Need Help- where to relocate- NY or PA

[snowny]

We live 20 minutes east of Rochester NY in a more rural area. The housing market in this area of NY has a lot of house for much less than other areas. The lake is great for boating, and there are a lot of winter activities. We have a widely aclaimed Children's museum. Canada is only an hour and a half away.

We moved here from Williamsport, Pennsylvania 37 years ago. We have considered retiring to Pennsylvania as we still love the state, but not to Williamsport. It is a lovely city but to our dismay it has become quite crime ridden. We still visit relatives there often. At one time we would have returned but not now. I read the Williamsport Sun Gazette online and see the area we use to walk in becoming very dangerous. Brandon Park is lovely but there always seems to be a fight going on there.

There are many wonderful areas in Pennsylvania you might choose or consider the Rochester suburbs. Good Luck!

[PATRAIN]

You might consider Millersburg, PA. This town is 30 min from Harrisburg and is, to me, rural. The town has around 2500 people and if you would like to see it go to millersburg.com......We love living there and there is very little crime if any to really speak of....The town know has 4 full time police officers and about 6 part- time which is unbelievable for a town this size...the town council screams about the budget....Houses are pretty cheap, ours cost 112,000 for an 1800sf in good condition. The taxes are @600.00 fro the property, 715.00 for school taxes and @450.00 for home owners insurance. The high school/middle school has around 500 kids and I think the elementary has @750 I think. We live 5 blocks from the river and the town is nestled in between the mountains. In The spring we have a cherry blossem festival. For Halloween we have a parade That goes down our street and through the town...If you here the police and fire trucks coming down your street at 10p.m. with sirens blairing, it's probably because the high school football team won another game.

[Davisgirl]

I grew up in the Binghamton, NY area...it is a somewhat depressed area (though it is said to be getting better) within Binghamton, Vestal and Maine Endwell school districts are very good so of course, taxes are high in those areas too. But you get what you pay for. If you want good schools you have to pay for them. I no longer live in the Binghamton NY area (in fact I've moved out of NY and now live in Maryland...but we are also about to move and might be moving into Pa as well, so I'm learning about the costs associated with Pa just like you.) Good Luck!

I would stay away from Scranton, Pa. Again another depressed area and lots of crime. Harrisburg, Pa is a nice place and I've heard it is also a growing area.

[Katiana]

I don't know if the OP is still looking but, I can take a stab at this one:

BTW, I know that most of the cities on my list are not really near Pittsburgh, but does anyone have any insight on that city and it's immediate surroundings?

Greensburg, PA is actually near Pittsburgh, "almost" a suburb. I grew up in the Pgh area. Some parts of the metro area have seen their better days, particularly the old mill towns along the Mon and Beaver/Ohio Rivers. Some areas are quite "up and coming". If you are truly interested in Pittsburgh (I don't know how I missed this earlier), you should first go browse the Pittsburgh forum, and look at all the info City-Data has plus check out the links. It's the largest of all these places you have mentioned and it's urban/suburban living, moreso, I think than the other places including Harrisburg.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by Davisgirl

I
I would stay away from Scranton, Pa. Again another depressed area and lots of crime. Harrisburg, Pa is a nice place and I've heard it is also a growing area.

You think Scranton is "high-crime", yet Harrisburg, which has 25,000 fewer residents and a HIGHER murder rate is "a nice place?" I won't argue with the economically-depressed remark, as I know of many college-educated folks who have to commute to Harrisburg, the Lehigh Valley, or North Jersey daily for work, but saying that there is "lots of crime" in Scranton is just inaccurate.

[Bitzy]

Hello there! I can give you quite a bit of info, hope it helps:

I grew up around DuBois, PA and after a few years of "wandering" in my early adulthood, I've returned with my hubby & kids in tow. Dh was born and raised in Maine, his grandparents still live in Portland. I lived in Rutland, VT for 3 years and made it to most of the NE states but never made it to Maine! Someday I'm sure

In DuBois, there's enough shopping & dining for day to day life ~ 3 large grocery stores, the DuBois Mall, Walmart, Kmart, Lowes, Bon Ton and various shops at the plazas. Dining includes Ruby Tuesdays, Ponderosa, Perkins, Eat 'n Park, Red Lobster, various fast food and many great local restaurants including authentic Italian & Mexican and a new 50's style Diner. Downtown is also in a stage of revitalization with some great shops, restaurants and a newly opened Jazz club. Sometimes I crave Target so we head to State College (home of Penn State), just a little over an hour away. Pittsburgh is just 2 hours SW. Not bad for those times when we want a dose of city life, but I certainly wouldn't trade our peace and quiet here in DuBois.

The Catholic community is quite dominant around this part of PA. Not only will you have a variety of churches to choose from, the entire area observes Catholic customs. Local schools serve fish on Fridays, Lenton specials are the norm at restuarants and in my hometown of Brockway, PA (about 15 miles N of DuBois, GORGEOUS community!) most businesses shut down early on Wednesdays for Mass. DuBois even has it's own private Catholic schools with excellent reputations and affordable tuitions. In general, the public schools here are well funded and highly functional.

This is a great area for all things nature inspired, we have plenty of hiking, biking and camping available. Most people prefer to be outdoors around here, you won't find too many couch potatoes.

As for cost of living, $125-150,000 would buy a spacious, updated home on a nice lot...easily. Housing is very affordable here.

I really love raising my children here ~ it's safe, wholesome, friendly and affordable. Of course there are downsides...but they are typically incidental. Of all the places I've lived, it was the only place I wanted to raise my kids and that's the highest compliment I can give.

Of the other places you mentioned, I've also lived in Watertown & Binghamton, NY (I did tell you that I wandered for awhile-LOL). Watertown is growing steadily but not fast enough to keep up with the massive Military population. My husband was stationed there for 4 years and in our last year Fort Drum added approximately 10,000 soldiers. Add into that the number of spouses and dependent children and it was the perfect recipe for massive housing shortages and outrageous prices. I think it's started to level out a bit but the overpopulation makes simple things like dining out impossible. It got to the point where I avoided all errands and shopping Friday-Sunday and on the 1st & 15th (Army payday!). The roads are not adequate for the amount of traffic which translates into heavy congestion that rivals many Metro rush hours. The lake-effect weather is rough...wind gusts that will knock your breath away and -30 degree windchills. Plenty of snow. As for crime, theft and vandalism are the most dominant but there were also a lot of violent crimes in the time we were there.

As for Binghamton, it had a better vibe than Watertown due to the local college scene. The downtown area has some nice shops and restaurants and the area has surprisingly fabulous shopping when it comes to corporate chains. In general we liked the area as newlyweds but I can't imagine raising a family there.

I know I threw a lot of info out there, I hope you find something useful in all that chatter! Best wishes!

[Marodi]

Originally Posted by Bitzy

The Catholic community is quite dominant around this part of PA.

Well, PA IS more than 50% catholic.