Williamsport, PA (Philadelphia, Ephrata, South Williamsport: rent, crime, houses)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have relatives who live in the Montoursville area right outside of Williamsport, and I've been cosidering moving to this area amongst other places in PA (I'm originally from Ephrata). I visited Montoursville a lot as a kid, but never really went into Williamsport except to see a movie or shop at the mall.
Right now, I live in Minot, ND which is a city of about 36,000 some people, not including the nearby Air Force Base 10 miles north of town. Minot is the 4th largest city in ND, though it's pretty small by most standards. I was looking online for a price comparison between Minot and Williamsport, and according to my research, it would actually be all around cheaper for me to live in this area of PA than ND.
Anyway, what I was wondering is if anyone could give me some info on the Williamsport area. I know it is famous for the Little League World Series, but otherwise, what is there to do? Any good shopping, restaurants, night life, etc.? Any help would be awesome.
It will be cheaper for you to live, but where are you going to find a job?
Pennsylvania is hard hit right now and I can recite the names of a dozen of my friends that moved elsewhere to find gainful employment that came back to Pennsylvania and had to move back in with mom and dad and I am 45 years old.
For what you might pay in rent in ND - you could probably buy a shabby old house and fix it up, one pay at a time. But first you have to find a job and if you are not married, you will need to find someone because once you move here and get a job, your chances of finding someone nice that is your own age that isn't married and doesn't have kids is going to be next to impossible.
A lot of people that came from good families - their families paid for them to go to school and get a good education and gave them money to leave and find employment elsewhere. So unless you can date 16 - 18 year old girls or unless you are willing to travel 40 or 50 miles to go to a college town and date college chick, you will find that the area is really depressed.
Not just economically but physically.
You might be able to find someone if you go to a party out in the woods and play spin the cousin. But I prefer women that have all their teeth and not Summer Teeth.
There are a number of other Williamsport threads on here so check them out, plenty of good info in there.
Williamsport is not too bad for a town it's size. My sister just moved from there so I wont be going there much but I do go down there for shopping sometimes now.
There is the performing arts center with a variety of concerts and other events. Downtown has been cleaned up and there are a number of decent restaurants around. Nightlife I don't follow much but there are a few bars/nightclubs around. There is a reasonable amount of shopping.
Jobs right now are harder to come by. Some of the factories in town rolled back or nearly closed so good jobs have dried up. It's not a large area anyways so I would have a job lined up before moving there.
Probably the only issue with Williamsport is crime in some neighborhoods. In 1990's williamsport decided to take welfare drug rehab people from Philadelphia and hence there is a small gang and drug scene and innocent people have been targeted with house break ins. Most of the problem is confined to a few streets or areas and as Williamsport was once the wealthiest town in the USA in the 1800's there are some nice neighborhoods with nice houses. The bad areas though are easy to avoid as the welfare recipients and druggies are lounging around on the streets looking like they are up to no good. Apparently the FBI and DEA have moved in a task force to clean up and the police seem to be more visible lately.
I may check out some of the other threads, thanks.
As far as the crime goes, that kind of thing is pretty much unheard of where I live. Wasn't aware that Williamsport had that kind of problem, but I suppose I have a pretty limited view of the area. I would definitely have a job lined up before moving, so I was basically asking to see if anyone could give me some tips on the area.
Thanks so far for the replies folks. Keep em comin'!
It will be cheaper for you to live, but where are you going to find a job?
This ^
It's hard finding a good job in rural PA in a good economy, let alone in this bad recession... I don't know your level of education but you better have some if you want to have a prayer. Of course there's always openings as a "meth lab technician" or "part-time heroin dealer/pusher." My girlfriend is from rural PA and I have spent some years out in different parts... she says there are gang problems in Willimsport, but this is just hearsay.
I was in downtown Williamsport last month and found it to be quite pleasant. Not too exciting, but several bars and restaurants were open and seemed busy. It's not "vibrant" but it's not dead either. And it wasn't ghetto.
I was in downtown Williamsport last month and found it to be quite pleasant. Not too exciting, but several bars and restaurants were open and seemed busy. It's not "vibrant" but it's not dead either. And it wasn't ghetto.
It has come a long way since I first came to the area and I think the downtown is pretty nice. There are a number of good places to eat down there.
Probably the only issue with Williamsport is crime in some neighborhoods. In 1990's williamsport decided to take welfare drug rehab people from Philadelphia and hence there is a small gang and drug scene and innocent people have been targeted with house break ins. Most of the problem is confined to a few streets or areas and as Williamsport was once the wealthiest town in the USA in the 1800's there are some nice neighborhoods with nice houses. The bad areas though are easy to avoid as the welfare recipients and druggies are lounging around on the streets looking like they are up to no good. Apparently the FBI and DEA have moved in a task force to clean up and the police seem to be more visible lately.
Do they have any plans to remove the welfare drug rehab place? It seems the only logical solution to remove the unwanted.
Do they have any plans to remove the welfare drug rehab place? It seems the only logical solution to remove the unwanted.
Dunno.
But I think the bigger problem is now is apparently Williamsport has some of the most liberal welfare rules in conjunction with the state of PA in the whole USA, so we actually have professional "welfare" people move in to cash in.
One issue I know that is going on in the schools is a lot of parents are claiming their child has ADD and the government is giving them cash money and Ritalin. The drugs are then sold on the streets by the welfare parents. Also I heard teachers are being threatened by parents to sign off on their supposed child's mental problems like ADD so they can get the money and the drugs from the government.
IMHO if you cut the welfare checks off and the subsidized housing, you'll have these people move to another place they can mooch off of and Williamsport will bounce back.
I think the current mayor is trying to clean it up but it's a tough ask.
But I think the bigger problem is now is apparently Williamsport has some of the most liberal welfare rules in conjunction with the state of PA in the whole USA, so we actually have professional "welfare" people move in to cash in.
One issue I know that is going on in the schools is a lot of parents are claiming their child has ADD and the government is giving them cash money and Ritalin. The drugs are then sold on the streets by the welfare parents. Also I heard teachers are being threatened by parents to sign off on their supposed child's mental problems like ADD so they can get the money and the drugs from the government.
IMHO if you cut the welfare checks off and the subsidized housing, you'll have these people move to another place they can mooch off of and Williamsport will bounce back.
I think the current mayor is trying to clean it up but it's a tough ask.
Good grief! May I ask about the surrounding towns such as Montoursville, Muncy and even South Williamsport. Are they safe?
The reason I ask is that my husband is interviewing with a company on Thursday, and the job would be located in Williamsport. We have 2 small children, so the best schools and the safest place is top priority.
Thanks so much for your help!
Steph
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Williamsport, PA
My girlfriend is from rural PA and I have spent some years out in different parts... she says there are gang problems in Willimsport, but this is just hearsay.
