Hope for The Wyoming Valley (Pittsburgh: houses, to buy, schools)

[papatriot7]

StealCity your dead on. I don't agree with you too much but your right about everything on what you just said. I love this area we can be NoVA type of area because we have excellent location. The problem is older stubborn mulles that are content with no change and want to tell stories of the good ole days around the bar. How about now a days, don't we want to make a name for ourselves now. Were still breathing let's actually be productive with our time. Sheena you are without a doubt the most optimistic person on this board and that's good we need it in this area. Do I hope your right yes without a doubt. I just think theres a fine line between Realism and Optimism.

[lilyflower7]

I'm not saying this to offend anyone but the Wyoming Valley is one of the few areas of the northeast US that I've seen where education is actually SNEERED at by some locals. I grew up there and never understood why some people seemed SO anti-education and enlightenment, but the only theory I can come up with is it's some kind of cover for some kind of insecurity. The absolute worst thing you could be (even during the tech boom) in some areas of Scranton was a "bookworm" or a "nerd". Never mind that nerds at the time were becoming millionaires and changing the world, nope, you were just weird if you didn't like hunting and drinking massive quantities of beer in the woods.

[auntieannie68]

Originally Posted by lilyflower7

I'm not saying this to offend anyone but the Wyoming Valley is one of the few areas of the northeast US that I've seen where education is actually SNEERED at by some locals. I grew up there and never understood why some people seemed SO anti-education and enlightenment, but the only theory I can come up with is it's some kind of cover for some kind of insecurity. The absolute worst thing you could be (even during the tech boom) in some areas of Scranton was a "bookworm" or a "nerd". Never mind that nerds at the time were becoming millionaires and changing the world, nope, you were just weird if you didn't like hunting and drinking massive quantities of beer in the woods.

so true--i had a close relative come here from out of the area,bringing a newer approach to their field,and now feeling the results of butting their heads against a wall and having to kowtow to a much less educated coworker with strong political connections.minimal education,even less experience in the field---this relative has seen other bright individuals leave their field and move out of the area because of this and will probably be joining them--how sad

[sheena12]

lilyflower7 I wish that the Wyoming Valley were the only place where education is sneered upon, but really it's not.
There is a program on Television called "Jersey Shore" - I have never seen it and from what I know I would not want to, but those people are living in the North East and I don't think they extol the virtues and values of education.
Back on Long Island there are pockets of WHITE ETHNIC PEOPLE who brag about attending The College of Hard Knocks, and take every opportunity to call anyone who is not full of bling and flashy cars an "over educated idiot."

I also went to college in a very blue collar town in New England with three top rated universities and there were people there who laughed at us and gave us the finger every time they saw an out of state plate.
Yes PA included.

Because some people do think that way, is no reason to dismiss an entire geographical area as "hopeless" or "beyond redemption." HOWEVER -
I do think that words have power, though and every time that ANYONE PUTS DOWN or MAKES fun of THE PLACE THEY CALL HOME - THE WORDS BECOME FACT.

I think if people do not like a certain area MOVE! Very simple. Life is too short to hate where you live. And life is too fleeting to refrain from improving the place in which one chooses to call home.

The more people I meet in the Valley, the more hope I have. We have natural beauty, proximity to Nature, an affordable cost of living, proximity to natural beauty and two major metropolitan areas.

But no, really a H.S diploma will not do anymore. Not in the Valley, not anywhere. That does not mean that everyone needs a PhD - but you do need something more than a job at such and such company. Big business leave you flat when they have taken what they need. Anthracite Coal ring a bell?

OH ...do check out the Education Sub Forum! You will find people putting down the current president for saying that higher education is important.
And they are not all from NEPA.

[Magritte25]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUASiDg-kg4

The last few posts reminded me of this LOL

[Lehigh Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUASiDg-kg4

The last few posts reminded me of this LOL

Love this.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by lilyflower7

I'm not saying this to offend anyone but the Wyoming Valley is one of the few areas of the northeast US that I've seen where education is actually SNEERED at by some locals. I grew up there and never understood why some people seemed SO anti-education and enlightenment, but the only theory I can come up with is it's some kind of cover for some kind of insecurity. The absolute worst thing you could be (even during the tech boom) in some areas of Scranton was a "bookworm" or a "nerd". Never mind that nerds at the time were becoming millionaires and changing the world, nope, you were just weird if you didn't like hunting and drinking massive quantities of beer in the woods.

^ This. Just look at the way numerous members on here bash the University of Scranton mercilessly as a prime example of how little higher education is valued in this area. College isn't for everyone. I understand that. Going to college doesn't make you "better" than someone who didn't go to college. I understand that. However, like it or not the majority of unskilled blue-collar jobs that were once the backbone of this area either have evaporated or are evaporating (i.e. Cinram, Techneglas, Thomson, etc.). What is replacing them? $11/hr. jobs at distribution centers, call centers, big-box stores, etc. I always heard people with limited (if any) formal education beyond high school lamenting the lack of "high-paying jobs" in the area. The high-paying jobs of the 21st Century largely require a Bachelor's Degree, and the percentage of people in NEPA with at least a four-year degree is abysmally low. High-paying employers aren't going to move into an area with a relatively unskilled workforce. Skilled talent isn't going to wait around unemployed or underemployed until those jobs come in. The area is stuck in a Catch-22. I graduated from Pittston Area in 2005. A very sad percentage of my graduating class still resides within the district.

[Magritte25]

If you guys think the dumbing down of America is unique to NEPA I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

[lilyflower7]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

^ This. Just look at the way numerous members on here bash the University of Scranton mercilessly as a prime example of how little higher education is valued in this area. College isn't for everyone. I understand that. Going to college doesn't make you "better" than someone who didn't go to college. I understand that. However, like it or not the majority of unskilled blue-collar jobs that were once the backbone of this area either have evaporated or are evaporating (i.e. Cinram, Techneglas, Thomson, etc.). What is replacing them? $11/hr. jobs at distribution centers, call centers, big-box stores, etc. I always heard people with limited (if any) formal education beyond high school lamenting the lack of "high-paying jobs" in the area. The high-paying jobs of the 21st Century largely require a Bachelor's Degree, and the percentage of people in NEPA with at least a four-year degree is abysmally low. High-paying employers aren't going to move into an area with a relatively unskilled workforce. Skilled talent isn't going to wait around unemployed or underemployed until those jobs come in. The area is stuck in a Catch-22. I graduated from Pittston Area in 2005. A very sad percentage of my graduating class still resides within the district.

Exactly! If you're not trained in anything how on earth are you going to have a high paying job in THIS economy? I wish people would understand that. Sure, you can make a lot of money without going to college, but you generally need to some type of formal program like trade school to do it (ie, plumbing, electrical, etc) The days of graduating and going to a high paying manufacturing job at Specialty Records is LONG over.

I'm a proud U of Scranton grad and let me tell you, I got a LOT of grief from locals going there (didn't matter that I grew up in the area.) Apparently merely enrolling there somehow made me "uppity" and a "snob." I don't know if people assumed I was rich (which I wasn't - I got sizable scholarships because I was at the top of my hs class.) Frankly, I was dirt poor through undergrad and actually worked the entire time - at one point at Wal-Mart. My coworkers btw, got a sick thrill out of making the "college girl" do the worst jobs they could find in the store.

Let me also state that I know there are other areas where it's cool to be ignorant (for lack of a better term). It's just predominant in the Wyoming Valley. It was culture shock when I left in late 2004. I moved to North Jersey and now live in the Princeton area. 95% of my friends out here have a college degree. Almost half either have or are working on a graduate degree (myself included). My friends from high school that finished an undergrad degree are almost all teachers, the ones who didn't go to school or didn't finish (and this is most of those who still live there btw) work retail.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

If you guys think the dumbing down of America is unique to NEPA I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

I agree that dumbing down isn't confined to NEPA. I do however think that academics in far too many places in NEPA takes a back seat to athletics.

I always like pointing out the millions of dollars recently spent to update the football field at WVW, while some of the schools in the district, including the high school are in pretty bad shape and use old textbooks.