About Wellsboro (Bradford, Athens, Mansfield: real estate, houses, theatre)

[digitalthread]

Hi everyone.
I have been giving some thought to relocating to Wellsboro.
I think Wellsboro is beautiful.
I have a couple of questions though.
Has anyone lived there before?
How did you like it?
Are the winters particularly harsh?
Does it affect your ability to communicate on a cell or does it disrupt high-speed internet service?
Can you even get a cell signal there?
I have been reading the board and the opinions are very informative.
I would appreciate your opinions or help.
Thank you.

[Phillygirl2]

Originally Posted by digitalthread

Hi everyone.
I have been giving some thought to relocating to Wellsboro.
I think Wellsboro is beautiful.
I have a couple of questions though.
Has anyone lived there before?
How did you like it?
Are the winters particularly harsh?
Does it affect your ability to communicate on a cell or does it disrupt high-speed internet service?
Can you even get a cell signal there?
I have been reading the board and the opinions are very informative.
I would appreciate your opinions or help.
Thank you.

Wellsboro is absolutely gorgeous!!! We camp near there often in the fall and dine often at "The World Famous Wellsboro Diner." I've never been in the winter, but I know they are usually not for the faint-hearted.

Cell phones are an iffy proposition. You have to have a really good company. I've been told that Cingular works up there pretty well. My dinky Virgin Mobile won't even beep when I'm there. I don't know about the internet, never had occasion to use it up there.

I am sure the home prices in town proper are very pricey (the whole town is on the historical register) but you might be able to get something less expensive in the surrounding area.

I envy you if you are able to actually move there.

[conwaycreative]

I have lived in Wellsboro for 20 years. I am a 5th generation Wellsboroian, A lot has changed but its still the best place to live. Some farms are now developed and we now have 2 cell phone towers. Cellphones work in town but you loose a signal about 8 miles out of town going west. People are the super friendly and welcome anyone. Not much of a night life in town, but we have a lot of places to drink. Its a great place to raise a family. High speed internet, DSL, And wi-fi at the Penn Wells. Houses are crazy expensive and land is the same. A 30 mil+ brand new high school is built, and were going to start building a theatre in town were the Davis Furniture use to be. Winters are mild, an occasional dumping, but a lot of people go to Denton Hill to ski/snowboard.

[chuck172]

"Houses are crazy expensive and land is the same. "
How far outside the town do you go to get good prices and low taxes?

[FrickParkMtBiker]

Originally Posted by digitalthread

Hi everyone.
I have been giving some thought to relocating to Wellsboro.
I think Wellsboro is beautiful.
I have a couple of questions though.
Has anyone lived there before?
How did you like it?
Are the winters particularly harsh?
Does it affect your ability to communicate on a cell or does it disrupt high-speed internet service?
Can you even get a cell signal there?
I have been reading the board and the opinions are very informative.
I would appreciate your opinions or help.
Thank you.

I've been there four times within the last year. My fiance and I have some great memories staying at La Petit Au Berge bed and breakfast on the "Green". I have Verizon Wireless and I have four bars sitting on a bench at the "Green" talking to anyone.

[Chad2002]

Cell Service is fine unless you go west, but even then it picks up again in the larger towns. Cingular probably has the better coverage. I dont know about the crazy expensive real estate...anyone from out of the area tends to find it a steal. The taxes are also much lower than elsewhere in PA, NY, NJ but the locals will tell you they're high. It's all a matter of perspective. Your best bet is to check out realtor.com and make your own call on that one. You can search by ZIP's to make it easier, 16901, you may want to add Middlebury Center & Mansfield to your search too.

[pabear]

Do your research first! We moved here 10 years ago and are wishing we hadn't. The taxes are out of this world! We own a .28 acre lot in the borough and pay twice as much as my parents who own land with 8 acres (30 minutes North from Wellsboro). There are very few jobs that pay above minimum wage. I can't stress this enough. It is very much a tourist area. Becareful.....

[Chad2002]

pabear makes a good point that there's often a significant difference in property taxes between living within the limits of one of the "bigger" boroughs vs. outside.

I am accustomed to living outside town, but others might find it bothersome. It would be a question of do you want Wellsboro's positives within walking distance or a quick hop in the car? Also, older historic home versus what's likely to be newer construction unless you're willing to invest in an older farm house.

Wellsboro does have a very nice, new high school...and is most likely the best quality district in Tioga County of the 3, well 5 if you count the little swaths of Galeton SD or Canton SD.

Since it's a slow day, I looked up 2 examples for you on taxes. Wellsboro Boro property taxes (county/school/local combined) are $26.87 per $1000 of assessed value in comparison to surrounding Delmar Twp's 21.74 per 1000. However, you also get local police services etc in the boro, but not in the twp. I cant verify for Tioga, but I know in Bradford county our assessed values are most often significantly below your market value.

I was honestly shocked about the school tax rate for Wellsboro as it's commonly criticized but it's 25-30% less than Towanda or Athens, and roughly even to Troy's, which is the cheapest district in Bradford County. Wellsboro does charge 1.2% for local income tax instead of the 1% that's in place across Bradford Co., but most people would never even notice that.