Where to move in central PA (Allentown, Scranton: sales, real estate, low crime)

[chey53916]

Hi all,
My daughters (one adult and one middle school age) and I are in the process of researching areas to relocate to from Wisconsin. We plan to make the move to central PA as the guy I'm seeing lives/works in the Lewisburg area. I know, you're probably saying, "why isn't he helping you with this?" lol Well, he has. Problem is, he knows very little about the state other than his little corner of it. Ideally, the closer we are to Lewisburg the better, but we have other criteria that we are trying to work in as well. That criteria is:

Bigger town - population of 15000 or more
Activities - community theatre (my youngest likes to audition for community plays), dance studios (she is also into dance lessons) *will add more as we think of them *
Geography - we all love the mountains and lakes/rivers, etc would be a plus
Shopping - place we can get what we need without travel to other towns
Employment - oldest daughter would be transferring from/to Walmart and she prefers area that has a Super Walmart. I, unfortunately am unskilled (spent my life raising kids) so need area where I can find job at a liveable wage.
Schools - middle school with high academic achievement, good cirriculum and extra cirriculum activities
Crime - low crime, low drug involvement
Church - non-denominational offering lots of fellowship opportunities and modern worship

I do realize that we may not be able to meet all this criteria but at least it gives an idea of a location that we are hoping to find.

Any and all opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for your help.

[ki0eh]

First place that comes to mind is the Carlisle or Mechanicsburg areas just west of Harrisburg. The Appalachian Trail passes through and the Susquehanna River is not far away. Relatively positive jobs and well regarded Cumberland Valley and some other school districts. Over an hour from Lewisburg though.

Closer to Lewisburg would be the Sunbury/Selinsgrove area with a surprisingly deep shopping selection. Don't know about the schools but others might be along soon to chime in.

Final suggestion would be Wellsboro/Mansfield - two towns ten miles apart that if you add them together with the township in between might almost get to 15,000 population. Wellsboro schools are considered good and has well known community theatre HAMILTONGIBSON.ORG . Wellsboro has cutesy stores and Mansfield has the Super Wal-Mart. Plenty of mountains and also three reservoirs to play in. Drawback is jobs - unconnected and unskilled, forget it - or if box store shopping is what you're looking for, forget that too - the nearest big chains are 45 minutes away (Big Flats, NY) and charge higher NY State sales tax.

Last place I just thought of - State College area has chain stores and whatnot nearly an hour on two lane roads from Lewisburg and all the stuff that goes with a Big Ten university. Job situation would probably be better in Carlisle/Mechanicsburg but otherwise better than the others. State College Area and to some extent Penns Valley (east of S.C.) seem well regarded schools.

[CHIP72]

Lewisburg itself is your best bet IMO.

[Dawne]

I agree with Chip that Lewisburg would be your best bet. Although the population is only around 6,000 or so, there are local theater groups (Susquehanna Valley Players for one) that your daughter could get involved in. There's a Super Wal-Mart and great schools. Crime is very low and there are lots of churches, denominational and non-denominational. It's located along the Susquehanna River, a beautiful waterway, and there are state parks nearby including one with a swimming lake (R. B. Winter State Park, or "Halfway Dam" as the locals call it). There is also a lot of shopping nearby and Lewisburg itself has a very vital, active and thriving downtown with many community activities throughout the year.

If you have to have something with a larger population, the closest thing to Lewisburg that fits most of your criteria would be Williamsport, about 30 minutes away. I can't speak for their schools other than to say they're not as good as Lewisburg, and the crime is higher there than in Lewisburg and there are drug issues, but I think anywhere these days will have some drug issues.

Best of luck to you!

[chey53916]

Thank you so much for the suggestions
I can say that I have been to the Lewisburg a few times now and I do like the town. The guy I"m seeing does warn against it as a possibility mainly because the cost of living is higher due to Bucknell...not sure how accurate that is but that is his opinion. But if the schools are good and there are job possibilities, might be a great option.

Williamsburg - again, only going on hearsay, sounds like it might have a little more drug/crime activity than I'm comfortable with.

I have also been around the State College area which looks nice and thriving. So thats seems like a possibility depending on schools and jobs.

Mechanicsburg - I've heard of this town when flying into Harrisburg but don't know much about it other than the glowing recommendations I've gotten here. Will try some research there.

Wellsboro, sounds like finding a job could be difficult. But will also check in to that.

Thanks to all who have been kind enough to keep my critieria in mind while offering input. Your time and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I will check on some of the suggestions and if anyone has anything else to suggest, I"m all ears

Thanks again
Debbie

[chey53916]

I suppose I should add the places that I've been researching as possibilities so that I can get everyone's opinion.

So far it's been Bloomsburg and Hazleton.
From what I"ve been able to find online, these two places seem to fit alot of our criteria but sometimes what sounds good in theory isn't as good in reality.

So any opinions on those two towns would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again

[ki0eh]

Hazleton is in the area of the Northeast PA sub-forum where you will find an active group of opinionated folks. Its history is pretty much the biggest of the anthracite patch towns, in contrast to Wilkes-Barre and Scranton which have always had at least something else going on. In my opinion Hazleton's on the cusp of being overwhelmed by the big move-out from NJ, sort of where Allentown and Stroudsburg were 20 years ago. For right now Hazleton retains a blue-collar vibe enhanced, depending on your point of view, by recent immigrants. Google "Lou Barletta" for further info. Hazleton has been more successful than most other PA towns at attracting what little new branch-plant industry is going in to the USA these days, not just distribution centers. CAN DO Inc., Hazleton, Pennsylvania - Economic Development - available commercial and industrial real estate and buildings So there is some level of employment opportunity you might not have right in the Central Susquehanna Valley area.

Bloomsburg and nearby Danville and Berwick are smaller towns that almost but don't quite run together along the river. I hear folks on here say the Southern Columbia school district is good. Bloomsburg has the state college and Danville has a regional medical center. Berwick has a nuclear plant and might be getting another one. It seems some of the smaller towns near, especially north of Bloomsburg have a few crunchy granola back to the land hippie types.

To be honest I don't know that any of these have much to offer over Lewisburg itself on your list of criteria. If Lewisburg itself is too expensive, try Milton.

[Pureblood]

Originally Posted by chey53916

Thank you so much for the suggestions
I can say that I have been to the Lewisburg a few times now and I do like the town. The guy I"m seeing does warn against it as a possibility mainly because the cost of living is higher due to Bucknell...not sure how accurate that is but that is his opinion. But if the schools are good and there are job possibilities, might be a great option.

Williamsburg - again, only going on hearsay, sounds like it might have a little more drug/crime activity than I'm comfortable with.

I have also been around the State College area which looks nice and thriving. So thats seems like a possibility depending on schools and jobs.

Mechanicsburg - I've heard of this town when flying into Harrisburg but don't know much about it other than the glowing recommendations I've gotten here. Will try some research there.

Wellsboro, sounds like finding a job could be difficult. But will also check in to that.

Thanks to all who have been kind enough to keep my critieria in mind while offering input. Your time and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I will check on some of the suggestions and if anyone has anything else to suggest, I"m all ears

Thanks again
Debbie

Williamsburg is a great town, but it doesn't have 15000 people. More like 1500 if that. Drug activity isn't all that bad, but there is some. There really isn't any violent crimes.

[ki0eh]

She did just like what you said earlier - confused Williamsburg with Williamsport.

[Dawne]

I'm pretty sure she meant Williamsport (which I recommended) and not Williamsburg - just a typo on her part.

State College is over an hour west of Lewisburg and Mechnicsburg is over an hour south. This may (or may not) present a problem with trying to keep a relationship going.

Bloomsburg is lovely and they have a very active community theater. They don't have 15,000 in population, though. If you do go there, or any "river town", be aware of flooding and be sure to ask people. Some places that you'd never think would flood actually do and it's better to know ahead of time - before you have to be rescued in a rowboat from your front porch or roof. LOL!