Jump to content

Home

The Onasi/Point Man family is moving to PA

Jae Onasi

By Jae Onasi
in Ahto Spaceport Cantina

Recommended Posts

Jae Onasi Newbie

Jae Onasi

Posted
Posted

Well, it looked like hubby's job was going to be eliminated as soon as the employer could be long enough past the Federal regs on holding a service member's job during their deployment, so he started looking around for a job.

 

The good news: He found a great job that is basically a dream job for him, and pays almost 20% more than what he's making now. I may actually be able to retire and spend more time with my kids. Since my daughter's ADHD is causing her to really struggle with math, this will be a good thing for us. The company is paying all relocation costs and is moving us, and offering great benefits. It's ruly an amazing opportunity for us.

 

The bad news: it requires a cross country move from WI to PA, away from family and the home and community we've been in for 11 years. Selling a home right now is a huge challenge anywhere.

 

We'll be living not too far from Harrisburg, Hershey, Gettysburg, and Lancaster. Anyone have any tips on the area, remodeling, moving, surviving home sales, fun places to visit in that region, and all that jazz?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Sabretooth Newbie

Sabretooth

Posted
Posted

The Onasi Family moving to PA? Remember to consult your consigliori and up your stake in the drugs, human trafficking and arms trafficking sectors ASAP. It's harder to invest in them later, and the element of surprise is always the biggest bonus for enterprising families. Happy organised crime! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JediMaster12 Newbie

JediMaster12

Posted
Posted

Road trip!

 

I'm glad that things are working out in terms of benefits and pay to keep the family afloat. I know that it's going to be hard moving away from family and friends. Still just look forward head, eyes steady and heart open and things will go from there. Good luck Jae!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mimartin Newbie

mimartin

Posted
Posted
We'll be living not too far from Harrisburg, Hershey, Gettysburg, and Lancaster. Anyone have any tips on the area, remodeling, moving, surviving home sales, fun places to visit in that region, and all that jazz?
If you dig up a cannonball, don't put it in the car. Trust me, my butt still stings from the beating my step-dad gave me.

 

Something about they can explode.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ChAiNz.2da Newbie

ChAiNz.2da

Posted
Posted
PA is short for...?

 

Pennsylvania.. I'm assuming (USA)

 

Jae, be careful on the roads.. last time I drove through, I hit a freaking' pothole on the interstate :disaprove

 

It's been awhile, so I REALLY hope they got those fixed (yeah, plural)... seriously, worst kept interstates I've ever driven on. Hitting a pothole at 60mph is NOT fun ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ping Newbie

Ping

Posted
Posted

I've been to Harrisburg before, but it was in 4th grade, so I don't remember too much other then touring the state capital. Lancaster is really nice, with all the Amish folk and stuff (they make excellent shoo-fly pie ;). I also believe you can tour an Amish farm there, IIRC). Hershey is also a nice area, with the lampposts there shaped like Hershey Kisses, and it always seems to smell like chocolate. Never been to Gettysburg, but heard that the old battlefield is very nice.

 

For amusement parks, Hershey has Hershey Park. It's a whole lot of fun, with all the roller coasters, water park, the factory tour, pretty much stuff for the entire family. There's another amusement park in Lancaster, Dutch Wonderland, but it's more for younger kids, so depending on how old your kids are, Jae, you might want to keep it in mind.

 

As for the area, PA is semi-rural. I've yet to see suburbia in the state. That's not to say there aren't towns; there are, but it's often more like villages instead. It's nice to look at, but sometimes I wish it was more developed, as alot of the theaters and malls near me are 20-30 minute drives in Delaware. Not sure about the area you're moving to, though.

 

Hope all of that helps. :)

 

P.S. I live roughly 45 min - 1 hour from Lancaster. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jae Onasi Newbie

Jae Onasi

Posted
  • Author
Posted

@Pho3nix: PA is short for Pennsylvania, yes. Sorry about that lack of explanation!

 

@ Ping: We'll be living in or near a town of about 40k, so not too bad. I think we're only going to be about an hour from Baltimore, so 'civilization' won't be too far off. After having lived in Chicago for about 3 years and then between Chicago and Milwaukee for a good half or more of my life, I'll be glad to get out of the city rat-race and slow down. :)

 

It'll also be nice not to have such bitter cold in the winter as WI gets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ping Newbie

Ping

Posted
Posted

@ Ping: We'll be living in or near a town of about 40k, so not too bad. I think we're only going to be about an hour from Baltimore, so 'civilization' won't be too far off. After having lived in Chicago for about 3 years and then between Chicago and Milwaukee for a good half or more of my life, I'll be glad to get out of the city rat-race and slow down. :)

 

It'll also be nice not to have such bitter cold in the winter as WI gets.

 

I live a little more than an hour away from Baltimore myself, though it's far enough we don't visit often. Winters might not be bitter cold in PA, but the snow tends to just accumulate like crazy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JediMaster12 Newbie

JediMaster12

Posted
Posted

 

It's been awhile, so I REALLY hope they got those fixed (yeah, plural)... seriously, worst kept interstates I've ever driven on. Hitting a pothole at 60mph is NOT fun ;)

 

I'll believe ya on the interstate potholes but if they are anything like the ones here in San Berdu then hitting them at any speed is not fun :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Darth333 Newbie

Darth333

Posted
Posted
Moving to another country is much harder... especially if it's on a different land mass/continent.

 

I guess one can get used to the change. Until I was 22, I moved every 2-3 yrs and then I stopped and started to get bored to stay at the same place for longer :p (I got a job that requires travel to compensate).

 

@ Jae: Good luck with the move. I hope everything will go as planned. If you ever visit Montreal/Quebec (you won't be very far) let me know - beware of the potholes on your way though: it looks like its been raining meteorites here...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stingerhs Newbie

stingerhs

Posted
Posted

just two things to remember: Penn State and Steelers are like God and Jesus around there. you'd probably be OK with the Bears stuff, but you might want to reconsider anything red, white, and "Buckeye" printed....

 

oh yeah, and if you do want some roller coasters in your future, Kennywood (outside Pittsburgh) is a much more thrilling proposition than Hershey. you'll just miss out on the chocolate. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
urluckyday Newbie

urluckyday

Posted
Posted

Ugh, I moved from Minnesota out to the East Coast in 2002 (22 hour drive non-stop was fun!), and I go to school near the area you'll be in.

 

First of all, you'll probably have a good time taking your family to Hershey Park! Great amusement park and just a really fun place to visit in general (and it smells wonderful)! Also, keep in mind that Six Flags is only a state over, so if you find yourself in Jersey, that'll help your thrill-seeking out if you're looking for it :)

 

I don't know how much you follow sports, but I live and die by Minnesota sports, and I've survived in the East for over 8 years now. You'll find a very healthy balance of all different kinds of fans for football and hockey. Since you'll be in Eastern PA, you'll meet a lot of Ravens, Steelers, Redskins, and Eagles fans based on the group of people you are around. As for baseball, it's almost all Phillies fans (although you'll find some Orioles fans as well). For hockey, you'll be around Caps and Flyers fans. Basketball...um...mostly Sixers fans, but I don't hear too much about that sport.

 

If you're looking for any kind of local sports, the York Revolution are the local "minor league" team in York (even though they're not really minor league in technical terms). Lancaster also has a team in the same league as well. The Harrisburg Senators are an ACTUAL minor league team affiliated with the Washington Nationals. They always provide a good time for a nice, cheap, relaxing evening of baseball. I hear the Hershey Bears are good too (minor league hockey).

 

Gettysburg, of course, you HAVE to visit the battlefield. I go to school in the area, and I've only been there once (when I was a kid), but it still sticks with me to this day. A truly amazing experience.

 

If you do find yourself in Harrisburg or Lancaster (or maybe even York), you're not too far out of Baltimore either which is a great city (see: Inner Harbor).

 

Since I don't live in the area full-time, I can't give you too much insight on the home-buying aspect of the area...sorry. If you plan on being there through your daughter's educational career and beyond, there are some GREAT colleges close to home if that is your/her cup of tea, but that is a conversation for much later I'm sure!

 

One thing that I will warn you about is the driving. I've driven all over the country...and as a whole...there are no WORSE drivers than those in PA. Where New York drivers are fast and dangerous, and midwest drivers can be just plain slow, Pennsylvania drivers are just the most OBVLIVIOUS people behind the wheel known to man. Keep your eyes open (even in parking lots!).

 

The winters can be CRAZY in PA! While it may not get as cold as I was used to in Minnesota (which I'm sure is comparable to Wisconsin), it sure snows like crazy. The only difference...Pennsylvania is 10000x less prepared to deal with the snow in terms of equipment and manpower than midwest states, so there will be several days out of the year where you can't really leave your house at all because the roads won't be cleared for a loooong time - it's great for school cancellations though :)

 

Hope that you find at least some of this information helpful/relevant. If you do have any more questions about the area, let me know! You're lucky you're moving to PA and not Jersey or New York since the culture shock from WI won't be nearly as bad as the people are actually quite similar to midwesterners in many ways! Best of luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Liverandbacon Newbie

Liverandbacon

Posted
Posted

I know I hated my first big move when I was 8. By the time I was about to head off to uni though, I was deadly bored of the new place, so I can only imagine how boring it would've been had I not moved. Since then I've taken the D3 route of a travel-heavy job.

 

If your kids are anything like I was, they'll be pretty upset about going so far away from their friends. However, if they're younger than high-school age, realistically, they'd most likely drift apart from their current friends and make new ones anyway. Although that's obviously not a comfort to them in the short term, I've found it's easier to later resume a friendship with someone I moved away from, as opposed to gradually drifted apart from. Also, especially with this fancy internet thing, nowadays it's far easier to stay in touch with really good friends than it would've been in the past.

 

And new places and people are fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...