Tell me about Bloomsburg (Scranton, Harrisburg: insurance, house, dorms)

[snowlandcook]

I am applying for a faculty position at Bloomsburg University, but I have never been there. I would like to know people's general opinion of this university as well as people's thoughts about the town. Is it a friendly place to live? Is it safe? Affordable?

What are the best places to look for a house in or around Bloomsburg? We currently own a 3-bdrm home on half an acre and would like something similar.

Any info you can provide would be great. Since we would be moving from MN, this is no small decision.

Thanks.

[scrantonluna]

Bloomsburg is a small community surrounded in good part by farm lands.
There have been flooding issues in the past, so I would not be looking
at properties near the fair grounds.

The school itself is a fairly economical institution, with a large number of
dorms. The majority of the campus is older construction but is still sound.

The only other thing I can tell you is that the school has a definate liberal
slant in it's teaching, so you may want to take that into consideration. I
really can't say if this is due to the guidance of the administration or the
personal bias of the majority of the instructors.

[ScranBarre]

Hopefully my http://www.city-data.com/forum/penns...urg+Photo+Tour might prove beneficial to you in your impending relocation. I personally liked Bloomsburg, even though I hail from suburban Scranton, about an hour away. The town was relatively flat and had a thriving traditional business district---something you don't see very often in this world of Wal-Mart and Applebee's (speaking of which Bloomsburg has both of those too on the outskirts of town). Also just outside of town is the Columbia Mall, Lowe's, Home Depot, Panera Bread, and some other typical chains. You are right along I-80 but are near no major cities of interest---Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, and Harrisburg are all roughly 45 minutes to an hour away, if not more. Member AmeriKenArtist is a Bloomsburg transplant and can hopefully provide you with greater insight.

[PeeAye Native]

It's a very, nice pleasing, pleasant looking town to walk and drive around. Many nice looking, well kept homes on big, wide open lots. You see kids riding bikes on the tree-lined, tree-shaded streets in the summers, people going to the town park near the river for picnics in the evening, baseball and softball games in the spring and summer time.

It is a small town (some trivia: it's officially the only 'town' in the Commonwealth of Pennslyvania, everything else is a city, a borough, or a township), and surrounded by rolling hills of mostly farmland to the E, S and W. To the N are forests and mountains. The surrounding areas are strong farming areas, people are strong supporters of agriculture and the farming heritage. You'll see lots of roadside vegetable stands, for example.

The school used to have a regional following and commuter vibe, where everyone would go home on weekends, and empty out the town of all students (not that you'd see many students in the town proper anyway). That has changed in the past 10+ years, the school seems to market themselves to a wider geographic area any more.

Closest major cities are Scranton and Wilkes-Barre ("The Wyoming Valley") 45 miles away, Philly 2.5 hours away.

I know this from spending time in the adjacent towns and villages, you can live there very inexpensively (housing, food, insurance, etc.) compared to more metropolitan areas (Wyoming Valley, Lehigh Valley, SE PA).

[snowlandcook]

Thanks! The photo link was indeed quite helpful.

Can anyone tell me about the university? What kind of reputation does it have? What (if anything) is it known for?

And if any of you actually work there, perhaps you could tell me what you like and dislike about it.

Thanks!

[PeeAye Native]

> Can anyone tell me about the university? What kind of reputation does it have?
IMO, it's rep is somewhere between a regional/go-home-on-the-weekend/state-supported school with a very strong regional draw, to wanting/aspiring to grow into something more or bigger. I don't think it's quite grown into what it wants to be yet.

> What (if anything) is it known for?
It used to be called Bloomsburg State Teachers College, and it is known for undergrad degrees in education, and associated fields, psychology, etc., at a bargain price (low cost of living area, and state supported = a good combo for low cost).

Fifteen + years ago (not sure still ) it also had part-time advanced degree programs in education, where if you were a teacher working full time and within reasonable drive time, say one hour, you could easily do an advanced degree and arrange your on campus work for weekday evenings, and lesser so on weekends. Lots of educators (teachers and admnistrators) in the region got advanced degrees this way, especially if their school/employer assisted with the tutition. And many districts did, as a state supported school it must have had a very good financial deal worked out with the local/regional school districts (I never saw this first hand, but it seemed that way).

BTW, some of the Americas Colleges type guides might confirm this stuff I knew about it from 15+ years ago.

[J5K5LY]

It's close to Knoebels. That's all I would need to know! LOL

[toobusytoday]

Bloomsburg is probably the #3 or #4 choice among the students at my kids High School in the Lehigh Valley. The campus and town are not quite as nice as West Chester, Millersville or Kutztown. IMHO. I attended an open house there when I was looking at Colleges with my daughter and neither of us were impressed but that could have been due to our slacker tour guide and the fact that we had just come from PSU the day before. To show how subjective our views were, one of my daughters closest friends graduated from Bloomsburg and loved her time there.

I don't think most people think of one of the state colleges being better academically then another, at least I don't, but they are often perceived as having one program that's unique or an element stronger then another. Kutztown says they produce more of the public art teachers then any other college in the State, IUP has the best honors College, West Chester has the best location, Millersville has an urban teacher experience, Bloomsburg has deaf studies.

All of the state colleges have a bit of a problem with kids leaving on weekends but with most of the student body coming from a 2 hour radius, that's not really surprising. I believe that all of the State Colleges in that cohort have a no-car-for-freshman policy to help get them integrated into the College community. I know kids that attend(ed) Kutztown (our closest State College) that come home every weekend.

[Summering]

Bloomsburg was the first choice for our daughter who was accepted at Millersville, and Kutztown also.
She wanted a straight route from NJ to PA for weekends home. Plus, we adored the campus before we even took the tour of it. Sitting above the town in all its glory.
She has worked in many corporate jobs traveling as a translator and administration head to places such as Mexico.
We know of a doctor who also took the full four years at Bloomsburg,who now works in New Jersey.
A teacher who now works in PA. One friend became an RN, who went on to be a Physicians Assistant.
So many productive citizens come out of the Bloomsburg programs.

The town is charming and active. Just don't place yourself by the river area. Flooding was a problem in certain years. One flood mark is on the Bloomsburg fair grounds buildings. Gosh, that river came way up!

Its a lovely, peaceful place.........I'm sure you'll find it to your liking.

[Dawne]

Bloomsburg has an excellent nursing program, in addition to the teaching program.

Someone said the town is relatively flat. That's true, the the campus area itself is very hilly and sits above the town. Then there is the level part of town, and the lowest portions are the flood-prone areas.