What's Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania, like? Crime, work, etc... (Pittsburgh, Erie: sale, 2010)

[ThinkingItOver]

I recently inherited a dumpy little house in Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania. I'm a college student that rents an apartment on the other side of the country, but I'm thinking of moving out to PA and starting over there. Finding information about this little town has been very difficult, so I thought I might be able to get some first-hand opinions on this forum... I've got lots of questions...

1. Is the population growing or declining? Is this one of those towns that's slowly dying, or is it starting to grow and expand with new families moving in?

2. What's the level of crime there? Can a woman walk around in the evening and feel safe (a la Mayberry)? Can you leave your doors unlocked? Would you feel okay about your mother or sister living there alone?

3. Are there many businesses there? Can you get a decent-paying job or start up a business and have a wide customer base? I guess what I'm asking is, can you make money beyond the scope of $10 an hour dead-end jobs?

4. Just how bad does the town smell? I read that the paper mill makes the town smell like one big fart. I don't think I could live in a place where you never get to enjoy fresh, clean air...

5. How difficult is the drive to St. Marys? Is it a short, easy commute or is it usually not worth the bother? Can you get all the necessary groceries and products in Johnsonburg or is it necessary to go to St. Marys for shopping?

6. Is the town very active at all in its own interests? What I mean is, does the town rally together for events, manage itself proactively, keep things from becoming run-down or dilapidated, etc...?

7. Are there any colleges nearby, within 20 miles or so?

8. Are there any major hospitals nearby? Anything that's 24 hours and can handle major health issues?

9. Would you consider Johnsonburg worth moving to? Would you live there yourself? If yes, why? If not, why? Is it a pleasant Mayberry sort of place to live, or is it just an old dumpy burg?

10. What are the people like, generally? I know each person is different, but is it a fairly friendly and hospitable town?

11. Is there anything you think I should know about the town before moving there?

Please, any info or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[jsn2007]

Well, you have lots of questions and I think I can answer most of them.

1. Johnsonburg is slowly dying and has been for the past 30 years. I do believe the town has dropped from a population of 3,500 to roughly 2,800 since the 1980's. I would expect the bleeding to stop soon though.

2. I would definitely feel safe walking around in Johnsonburg. There is very little crime and the people are friendly for the most part.

3. You would be able to start a small business or restaurant because the town is rather small and could probably support more small business. The Domtar Paper plant is the biggest employer in the town and employs roughly 350 people. The jobs there usually pay quite well, but the trade off is a hot work environment.

4. The town smells bad at certain times and in certain places. Once you live there for a while, I am told that you will not even notice.

5. St. Marys is an easy 8 mile trip.. all uphill, but definitely worth the trip. St. Marys has a variety of stores and restaurants. Finding a job will be easier in St. Marys, because there are many large international companies there. There is a grocery store in Johnsonburg, but the closest Wal-Mart or bigger grocery stores can be found in St. Marys.

6. I am really not too sure on this one... The town doesn't seem to have very many festivals or parades. The town of Ridgway, a few mile south, has many, many different cultural events and parades throughout the year.

7. St. Marys has a building called the Community Education Council, which offers classes from the University of Pittsburgh and classes from Penn State. There are 2 college campuses that are each roughly 30 miles away from Johnsonburg.

8. Johnsonburg does not have a hospital, but Elk Regional Health Center in St. Marys is a large, full service facility open 24/7. There are local medical offices in Johnsonburg though.

9. I don't think I would move there, simply because I live in St. Marys and am used to the comforts of a larger town. I would however consider living there if I lived in one of the nicer neighborhoods just outside of town.

10. In general, most people are nice and easy to get along with.

11. There is a large construction project going on that will definitely ease congestion on route 219, which is the main north, south route in Johnsonburg. It is called the Johnsonburg bypass project, and is due for completion in 2010 or 11.

[ThinkingItOver]

Thank you so much, jsn2007, for taking the time to write such an informative response. I learned more from you about Johnsonburg than I have in the many websites I've scoured through. I live alone (well, with my little dachshund), so the safety question was particularly important to me.

Also, I just wanted to clarify to everyone who read my first post that I didn't mean to sound so harsh about the town. Reading my post over, I realized it could come across as a little snobby. I didn't mean that, and in each question I was referring to the various extremes you can find in towns, not that I thought that Johnsonburg was those things. It was completely unintentional.

[Italia360]

Just to let you a Little about Johnsonburg,It is an extremely small town.I didn't grow up there or live there,but thats where most of my relatives are from.We used to visit a couple of times a year until my grandmother passed away.It's one of those towns that every body knows everybody.All you had to do was tell them your last name and they would say "Oh your so an so's kid,I remember when you were just a baby" and of course I don't ever remember seeing them in my life.I currently live in a town of about 65,000 and I haved moved around in my life,But as much as I definitely Love Jonsonburg,I think its safe to say it's not going anywhere.We just sold my Grandma's House that's in town and what would sell easily for 100-115K where I live,sold for 15K.The town basicly survives off of the Papermill and Yes it used to smell strong but now it is almost impossible to smell.I guess what I'm getting at is if your looking to become the CEO of a fortune 500 company ,you would probablly be better off in a larger town but if your looking for a small town to settle in to and forget the rest of the world it would be great.If you dont mind me asking ,where about is the home you inherited,and I dont mean specifics. My grandma lived on 3rd St.It's up on top of the hill.

[frankiegoestohollywood]

What a small virtual world! A lot of my relatives use to live in Johnsonburg. My grandpa use to own a cabinet shop there. I have not been there since my grandma passed away, many years ago. I believe they lived on High St?? I have fond memories of this little burg. I spent a few of my summers as a youth there. The paper mill smelled like sour kraut to me. I remember walking down to the drug store on main st to buy candy. I live on the opposite coast now, I wish I could visit again...

[Nature789]

I too have relatives in Johnsonburg. My mom was Roseanne Beaver. She passed away many years ago. I have fond memories of visiting there. They used to live in a house underneath by a railway and next to the river. The house is a gas station or convenience mart now, I believe? Someday I would like to bring my son there to visit, hopefully soon.

[frankiegoestohollywood]

I would love to bring my kids back to visit also. I thought an RV trip across the country would be the best way to go. My parents did this when I was a teen and I'll never forget all the States and sites I saw. I wonder when the best time of year is to visit, early or late Summer?

In reading my original post, I remembered the street name wrong. I believe it was Market St where the shops were located. I wonder if there are still business' down there or if it is now blighted.

[danscottmarc]

Johnsonburg is one of the most secluded, small, smelly, and dead end towns anywhere in the nation. I lived there throughout my childhood but now live in Utah (Salt Lake City), which is a totally different universe. I would not recommend anyone to move to Johnsonburg unless they were going to be a manager or CEO, CFO, or executive at the Domtar Paper Mill. I wouldn't move anywhere close to here. Pittsburgh or Erie, but def. not Johnsonburg or anywhere within 1 or 2 hours.

[Internet Superman]

Originally Posted by ThinkingItOver

I recently inherited a dumpy little house in Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania.

Well let me start out by telling you, if you have a attitude like that, you are never going to make it in a small town. Although you are accustomed to a higher standard of living, I can tell you straight off that having things handed to you all your life and not appreciating them - is not going to get you anywhere in this world. You were not left a dumpy little house, you are offered a opportunity where you could live someplace for FREE and you could make a good life - if you were willing to work. Appreciate it for what it is.

I'm a college student that rents an apartment on the other side of the country, but I'm thinking of moving out to PA and starting over there. Finding information about this little town has been very difficult, so I thought I might be able to get some first-hand opinions on this forum... I've got lots of questions...

1. Is the population growing or declining? Is this one of those towns that's slowly dying, or is it starting to grow and expand with new families moving in?

Population growth always brings in the gypsies, people who came from somewhere else and brings their mores and attitudes with them. When ever you have a small town with old houses, you will always have the young kids moving out and the gypsies moving in. They are the only people who are willing to live in those dumpy little houses.

2. What's the level of crime there? Can a woman walk around in the evening and feel safe (a la Mayberry)? Can you leave your doors unlocked? Would you feel okay about your mother or sister living there alone?

Anywhere you go, you will have some crime. People will be people and as long as the only people a town attracts is gypsies - all you are going to have is druggies and people living on public assistance. To change the town, you have to attract professional people and keep them there to be a positive role model, just like in the cities. They have their own police department and when you call them it does not take hours for them to respond. They will be there in 6 minutes of less after 6 PM.

Yes you can leave your doors unlocked, as long as you know who your neighbors are and are comfortable with them having access to your home.

As in everywhere in this world, you have good people and you have bad people. Sometimes even the good people can't be trusted.

I don't think that you need to worry that someone is going to break down your door and rape you and your little dog. It just don't happen there like that.

3. Are there many businesses there? Can you get a decent-paying job or start up a business and have a wide customer base? I guess what I'm asking is, can you make money beyond the scope of $10 an hour dead-end jobs?

I live near Punxsutawney and I can honestly say that I had more jobs in St. Mary's then I ever had in Punxsutawney. Yes you can make as much money as you want as long as you have a college education and are willing to work! I worked on a improvement project at the paper mill, I worked on a remodel job at the grocery store, I worked building factories in St Mary's. I worked on a improvement project at the water filtering plant in Ridgeway and I helped build all the new transmitter buildings in that part of the state when 911 came to Pennsylvania. I helped build the fire department building in Ridgeway and lot's of other jobs up there and I worked with people from Johnsonburgh and Kane and Ridgeway and St Mary's and Bradford and all the other little towns up there and they were all NICE PEOPLE!

4. Just how bad does the town smell? I read that the paper mill makes the town smell like one big fart. I don't think I could live in a place where you never get to enjoy fresh, clean air...

One of the improvement projects that was up there was to cover all the open places where the stuff from the paper mill was mixed, collected, and discharged. You can't even smell it up there anymore. Back 20 years ago, if the wind blew in the right direction, you could smell Johnsonburgh the whole way down in Ridgeway, but now you can't smell it 50 feet from the city limits sign.

5. How difficult is the drive to St. Marys? Is it a short, easy commute or is it usually not worth the bother? Can you get all the necessary groceries and products in Johnsonburg or is it necessary to go to St. Marys for shopping?

You would buy your normal stuff in Johnsonburgh like milk and eggs and bread and what ever you needed and most people reads the sale papers and goes to St. Mary's and buys the rest in places like the Walmart supercenter. Gasoline in St. Mary's was always $.10 more then the rest of the state. Probably due to the higher standard of living. At one time, the business owners were standing along RT 255 along the Million Dollar Highway with signs in their hands and waving people to come in and fill out job applications. There was that much work up there. I once quit a job in the morning and had a higher paying job in the afternoon - true story!

6. Is the town very active at all in its own interests? What I mean is, does the town rally together for events, manage itself proactively, keep things from becoming run-down or dilapidated, etc...?

The town has a city council and they work to keep the community as nice as possible. They have done countless hours of work to make sure that Johnsonburgh doesn't die and does not become a ghetto.

7. Are there any colleges nearby, within 20 miles or so?

Not really! You could go to Penn State Dubois, Bradford, or some other branch campus of another college, but Johnsonburgh is not a college town.

8. Are there any major hospitals nearby? Anything that's 24 hours and can handle major health issues?

Yes, St. Mary's hospital is a excellent hospital. My dad went there for a back operation 40 years ago!

9. Would you consider Johnsonburg worth moving to? Would you live there yourself? If yes, why? If not, why? Is it a pleasant Mayberry sort of place to live, or is it just an old dumpy burg?

Again, you need to look at your attitude. I can remember working in St. Mary's, driving home 50 miles, taking a shower and eating and changing my clothes and driving back to go to a dance at The Well - Many times!

Taking my girlfriends out to eat at the Bavarian Inn, drinking free beer at the Straub Brewery. Come to think of it, we put new tanks in the Straub Brewery and I worked there too! Lot's of good restaraunts and bars and places for people to go dancing and do things. Ridgeway has a carnival and St Mary's has a Bavarian Festival. St Mary's even has a theater at the top of the triangle in the middle of downtown and they even had a drive in theater at one time as did Kane and a couple of other little towns.

10. What are the people like, generally? I know each person is different, but is it a fairly friendly and hospitable town?

You have to make friends, you have to be outgoing and say hello and god bless you when they sneeze. You have to belong to some type of church and get involved with local charities and stuff where you get out of your dumpy little house and get involved with the community and before you know it - you will be one of them and not someone on the outside looking in, or someone huddling in your dumpy little house watching all the people have fun while you are scared to go outside because someone might want to rape you. You can't ask for better people. If a tradgedy occures, people bakes cakes and sends over food and if your house burns down, they gather up things that you might need and trys to help you out.

It's not like in a city where you don't even know your neighbors!

11. Is there anything you think I should know about the town before moving there?

There is no ballet, there is no opera, there is no theater - other then local productions, there is no classical music radio stations, there is no rock concerts. The people are all hard working good people in general with one or two bad apples to spoil the barrel. Banking is probably one of the hardest things to do in Johnsonburgh. Very few banks and you have to go to the bank where you have your money or they charge you a fee to use your debit card. A very low cost of living and a very high standard of living in St. Mary's - which is not too far from Johnsonburgh and Ridgeway.

Please, any info or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

As far as the dating scene goes, you will have more offers then you will know what to do with. No matter what you look like. All the women up there has boyfriends!