Selinsgrove, Montoursville, Bloomsburg... (Milton, Lewisburg, Danville: 2010, to rent, crime)

[FromVAtoPA]

We plan to transfer up there through the company my husband works for. Selinsgrove, Montoursville, Bloomsburg and towns close to them are the areas we are interested in. Selinsgrove would be my husbands first choice. He'd be close to his parents and grandparents in West Milton and Selinsgrove Speedway. Montoursville would be second then Bloomsburg. We'd like to find out more about neighborhoods, crime, Elementary schools, parks/playgrounds for children, the availability of cable tv and high speed internet, cell phone service, taxes, things to do and so on from people that actually live in these areas. Any help would be appreciated.

[ScranBarre]

Just out of curiosity, is there any reason why you omitted Lewisburg from your list? I thought it was easily one of the cutest towns in all of PA when I visited for my 2007 photo tour.

[Jelleigh]

Hi VAtoPA~haven't been on to check things out in the PA area, so not sure if you're still looking....
We moved to this general area in PA about 5 years ago-in general this area is a great place to raise families. Selinsgrove area has the busy strip but there are many rural areas surrounding as well as "in town" areas. From the friends I have who have children, the schools are ok there. Crime low. Lewisburg is certainly an area to consider. It is a great town with lots of little shops and good places to eat and visit, an awesome park system. The schools are good, and of course, Bucknell is there, so you have a lot of academic people who live in the area. And there is a great farmer's market on Wednesdays. Bloomsburg is a college town too, and there are alot of shops there-not as nice as Lewisburg though. There are areas outside of Bloom that are rural but in the district, and there are some nice developments if that is your thing. The schools are ok, not as good as Lewisburg and Danville in general. There are reports of higher drug concentration in Bloom and higher crime, but generally safe. I can't really comment on Montoursville-sorry. Danville is nice too-but definitely smaller scale. Not many shops or restaurants, but the school district is good. More rural surroundings to live in. Most of the town people or development people are of the health care work force since Geisinger is there, but also teachers, some blue collar. It's a nice town though-takes about 25 min to get to Selinsgrove, 15-25 min to Milton depending on where you come from and where you're going.

Each town does have their own web page or the county does so should have some good information for you. Good luck!

[FromVAtoPA]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Just out of curiosity, is there any reason why you omitted Lewisburg from your list? I thought it was easily one of the cutest towns in all of PA when I visited for my 2007 photo tour.

No real reason other than my husband jokes that he is not living in Lewisburg, because they were Milton High Schools rivals when he was in school. I listed those three places because that is where the Lowes stores are at that are near his family.
Your photo tours are wonderful! I have looked at them many times the last couple of months. PA has some beautiful old homes and buildings.

[Dawne]

I grew up in Montoursville (my mom's still there) and I currently live in Selinsgrove. We also looked at moving to Bloomsburg a couple years ago, so hopefully I can give you some helpful information.

Neighborhoods: All three communities have nice in-town neighborhoods and a few not-so-nice areas. In Bloomsburg you want to watch out for student housing areas, and areas that flood. In Montoursville between Broad Street and the airport are older homes. Also, between the high school (Arch Street) and the western end of town are older homes. Selinsgrove is mostly nice, with some areas that flood (especially the Isle of Que) and one housing project called Pine Meadow near the Intermediate School. Also, you need to watch out for college housing areas, as they tend to be noisy during school sessions. All the towns have beautiful outlying residential neighborhoods/subdivisions also.

Crime: Relatively low in all three communities. In Bloomsburg and Selinsgrove a lot of the crime involves college students partying at all hours, and the occasional burglary, theft, etc. Montoursville would probably be your lowest crime area of the three, with no in-town college.

Elementary Schools: All three have excellent elementary schools, with full day Kindergarten. Montoursville has K-4th grade in the elementary school, 5th-8th in the middle school and 9th to 12th in the high school. Selinsgrove is currently undergoing a major renovation of the elementary school which will result in K-2nd in one building, 3rd-5th in the intermediate school, 6th-8th in the middle school, and 9th-12th in the high school. I'm not sure how Bloomsburg is divided up. For this year, and probably next year in Selinsgrove K is in Jackson Penn (just outside of town), 1st is in the Selinsgrove Elementary Building (which is being renovated) and 2nd has been moved into the Intermediate School. Renovations are to expected to be done in 2010.

Parks/Playgrounds: All communities have nice playgrounds at the schools themselves. Selinsgrove has several parks/playgrounds scattered throughout the community, with the largest play area being Kidsgrove on Sassafras Street. Bloomsburg has a beautiful riverfront park/playground that even has a skateboard park. Montoursville has Indian Park, with playgrounds, ball fields, picnic areas, a pond, and a bike/walking path. All communities also have public swimming pools.

Cable TV/High Speed Internet: All communities have cable TV and high speed internet. My mom uses DSL in Montoursville. I use Service Electric Cablevision here in Selinsgrove, with my internet provided by PTD/Prolog.

Cell Phones: All have cell service. We've had AT&T, Cingular and Verizon. All work reasonably well, with a few dead spots occasionally.

Taxes: I think they're relatively the same in all communities, perhaps with Montoursville being the highest. On a 3-bedroom ranch house with attached garage on about a 1/4 acre we pay less than $2,000 a year for all property taxes. You'd probably pay about $3,000 a year in Montoursville for the same, and I'm not sure about Bloomsburg.

Things to Do: Swimming, parks, boating, movies, libraries, church events, planned activities, parades, summertime concerts, Little League, dance lessons, and on and on - anything you can imagine is pretty much available in all areas.

I hope this has been helpful for you. Best wishes to you as you plan your future.

[FromVAtoPA]

Originally Posted by Jelleigh

Hi VAtoPA~haven't been on to check things out in the PA area, so not sure if you're still looking....
We moved to this general area in PA about 5 years ago-in general this area is a great place to raise families. Selinsgrove area has the busy strip but there are many rural areas surrounding as well as "in town" areas. From the friends I have who have children, the schools are ok there. Crime low. Lewisburg is certainly an area to consider. It is a great town with lots of little shops and good places to eat and visit, an awesome park system. The schools are good, and of course, Bucknell is there, so you have a lot of academic people who live in the area. And there is a great farmer's market on Wednesdays. Bloomsburg is a college town too, and there are alot of shops there-not as nice as Lewisburg though. There are areas outside of Bloom that are rural but in the district, and there are some nice developments if that is your thing. The schools are ok, not as good as Lewisburg and Danville in general. There are reports of higher drug concentration in Bloom and higher crime, but generally safe. I can't really comment on Montoursville-sorry. Danville is nice too-but definitely smaller scale. Not many shops or restaurants, but the school district is good. More rural surroundings to live in. Most of the town people or development people are of the health care work force since Geisinger is there, but also teachers, some blue collar. It's a nice town though-takes about 25 min to get to Selinsgrove, 15-25 min to Milton depending on where you come from and where you're going.

Each town does have their own web page or the county does so should have some good information for you. Good luck!

Hi Jelleigh. Thank you for your help. I will check out the Danville area also. I've been to the farmer's market in Lewisburg a couple times while visting. There was a great selection and the prices were a lot lower than what we pay here in Virginia Beach.

[FromVAtoPA]

Dawne, Thank you for all the information. We plan to rent at first and one of my biggest fears is renting in one of those not so nice areas. I'll be sure to check for some flood zone maps online also. I'm sure I will have more questions as I do my "research" on the different areas. I appreciate the help. Thanks again.