Danville PA (Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, Bloomsburg: crime, homes, theater)

[no1mom]

looking for a city close to danville that is multicultural or has a fairly good amount of blacks. Can anyone give me any suggestions?

[Dawne]

Williamsport (about 30 minutes away) or Sunbury (about 10 minutes away) are the only ones that come to mind. Of those two choices, I would go with Williamsport even though it's a bit farther.

[no1mom]

Thank You Dawne for your input, do you happen to know what the schools are like in the area? out of the two cities you named how is the crime? Is the area a drug area?

Your input on this would be greatly appreciated

[Dawne]

I grew up in Montoursville, which neighbors Williamsport. I've heard good and bad things about Williamsport schools. Being from a small town, the "city" aspect of Williamsport was always off-putting to me. I believe the academics are good in Williamsport and there are many extracurricular activities including sports and the arts (music, etc.). There are some higher crime sections of Williamsport but there are some beautiful areas also - with old lumber mansions. There are two hospitals within the same health care system, two colleges, a large library, many churches of all denominations, a beautiful and thriving downtown, an arts center/theater, restaurants, activities, etc.

Sunbury does not have such a thriving downtown, no arts center/theater, not as many churches and restaurants, no colleges, and I don't think the schools there are as good as Williamsport's. They do have a hospital, some higher crime areas, and some beautiful older homes on "the hill".

Of the two choices, I'd go with Williamsport, but it's farther from Danville. Both cities do have drug issues, and I now live closer to Sunbury than Williamsport so I hear more about Sunbury's issues. Sunbury is struggling with an influx of gang activity at the moment, and there is a large Latino population. Williamsport has a larger black population; I'm not sure about their Latino population.

Both cities also have a YMCA and Williamsport has a YWCA. Sunbury has a community pool and a number of playgrounds. Williamsport has a number of community pools and playgrounds. They also have Brandon Park, which hosts summertime concerts in a large bandshell.

I hope this information has been helpful.

[ki0eh]

What about Wilkes-Barre? Plenty of discussion in the Northeastern PA sub-forum.

[Dawne]

I also forgot to mention that Williamsport has a minor league baseball team and South Williamsport hosts the annual Little League World Series in August.

Wilkes-Barre is quite a drive for someone who wants to be close to Danville.

[rcb1966]

Bloomsburg, being a college town will offer a bit more diversity more than any other location close to Danville. It will be a transient population, but their isn't any cultural bias in the town because of the University. Otherwise, you are looking at being in Wilkes-Barre (55 mins) or Williamsport (45 mins) to be in an area with any signifcant number of blacks. Every other local small town within 20 miles of Danville will only have a handful of minorities present.....an example of a typical demographic would be that if 3-5 blacks were in any graduating class, that would be significant. Berwick has some long time black families that have been part of their town for the last 50 years. Other than the previous (2) cities I mentioned, Berwick would be another choice for finding a decent sized black population, it is about (20 mins) from Danville. Good Luck with your search.