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I still have family in the WB area...4 generations worth, in fact.
They work 1, 2 or 3 jobs to get by & raise their families. None are well-off. None can afford to "update" their homes, buy another or move out of NEPA.
They don't watch HGTV for the latest styles.
They don't go to any "trendy" stores to shop.
They don't dine out on Nouveau Cuisine. (if they do dine out, it's pizza)
They don't buy a new car or trinkets when the whim arises.
They don't sip lattes at Starbucks while perusing their laptops.
Their meals consist of down-to-earth "old-fashioned" cooking like meatloaf, lasagna & Grandma's thrifty recipes.
In other words, they're everyday working s-c-h-m-u-c-k-s like me.
I don't get the mindset of those who are in a higher income bracket than my relatives (or me) that expect EVERYONE to keep up w/their lifestyle, or say they didn't "apply" themselves, made wrong choices, or "whine" about the area. Some of my NEPA relatives are "professionals" (the ones w/1 job), & they STILL barely keep up w/running a home & raising a family!!
My Aunt is 86 y/o. Maybe she should go to college now to better herself so she can keep up w/others?
My Cousin's a nurse who does hospital AND Hospice work. Maybe she should think about becoming a surgeon at 55 y/o so she can keep up w/others?
My other cousin's an accountant. He makes decent money, but w/a home & kids to raise, he's just making it. Wonder what he did wrong???
In other words, the area is full of hard-working lower middle class (though that's debateable seeing where the Federal Poverty Level is...) people who have responsibilities & maybe not so many options available to them, but they love the area where they were born & raised, don't want to leave it, & hate the negative aspects of the area.
Being a "professional" is a great thing, but not everyone can (or wants to) be one. If everyone was, there'd be nobody left in any service industry. And THEN I'd like to see who'd do the "whining"????
I still have family in the WB area...4 generations worth, in fact.
They work 1, 2 or 3 jobs to get by & raise their families. None are well-off. None can afford to "update" their homes, buy another or move out of NEPA.
They don't watch HGTV for the latest styles.
They don't go to any "trendy" stores to shop.
They don't dine out on Nouveau Cuisine. (if they do dine out, it's pizza)
They don't buy a new car or trinkets when the whim arises.
They don't sip lattes at Starbucks while perusing their laptops.
Their meals consist of down-to-earth "old-fashioned" cooking like meatloaf, lasagna & Grandma's thrifty recipes.
In other words, they're everyday working s-c-h-m-u-c-k-s like me.
I don't get the mindset of those who are in a higher income bracket than my relatives (or me) that expect EVERYONE to keep up w/their lifestyle, or say they didn't "apply" themselves, made wrong choices, or "whine" about the area. Some of my NEPA relatives are "professionals" (the ones w/1 job), & they STILL barely keep up w/running a home & raising a family!!
My Aunt is 86 y/o. Maybe she should go to college now to better herself so she can keep up w/others?
My Cousin's a nurse who does hospital AND Hospice work. Maybe she should think about becoming a surgeon at 55 y/o so she can keep up w/others?
My other cousin's an accountant. He makes decent money, but w/a home & kids to raise, he's just making it. Wonder what he did wrong???
In other words, the area is full of hard-working lower middle class (though that's debateable seeing where the Federal Poverty Level is...) people who have responsibilities & maybe not so many options available to them, but they love the area where they were born & raised, don't want to leave it, & hate the negative aspects of the area.
Being a "professional" is a great thing, but not everyone can (or wants to) be one. If everyone was, there'd be nobody left in any service industry. And THEN I'd like to see who'd do the "whining"????
Where in the world did anyone get the idea that we are rich? Not true.
We moved to a place where we could more than afford to live. We feel comfortable here. Yes, my children do want to stay here. They have made great friends and love the beauty and history of the Valley.
Everyone here has accepted us and welcomed us. The only minor problem was the home that we wanted to buy in West Pittston. And certain people on City Data.
In retrospect, I am glad that things happened as they did.
There are tremendous opportunities here in terms of investment buildings, and the income that can be gleaned from them. I am not talking about being a slumlord. I am talking about restoring a mufti-family or mixed use building and renting to students.
Where I came from, people did that, but the buildings in question were close to one million or more. Here you can buy a similar building, restore it, keep the current tenants, for 100 Grand or less.
There are two colleges right here in Wilkes-Barre. What a potential gold mine!
You know, whatever good I say about NEPA will be ridiculed by some people. I don't care at this point.
I enjoy it here. Plenty of others do too. People who I have met are more open then one might think.
No one has put me down about the great "retro vibe" that is here.
No one, that is; except for people from this forum.
I'm just not a "hater" by nature. I don't hate it that some people earn more than I do, I don't hate that places change or are not perfect, I really don't hate anything.
I just don't move to places that are not a good fit for me.
This is the 21st century. I have relatives who live in nine states.
They all enjoy where they live.
I enjoy where I live, and I sincerely hope that if you do not, for whatever reason; that you find a place that you at least like, if not love.
Do your health a favor.
Perhaps I'm just misguided, but how will encouraging all of our best and brightest to continue to flee the area result in its revival? Even while attending high school in Luzerne County I had several educators urge me to leave the area because there would be no opportunity for me in NEPA once I obtained my degree.
People complain about the lack of high-paying employment opportunities available in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Simultaneously the area is severely under-educated. High-paying employers aren't going to move to an area where the prevailing skills/credentials of the workforce aren't going to be commensurate with the opportunities they'll be offering. Even at King's nearly every employer invited to come to our campus to interview had limited or no local presence, meaning that the college, which is heralded as being such an asset to Wilkes-Barre, was actually detrimentally impacting it by educating local youths and then funneling them to skilled opportunities in NYC, NJ, SEPA, NoVA, DC, MD, etc., fleecing the region of its best and brightest in the process. Most of our local universities suck up high school seniors who are generally, at worst, "indifferent" about our area, and in four short years they spit them out into other areas.
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Booz Allen Hamilton, BAE Systems, PwC, Deloitte, Citigroup, SAIC, and other major high-paying employers aren't going to descend upon a region where many of its own residents place little or no value in education. Just look at how much disdain our sub-forum's Scrantonians hurl at the University of Scranton as an indicator of how higher education is maligned here.
Pittsburgh is pretty much the "big brother" of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Our city has embraced higher education and, as such, nearly 40% of our adults are college-educated. With that increase in the proportion of our workforce possessing a degree has come a boom in high-paying employment opportunities that has led to us having one of the few modestly-appreciating housing markets in the country despite the national housing recession. Google helped to convert an old biscuit factory into loft-styled office space and will soon be expanding across the street into a new mixed-use project. They will be employing hundreds here when that complex is fully functional. In addition, the city embracing (not despising) Carnegie Mellon University has led to numerous small business enterprises forming. I just landed a job with PNC, one of the nation's leading banks, which also happens to be building a new 40-story headquarters here. We also have thousands of high-paying career opportunities available via American Eagle Outfitters' Corporate HQ, Rue21's Corporate HQ, Westinghouse, U.S. Steel, UPMC, Bank of NY Mellon, Federated Investors, Alcoa, Heinz, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, First Niagara Bank, Dick's Sporting Goods Corporate HQ, FedEx Ground's Corporate HQ, Bayer's Corporate HQ, and many others. Instead of sitting around and bitching about the demise of the steel industry Pittsburghers reinvented themselves through innovation and higher education, and now we're thriving as a result. Whenever I visit Scranton/Wilkes-Barre it's like people are still hoping "King Coal" will make a comeback; the culm dumps everywhere are hideous! Other than higher education, government, and health care there aren't many other family-sustaining career opportunities to be had in the metro area.
People encouraging their children/students to "get the hell out of NEPA before it's too late" are doing NOTHING to make things better for the region. I left because I wanted to date freely and, like beckycat, the chronic negativity and people blaming everyone but themselves for their lives not turning out well was just overwhelmingly depressing. I will only return to help my sister care for my parents as they age (although I'm hoping they'll eventually consider moving out here instead since they don't particularly like the area either). I'm glad sheena has found so many forward-thinking and bright people in Wilkes-Barre who are hellbent on improving the region. As for me I met too many Les Spindlers and Joe Pilcheskys for my liking to let the occasional sheena overpower their chronic hatred for everything and anything about the area. Maybe I just hung around in the "wrong circles", but I didn't get a very intellectually-enriched vibe from where I grew up. I love the POTENTIAL the area has, but when I left in 2009 I didn't really foresee that coming to fruition for quite some time yet.
Why should I pay for college then?
Why would I expect my son to go through college and obtain a degree to stay here and work 2 jobs at $9 an hour?
There is NOTHING HERE AND NO REASON FOR THE YOUTH TO STAY.
As fat as Sheens and the clan of of forward thinking savours, its all hearsay.
We have had our share of those thinkers and their wasteful spending on nothing.
I will never encourage my son to stay here, nor will his mother.
There are tremendous opportunities here in terms of investment buildings, and the income that can be gleaned from them. I am not talking about being a slumlord. I am talking about restoring a mufti-family or mixed use building and renting to students.
There are two colleges right here in Wilkes-Barre. What a potential gold mine!
Ok that is the definition of slumlord around here. A NY transplant renting. "Investment Property" to students.
Ruined the Hill Section in Scranton for years and even parts of WB.
LOL You think that is a new idea? I had half-dozen friends from NY and NJ whose fathers bought them houses to live in and when they graduted the homes became student rentals.
I rented to students for years, NEVER AGAIN.
But hey you have it all figured out here in NEPA and on City- Data..
The tried and true slumlords get govt assistance developing and renting their properties to the actual slum creators (tenants) when they enter a property into Section 8 status..
Rents are guaranteed by the govt, repairs to property if/WHEN Tenants destroy it are covered by the govt.
I own properties, some rentals. But I don't get the breaks because I refuse to enter into Sec 8 and be responsible for the downgrade of conditions of a hood (formerly neighborhood).
Others are not as socially responsible.
I own several, Im born and raised here, I dont take section 8.. no job.. no stability, not my properties.
There is NOTHING HERE AND NO REASON FOR THE YOUTH TO STAY.
Why should you pay for college then? Well, I wouldn't have my job, in this area, if not for my degree.
There are jobs here, maybe not as plentiful as some areas, but there are good jobs here if you look around. Sure, I had a $9/hour job out of college, but only for a year. You might get a 50k job in NJ or NYC, rather than a 30k job in NEPA, but you'll live better on a 30k salary in NEPA than on 50k in NY.
Maybe even encourage your kids to be entrepreneurs rather than waiting for an employer to hire them.
There's nothing here? The people that say there's nothing to do here have their heads up their arses. Personally, I think this area is a good combination of city and nature. Plenty of city amenities, surrounded by mountains, lakes, forests, rivers, etc. major cities only a short drive away, its actually a very good location.
Politics are corrupt here, but show me a place where the politicians aren't corrupt. Politicians are corrupt by nature, or they wouldn't be politicians.
Politics are corrupt here, but show me a place where the politicians aren't corrupt. Politicians are corrupt by nature, or they wouldn't be politicians.
This thought process is common among valley residents. "it's like this everywhere else"
That's the delusion, it isn't.
Everywhere else doesnt have judges throwing kids in jail for money.
Everywhere else doesn't have school board directors asking for money for jobs
Everywhere else doesn't have neighboring school districts with board members in jail.
Everywhere else doesn't have county commissioners thrown in federal jails
Everywhere else doesn't have more government workers than are needed
Everywhere else doesn't have nepotism like they do here
Everywhere else doesn't throw nepotism in citizens faces, like with two recent hirings at two different school districts.
The corruption here is at a level that is far above most other areas.
Your comment sums up why the area will never get better.
I agree, the Wyoming Valley could be a fantastic place to live. Sadly, it won't
ever happen.
Why should you pay for college then? Well, I wouldn't have my job, in this area, if not for my degree.
There are jobs here, maybe not as plentiful as some areas, but there are good jobs here if you look around. Sure, I had a $9/hour job out of college, but only for a year. You might get a 50k job in NJ or NYC, rather than a 30k job in NEPA, but you'll live better on a 30k salary in NEPA than on 50k in NY.
Maybe even encourage your kids to be entrepreneurs rather than waiting for an employer to hire them.
There's nothing here? The people that say there's nothing to do here have their heads up their arses. Personally, I think this area is a good combination of city and nature. Plenty of city amenities, surrounded by mountains, lakes, forests, rivers, etc. major cities only a short drive away, its actually a very good location.
Politics are corrupt here, but show me a place where the politicians aren't corrupt. Politicians are corrupt by nature, or they wouldn't be politicians.
What he said. My nephew just graduated from UWV and has returned to his native Long Island. His first job paid $11 per hour and his apartment is $1700 per month. He shares it with two other guys, fortunately; because he also has student loans and a car payment. He recently landed his first real job on LI - in sales, with a company out of Hershey PA. It pays 40K per year with good benefits and it's fine for him alone.
However, if he had a family, two car payments and more than a 2 bedroom apartment, he would not be able to survive.
He visited us last weekend and was impressed with the area, the low cost of living, the mountains, proximity to major cities and the shore.
There is not one thing wrong with NEPA, for the majority of people.
Lower wages perhaps, but then again there are lower costs then living in the NJ/NY areas.
One should never envy their neighbors cars, homes, or material things. Be happy in your own space, with your own needs, and your own happiness. Many times I hear a poster or two talking about what others drive, or where others live. I always wonder why.
The way I feel is that you live the best you can, in what your finances afford, and be happy about it. Don't envy anothers mode of transportation....enjoy your own choice.
I do think that is true. You have a wonderful mix of city and nature. Your area lacks nothing.
Not only that you have a short ride to enjoy the razmataz of NYC and Philly. How exciting is that?
As a young kid living in NJ I loved that feature. We would spend weekends either in the city going to shows or heading for the shore. That brings up another good point. Your location is not all that distant from going to the shore in the summer months. Plus, my goodness......in the winter you get to go ski at all the not to distant ski slopes.
Yes, and a very good point from the poster above is that politics are corrupt all over the place.
Pick up a newspaper here and there, and its all about. I now read about that in my new state of SC.
( my move was more weather related then any other matter)
The most important thing in ones life is to live where it is best for them and their family. I see that in my own extended family. Job wise, weather wise, comfort wise.........In other words not just a place to work, but a place you enjoy.
So, complain, complain, complain.......or be the cups half full. Life feels better with the cup half full.
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