York, Pennsylvania--what's it like?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

As some of you Dopers will know, in less than two weeks I am moving from Oxford, England, where I have lived for five years, back to the States. For at least two months I’ll be living with my parents in York, PA.

Now for my big request from all you Dopers. I know absolutely nothing about York. My parents only moved there yesterday (that’s right, yesterday). All I really know about it is that it’s about an hour’s drive west of Philly, it’s south of Harrisburg, and it’s about 15 miles north of the Mason-Dixon Line. A search on Mapquest revealed a number of restaurants and shopping malls, but little in the way of “culture” (yeah, I know it would be a way down from Oxford regardless, but there must be something, right?) Also, it’s hard to get a “feel” for the place from the Web.

Any Dopers live/d there? Maybe that’s a bit optimistic…any Dopers been to/through York? I’ve got to know something about this place I’m going to be living in!

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I lived in Harrisburg for three years, moving back to Atlanta a little over a year ago.

York doesn’t have a whole lot to do, culture or not. There is however, a lot to do NEAR York if you are willing to drive. Closest is of course Gettysburg. Harrisburg itself has a planetarium downtown if you are into that kind of thing. Baltimore is the closest ‘real’ city, and the coastal part of the city is nice (good bars too). DC isn’t that much further away. Philly/King of Prussia is a nice way to spend the day shopping (they have a LARGE mall there), but I would recommend against it this time of year. Finally, a bit further (plan a three or four day weekend) away is Pittsburgh where you can hang out at Kennywood Park or the zoo.
Finally, York itself does have SOME culture. Every late October/early November there is a two or three day pinball show where you pay a flat fee and can play all day long with the machines set on free play. In fact, the first (and only) pinball machine I own was purchased at this show.

So, York will be fine IF you have access to a car =)

Oh, and don’t forget Lancaster with the outlets, Amish, and GOOD food!

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A PINBALL FESTIVAL?!?! Yes!!! I’m there! My only complaint is that it’s now about 11 months away! Too bad I didn’t know about that when I was really obsessed with pinball…

Mapquest also shows that there are about six or seven golf courses within a 5-mile radius of where I’ll be living, which is good.

And, yes, I’ll have a car, by hook or by crook. Looks like I’m going to be in Baltimore a lot. I may choose to live there when I get my thesis written…

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Lots of printing and typesetting companies in the general area. I think a lot of folks from our Baltimore office commute from the York area. The bands “Live” and “Suddenly Tammy” both came from the York area.

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The economy there is entirely based around peppermint patties, so theres just no talking with those people without someone steering the conversation around to patty-related topics.

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I believe Live wrote a song about York entitled “Shit Towne”. :slight_smile:

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Listen to the song “Shit Town” by Live. It’s their take on the town that they grew up in. I feel that calling York a Shit Town is a bit harsh, but not that far off.

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In fairness, they have stated recently that they were young and angry when they wrote the song. At a concert in Hershey, Ed Kowalczyk, the lead singer asked anyone from York to forgive him for writing it.

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My father used to be really into model railroading. Every year there is a big (possible national?) convention in York for model railroaders. I spent a weekend out of every year in York when I was a kid. There’s a Sheraton that has a minature golf course in it. That was some pretty hot shit when I was 7.

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OK, so far I have:

–York has an annual pinball festival.

–York’s economy is based around peppermint patties (ha, ha)

–Live and Suddenly Tammy (two bands I never cared for that much) are from York. When the lead singer of Live was younger he hated the place enough to call it “Shit Town,” but apparently has mellowed in his adulthood.

–The York Sheraton has an indoor minature golf course.

Clearly, this is just beating Oxford into a cocked hat here. Come on! Are there any decent restaurants around? What’s the center of town like? [Ben Stein] Anyone? Anyone?[/Ben Stein]

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Well, I grew up in a little town near Harrisburg - not too far from York.

Hmmm, lemmesee. Well, nobody mentioned Hershey Park. That would be first on my list and probably not more than a half-hour from York. Lots of good roller coasters, including one bone shaker (the Comet) that’s pre-WW II. Next door to the park is Chocolate World, which offers a nifty little ride that takes you through a fake factory (once upon a time, it went through the real factory) and shows you how they make chocolate. I only mention this because it’s actually FREE. Yeah, you heard right. Not only that, but you get a little miniature candy bar at the end of the ride. The chocolate you can purchase there isn’t jacked up to tourist prices, either. In fact it’s cheaper than it is at the store.

Uh, crap what else? Hmmm. See, now I’m starting to remember why I moved away in the first place!

Do you like caves? Not too far from Hershey, there’s a place called Indian Echo Caverns. It’s right outside of Middletown, my home town. I’m not sure if my sister still works there, but if you go and she does, say hi for me. :slight_smile:

But I guess stalagmites don’t exactly qualify as high culture, do they?

I can’t really think of any good restaurants or anything, seeing as how I moved out at 19, and the last thing on my mind was four star eating experiences. Also, my parents weren’t exactly rich, so most of my cuisine came from Dempsey’s (kind of like Denny’s or Shoney’s. You’ll probably see a few of them while you’re there.)

Gettysburg is underrated, IMHO. Even if you’re not into history, it is simply a gorgeous town.

Bottom line: if you want to find anything even halfway decent to do, you’re probably not going to find it within the city limits of York, PA.

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If I recall correctly, there is also a Harley-Davidson Museum in York and York Barbells are also made there. Their factory has a giant weightlifter on top. It’s one of those “must-see” pieces of Americana if you ask me.

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Right you are Wiggum. IIRC, you can see the weightlifter from the Interstate.

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Cool! So you don’t even have to slow down as you’re motoring past York!

{consulting map}

Huh. Lancaster’s even closer than Harrisburg. And Reading just beyond that. Hope you make allowances for pretzels and Lebanon Bologna in your diet.

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York has the fairgrounds which is home to a HUGE fair for a week every year. Even if you think you are ‘above’ such things, you owe yourself to go. The food is likely not clean, but sooo good. They usually get a good rock group to perform once during the show (I think Fuel did it one year, I believe they are from Hershey?). It is a great place to take a date.

In addition, I forget what exit, but if you take the highway north from York to Harrisburg, there is a small pizza place called Rocket Subs. It is not far off the exit, so it is a pretty short drive. I forget how they do it, but when you order a large sub from them, they modify a whole pizza crust into the bread for the sub. It is HUGE and the cheesesteaks there kick ass! As far as ‘nice’ restaurants, the wife and I usually went to Chinese buffets. Nothing really stands out as being ‘fancy’ that would appeal, though there is a steakhouse off the same highway (this one you can see as you drive up) had pretty good food. Only went once for a company function, but it was good.

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Another great attraction I forgot about:

The Land of Little Horses

I’m pretty sure that this is near Gettysburg, but it’s probably been about ten years since I’ve been there, so I don’t know for sure. Ask the locals. They’ll know.

Basically, they just have a lot of horses that have been breed to be really small.

Oxford it ain’t. :slight_smile:

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Neutron Star, you’re right. “The Land of Little Horses” is in Gettysburg. What a trip. I went there last year with my nephew, and it was very interesting if not somewhat disturbing. There really are some tiny horses there as well as trick performing dogs, and a camel. From what I understand, this is one of only two places in the world that breeds these miniature horses.

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You all forgot to mention the prison. It’s where they ship lots of the people trying to get asylum in the US who are here illegaly until they decide whether they’re allowed to stay.

I’ve only been through York on the way to other places and it didn’t strike me as somewhere I’d want to live. But central PA can be beautiful if you like hiking and outdoorsy stuff. And you’ll have a car so it won’t be too bad.

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I lived in York from age 0 to 7 (1973 to 1980). The highlight of that time for me was getting a week out of school because of Three Mile Island (the nuclear powerplant that had a slight problem). Even as a youngster I recognized that York was a run down post industrial town. Lots of beer and pizza joints. The fairgrounds are the largest in the state and do host many interesting activities. Make sure to see the 4th of July celebrations there. I suppose there’s more to York than that, but I was too young to notice anything.

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York PA is centrally isolated in So. Central PA. It is equally inconvenient (about 1/2 day’s trip) to New York, Baltimore and DC. Harrisburg is nearby (not that you’d want to go there.) Major industries in York include York Sports Equiptment (barbells,) York Peppermint patties (self-explanatory,) and York Industries (heavy machinery.)

Downtown York is nice and pictaresque, and the malls are adequate. The York country Club posesses an excellent golf course, and decent dining.

The Farmer’s Market in nearby Lancaster is open every Friday from which you can purchase a variety of truly excellent PA Dutch crafts and foodstuffs at very low prices.

At first you will find the Pa Dutch to be quaint. Your mind may change if you encounter some of the diffiulties I did. This will largely depend on exactly where you live in or about York.

PA Dutch pretzels are without peer, Lebanon Bologna is edible, and the ham around here is the best I’ve ever had. There is good hunting and fishing available if you are into that sort of thing. The schools are both progressive and traditional, and your children will have an excellent education available to them.

Nearby Gettysburg, and it’s battlefields is a must see, and undoubtedly you will visit several times. I would strongly recommend going off the beaten tours and arranging a horseback ride up to Little Roundtop.

Hershey park is also a must visit. The Hershey hotel is World Class, and Hershey arena is home to many sporting and entertainment events.

The Apple harvest festival, and the Appleblossom festival are great events of pagan celebration in nearby Biglerville. You haven’t lived until you’ve had superfresh apple juice, pit-beef, and sausage, while touring the old time engines, and other attractions.

About an hour away in nearby Carlisle are two or three of the best car shows in America each spring.

There is mediocre skiing available, and excellent tennis. I would recommend against living in one of the neo suburb type developments that are cropping up, and make an effort to either rent or buy a farmhouse or cottage out in the country. The extra time added to your commute will be well worth the rewards of a rural setting (I have two ponds and 90 acres.)

The quality of dining out feed generally leaves something to be desired, as the food tends towards Greek Cafeteria/German cuisine.

Money will go much further than in more urban areas.

There are lots of groundhogs. They are your enemies. You must kill them.