Relocating to Williamsport, PA - a few questions (Montgomery: apartment, renting)

[andshewaz]

I know there are other similar threads, but I am looking for more recent info, since the economy and situations have changed since -09. My husband will be working in Montgomery, and we are looking at the Williamsport area in general. Just a few questions for residents-- He will be renting an apartment for a few months, so are there areas to avoid when renting?
As for buying a house in the 130k-170k range, with no school-age kids, what areas do we need to avoid? We don't mind an older home that needs a little improvement, as long as the surrounding neighborhood is on the rise, not in decline. We are mostly interested in low crime, well-kept properties, and a friendly atmosphere. (aren't we all?) Areas outside of town are fine, too, if we know which are more desirable. Any suggestions and advice will be greatly appreciated.
I do know the Marcellus Shale activity is going to bring an influx of business to the area, and we've learned good things about the improvements made to the downtown.

[wanneroo]

There are some stunning older home neighborhoods in Williamsport on the north side of downtown. The western end of town and around the public housing welfare projects near downtown I wouldn't bother with.

And outside of town there are different towns around plus you can aim for living in a more rural environment if you want not far from Williamsport.

Downtown over the years has been cleaned up and renovated quite a bit and the community arts center often has some good shows on. Also there is plenty of shopping and restaurants, some of my favorite places off the top of my head to eat at would be Vincenzo's and Joy Thai.

Crime had it's source in Williamsport bringing drug rehab centers to the town as economic activity and all it brought was people on welfare dealing and using drugs. But I have never felt overly threatened, just aware and I avoided streets that looked dodgy. Most of the violence that has happened is tit for tat gang on gang stuff, although apparently there have been a few house invasions recently.

My sister lived there for a number of years only recently leaving and she really liked it overall and missed having to leave. I still go down there a couple of times a month for shopping at Wegman's and Tony's.

[oldbilltown]

Almost no house in the 130-170k price range is in a problem neighborhood. Esp. at the top of that range there are wonderful houses in the nice neighborhoods. Most houses in my neighborhood sell in about that range.

[susquehannock]

I was at DeSalvos last week. It's a great place with wonderful folks who run it.