Looking to Move to Central PA, but have lots of questions! (State College: sale, crime rate)

[cathyde]

Danville to the list too!

Cathy

[MtnDewMan]

Can anyone direct me towards good school districts in that area as well? I am looking both in terms of working and for my kids to attend down the road. I am willing to drive 20 minutes in any direction to get to work, not a big deal there. But did not know the better places to be. Many thanks to everyone who has made postings. It has been a great help to us.

[danwxman]

Originally Posted by MtnDewMan

Can anyone direct me towards good school districts in that area as well? I am looking both in terms of working and for my kids to attend down the road. I am willing to drive 20 minutes in any direction to get to work, not a big deal there. But did not know the better places to be. Many thanks to everyone who has made postings. It has been a great help to us.

Cumberland Valley and Camp Hill are consistently rated some of the best school districts in PA. Other good school districts are Mechanicsburg, Carlisle and East Pennsboro.

[Dawne]

Again, I have to say the school districts in the places I posted before are some of the best around. However, you may have to drive more than 20 minutes, especially if you want to work in the Harrisburg area or Williamsport area, both of which are about 50 minutes or more from Selinsgrove, depending on traffic.

[ScranBarre]

Bellefonte is very quaint, family-oriented, and is near enough to State College to leech off of its job market while still being far enough away from the PSU-related congestion.

[sunsh0wers]

Originally Posted by danwxman

Cumberland Valley and Camp Hill are consistently rated some of the best school districts in PA. Other good school districts are Mechanicsburg, Carlisle and East Pennsboro.

I grew up in Camp Hill and attended Cumberland Valley School District (in Mechanicsburg) from 3rd grade forward. I have to say that the area is a great place to grow up! It's 15 minutes from downtown Harrisburg, but it's a completely suburban area with friendly people and hardly any traffic. My family is Indian and we never encountered any racial issues or prejudice. Cumberland Valley was truly a wonderful educational facility - the student population is diverse and there are ample opportunities for students to explore their individual interests. My father worked for the State, but there are many other job opportunities in the area too. The area is also close to pretty much everything: there are malls all over the place (lots of choices when it comes to shopping), Philly & DC are both only 2 hrs away, Baltimore is 1.5 and NYC is 3 hrs. I really don't think you can beat the area for the convenience and safety.

[jeffselan]

I would also suggest you look at my area-

Yorkana, Windsor, Lower Windsor, Red Lion, Dillsburg, East Prospect.

Country living with very little crime.

[MtnDewMan]

Can anyone tell me anything about Fayettesville or Chambersburg? The good, the bad and the ugly?

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by MtnDewMan

Can anyone tell me anything about Fayettesville or Chambersburg? The good, the bad and the ugly?

I grew up in the Mechanicsburg area, but I've lived in Chambersburg for 18+ years.

The good: Chambersburg is a quaint little town set among the beautiful rolling farms of the Cumberland Valley. Traditional, small-town values abound.

The bad: a little farther from the Harrisburg area, which, depending on your line of work, may affect your ability to find employment ... or your commute. The town struggles to keep pace with its recent growth (which I'm told is fueled by Baltimore and DC area commuters, though I find this difficult to fathom given the 90-120 minute commute to these areas).

The ugly: You may find some of the rural values of the Appalachian regions of Va and WVa (read: rednecks). Don't get me wrong: good, hard-working people, but you'll find no shortage of pick-up trucks with gun racks. Also, people tend to keep to themselves. (A place, as Tim Bedore says, "where the introverts look at their shoes and the extroverts look at your shoes.")

All said, I tend to second Danwxman's suggestion of Carlisle/Mechanicsburg/Boiling Springs area.

Hope this helps.

[frenchy1959]

I was born and raised in Lycoming County PA. Hughesville is a nice little town in which to settle down. There just are not many jobs in that area, unless you are a doctor, nurse, attorney, specialist in something high paying. The hospitals are not close if one has severe medical problems (my father has had several heart attacts and would have died if they waited for an ambulance to get to him). The schools do not take children on field trips like they do nearer a bigger city. I now live in Chester County outside of West Chester and my children have been so many places, and seen and done so many things, esp. historic things like in Valley Forge Park, etc. Crime is low in Hughesville area, but to be expected. Lower cost of living, but lower wages also. It is OK to be a God believing, God-fearing person in this area, but they need to learn from the Bible that other skin colored people are not your enemies, just Satin. When one gets to heaven, whites will be outnumbered. KKK still holds meetings there as far as I know. Best area for empty-nesters. Lot of mileage running children to after-school activities, sports. The high school does have a swimming pool, driver's education which a lot of towns do not have. They close for hunting season and the Bloomsburg fair (the biggest activity in the area). The area is about 5-10 years behind the times, esp in fashion, and discipline.
Education is good, except for lack of "no-tolerance" policy for bullying. I was picked on extremely growing up there and have "excess baggage" because of it which I am working through with good Christian counselling. I've done OK for myself for being a "country hick" , college degree, good paying job.