L.S.
I'm in Hempfield too, with a Columbia address off of Prospect Rd. Hempfield covers a large area of the county and you should have no trouble finding a home in the district.
If you are close to Route 30 you can pretty much get anywhere in the rest of the county w/in 20-40 minutes. Hempfield is west of Lancaster city. My husband works in Lancaster City but could commute to either Philadelphia or Baltimore.
Costco is a on the other side of the city from us, BJ's Wholesale is closer. For Target I drive to the one in York County, west across the river, it is closer and less tourist traffic.
Hempfield has a preschool through the school district which is good - I sent my son there. This year he attends a preschool through a Pediatric Rehab center that is integrative with disabled kids and typical kids and he LOVES it. It is very affordable.
I have relatives who have had trouble with the East Petersburg Elementary school, I've hear good things about Landisville Primary School. My own will go to Mountville, however we plan to move this year - my guess is we will stay in Hempfield school district and probably West Hempfield Township.
For shopping the Park City mall is about 10 minutes down the highway, and we have 2 big outlet centers on Route 30 east of Lancaster city. They are close enough to shop at - especially go during the hours that are slow tourist wise - and since we are on the other side of the city we don't have to deal with all the tourist traffic. Hempfield has 2 parks my 5 year old loves: Mountville and Amos Herr in Landisville.
Find a mom's group to join so you can make friends. There are a lot of "transplants" here.