re: #110 SasyMomaCat

I think I’m used to it more than anything else. :)

I’ve been living in downtown Philly for about three years. Before that I spent 26 of 28 years living in/near Pittsburgh interrupted by a short 2 year stint working in Washington, DC while living in northern VA. Before that was time spent in northern New York (near the 1000 Islands), eastern Indiana, and northern New Jersey.

Weather is standard “northeast gray”. Wet winters, damp springs with overcast, humid summers, and fall probably the nicest season. York is far enough west that I think all the weather will come from the west and southwest.

Politically the state is liberal on the two ends (Philly-Pittsburgh) with the middle being agrarian conservative. The Dover, PA school district (of Kitzmiller vs Dover fame) is near York. Though I would expect that one could find quality school districts if that is a leading criteria. I’d say in general that the educational opportunities are good, including a large number of good colleges and universities about if you want to find a town with “small town” feel with an added cultural layer.*

The state bureaucracy is heavy, but appears to be generally functional. Flat rate state income tax, 6% sales tax (with some counties adding a % or two to that) with no sales tax on food and clothing, and townships and school districts often have an income tax as well. (2.5% in the suburb I lived in. Philadelphia charges more.)

I’m not sure what the local utility rates are in that area, so can’t comment on that. Probably reasonable given that power plants are plentiful in the general area (coal fired would be my guess) and there are wind farms going up in multiple places to the west of there.

*- I added that remark since my mother moved back east at one point and settled in the city of Meadville in western PA. Put her equidistant to both her sons, one of her sister-in-laws, and in a small industrial city in an agrarian region that had a good college there as well. Provided her with the cultural trapping she desired (including a good library) and the rural setting that allowed her to go hiking and bicycling.