Lancaster County: Diverse in Time
I recently watched a documentary about the Amish people – particularly Amish youth who are contemplating their futures as either full-fledged Amish or as “English” – what the Amish people call the secular or non-Amish people in America. While watching the documentary I became pretty fascinated not only by the culture of the people, but also of the area where they live, Lancaster Pennsylvania.
While groups of Amish people live across the country, from Florida to Michigan and elsewhere, the biggest Amish group are the Pennsylvania Dutch who live in and around Lancaster County. Real Estate in Lancaster county is one of the best markets in the country and real estate prices are usually fair and consistent, while providing a very beautiful backdrop in which to live.
The presence of the Amish makes Lancaster County a hodgepodge of cultures – combining the old time ways that are a reminder of a simpler time (horse and buggies, little use for technology, barn raisings, etc) with the modern age where time and technology are in step with the rest of the world. For many, Lancaster County real estate provides the opportunity to live two types of lives.
I think living in Lancaster County would be fun, at least for a little while, Lancaster County is by no means synonymous with Amish, but much like Utah is with the Mormon culture, Lancaster County exudes the culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch who call the area home. I think this would make a fun, and very different environment that would be fun – at least for a short period of time.