Pennsylvania- (Scranton, Harrisburg, State College: real estate, house, theatre)

[Catie]

What do you like or dislike about PA? Why? I am NOT trying to cause rudeness and disruption on the board. I am looking to get a vibe of what people think of their home state....because I may consider relocation to PA.

What do you think of central PA? What counties shoud be avoided...
I am looking for a small town with a nice feel (not overrun by strip malls) but someone told me to avoid the mining towns. The only thing is I am not from PA so I have no idea where they are talking about. Can someone clue me in.


I don't really want to be near Philly(I know that's not central PA) but I am open to other areas too that are not central. Western PA is a bit too far from home...


Thanks

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by Catie

What do you like or dislike about PA? Why? I am NOT trying to cause rudeness and disruption on the board. I am looking to get a vibe of what people think of their home state....because I may consider relocation to PA.

What do you think of central PA? What counties shoud be avoided...
I am looking for a small town with a nice feel (not overrun by strip malls) but someone told me to avoid the mining towns. The only thing is I am not from PA so I have no idea where they are talking about. Can someone clue me in.


I don't really want to be near Philly(I know that's not central PA) but I am open to other areas too that are not central. Western PA is a bit too far from home...


Thanks

Lewisburg and Selinsgrove are both very nice smaller college towns in Central Pennsylvania. Both are located along Route 15 about midway between Williamsport and Harrisburg along the Susquehanna River and very near to I-80 (which sadly is becoming a toll-road). Lewisburg is home to Bucknell University and has the nicer main drag, in my humble opinion, and Selinsgrove is home to Susquehanna University and has a much smaller albeit improving main drag. There is the typical sprawlish development to the immediate north of both communities, even though both are easily-accessible to the Susquehanna Valley Mall area in Snyder County. I've done photo tours of both communities, which can be found by doing a search for them on this forum (or oddly enough often on Google as well).

Member Dawne lives in Selinsgrove and can help you out with Snyder County, and I believe StormInATeaCup lives in the Lewisburg area now. I live about an hour-and-a-half northeast near Scranton, which is a much larger city and is undergoing a renaissance of its own as of late with an upcoming medical school, new Yankees franchise, and rebounding downtown.

Other nice towns to consider in Central PA are Wellsboro, Muncy, Montoursville, Hughesville, Danville, Bloomsburg, and Bellefonte. Sunbury has seen better days, and by "old coal towns," they were probably referencing communities like Shamokin, Ashland, Mt. Carmel, and much of Schuylkill County.

[Katiana]

If you are considering relocating from ??, I think you should go there and take a look. You may not want to live in every town in every county, but I wouldn't write off whole counties. If you will be working, you need to consider job availability as well.

[nocturnal rooster]

Roads are horrible, people are mean, jobs suck, crooked govt. and the state is backwards.

'nuff said. After christmas, I am outta here. Thank god. I was gonna stay for a couple more years, but I can't take it anymore

[cathyde]

Danville is a very nice town. Two grocery stores, several pharmacies and small speciality shops in the downtown can meet your basic needs, and you're within 15 -30 minutes of three different malls as well! If you're in the medical field, Geisinger Medical Center is there, and it seems they always have positions open there.

I lived in Danville for over 10 years (just moved from there to Lake Ariel) but have always found it to be a friendly, inviting area to live. My house was a block away from both the Mahoning Creek and the Susquehanna River, and because of the levees, never worried about flooding (and on three occasions we had flooding in the towns around us - Bloomsburg was particularly hard hit; TPTB are still fighting over a levee system there). Lovely homes in historic districts close to downtown, and newer, bigger homes in various developments as you move outside the town give you a good variety of real estate to look at and choose from.

Just an FYI - Danville School District is a very strong school district, and I have been very pleased at the education my children received there. (BTW it's also stellar in special education as well!!) Besides great PSSA scores, they offer a very wide range of courses at the high school level, and numerous Advanced Placement courses as well.

Bloomsburg does have more, in terms of entertainment, with the university and the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, not to mention a cinema center, but it's a 15 minute drive there, so again, to me that wasn't a negative. Danville does have several special events, including the Iron Heritage Festival in the summer, two craft fairs in spring and fall, and the Halloween Parade every October.

Hope that this little bit of info helps you out. The best way to find out if you will like the area is to simply come and stay for a weekend. Travel around, talk to people (most are kind and will share info!) and just get a feel for the area. Only you will know if it's right for you. Good luck!

Cathy

[Marodi]

Originally Posted by nocturnal rooster

Roads are horrible, people are mean, jobs suck, crooked govt. and the state is backwards.

'nuff said. After christmas, I am outta here. Thank god. I was gonna stay for a couple more years, but I can't take it anymore

Depends on where you are.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by nocturnal rooster

Roads are horrible, people are mean, jobs suck, crooked govt. and the state is backwards.

'nuff said. After christmas, I am outta here. Thank god. I was gonna stay for a couple more years, but I can't take it anymore

Good bye, and good luck.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by nocturnal rooster

Roads are horrible, people are mean, jobs suck, crooked govt. and the state is backwards.

I have a great job and some wonderful friends, neighbors and co-workers, but I'll give you the rest of it.

Sure, government is crooked almost everywhere to some extent, but here kickbacks are viewed as entitlement. These are not public servants, but self-servants. And when they get caught, they're not ashamed in the least.

[Dawne]

Paul (SWB) had some good suggstions. Personally I'm partial to Selinsgrove and the school district it encompasses. Lewisburg is also excellent although probably a bit more upscale than Selinsgrove. (Some people would say snooty.)

Here are some places that are good by county in central PA:

Snyder: Selinsgrove, Shamokin Dam, Hummels Wharf/Monroe Township, Penn Township - these are all in the Selinsgrove school district.

Union: Lewisburg, Mifflinburg

Montour: Danville

Columbia: Bloomsburg and surrounding areas (which would be Central Columbia School District), anywhere in the Southern Columbia School District

Lycoming: Montoursville, Muncy, Hughesville

Northumberland: I really can't think of any nice communities in this county - sorry to those of you who live there.

Some others in the western parts of central PA would be Bellefonte and State College.

Some of the great things about PA are the small towns, friendly neighbors, "Mayberryesque" flavor. More and more chain stores are moving in which can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. I personally think it's good. The four seasons are wonderful.

Some of the not so great things about PA are the small towns with not much to do, nosy neighbors, chain stores, and the four seasons (mud in spring, humidity in summer, snow, ice and cold in winter).

So it's all in how you look at it. Good luck to you, and keep us posted. If you'll be coming to the area let me know and I'll try to help out if I can.

[vetegnc]

We moved to State College in March, and LOVE it. Not sure the jobs are perfect, but the benefits of the area far outweigh the negatives of the job.

We are both not city people, and State College has all the benefits of a larger city (because of Penn State), without being huge. Great trail system, HUGE state forest only 10 minutes away, own airport, musicals and shows coming thru, etc. etc.

Love it!!

(we have 2 toddlers too, and they have an excellent school system.....couldn't have picked a better place!)