the culture shock my husband will have. I'm a lot more comfortable in the north versus the south and even with the higher property taxes we are both looking foward to the change. I have yet another question; I have not heard a lot of positive things about the city of York. It appears to be very old and run down. Is this true? Also does anyone have any feed back on Windsor?

Thanks again, it is very refreshing to have some real actual feed back, I'm sick of searching the web and getting the same dead end results.

[katmar37]

Post from sgryder "Thanks again, it is very refreshing to have some real actual feed back, I'm sick of searching the web and getting the same dead end results."


You will not get dead end results from this forum, it is very helpful and informative and because of this forum, I have decided not to move to Lancaster county. I will not fit in according to what I've read here.

[Susan4664]

I have also done extensive research on school districts and spent some time in the burbs just outside of Phila. As a result, my husband and I, and our two middle school children, are targeting Bucks county, or possibly Montgomery. Specifically Doylestown and some of the surrounding cities. We fell in love with the town, its proximity to the city (both Phila and New York), and the schools. We hope to find jobs and leave our current home in South Florida to move there soon.

[Dawne]

Tioga's a bit far from York, but I assume you were being facetious.