Relocating to Scranton or Wilkes-Barre-HELP!!!!! (Back Mountain, Mountain Top: real estate, 2014, apartment)

[Penn Bound]

Our family will be relocating from Winston-Salem, North Carolina to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area of PA. We have a,soon to be,3 year old and two indoor cats. We are looking for a rental home in a quiet neighborhood that would have access to quality schools should we still be renting when our son enters kindergarten. We would prefer a well maintained 3 bedroom house with a yard (small or large yard) and off street parking. We currently live in a rural setting and love that but we are open to living in both rural and urban settings. My husband will be working for the National Park Service in downtown Scranton, and I am a Social Worker-LCSW(Primarily practicing family therapy and will be applying for LCSW licensure in PA). I do not have a job yet and would be looking for part-time work. We would prefer that my husband have no more than a 30 minute commute to work. We would appreciate any thoughts and/or advice that could be provided regarding rental housing and/or social work jobs in these areas. Thank you so much for any guidance anyone can provide.

[Wells5]

I'm afraid that you'll find your move to the Scranton area a bit of a downer. Winston-Salem is a nice upscale area unlike Scranton. For housing, I'd suggest contacting a real estate office with your requirements. Many have listings of houses for rent. Also try looking in Craig's List and the Scranton Times-Tribune. Generally, the more expensive rentals will be in the leafier northern suburbs like Clarks Summit. Houses in older neighborhoods in Scranton City and suburbs like Dunmore, Old Forge and Taylor will be cheaper. You might also want to look into an apartment or townhouse in a complex where you don't have to worry about parking or maintenance.

You may want to check out the PA Civil Service Commission job site Civil Service Home
for job listings in your field or the Pennsylvania Job Bank for a listing of all types of positions Pennsylvania jobs and careers: PennsylvaniaJobBank.com.

Good Luck.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

I would direct you to Abington/Clarks Summit area.

I hope your husband enjoys working at Steamtown(I assume that's where he is working), we visit there several times a year.

[Penn Bound]

Thanks so much for the helpful advice and website info to all who have responded. My husband will be working at Steamtown and is looking forward to the position! It should be quite an adventure for our family!

[Lehigh Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Penn Bound

Thanks so much for the helpful advice and website info to all who have responded. My husband will be working at Steamtown and is looking forward to the position! It should be quite an adventure for our family!

I forgot to include this link.
Abington Heights School District

I can say with 99.9% certainty, if we were not moving home(Lehigh Valley) next summer, we would without a doubt settle down in the AHSD area. Good schools, nice rural scenic community and close to stores, malls and parks.

[Penn Bound]

Thanks so much for the website. I have been checking things out there! We appreciate and welcome all info!

[MRoldan70]

My daughter has moved to wilkes barre pa ... we are trying to find schools for both her children who are in special ed. which schools would anyone say are good for the children.

[W-B proud]

Originally Posted by MRoldan70

My daughter has moved to wilkes barre pa ... we are trying to find schools for both her children who are in special ed. which schools would anyone say are good for the children.

I would check with the bear Creek charter school

[rvboos]

nepa is horrible.

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by Penn Bound

Our family will be relocating from Winston-Salem, North Carolina to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area of PA. We have a,soon to be,3 year old and two indoor cats. We are looking for a rental home in a quiet neighborhood that would have access to quality schools should we still be renting when our son enters kindergarten. We would prefer a well maintained 3 bedroom house with a yard (small or large yard) and off street parking. We currently live in a rural setting and love that but we are open to living in both rural and urban settings. My husband will be working for the National Park Service in downtown Scranton, and I am a Social Worker-LCSW(Primarily practicing family therapy and will be applying for LCSW licensure in PA). I do not have a job yet and would be looking for part-time work. We would prefer that my husband have no more than a 30 minute commute to work. We would appreciate any thoughts and/or advice that could be provided regarding rental housing and/or social work jobs in these areas. Thank you so much for any guidance anyone can provide.

First, permit me to welcome you to the area! I too, am a transplant, and I've found most people to be warm and welcoming!

We wanted to try city living and we love Wilkes-Barre, however, we did not find the public schools to be usable. Typical city schools with typical city issues. We came from the ex-urbs (rural suburbs far from a city) and were spoiled in regard to schools, but I wouldn't recommend the Wilkes-Barre City Schools.

Outside of Wilkes-Barre are two inner ring older suburbs; Kingston and Forty-Fort. They have some lovely homes, tree lined streets, convenient shopping, and upscale shopping and dining. The Kingston library is quite good too.

First Hospital in Kingston is a psychiatric hospital where you may find employment in your field.

Wyoming Valley West School District is satisfactory and safe. At the elementary level, the neighborhood schools are fine. I like the proximity to Wilkes-Barre's cultural events and that it's not too far out there.

Dallas is another option located North West of Wilkes-Barre in an area known as "Back Mountain." The Dallas school district is highly regarded and while I have no direct experience with it, a number of people in my church attend Dallas schools and they are all very happy with them.
Dallas has a semi rural to suburban feel. There are rentals available in Harvey's Lake, Shavertown and some in Dallas. Most of Havey's Lake is served by the Dallas Schools, and other parts by Lake Lehmann SD.

The proximity to Havey's Lake is another plus for the Back Mountain Area.

Many people like Mountain Top, but I'm not it's hugest fan. One positive is the well-thought of Crestwood School District.

Negatives for me include the treacherous roads in winter, and the fact that it's usually several degrees colder there in winter. I'm not a big winter driver anyway and living on top of a mountain would give me "cabin fever" for sure. An SUV is an absolute necessity, if you are interested in Mountain Top.

I don't like the fact that there is no real town - just strip malls, and the lack of "housing uniformity" - by this I mean there are $300,000 newer homes in subdivisions next to rural shacks and mobile homes.
The views are nice though.

A place I like much more is Clark's Summit, which is served by the highly regarded Abington School District. Clark's Summit is a pretty suburb of Scranton with some nice shopping and a diverse, but not discordant housing stock. I find the area scenic with a decidedly up-market flair.
Clark's Summit is also home to a psychiatric facility where you may be able to find employment.

One of the tools that I used to acquaint myself with the various areas was the Trulia real estate web site. You will get a chance to see each of the areas that I mentioned and check out rentals as well.

Best of luck, and I hope that this has been of some help to you! If you have further questions, don't hesitate to send me a direct message!

~ Sheena