Another Williamsport Question (Mansfield, Penn: live, move, pine)

[char65]

Thanks for replying. In the big scene of things, from what I read, it sounds similar to the level of crime in the city we currently live it (except on a larger scale.) There are a few streets here that we pretty much stay away from unless we can't avoid it.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by char65

Hello:

My husband may be considering an offer in Williamsport that will require us moving to the area within the next few years. I've read through a couple of the Williamsport forums and have an idea of the area, but need additional information on everybody's favorite topic: Race.

Neither my husband and I have ever lived in an area with a small percentage of minorities, and if I judge by some of the responses in the other Williamsport's forum, it seems that we will be coming into an area that will assume that we are addicts, drug dealers, or thieves, and wouldn't be welcomed. My goal isn't to be offensive to anyone, nor do I mean to come across as if I think everyone in the area will have the same attitude. I'm really just trying to get a general idea of what to expect if we move to the area.

Again, my goal isn't to offend (or draw out any trolls.) Thanks.

Williamsport, a small percentage of minorities? For this area, Williamsport has a lot of minorities. City-data lists Williamsport as being 12.7% black, which may not sound like a lot, but is way more than any other city or town in northeastern or north-central PA. Even the larger cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, even though they have somewhat sizeable black communities, are still only in the single-digits as far as % of population. Scranton has a growing hispanic population as well.

I'm not sure of your race, but if you're black, you'd probably feel more at home in Williamsport than other area towns. Although to be honest, if you're decent people and good neighbors, I would think you'd be welcomed anywhere.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by FightinPhils

Although to be honest, if you're decent people and good neighbors, I would think you'd be welcomed anywhere....

...except of course for Shenandoah, as we have just learned.

[char65]

Thanks FightinPhils and ScanBarre for your replies. We consider ourselves decent people, but we've known ourselves all our lives.

What originally caused me to post my query was concern that we would be moving into an area where people would react negatively towards us because we were different or because they made assumption about our character based on arbitrary factors (like what happened in Shenandoah.) I'm not indicating that prejudice and ignorance is exclusive to PA. I will probably be posting this same questions in other areas as we figure out where my husband's career will take us. I am taking the people who responded to my post regarding Williamsport at their word. But I do feel now that I have to be prepare if we move there and wander outside of Williamsport. I hate to think that the teenagers who beat the guy to death was indicative of the area, but I feel that we will need to be prepared (better safe than sorry.)

For the record, my husband and I are black. Unfortunately, in our experience, if you find an area where violence is perpetrated against one group who is outside of the "norm", other groups should also be concerned.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by char65

Thanks FightinPhils and ScanBarre for your replies. We consider ourselves decent people, but we've known ourselves all our lives.

What originally caused me to post my query was concern that we would be moving into an area where people would react negatively towards us because we were different or because they made assumption about our character based on arbitrary factors (like what happened in Shenandoah.) I'm not indicating that prejudice and ignorance is exclusive to PA. I will probably be posting this same questions in other areas as we figure out where my husband's career will take us. I am taking the people who responded to my post regarding Williamsport at their word. But I do feel now that I have to be prepare if we move there and wander outside of Williamsport. I hate to think that the teenagers who beat the guy to death was indicative of the area, but I feel that we will need to be prepared (better safe than sorry.)

For the record, my husband and I are black. Unfortunately, in our experience, if you find an area where violence is perpetrated against one group who is outside of the "norm", other groups should also be concerned.

Where that recent incident happened was two hours from Williamsport.

I live an hour north of Williamsport where almost all the population is white and I have yet to hear any racist oriented comments or remarks the whole time I've been here. Unlike Alabama(where I lived for some time) where I would hear behind peoples backs the usual terminology quite frequently from the locals.

At least up where I'm at in Tioga county people are pretty easy going and a sizable chunk of the economy revolves around tourism so there isn't much incentive for that kind of behavior. I'd consider the rural locals far more nosy and hardly menacing. Most rural Pennsylvanians are too old to be gangbangers! Not many young people or families are around anymore in the northern tier.

I think it's like anywhere. No matter who you are and where you are you need to be well aware of your surroundings and always be prepared. I have found in my experience crime has happened in unexpected areas. When I lived in Alabama, the town I lived in was considered "violent" and the statistics certainly matched that. Yet I never had a problem the 14 years I was there. When I lived in Vail, Colorado, considered a nice ski town, I was a victim of theft and burglary and debit card theft and fraud multiple times and dialed 911 too many times to count because of witnessing domestic violence attacks, drunk driving, mexican illegals constantly brawling and destroying property and throwing people though windows, not to mention bears trying to break into apartments at 2 AM!

[char65]

Originally Posted by wanneroo

...not to mention bears trying to break into apartments at 2 AM!

That's something additional that I'm going to have add to my "question" list as we are researching possible new homes.

[ThereAndBack]

Hello Char,

I lived in Williamsport for 18 months, and I wouldn't recommend living there. I had a negative experience in Williamsport, and it wasn't until I left that I started to feel alive again.

A good percentage of Williamsport residents are nice people, but I did run into a lot of blatant racism during my time there. Some people seemed to assume that, because I was white, I'd be in tune with their racist discussions, and they didn't anticipate (or appreciate) the responses I handed to them. The first day that I was there, a guy a convenience store asked me if I "liked n----er jokes." When I said no, he proceeded to tell me the joke anyway. And this wasn't the last time that sort of thing happened. It also happened in my workplace more times than I can count. Most of their comments didn't seem to come from pure hate or maliciousness; it seemed to come from ignorance or, more aptly put, a lack of exposure. Pretty much every outsider was labeled as "influx" and wasn't to be trusted. It was hard enough for me just being a liberal non-Christian from out of town, and I don't wear those things on my face.

Part of my bad experience there may stem from the fact that I grew up in a larger metropolitan area. There's racism everywhere, but it wasn't something that was accepted as a general rule in the Pennsylvanian city I grew up in. I'd never had the experience of having people making flippant racist remarks around me before; I hope it's nothing I ever have to experience again.

Williamsport is also a difficult town to make a decent living in. If you're looking for work there as well, it may be difficult to find something that pays over $10 an hour regardless of your education, race, or social status. I left the city to move to a larger city and, within a week, found a career that paid triple what I made in Williamsport.

I don't want to bash the town entirely. It has its benefits. The city is quite beautiful and charming in places...

But that's Pennsylvania as a whole. There are many cities and towns up here that I'd recommend, but Williamsport isn't one of them.

[char65]

Thanks for the reply, Thereandback. Luckily, it won't be necessary for me to seek employment in the area if the move takes place.

In regards to the latent prejudice that you described, unfortunately, you learn to deal with it being a minority in the US, especially when you are in areas where there isn't much interaction between the races. Your hope is that the prejudice won't grow into something more sinister, that their beliefs are driven by something else instead of "pure hate or maliciousness."

That said, it would be great to make lifelong friends if the move to Williamsport becomes necessary, but not a necessity for us to enjoy our quality of life. And quite honestly, we've stopped concerning ourselves with other people's ignorance along time ago. As long as it doesn't effect us directly (i.e., using a racial slur to our faces, refusing to serve us or rudeness at different establishments, burning crosses on our front lawn, making it difficult for us to move into specific neighborhoods), we don't have the time to place restraints on people's thoughts or try to change their minds.

Again, thanks for your feedback.

[Nihilianth]

I know this is couple of moths old, but a few things here.

1: Ignore the ignorant. Not so hard to do.

2: If you are not into "outdoorsy" things, this would present a great opportunity to do so. (They have some wonderful trails around here. Pine Creek Valley is one of the most pristine places I have ever seen. The Pennsylvania Grand Canyon also is an incredible, incredile view, especially during the fall foliage. That is up in Mansfield, about 45 minutes away.)

[piscesjoey]

I know this thread is old, but to the OP, I would like to offer my opinion - I lived in Williamsport on 2 occasions, the first time for a month in 2000 and the second time for almost a year in 2001, and back then I didn't really appreciate it there because I was only 18 at the time and compared to where I came from (Baltimore), I thought I was in Mayberry, so I got the hell out of there quicker than I got there. My second stint there, I moved back there to go to Penn Tech, and I was still wanting not to be there, but over time, I gave it a chance and I was beginning to adjust to smaller city living. Its been 8 years since I been there, but from what I experienced when I was there, them horror stories are mostly false, other than the weak job market, which is true, but the cost of living is much cheaper than the big cities. I didnt see much crime when I was there, probaly in the projects near downtown, but I was all the way on the west end of town on a very quiet block, and very frankly when compared to Baltimore, the crime in Williamsport is nothing to get worried about.