Lewisburg PA (Scranton, Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre: middle-class, house prices, buy)

[Old Surrender]

My wife is in the running for a fellowship at Bucknell. Is Lewisburg a college town, akin to Lawrence, Kan.; Iowa City, Iowa, or Missoula Mont.? Or is it a town with a college in it?

How's the nightlife? Music scene? (I'm not talking cover bands playing dave matthews and john mayer covers to underage girls in frat bars). Indie record stores, and/or book stores? Good vegetarian restuarants? Ethnic foods? Food Co-op? Art galleries? Non-mall clothing purveyours? Political mood?

Thanks, guys, for any insight ... I'll happily return info favors if you come to N.D. or Kansas.

[R.J. MacReady]

This should have some good threads with information on Lewisburg:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/searc...archid=8973297

Music scene seems pretty non-existent but I like indie/rock/alternative music so maybe there's more out there I'm not aware. No indie record stores that I'm aware of either It's a college type town but not sure about the areas you listed and how they would compare. The college does run arts type activities and Lewisburg does have some nice activities downtown throughout the year. I think there are some variety of places to eat that vary from the norm but I don't get over there too often. On a quick google search I didn't find anything that's just vegetarian but some downtown restaurants have veggie dishes. I feel bad as I should know more but just tend to not get over that way too often (although I live only twenty minutes away).

[KevinE]

Originally Posted by Old Surrender

How's the nightlife? Music scene?

Nightlife? Maybe in the Federal Prision but not so much in the downtown

The two main "student bars" in town (Towne Tavern and Bull Run Inn) have live bands. There are outdoor music and arts festivals in the spring and summer in the downtown and park. Nothing great though.

Indie record stores, and/or book stores? Good vegetarian restuarants? Ethnic foods? Food Co-op? Art galleries? Non-mall clothing purveyours?

There are some clothing boutiques and there was a small bookstore last time I was there ... but not much happening.

Political mood?

Liberal for that area, but still conservative. Jesus is quite popular.

[Old Surrender]

Thanks for the insight, much appreciated.

[Dawne]

The Campus Theater in downtown runs a series of arts films - they recently had something about the FDNY and a documentary on the Lewisburg Penitentiary, among other things.

[mary elaine smith]

My husband and I and sixteen year old daughter are thinking of relocating to Lewisburg, Pa. We'd like to know if there are groups of people in town who like to get together for comraderie, political discussions and are new residents welcomed in a warm and friendly fashion? Also, what are considered good prices for a 3 bedroom home in the central part of the city, or closer to the university area

Any help will be appreciated,

Thanking you in advance.

loads of sunshine and heat from Tucson, Az

[Dawne]

I'm not sure about any groups like you mentioned.

House prices will vary depending on the type of house and its location relative to the university and the river. There are some beautiful historic homes and there are some run-down ones. You're probably looking at a range between $100,000 to $250,000 in the downtown/central area, with prices being lower toward the university and higher toward the river (unless it's in a flood-prone area).

[ScranBarre]

My http://www.city-data.com/forum/penns...urg+Photo+Tour should hopefully shed some light onto the community for those pondering relocation there. I was only ever to Lewisburg for this one occasion, but it left a lasting impression upon me---one of friendliness, warmth, and nostalgia rarely found in most parts of the East Coast today.

I actually envy member Dawne for living so close to Lewisburg. Here in my transplanted new home of Northern Virginia there are tons and tons of sprawling suburban areas with little character (if any), but the opportunities to stroll up and down a traditional Main Street environment to do some window-shopping, attend a festival, go to a small-town movie theater, buy an ice cream and then sit at a bench in the park, etc. are very slim.

Lewisburg is indeed a "college town," but it is just that---a TOWN. It's very diminutive in size, so it's by no means as "hopping" as places like Madison, State College, Ann Arbor, Lawrence, or other relatively large-sized college CITIES. There didn't strike me as being very much to "do" in Lewisburg, especially in the evenings. I'd imagine most of the college kids hop into their cars and head down to the "Strip," a section of Routes 11/15 about ten minutes south of town in Hummels Wharf and Shamokin Dam before you hit Selinsgrove, where there are chain restaurants, the Susquehanna Valley Mall, big-box stores, etc. Lewisburg's main drag had businesses such as a mom-and-pop appliance store, a drug store, the theater, a floral shop or two, a Celtic store, some gift shops, etc. The entire town is relatively flat and VERY conducive to walking with plentiful shade tree-lined sidewalks adorning narrow low-speed streets in front of historic homes. It's a place I'd love to retire to someday once I have my fill of the rat race in NoVA (I don't think I could ever bring myself to "revert" back to Scranton at this rate though).

Lewisburg proper is liberal, given the educated and diverse faculty and the opinionated student body, but it is surrounded by a few upper-middle-class moderate townships with some newer subdivisions (Kelly Township, Lewis Township the Buffaloes) and some more solidly deep "red" rural and outlying suburban townships; Union County is usually reliably Republican, although I believe it is now becoming more "purple" as the Democrats continue to strengthen their hold of PA overall, basking in the post-Bush era.

I didn't foresee Lewisburg being large enough to warrant it having some of the amenities the OP referenced in particular, but that's nothing a quick half-day-trip to Williamsport or Harrisburg couldn't fix.

[susquehannock]

Originally Posted by Old Surrender

How's the nightlife? Music scene? (I'm not talking cover bands playing dave matthews and john mayer covers to underage girls in frat bars). Indie record stores, and/or book stores? Good vegetarian restuarants? Ethnic foods? Food Co-op? Art galleries? Non-mall clothing purveyours? Political mood?

Thanks, guys, for any insight ... I'll happily return info favors if you come to N.D. or Kansas.

I lived and worked there for decades.

First the music scene. Jazz, Blues, Celtic , and Folk, is popular. There are several venues that have live music which you can find several times a week in the local coffee houses and pubs.

Bucknell has a student book store called the Bison. They used to carry a lot of indie and obscure artists in their music section. I don't know if that is still the case. There is a possibility of a Borders book store moving in town but there is a independent store in town.

I don't know of any vegetarian restaurants. Of course Lewisburg has several Italian restaurants. There is also a Greek Pizza place called La Casa that has the best pizza I have ever eaten. There are no Chinese or other Asian restaurants in town but there are several within a 15 mile radius.

There are small Art Galleries....David Armstrong and Bradley Shoemaker but Lewisburg has a huge Art Festival every year. I think it was last week.

There is not as many small clothing stores as in the past. Many have gone out of business or the owners have retired and closed shop.

Lewisburg is still rather conservative despite what posters who live 100 miles away and have only been there once write. Some locals can be rather uppity and snooty but it has always been that way. It has the absolute best public school system in the area.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by susquehannock

Lewisburg is still rather conservative despite what posters who live 100 miles away and have only been there once write. Some locals can be rather uppity and snooty but it has always been that way. It has the absolute best public school system in the area.

Snark at me all you wish, but I definitely got a more liberal and progressive vibe from Lewisburg than I did from my own hometown in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.