Wilkes-Barre or Mountain Top (Scranton, Back Mountain: transplants, hair salon, rent)

[go phillies]

Originally Posted by moose

By the way, the person that told me this about WB/Kingston is not my friend, he is someone that works at the hotel we are staying at . We are leaving Friday from Indiana. It should take about 10 hours. My husband is a truck driver so he knows the way well. We are going to check out everything. If you tell me where the house is I will go by it and look. Our lease is up in March. So I really hope to find something. And hey, we live in Gary IN, look that up on Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed. Violent Crime in Kingston is 2, Gary is 9, US 3. Property Crime in Kingston 4, Gary 8, US 3. WOW!!!!!!! So really anywhere is better than here...LOL. Hey what's the name of your paper?

You live in Gary? Wow. Anyplace in NEPA will seem safe and peaceful compared to where you're coming from.

[moose]

WE'RE HERE!!!! it took us 10 hours and on I-80 at the 19 mile marker some jerk in a white ford tauras was driving into traffic HEAD ON!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now we are going to look at the area. Wonderful so far. Thanks for everything guys!!!! I'll let everyone know how it turns out. Lehigh Valley Native, sorry for the misunderstanding. By the way, WasPA the Hilton is...OH MY WORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL. ScrantonWilkesBarre, Dang... half-hour. It's a good thing I'm a PT. I'm going to have to work on your jaw from muscle overuse syndrome!!!LOL. Have fun!

[moose]

You got that right go phillies!!!

[greentown]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

P.S. Thanks for the well-wishes on the new romance---it's been three years in the making, but my first date today had me pinned against my car seat for a half-hour long kiss, so I must have done something right! LOL!

TMI !!! Is this something that anyone really wanted to know???

[WasPA]

Originally Posted by moose

WE'RE HERE!!!! it took us 10 hours and on I-80 at the 19 mile marker some jerk in a white ford tauras was driving into traffic HEAD ON!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now we are going to look at the area. Wonderful so far. Thanks for everything guys!!!! I'll let everyone know how it turns out. Lehigh Valley Native, sorry for the misunderstanding. By the way, WasPA the Hilton is...OH MY WORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL. ScrantonWilkesBarre, Dang... half-hour. It's a good thing I'm a PT. I'm going to have to work on your jaw from muscle overuse syndrome!!!LOL. Have fun!

Heh...terrific note! Glad you're all arrived, safe and sound.....we should thank you because you've been so much fun, a good sport and it's truly exciting to have you share your adventure with us'n's......Have a swell time, enjoy your stay it's wonderful having your nice little family on this new venture.....bet your son will remember this trip for the rest of his life......

[moose]

Hello we're home!! well first I would like to say we had a god time driving and seeing all the mountains. WOW!! PA is really nice. Now the hotel was on Highland Park Blvd. The area is nice and your right there in all of it. This place called Pizza Bella. Has some really good pizza! However my son didn't like the toasted bread on his cheese burger. Now I did take a look around Kingston. The houses are so close together, OH MY WORD!!! How can you breath with your neighbors right there . Very little yard space or none at all. A lot of the houses look run down like the people just don't care. Now this is funny to me! I see one of Wilkes Barre finest... A Police Officer! So hey, I'm a nice person. I went up to him and begun to talk. Told him we were looking to move up this way. First thing he says don't move to Wilkes Barre (we're in Kingston) so I say," Well why not?" he tells me the school system is going to #@LL. That in a few years they will combine the schools. So now you will have grade school with high school kids. He is going to put his little girl in Private School. He told me about how many time he has to go out there for crime calls. And then he tells me its going up! Now he did say that houses after/behind the High School (Gordon Ave.) were nice so if he was us that is were to look. The teachers, Dr., etc live over there. Oh! and there is yard space. One of the young ladies at the pizza place said Dallas and Harding were nice too. So after all the bashing on Wilkes Barre... I say, " So, where do you live?" He says,"" Wilkes Barre!"" Now don't get me wrong I said, "why do you live there if it is so bad?" He replies, they don't mess with me!!! So now I'm thinking is it the color of my skin ( just as pure as brown sugar! ) But who cares anyway, if so he was the only jerk I saw thus far!!!!! The people are so nice, a nice little old couple wished us good luck and said they hope to see us again. But all in all, We need more yard space. And I like neighbor's, but I don't want it to be like that windows commercial on TV. Looking outside enjoying my morning cup of Columbia brew, and see some back side of guy bent over in his boxers reaching for his morning paper (not that close). But, we have made our minds up.... NEPA here we come !!!!!!!!!! So now all we need is space! Every few weeks we will come to scout the area. So when spring rolls around we'll be ready.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by moose

Hello we're home!! well first I would like to say we had a god time driving and seeing all the mountains. WOW!! PA is really nice. Now the hotel was on Highland Park Blvd. The area is nice and your right there in all of it. This place called Pizza Bella. Has some really good pizza! However my son didn't like the toasted bread on his cheese burger. Now I did take a look around Kingston. The houses are so close together, OH MY WORD!!! How can you breath with your neighbors right there . Very little yard space or none at all. A lot of the houses look run down like the people just don't care. Now this is funny to me! I see one of Wilkes Barre finest... A Police Officer! So hey, I'm a nice person. I went up to him and begun to talk. Told him we were looking to move up this way. First thing he says don't move to Wilkes Barre (we're in Kingston) so I say," Well why not?" he tells me the school system is going to #@LL. That in a few years they will combine the schools. So now you will have grade school with high school kids. He is going to put his little girl in Private School. He told me about how many time he has to go out there for crime calls. And then he tells me its going up! Now he did say that houses after/behind the High School (Gordon Ave.) were nice so if he was us that is were to look. The teachers, Dr., etc live over there. Oh! and there is yard space. One of the young ladies at the pizza place said Dallas and Harding were nice too. So after all the bashing on Wilkes Barre... I say, " So, where do you live?" He says,"" Wilkes Barre!"" Now don't get me wrong I said, "why do you live there if it is so bad?" He replies, they don't mess with me!!! So now I'm thinking is it the color of my skin ( just as pure as brown sugar! ) But who cares anyway, if so he was the only jerk I saw thus far!!!!! The people are so nice, a nice little old couple wished us good luck and said they hope to see us again. But all in all, We need more yard space. And I like neighbor's, but I don't want it to be like that windows commercial on TV. Looking outside enjoying my morning cup of Columbia brew, and see some back side of guy bent over in his boxers reaching for his morning paper (not that close). But, we have made our minds up.... NEPA here we come !!!!!!!!!! So now all we need is space! Every few weeks we will come to scout the area. So when spring rolls around we'll be ready.

It's great to hear that overall you left our region with positive impressions. I wouldn't be so quick to judge the police officer's comments though---if I were moving to a foreign area from a few states away, I'd like to know the good, the bad, and the UGLY about where I might end up settling my family. As far as dissecting what the cop said is concerned, I agree with much of what he says. The Wilkes-Barre Area School District has never had a particularly good reputation by any means, but he should have countered that with the fact that there are three really good alternatives just a hop, skip, and a jump away for education in the Diamond City. The new Holy Redeemer Catholic High School was recently formed from the consolidation of several other Catholic high schools in Luzerne County. Wyoming Seminary in Kingston is probably the best private school in the region (I'd give it the edge over Scranton Prep and MMI Prep). Finally, the Bear Creek Community Charter School has been receiving rave reviews for the primary school years. I'm also a firm believer that Wilkes-Barre will soon be consolidating its three high schools into two. If Scranton, which has 30,000 more residents than Wilkes-Barre, only has two high schools, then why should Wilkes-Barre still be paying to upkeep, maintain, etc. three of them? It just doesn't sound fiscally-sound to me. Meyers High School in South Wilkes-Barre would probably be the school shut down, as there was an article in the local papers a few months ago about it being structurally-deficient.

Yes, the houses in Kingston are rather close together, but you can tell that from my photo tour. In my opinion, being so close to your neighbors adds charm and friendliness to the neighborhoods. Besides, who wants to spend three hours every weekend pushing a heavy God-forsaken John Deere lawn mower all over an acre lot (as we currently do)? If you're looking for older homes with character that are spaced out a bit, you won't have much luck in NEPA. Most of the region's historically-beautiful homes are all in neighborhoods just like Kingston, where you can practically hear your neighbors' toilets flushing. LOL! If you're looking for a home with some land, you'll probably have to go with newer constructions. Harding and Dallas (both of which were mentioned by that girl), have a lot of homes with large lots. Dallas is a bit more "suburban" in nature with a lot of subdivisions and cul-de-sacs, and Harding has a lot more in the way of log homes, mobile homes, vacation homes, etc. tucked away from the crowds. An added bonus to Harding and Dallas is that they are located in the Wyoming Area and Dallas Area School Districts, respectively, both of which receive generally good reviews from parents.

If you let us know more details about what you are looking for in a home, community type, etc., then we can help you to pinpoint some areas that might be more suitable for you the next time you come for a visit.

[WasPA]

[/quote] ........ The Wilkes-Barre Area School District has never had a particularly good reputation by any means .... [quote]

....forgive me this, but I think that thousands of Meyers, G.A.R. and Coughlin alums over several decades might take exception to this generalization as untrue and unfair.....and rightly so......

[ScranBarre]

........ The Wilkes-Barre Area School District has never had a particularly good reputation by any means ....

....forgive me this, but I think that thousands of Meyers, G.A.R. and Coughlin alums over several decades might take exception to this generalization as untrue and unfair.....and rightly so......

I said it has never had a particularly good reputation, which is a statement of FACT, as I have yet to hear any recent graduates in my peer group singing the praises of G.A.R., Meyers, or Coughlin High Schools. Does this mean that the high schools are necessarily awful? Not at all. However, this is how they are perceived in the community at-large. I attended Pittston Area, which likewise has an awful reputation, but we graduated quite a high number of academic standouts who have since dispersed themselves into strategic endeavors throughout the country (and beyond). Wilkes-Barre Area trails behind most local public school districts in terms of SAT scores, ACT scores, PSSA results, etc., which is why it has such a bad reputation (just like my own alma mater). I know I touched a nerve with you because you're likely an alumnus yourself, but you must realize that the inner-city schools in Wilkes-Barre have gone downhill in the past several years in the eyes of most people.

[WasPA]

I guess I failed to make my point.......