South Schuylkill County (Philadelphia, Pottsville, Bloomsburg: houses, tenant, movie theater)

[AlmostThere52]

My husband and I live in SEPA (Philadelphia suburb) and are planning to move north next year. We're interested in living near a state park, as we enjoy hiking, fishing, and target shooting. We've visited the Jim Thorpe area a few times (Beltzville State Park and Hickory Run State Park). I'm interested in looking at the south part of Schuykill County, particularly the area around Tuscarora State Park and Locust Lake State Park. If anyone is familiar with this area, I would like to hear from you.

We're both retiring next year, and this will be our last move. We're looking for a small, friendly town with a good public library and an active community; the kind of town that has a parade on Memorial Day, church picnics, fire department car washes to raise money for equipment, and local shops decorate for the holidays. That kind of town. I don't mind an older town, but I don't want to live in a poor town, with poor schools and few services, the kind of town that seems to have given up on itself.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

[PeeAye Native]

Originally Posted by AlmostThere52

.... I don't mind an older town, but I don't want to live in a poor town, with poor schools and few services, the kind of town that seems to have given up on itself.

Focusing on mostly that statement, I think your only choice is Orwigsburg. Virtually every other town would need any new resident (that is, not originally from the area) to take the plunge with a healthy dose of optimism, IMO.

Here's a fairly good map of the municipal boundaries in Schuylkill County: File:Map]Error of Schuylkill County Pennsylvania With Municipal and Township Labels.png

BTW, Jim Thorpe is in Carbon County, not Schuylkill County. It is close by, though, drive from JT to Tamaqua and you enter Schuylkill County. One more point, there's a small lakeside community between JT and Hometown, built around Hauto Lake, on the northside of Rt 54 (so it's close to Tuscarora SP). It does not have the feel of a permanent older town, it's got a seasonal residence feel to it, but worth a look. And to add to this, there seems to be some 'growth' and 'development' in that immediate area. By this I mean some re-worked highways and a new set of stores with a Walmart as the anchor tenant. This is all relative, in Schuylkill County this is growth and is newsworthy, ... as is a movie theater just announcing they are closing down at another mall, in Frackville, (link from the Pottsville Republican, note that this was front page news in today's online edition). I'm not demeaning this in any way, just want to point out and compare how the pace of life differs there, only two hours away, from the Philadelphia metro area.

[AlmostThere52]

Originally Posted by PeeAye Native

Focusing on mostly that statement, I think your only choice is Orwigsburg. Virtually every other town would need any new resident (that is, not originally from the area) to take the plunge with a healthy dose of optimism, IMO.

Thanks for responding! I've been checking the forum a couple times a day, hoping for a response. I will definitely look at Orwigsburg, as well at the Lake Hauto area. I understand from reading the forums that many areas of Schuylkill County are depressed, and downright depressing. But so are many other areas of Pennsylvania. My husband and I have traveled a lot throughout the state, and there are many areas in western Pennsylvania that are in the same situation as Schuylkill County.

I think that southern Schuylkill County, western Carbon County, and northern Berks County have some of my favorite scenic areas. We've driven through the areas many times, and while it's certainly not like the suburban area we've lived in, it's appealing to us in many ways. We lived in the suburbs for access to jobs, and excellent schools for our children. But we never really liked it.

And I'm by nature an optimistic person!

Thanks again!

[PeeAye Native]

Originally Posted by AlmostThere52

Thanks for responding! I've been checking the forum a couple times a day, hoping for a response.

You can set your account here to have an email sent immediately when any thread in which you post gets a new post. If you have posts in hundreds of threads, this can get overwhelming.

See My Settings > Edit Options > Default Thread Subscription Mode > Set to Instant email notification.

Another way to do it is, go to My Settings > List Subscriptions > change the notification by individual thread to be of the type you want.

[ki0eh]

Without coal Schuylkill County would look like Bedford County. The valleys that don't have coal outcrops indeed are enclaves of rural Pa. Dutch - the fair is in one of these and Tuscarora and Locust Lake are in another. Some of the hills in the north are very scenic, say around PA 339 going into Columbia County.

But since you're focusing in towns specifically in Schuylkill I would second looking at Orwigsburg - the area has a bit of green/crunchy spillover from Hawk Mountain and the areas on the other side too.

I'd also suggest looking out past the NW flank of the anthracite field, at towns in central Columbia county (like Catawissa), Northumberland (Herndon or Dalmatia) or upper Dauphin (Millersburg, Elizabethville, Gratz).

To be honest, you will find proud farm towns with very similar geology and scenery to your core area scattered throughout the area of PA between the Allegheny Front and the line of anthracite coal outcrop. Do you have a specific tie to distance to a certain area or are you open to other suggestions?

[PeeAye Native]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

I'd also suggest looking out past the NW flank of the anthracite field, at towns in central Columbia county (like Catawissa), Northumberland (Herndon or Dalmatia) or upper Dauphin (Millersburg, Elizabethville, Gratz).

If you're going to expand your search into Columbia county, I'd recommend take a look at Bloomsburg. It has the picnics, car washes, memorial day parades, active downtown, a downtown square with a weekly farmer's market (bonus: real, live, local farmers who grow the stuff they are selling) and all that. I guess what I mean here is small town values are still proudly on display by the local residents, and because of the college, it's especially welcoming to new comers. There is a photo tour on here somewhere (Link: Bloomsburg Photo Tour ).

I know this isn't what you asked for, but in extreme northern Columbia county (actually on the Sullivan county and Columbia county borders) there's Eagle's Mere. Based on your descriptions, it is probably too cutesy for you. I like it for half a day at most, but it would grate on me living there full time.

[AlmostThere52]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

Do you have a specific tie to distance to a certain area or are you open to other suggestions?

Thanks for the suggestions! We don't have a specific distance in mind; we're looking more for a certain type of area or environment. I really like the rolling, gentle hills and valleys than the more mountainous region of the Poconos. However, we don't want to move too far (more than 100 miles) from our present home in SEPA. Our youngest child is buried here, and when he died several years ago (he was 7 years old), my husband and I bought the plots on either side of him. So, it's important to us that we can drive back and visit the cemetary a few times a year. Also, where ever we end up, when one of us dies, the other will need to get the body back here for burial.

I'm definitely open to suggestions! We're looking for a small town, where we can become part of the community. I'd be interested in volunteering at the local library and school, and joining the nearest Catholic church. As I mentioned in my original post, my husband and I like to fish, hike and target shoot, so near access to state parks is important to us. We've lived in a very typical crowded suburban development (houses nearly on top of each other) for 30 years, and we want out.

Thanks again for your suggestions, and I'm going to check out the places you mentioned. If you have any more ideas, please let me know!

[cowboyxjon]

You could always try somewhere like Deer Lake or Sculp's Hill (?). If you don't want to live right IN town, you could live outside of Orwigsburg in a place that has an Auburn address, and have the whole 'woodsy/mountain' feel, yet still be close to town. I have relatives who live in a log home near Orwigsburg.

I'm originally from Pottsville and while it's economically depressed, the people are (generally) great for the most part. I always feel so bad when I go back to visit my parents because everything seems so run down. I wish I could start a business so that I could provide a few jobs for the area. Pottsville does, however, have cheap housing, decent schools, and they do have parades and a relatively large library.

[AlmostThere52]

Originally Posted by cowboyxjon

You could always try somewhere like Deer Lake or Sculp's Hill (?). If you don't want to live right IN town, you could live outside of Orwigsburg in a place that has an Auburn address, and have the whole 'woodsy/mountain' feel, yet still be close to town.

Thanks for the suggestions. You're right; I don't need to live IN town. And it looks like Deer Lake is less than 4 miles from Orwigsburg, which is fine. Heck, I walk 3+ miles a day just for exercise and to keep in shape for hiking.

My husband and I will be visiting locations in southern Schuylkill County throughout the winter. We've seen some of the area in the summer months, but we want to have a clear idea of what the winters are like in the area.

[akpls]

Originally Posted by PeeAye Native

........I know this isn't what you asked for, but in extreme northern Columbia county (actually on the Sullivan county and Columbia county borders) there's Eagle's Mere.........

Eagles Mere is well inside Sullivan County......about 2 hours north of the southern Schuykill area. A beautiful area, but not a whole lot of amenities there.....or even in the whole county for that matter.