Where is this perfect village? (Allentown, Reading: middle-class, for sale by owner, salons)

[averagenyjoe]

Seeking a small city or large village with that "small town feel" in Eastern or Central PA about 10-15,000 pop. +/-. Mostly flat town but located in area of gently rolling hills. Not wet or swampy. Must be very walking and bicycling friendly. Historically preserved with a clean-cut ambiance. Neighborhoods inter-mingled with woods and/or small fields. Practical and usable downtown area NOT loaded with botiques, nail/tanning salons or impractical cutesy gift stores. A nice cafe or two would be nice. At least one good equipped park necessary. A couple would be nice. A good little library would be wonderful. Do not want a touristy or transient area. Stable middle-class citizens. Not yuppie or college preppies nor rich snobs but certainly no rednecks or closed minded people either. Would like other equal size or smaller villages in nearby areas. Would like to be within 10-20 miles of not a huge city but at least a sizable city of at least 50-75,000 +/-. Would love to be on or near a river but not dogmatically necessary. By the way, I'm not a rich man. Housing & taxes must be suited for an average person. What a dream come true if this or most of it could exist. Thank you for any honest suggestions.

[greentown]

You should look into the Honesdale or Hawley area.

[SteelCityRising]

Wow! After reading all of your demanding criteria, you've pretty much narrowed yourself down to nowhere. LOL!

First off, to be within 10-20 miles of a sizeable city would mean you'd need to be about 15-30 minutes away from either the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton metropolitan areas.

One town that immediately popped into my mind was Honesdale, which has about 6,000 residents and a very long Main Street lined with all sorts of mom-and-pop stores. However, the commute to Scranton would be about 35 minutes via U.S. Route 6, and while that drive is quite scenic, it can be hellish in the winter.

Tunkhannock, which is also 35 minutes from Scranton, also came to mind, but it is much smaller than what you are searching for, with a population of only about 3,000 in a county of under 30,000. Its main drag boasts a restored historic theater, bakery, deli, furniture store, restaurants, and some mom-and-pop stores. Tunkhannock isn't really a "touristy" town, so most of the businesses here are geared towards day-to-day activities (whereas many of Honesdale's are starting to pop up to latch onto the growing NY/NJ tourist traffic).

Lewisburg is primarily in fertile river valley and surrounded by gently-rolling lush hills. It is a college town and the seat of Union County. It is becoming a bit more "touristy" with a lot of annual festivals, but most of the businesses on its main drag can be utilized by either gawking tourists or permanent residents, including a CVS, appliance store, Celtic shop, clothing stores, etc. It is about a 35-minute drive or so to Williamsport, a city of 30,000.

Bloomsburg is another college town and the seat of Columbia County, with a population of roughly 12,000. It likewise has a historic downtown that caters to the day-to-day needs of its residents and students, as it isn't really a "touristy" area (aside from the annual Bloomsburg Fair). Once again though you're pretty isolated from larger cities, as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport aren't nearly within that 10-20 mile radius.

Clarks Summit is a sought-after community for relocation, but I'd advise against it. Its downtown is mostly home to antiques stores, yoga studios, art galleries, an organic foods store, and other fartsy-pantsy frou-frou shops that wouldn't meet your needs. Then again, it is only ten minutes from Downtown Scranton, which in about another five years or so will be a 24/7 neighborhood in itself with a lot of new lofts, condos, etc. coming in.

You're going to have to scale back some of your demands, unfortunately. The only communities I can think of in the Lehigh Valley that fit your criteria are Emmaus, Bangor, and Kutztown, and I'd recommend a flat, riverside town like Lewisburg or Bloomsburg with a larger downtown anyday over places like those (even though Emmaus did somehow snag a spot on Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" list for 2007).

Here are photo tours I have snapped of some of the aforementioned communities to give you a visual idea of what to expect before you investigate further:

Bloomsburg: //www.city-data.com/forum/penns...hoto-tour.html

Honesdale: //www.city-data.com/forum/north...art-three.html

Lewisburg: //www.city-data.com/forum/penns...hoto-tour.html

Tunkhannock: //www.city-data.com/forum/north...-part-two.html

Feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

[SteelCityRising]

Come to think of it, I only really gave you options north of the I-78 corridor. If you were looking into Southeastern or South Central PA, then hopefully someone else can be of better assistance.

Lititz, PA has a nice downtown area and is a close commute to Lancaster, so it might be worth investigating. I've also heard some nice things about Carlisle, which is about 25 minutes from Harrisburg. Doylestown in Bucks County is also supposed to be nice, although all of Bucks County is now VERY expensive real estate. Good luck!

[Dawne]

Selinsgrove has everything you want, except for being with 10 to 20 miles of a larger city. Sunbury is just across the river but I don't think it's the kind of place you're looking for. Harrisburg and Williamsport are each about an hour away, and State College and Wilkes-Barre are each about an hour and 15 minutes away.

Other than that Selinsgrove would be perfect for you. There's a nice downtown, with several restaurants and cafes, some with sidewalk seating. There's a little library in the Borough building. The town is mainly flat. There are a few areas that flood along the river but most of the town is fine and not swampy or anything. there's a beautiful road you can walk on along the river and a public access boat launch that is being upgraded at this very moment. Susquehanna University holds many cultural events throughout the school year. There are several playgrounds scattered throughout the town, as well as a 1/4-mile walking/fitness trail. Biking can be done through the residential neighborhoods. The town is surrounded by rolling hills and farmland. There is shopping and medical care in town and nearby. There are many different denominations of churches in the town, as well as excellent schools. The town has just become part of the Main Street Manager program and is working on making the downtown area even better.

The downside to Selinsgrove would be the sometimes-rowdy college students, but the Borough police work diligently to control this.

Please consider Selinsgrove. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[averagenyjoe]

Thank you millions. ScrantonWilksBarre, you need to be given an award from City-Data. You are very thorough. I even like your style. You sprinkle in a bit of sarcastic humor. No joke, I really like it. You write "Wow! After reading all of your demanding criteria, you've pretty much narrowed yourself down to nowhere. LOL!" and " and other fartsy-pantsy frou-frou shops that wouldn't meet your needs". You got me right on that one, I wouldnt care for that.
I figure I would start out with "perfection" then back off accordingly. Yes, there are certainly areas which I could give-in a little. Each town you showed is beautiful. I really like what I see of Lewisburg and Honesdale, they look so close to what I think would work but of course, I would have to come and look at the surrounding area and just see for myself but you are just amazing with your information and pictures. PA cities and villages are very unique and mostly very well kept. I like the stone architecture alot.

Just a side note here. while living in Charlotte, we had a hard-ball conservative politician who responded to a trend at the time to enhance the arts in Charlotte by bringing in alot of "touchy-feely" stuff and some gay plays and he came out with a phrase "artsy-fartsy crowd" refering to its supporters and de-funded all public support of arts in Charlotte for a time. Well, he didnt last too long in his job. back out he went. Arts still struggles but they did squash the more sensetive stuff. anyway, how did I get on that one.

[Icy Tea]

Oley Township in Berks sounds like a place you'd like. But it only has about 800 homes, the rest being protected farmland and open space. Reading has about 90,000 people and is less than 10 miles away. Miles of valley roads through cornfields and woodlots, past covered bridges, colonial and 19th homes, surrounded by rolling hills and woodlands. No swamps, but many creeks. Probably the best farmland in the country, or at least equal to Lancaster County which is the best.
You can find homes from just over 100 thousand( not many, and they are small or fixer uppers) to 2 or 3 million dollars farms, many being in the 200 to 700 thousand dollar range. The whole township is a national historic district.
Compared to Bucks or Chester County its a bargain.

[llzpa]

You may also want to check out Boiling Springs and Hummelstown, both located outside of Harrisburg, PA.

[dukewm]

Strasburg, PA - 7 "backroad, no traffic" miles from Lancaster City's plentiful job market is a very quaint Borough that is virtually crime free and has wonderful schools.
I have a 3BR / 2 1/2 Bath "High Style" Victorian in the heart of the Historic District that has been completely restored w/ ALL NEW gourmet Kitchen and designer tile baths. ABSOLUTE MOVE-IN CONDITION
For info & Photo Gallery go to: For Sale By Owner, homes for sale, houses, real estate, for sale
In the "Buy A House" section, type in the Listing ID: 20951438
click the button next to the Listing ID Dialog Box or hit your "ENTER" key
For additional info, I can be contacted thru the website

[Summering]

Originally Posted by averagenyjoe

Seeking a small city or large village with that "small town feel" in Eastern or Central PA about 10-15,000 pop. +/-. Mostly flat town but located in area of gently rolling hills. Not wet or swampy. Must be very walking and bicycling friendly. Historically preserved with a clean-cut ambiance. Neighborhoods inter-mingled with woods and/or small fields. Practical and usable downtown area NOT loaded with botiques, nail/tanning salons or impractical cutesy gift stores. A nice cafe or two would be nice. At least one good equipped park necessary. A couple would be nice. A good little library would be wonderful. Do not want a touristy or transient area. Stable middle-class citizens. Not yuppie or college preppies nor rich snobs but certainly no rednecks or closed minded people either. Would like other equal size or smaller villages in nearby areas. Would like to be within 10-20 miles of not a huge city but at least a sizable city of at least 50-75,000 +/-. Would love to be on or near a river but not dogmatically necessary. By the way, I'm not a rich man. Housing & taxes must be suited for an average person. What a dream come true if this or most of it could exist. Thank you for any honest suggestions.

Perfect village.....Brodheadsville..........we have fields and woods. Some neighborhoods you have your choice of either. We have some farm fields and not all that far is Beltsville Lake to Kayak or to hike or swim/ falls there too!
Up a bit further is Hickory Run State Park, for hiking, swimming, and also the Hawk falls. There are mostly middle class citizens here. There is a huge library on Pilgram Way that is just wonderfully new and inspiring. Other small towns nearby are Kunkletown, Gilbert, Sciota, Saylorsburg.
Great Fishing can be had locally too.......stop by the flyfishing store on route 940. There are many beautiful mt ranges around us but basically Brodheadsville is flat........dry......
We have restaurants like the Chestnut Hill Diner, Effort Diner, Cherry's restaurant.
This might just be the place for you..........
We tend to go to Easton 248 for great Movies at the Regal, or for the larger stores of Bon Tons or Boscovs ect. Or head up to Scranton or Wilkes B for other stores or entertainment. .......Good luck to you.