My aunt was considering buying another house, so I volunteered to spend my Labor Day weekend visiting an old friend of hers and touring Lancaster, Pennsylvania real estate. We wanted to explore the market, but also escape the metropolitan sprawl of Washington DC and visit some of the most fertile farmland in America. It was a drive of less than three hours to Lancaster, the oldest inland city in the United States and once the nation’s capital (if only for a few days), and once we arrived, I knew I would find it. . hard to leave
The scenery was beautiful, green and rich with produce being sold on the side of the road, often with just a black box reading “honor system”. It’s the perfect place to buy another home, especially if you’re a city dweller who misses that kind of country charm. Located 70 miles west of Philadelphia, 55 miles northeast of Baltimore, and 87 miles north of Washington, DC, the culture and lifestyle found only in big cities is never far away. However, I by no means want Lancaster to feel like some sort of country town, as the city has a culture of its own and a particularly diverse population that feeds it. The downtown area is filled with antique shops, boutiques, and art galleries, and if you’re there on the first Friday of the month, you’ll find music and crowds of people eating, drinking, and enjoying art. After just one day there (a Friday) consisting of a meal, made with the freshest produce from the surrounding farms, and a walk through the galleries, I was convincing my aunt that buying another house was the best decision she could make. could take
We woke up early the next morning to beat the crowds at the famous Central Market, which, built in 1889, is the oldest continuously operating farmer’s market in the United States. We bought handmade Amish goods, tried everything from Lebanese to Nigerian food, and washed it all down with fresh mint lemonade and hand-dipped chocolate strawberries on the spot. We feasted on our locally grown organic treats for lunch while taking in views of the Conestoga River running through town. We looked at properties, and with each one my aunt grew more and more excited at the prospect of buying another house in Lancaster.
Everywhere we went, the people were friendly and the neighborhoods we walked through, from the center of the city to the outskirts, where one lives alongside the Amish, charming and beautiful. The city has the most outdoor cameras per capita of any city in the US, which made me feel more secure as the evening turned dark and we sat outside a nice restaurant, eating pizza and watching the people. people ride bikes and walk. If you want a small town escape from big city life, where fresh produce is available every day of the week, where the people who sell it to you are the ones who grew it and are your neighbors, then visit Lancaster. , Pennsylvania. . There you will find a rich history and a bright future there, and you will surely find yourself thinking that buying another home there is the best decision you could make.