Poorest Towns in Pennsylvania

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by medievalbooks

We moved to a small town outside of Gettysburg to open up a shop. The customers look at us boogle eyed and ask why on earth we moved here.

Boogle eyed, huh? What kind of shop is it?

[medievalbooks]

we sell used and rare books specializing in history and art So our customers are a very special breed...and so are we

[jtab4994]

Cool. I collect atlases and school geography books.


Seems like Gettysburg would be a place that attracts people with an appreciation of history but I suppose locals might expect to find your kind of shop in a toney section of Philly or in New Hope. Anyway, good luck!

[InNH]

Originally Posted by medievalbooks

As a newcomer to this area, have little knowledge of the economics of the cities or the areas. Speaking from my experience anecdotal as it may be. So if I ramble forgive me...but just my observations.


We moved to a small town outside of Gettysburg to open up a shop. The customers look at us boogle eyed and ask why on earth we moved here.


The answers we give are generally we love the history of the area and the architecture and the bonafide small town feel.
The answers we don't give are :
The house we bought would have cost double what we paid, in central Mass. Groceries are about on par, maybe a little less here. Heating costs are less. Taxes are equivalent, maybe a little less. So even tho my husband left a paying job to open business with me, we are still ahead finance wise if we had stayed in Massachusetts.


Other customers have come in, noeting they too are new to the area. Most of them are retirement age or close to. I haven't asked them why they moved but perhaps I will. Yes, I know they will not contribute to the work force by and large. Possibly will work as volunteers for charitable organizations but if they feel they have money to live on, will not compete with the work force.


They will however contribute to businesses' bottom line. And thus, small businesses like mine will be able to hire employees. I see areas improving over time economy wise.


Oh and by the way, 35 years ago I couldn't find work...spent 5-10 years applying for ANY job, crappy as it was. Finally started selling books at the local Flea Market that I got for free, garage sales etc. We have to be innovative about finding jobs to support ourselves sometimes.


Now I know my experience is not typical or what other people may be able to do - especially folks needing to support families. But in my own weird way trying to say, don't discount small business opportunities - even very small ones. They add to the health of the economy of an area.

Or NH for that matter. For tax free living supposedly, its still very expensive here. I lived in PA back in 2004.. I was supposed to move to Lancaster but it didnt happen. My mom instead took me to Johnstown which was a mistake at that time because that imo is one of the poorest areas of PA. Even despite that though, some real nice neighborhoods did exist but no I wouldnt imagine even today in 2018 that Johnstown improved that much since.. and that its Eastern PA everywhere that is doing better than Altoona and around it. The area I just mentioned is better if you bring savings from another place and buy a house maybe. Eastern PA looks more stable from Bucks to Lancaster. I might even look at it down the line as technically I should have moved to Lancaster, not Johnstown. My mom decided that one though not me.. I wanted Eastern PA and thought it be a good life for me. Well I may revisit it within 5 years god only knows. I am originally from Billerica btw and have a long time friend thinking of moving there soon too. So I may join him one day. I also like flea markets and garage sales but may want to do something else for a living. I have to do more investigating but I am pretty sure its a top place for someone like me who hates high crowds, yuppies and high cost of living areas.