So I’m trying to get this new firm off the ground. I’m at the 'find the location that will best help me raise the capital I need and provide a good working environment for my staff.
Not to mention quality of life for the family and such.
Lancaster, PA
Harrisonburg, VA
Charlottesville, VA
Are three locations I’ve targeted.
Anyone want to tell me about them? Both business-wise and living conditions?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
It all depends on what kind of business you’re starting. What kind of skill level and experience are you looking for in employees? My totally uninformed guess would be that they need more jobs in Harrisonburg, and it might be easier to find people to work for you, but they might not be very skilled.
I used to live in the Harrisonburg area, and I don’t really want to live there again. It’s a little too conservative for me. Charlottesville is bigger than Harrisonburg, so it might have more resources for starting a business. If I moved back to that area, I’d rather live in Charlottesville than Harrisonburg. When I was there, Harrisonburg wasn’t very diverse and it’s getting over-developed.
If you visit Harrisonburg, there are a few good things to do there. The Green Valley Book Fair isn’t open all the time, but if you’re there when it’s open, it’s worth checking out.
Dayton Farmer’s Market–south of Harrisonburg on 42 (not the Farmer’s Market on 11–that’s something totally different)
The Little Grill
The Daily Grind (on Court Square in downtown Harrisonburg)–the only good coffee shop around, so if you need your daily mocha, that’s something to think about!
Evers Restaurant on 11 outside of Bridgewater
Glenn’s Fair Price Store
You want to go to Lancaster. Really. North of the Mason-Dixon and all that, so I can come and be a Yankee from time to time.
Echoing the above, it depends on the kind of workforce you’re looking for. In Charlottesville you’ve got a major university, which would be a plus. Then again, in Lancaster, if you locate to the east of the city you can start drawing on a worker population reaching into the western Philly suburbs. Just curious, but what sort of firm?
I’ve lived in Lancaster for 9 years (if you count college), and think it’s a nice place to live and work. It’s centrally located among the DC, Philly and NYC areas. The city seems to be on a bit of an upswing, with a new minor-league ballpark about to open and a planned downtown convention center spurring lots of investment in some previously dead areas of town. World-class health care. Good food. Good schools. I live in the city, but there’s lots of green space in the surrounding county in which to escape whenever we want. Cultural opportunities may pale in comparison to nearby metropolitan areas, but there is still a lot of art, theater, music and history to see.
Of course, not everything is rosy:
[ul][li]Although traffic has improved after some major investment in highway infrastructure, driving is often complicated by an overwhelming number of new housing developments and tourist traffic.[/li]
[li]Lots of people want to live in this county, thus housing is expensive. Plus there’s a bit of tension between those who welcome new development and those who want to preserve Lancaster’s quaint, farmland image.[/li]
[li]Outside of the city, the county, true to it’s Old Order Amish heritage, is pretty conservative. Not a lot of diversity either. The city has sizeable minority populations, but many are stuck there because of the lack of affordable housing and job opportunities elsewhere.[/ul][/li]
I can’t comment much on the business side of things, but we do have a pretty nice regional business weekly and an active chamber of commerce which might provide you with more information.
Good luck!
The Lancaster area is growing rapidly. Warning-traffic along the major roads will make your head explode during the summer. A gazillion people on holiday out gawking at the Amish (remember Witness?) and meandering down the highway looking for some place to buy things and a feeding trough.
What matters most? Skilled, semi-skilled, or unskilled labor? Access to major arteries? Retail or I-park location?
You know, Hagerstown might not be a bad place to look. You know the location and all, but there are two major routes right there, the cost of living is starting to go up, but is not as bad as Frederick is. I’ve got a buddy there right now who’s only paying $400 or so a month for his place. Plenty of people are starting to commute into DC and Baltimore, plus all the other cities from VA and WV are all right there.
I don’t know the other places at all though except I’ve been through them.
Hagerstown is one hell of a good idea, Eddie. I hadn’t thought about it. Frostburg and Cumberland are out, though.
It’s a media firm (unsurprisingly for those of you who know me) so I’ll be looking for office space and young professionals to hire.
Traffic won’t scare me, I admit. Though I won’t be looking to do any major commuting either.
Keep it coming folks. Keep it coming.
I only ever lived in Charlottesville as a student, so my experience might be a little different from what you’re looking for, but here goes anyway.
Charlottesville has a bad traffic problem for as small as it is. This is mostly due to the fact that there’s only one road of any significance. Based on what was going on back when I was there, don’t expect it to get better any time soon.
There’s not a whole lot in the way of cultural stuff outside of campus and the downtown mall. If you’re prone to getting bored and want field trips and the like, this isn’t good.
What else?
You want sleepy and conservative you should try Marietta, OH.
Not that I’ve got anything against conservatives, economically I skew that way heavily. But I once heard a well-respected woman in town announce that she felt President Bush was the finest American President since Abraham Lincoln.
Gettysburg is looking good, too. Any experience there?
Ha, you’d laugh me off the boards if I suggested Frostburg. Just what you need, drunk college students around trying to write for you!
Charlottesville has benefits aplenty for people who are not necessarily into the whole hipster urban life thing. It is near the Shenandoah Natioal Park, home to a section of the Appalachian trail and some of America’s Most Beautiful Day Hikes (according to Outside magazine). It is a positively gorgeous place to live, with very nice seasonal weather. Summers can be hot, but it is in the mountains which helps. Animal sports such as Horseback riding, and recreational hunting (with or without dogs) are very popular. There are several well regarded ski places about 3 hours away. Basically, a good location for hiking/biking/adventure outdoorsy types.
I don’t think its all that conservative there. Quite similar to Ann Arbor, MI: a liberal town in a conservative state. It’s about 3 hours from DC if you feel the need for a dose of urbanity.
I live in Culpeper, which is a small town about 40 minutes up 29 from Cville. And I have extensive media experience, if you’re loking for an employee. 
The borough has little to offer outside of tourist attractions and eateries-it has been long neglected and serves as a housing project for Gettysburg College and an investment for absentee landlords, although some buildings are being rehabbed. The outskirts cater to the tourist trade, yet reasonable land/properties can be had in Adams and Franklin counties. There is a workforce available within the borough, and access to 15 and 30 is helpful.
I can give you direct links to realtors in the area, should you be interested.
May well be. I have Gettysburg and Harrisonburg vying for our location now. Both offering cheap money.
Gettysburg will require us to locate in the borough itself, and it’s hinted that buying our houses there wouldn’t hurt.
On the other hand, the business start up loan is at 2%.
Harrisonburg is offering a lot of technical assistance and arrangements for financing.
I admit, this is quite a change from how the locals here view economic development. These folks in PA and VA are on the ball.