Downtown Living (Scranton, Bethlehem, Harrisburg: sales, crime, homes)

[ScranBarre]

I wouldn't be so certain that he/she was a troll. To be quite honest I still am not 100% convinced that rumandcoke was a troll. Then again, I suppose there's always a bridge in Brooklyn that someone could sell me.

[Summering]

You are both too funny.......and yep.......Rumandcoke was a troll and kinda missing all that ......ya' alls and fun with her.....

[W-B proud]

Downtown Wilkes-Barre is starting to make a comeback. South Main st used to be filled with drug dealers and hookers, but ever since the theater was built all of the bad element has vanished (at least from that area). Increased police patrols, and the implementation of the downtown buisness improvement district is making a huge impact. Other big projects are on the way The Murray Complex rehab will be starting soon, The Market st Square (vistors center) will begin this spring, the continued Hotel Sterling rehab is crawling along, and my personal favorite The Riverfront Complex will be finished this fall. These are all multi-million dollar projects that will give downtown Wilkes-Barre a dramatic facelift. It's av ery exciting time in the Diamond City. I believe this is the next up and coming area in the region. Just like Tom Petty said " the waiting is the hardest part". I currently live in North Wilkes-Barre, but I am looking into a new downtown condo in my price range. I want to be part of the re-birth of downtown!

[WasPA]

^^^^Interesting! Good for you.....and for downtown. At least the wait is now shorter than it was back in the 1990s, when none of current projects was even on the drawing board......

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by WasPA

^^^^Interesting! Good for you.....and for downtown. At least the wait is now shorter than it was back in the 1990s, when none of current projects was even on the drawing board......

Yes. I park right across the street from the riverfront project, and they've been making noticeable progress on that as of late. The Sterling projects appears to have stopped though.

[sues1]

Scranton has alot of bars and their biggest event is the St Patty's day parade every year. Everybody gets together and drinks from 7 AM until they can't drink anymore, the bars open up around that time and there are tons of people that walk around the city all day and hoot and holler and drink themselves into a stupor. It's really fun.

[Laughing Heir]

I didn't read through every post in this thread, so I hope I'm not reinventing the wheel.

To people coming into NePa I would recommend seeing what we have to offer rather than only purchasing big-box and national chain store products. The references to Cold Stone are what got my juices going - being from Lackawanna County, I would (to an insanely high degree) recommend Manning's Farm & Dairy. They are literally all over the greater Scraton area...my personal favorite location is at the family farm in East Benton, right off I-81. It's great if you have kids.

I'd love to see other posters offer examples of local merchants that beat the pants off of national/large regional chains.

Sues1,

You are right on the money about St. Patty's Day parade. I just actually went to my first one in 2006. I bartended on 'parade day' from the time I was 20 up until a couple of years ago, so I had to put up with the drunks rather than be one of them.

[sues1]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

I also find it hard to believe that anyone would want to move from their neighborhood to the downtown, there still is nothing there and it shuts down by 5:30 everyday and is a dead ghost town on Sundays and they would know that because they already live here.

I don't think Scranton will ever become hip and trendy. Young people who are starting out aren't looking to move to Scranton, i know my boys don't think of Scranton as a place they want to raise their children in and they certainly don't want to send them to school here. They are running the opposite way. Just not one of those places.

[Retired Law 08]

Originally Posted by Laughing Heir

I didn't read through every post in this thread, so I hope I'm not reinventing the wheel.

To people coming into NePa I would recommend seeing what we have to offer rather than only purchasing big-box and national chain store products. The references to Cold Stone are what got my juices going - being from Lackawanna County, I would (to an insanely high degree) recommend Manning's Farm & Dairy. They are literally all over the greater Scraton area...my personal favorite location is at the family farm in East Benton, right off I-81. It's great if you have kids.

I'd love to see other posters offer examples of local merchants that beat the pants off of national/large regional chains.

Sues1,

You are right on the money about St. Patty's Day parade. I just actually went to my first one in 2006. I bartended on 'parade day' from the time I was 20 up until a couple of years ago, so I had to put up with the drunks rather than be one of them.

Hello and welcome laughing Heir,Manning's has excellent ice cream.I go to the one in clarks summit.

[MermanMike]

Hillside Farm in Dallas, PA is another great place for locally made ice cream. It's fun too because you can take a walk around their dairy farm while you enjoy your ice cream. They also have a little market there that carries naturally raised meat from a farm near State College (I think).

I'm definitely looking forward to ice cream weather.