any town like this???? (State College, Williamsport: real estate, purchase, college)

[ricutie]

I am still in search of a suitable area to purchase a home. My family and I just returned from a trip to NY. WE fell in love with Woodstock NY, also phoencia . Both near the Catskills. ( but not nearly in our price range) So a brief description. Small rural town, in the mountains .with a cute downtown/main street. Scattered antique shops, festivals,farm stands............ anything like that in PA........... ???? If anyone is aware of such a place in existence I know my City Data friends can offer the BEST info!

[maf763]

Jim Thorpe.

[Jeanie Beanie]

A small town with LOTS going on culturally. Real estate is not that high in Lebanon County.

Check the Wikipedia link
Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Good Luck

[RSFMomma]

Eagles Mere is *AMAZING* but might be a bit pricy. Lewisburg is great, too.

[Duderino]

Other than the ones listed, here are some possible candidates: Milford, PA; Wellsboro, PA and Bloomsburg, PA

[PeeAye Native]

As mentioned (and the first two here in the order I'd consider) Eagles Mere, Wellsboro and Jim Thorpe.

Downside to JT is it gets a huge influx of weekend trippers from the urban areas of NJ and NY. Seeing the downtown jam packed with people and a long line of traffic down the mountain road to get there negates any aura of a mountain town experience, IMO.

Also look at:
State College - brimming over with things to do, and meets all your qualifications. Also consider the surrounding small towns of Boalsburg, Lemont, Bellefonte.
Coudersport.
Clarks Summit.
Mansfield.

Under the 'it's a stretch but look at anyway' category: Wyalusing, Towanda, and lastly Hancock, NY

Others mentioned Bloomsburg and Lewisburg. Both are nice towns, but you do not get sense of place that you are 'in the mountains' in, near or outside either of them. They are towns along a river, (the Susquehanna River.)

I would not suggest any town in the Poconos. While the towns are nice, for reasons you mentioned,

[Lion11]

Originally Posted by PeeAye Native

Also look at:
State College - brimming over with things to do, and meets all your qualifications. Also consider the surrounding small towns of Boalsburg, Lemont, Bellefonte.

Boalsburg especially comes to mind for me. Great main street, wonderful farmers market, its even considered the birthplace of memorial day!
Check it out:
Boalsburg, PA
Boalsburg Village

[ki0eh]

Actually one doesn't have to go too far outside of either Bloomsburg or Lewisburg to find hills/mountains similar to the other PA towns. The difference with those two is that the main roads in follow valleys.

Wellsboro, Coudersport, Mansfield, and Eagles Mere are all in areas where the gas fracking is going on so that is another factor to weigh into pros and cons.

Some towns are nearby historical and some current coal mining - watch effects of that around Jim Thorpe, south of Bloomsburg a ways, and even a couple of spots with a Wellsboro address.

[PeeAye Native]

> Actually one doesn't have to go too far outside of either Bloomsburg or Lewisburg to find hills/mountains similar to the other PA towns. The difference with those two is that the main roads in follow valleys.

I do agree that is the case. However, IMO you do not get the any sense of place or feeling you are in a mountain town in either Bloomsburg or Lewisburg. The wide open farming areas and flat, slow-moving river surrounding either town give you a feeling you are in ... a nice town in the center of a flat-lying farming area. To be completely fair, Rt 487 south from Bloomsburg to Catawissa goes around the side of of a big mountain. But that is not the same as a mountain town, like Eagles Mere and Coudersport.

BTW, I'd heard the fracking/drilling boom had not hit Coudersport so much, that info is a year or two old at this point.

[Icy Tea]

Hamburg might be a lower priced option. Its near mountains, but also near lots of farmland, woods, dolling hills. Jim Thorpe was mentioned, its nice but small. I haven't explored much of the east side across the river. Bellefonte is a bigger more upscale Jim Thorpe like town. Then there's Williamsport and Lock Haven. Lower price even yet would be Pottsville.