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from my vantage point it seams the developers are looking to build new comfortable housing that out of staters will enjoy but leaving the locals to fall farther down the financial ladder.
Exactly. With the exception of the usual higher-earners (attorneys, surgeons, physicians, professors, executives, etc.) most locals can't afford many of the newer housing options being built. The wages here are still very depressed, and I think the Chamber of Commerce telling us to more or less "be happy for what you have because our cost-of-living is so low" is a point that is quickly becoming moot as the local cost-of-living is rising to the national average as we speak. What does this mean? We'll have far sub-par wages while being burdened with average American expenses, meaning that the locals will have to make do with less. Why? Who knows? Starting salaries for CPAs in MANY other parts of the nation are around $50,000, but I highly doubt I'll personally be able to earn that around here unless I do what a growing number of people are doing and live locally while commuting to work in the Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg, NYC, NJ, etc. It's a bloody shame that local college-educated individuals are NOT being paid what they're worth. People attend college and go through all of the headaches and expenditures with the understanding that they SHOULD be earning more as a result in their careers than those who have lesser educations. Instead we have a local situation where blue-collars and white-collars more or less earn the same amount of income. What then is the incentive to obtain a higher education? There is none (unless you want to hop the invisible commuter rail from Scranton to Hoboken).
Many of the units that have been selling at the Village at Greenbriar, a new upscale retirement community just down the road from the Yalick Farms site, have been to retirees from outside of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Most new transplants I bumped into when I used to work at Lowe's Home Improvement lived in newer housing developments in the suburbs. Newcomers to NEPA seem to be attracted to these communities like magnets, which is why so many developers are carving up our hillsides for so many higher-end projects.
Since you've been gone from Bear Creek, a massive new upscale community known as Laurel Brook Estates has been established, and it is now nearly at full build-out. When the lots were first being sold I checked their ownership status online with the property assessments, and I saw at least half of the owners' addresses being from NY, NJ, or SEPA. That Insignia Pointe near Pittston that I referenced earlier was rumored to also be largely purchased by NY transplants. As I said earlier, while most locals see $300,000 and think "Who can afford a place like that?" people in the overpriced BosWash Corridor realize that the homes they purchased in NJ 20 years ago have doubled in value and that the equity that they have built up in their homes could easily afford them the opportunity to buy one of our higher-end homes with plenty left to spare. I can ultimately see Scranton/Wilkes-Barre evolving into a haven for retirees from Greater NYC and Greater Philadelphia in the upcoming years as they seek to purchase gorgeous newer homes for reasonable prices in an area with a rebounding quality-of-life. Just wait and see how many of those moving to the new upscale condos at Yalick Farms are going to be from outside of NEPA. You'll be shocked.
I suppose this is a mixed blessing for us. On the one hand our area NEEDS new residents to replenish its tax base and bring fresh ideas to our struggling communities. On the other hand these new transplants don't realize that by jumping on $300,000+ properties they're raising our housing values to the point where those who were born and bred here and wish to purchase their first home are eventually going to be "priced out" (at which point the migration will shift FURTHER west into areas like Bloomsburg, Tunkhannock, Danville, Williamsport, etc.)
you seam to be pretty up on things, what sort of work is coming to the area for educated people? when i left there was very little and i had to deal with a lot of hoopla to keep my job. there was on over abundance of educated people afraid to pull up their roots which led to companies not valuing their educated work force. more than once i was given the impression "i can replace you for cheaper and not have to deal with this". i had some job interviews that had the balls to offer me less than what i was making with no benefits. albeith an architectural drafter/designer isn;t such a white collar position, but i'm sure other people were feeling the pinch too. for one company i worked for they offered my $10 an hour and i was required to wear a shirt and tie. i tell that story here and my employer doesn't believe me.
Not much at all, I'm sorry to say. There ARE major family-sustaining employers here, which include the following (off the top of my head):
Bank of America---Montage Mountain
Bohlin, Cywinski & Jackson---Downtown Wilkes-Barre
Blue Cross/Blue Shield---Downtown Wilkes-Barre
Chamberlain Manufacturing---Scranton
CIGNA HealthCare---Montage Mountain
Cinram---Mid-Valley
CONVERGYS---Downtown Wilkes-Barre
Diversified Information Technologies---Downtown Scranton
Gentex---Carbondale
Guard Insurance---Downtown Wilkes-Barre
Highland Associates---Abingtons
iGourmet---Greater Pittston
Keystone Automotive---Greater Pittston
MetLife---Montage Mountain/Abingtons
Parente-Randolph---Downtown Scranton/Downtown Wilkes-Barre
Pepperjam---Downtown Wilkes-Barre
PNC Bank---Montage Mountain and Various Branches
Pride Mobility---Greater Pittston
Prudential Financial---Montage Mountain
Quad 3---Downtown Wilkes-Barre
Sallie Mae---Hanover Industrial Estates
Sandvik---Abingtons
Sanofi-Pasteur Pharmaceuticals---Monroe County
Schott---Greater Pittston
Scottrade---Montage Mountain
Solid Cactus---Back Mountain
Tobyhanna Army Depot---Monroe County
As well as the universities, hospitals, school districts, etc. in our region.
One thing I'm hopeful about is the Wall Street West movement, which is expected to bring thousands of white-collar positions into NEPA in the upcoming years as NYC firms establish back-offices here to prevent disruptions in the nation's financial sector in the event of future terrorist attacks, power failures, etc. in Manhattan. CenterPoint, a new commerce park in Greater Pittston, is supposed to have a few of these Wall Street West firms in its limits once all of the phases of the massive project are completed. If and when that rail line is ever established between Scranton and Hoboken, NJ, that might spur white-collar growth in NEPA as well.
As an aspiring CPA myself, my best hope would be to pursue employment with Parente-Randolph. If you're in the architectural field, then you might want to apply for a position with Bohlin, Cywinski & Jackson, Quad 3, Highland Associates, DxDempsey, or another regional architectural/engineering firm.
2 things.
grotto developed or sold its property to make money. the traditional community of harvey's lake shouldn't patronize them anymore.
anywhere walmart goes, the little guy suffers. doesn't anyone realize that most of walmarts products come from china??? home of the asian long horned beetle and lead painted childrens toys?
2 things.
grotto developed or sold its property to make money. the traditional community of harvey's lake shouldn't patronize them anymore.
You really can't blame the owner of the Grotto for capitalizing upon his prime waterfront land. However, you CAN blame him for developing such ugly, sterile, vinyl-clad townhomes there. The facades of Marina Pointe are gorgeous with stone accents, but they face away from Route 415, so those entering the lake only see those gawdy gray vinyl walls as they near Grotto. Would it have killed him to keep community aesthetics in mind?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaspethMatt
anywhere walmart goes, the little guy suffers. doesn't anyone realize that most of walmarts products come from china??? home of the asian long horned beetle and lead painted childrens toys?
Unfortunately you're pondering relocation a very pro-Wal-Mart area. I'm probalby one of the few locals who boycotts them for their unfair foreign labor practices, along with my next-door neighbor and some of my college friends. When a new Wal-Mart is considered here, the locals chide any anti-sprawl activists as trying to "resist progress" or "drive out high-paying jobs" (snort, chuckle). People around here aren't very socially "enlightened" on a lot of issues. I'll gladly loan one of these "Wal-Mart is awesome" folks my DVD "The High Cost of Low Price" sometime if they'd like to see the side of Wal-Mart besides the flying smiley face marking down prices. Furthermore, if the potential job applicants deem $8/hr.-$10/hr. to be "progress," then God help NEPA! I make $11/hr. working for a local big-box retailer as I attend college, and I know there are many others who work for my company who make in the $15/hr.-$17/hr. range in addition to commissions. If my company, which is much smaller than Wal-Mart, can treat their employees in a respectable manner, then why not Wal-Mart? How many people at Wal-Mart make $15/hr.? Oh yeah, that's right. Their wages were CAPPED!
Grotto pizza sucks. I would rather eat Ellio's frozen pizza than garbage from Grotto.
Its amazing, I was on a Philly sports message board, and people down there from Delaware are raving about Grotto pizza at the Delaware beaches. That tells me that Delaware must be a crappy place for pizza. I would rather eat Domino's than Grotto....hell, I would rather eat cat food than anything from Grotto. Its no surprise that Grotto had 2 locations in the Scranton area (Steamtown Mall and Dunmore) and both went out of business. And its not just their pizza, all of their food sucks....I had some of the worst hoagies I ever had from Grotto.
I wonder what kind of stores will come to be at the Yalick Farms Townhomes.
I think they were made nicely, on a spacious piece of land.
Will it be various antique dealers, a deli, bakery.........anything that would be fondly needed in the area?
It is a grand idea for people who want to live above their businesses, and not have to pay two separate rentals as before.
Then again, would the store owner be happy living full time above his place of work?
Or...........would he rather go home his own yard and single family home.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out.............
So many times in situations like this the store opens, and then closes in just a small amount of time.
The plot plan looks quite nice though........Just like all over Pa, the area is building up.
Grotto pizza sucks. I would rather eat Ellio's frozen pizza than garbage from Grotto.
Its amazing, I was on a Philly sports message board, and people down there from Delaware are raving about Grotto pizza at the Delaware beaches. That tells me that Delaware must be a crappy place for pizza. I would rather eat Domino's than Grotto....hell, I would rather eat cat food than anything from Grotto. Its no surprise that Grotto had 2 locations in the Scranton area (Steamtown Mall and Dunmore) and both went out of business. And its not just their pizza, all of their food sucks....I had some of the worst hoagies I ever had from Grotto.
I wonder what kind of stores will come to be at the Yalick Farms Townhomes.
I think they were made nicely, on a spacious piece of land.
Will it be various antique dealers, a deli, bakery.........anything that would be fondly needed in the area?
It is a grand idea for people who want to live above their businesses, and not have to pay two separate rentals as before.
Then again, would the store owner be happy living full time above his place of work?
Or...........would he rather go home his own yard and single family home.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out.............
So many times in situations like this the store opens, and then closes in just a small amount of time.
The plot plan looks quite nice though........Just like all over Pa, the area is building up.
I've had that arrangement many times in my life - living upstairs with my studio/clinic downstairs.
Thing was, it was always a reasonable rent, and in my field (which isn't known for being a money-maker) that was important. NO WAY could I ever hope to afford what they'll be getting for those units. In fact, I can't imagine many businesses that COULD afford it long-term.
The businesses that you mentioned would be wonderful in that area, but I can't see how any of them would make enough to lease / buy space like that.
On a personal note - I side with the "old house" folks - MUCH preferred to the cracker-box sameness and close-quarters living setup of those things.
I could never see paying $300,000 for a glorified row house. If I'm paying that kind of money, I'm not sharing a wall with anyone.
My thoughts exactly as I started reading this thread. I am drawn to having some land and space but yet being close to society like where I currently live in Wilkes Barre. These new Condo things are like buying an apartment and having no privacy.
I think it's a good use of the land that will definitely appeal to large swaths of the population (such as empty-nesters, first time homeowners, families). Higher density developments have a place in planning, too. I just can't comment definitively here because I don't know the surrounding area too well. I do like the mixed retail/residential parts of the development. It appeals to my sense of wanting to live in a walkable, livable neighborhood that doesn't require a car for absolutely everything. I think it would be great to step outside to a bakery, coffee shop, pizza place, and so on. We'll see what happens, but it has promise.
Last edited by The Commish; 05-19-2008 at 11:56 PM..
Reason: Typo.
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Starting salaries for CPAs in MANY other parts of the nation are around $50,000, but I highly doubt I'll personally be able to earn that around here unless I do what a growing number of people are doing and live locally while commuting to work in the Lehigh Valley, Harrisburg, NYC, NJ, etc. It's a bloody shame that local college-educated individuals are NOT being paid what they're worth. People attend college and go through all of the headaches and expenditures with the understanding that they SHOULD be earning more as a result in their careers than those who have lesser educations. Instead we have a local situation where blue-collars and white-collars more or less earn the same amount of income. What then is the incentive to obtain a higher education? There is none (unless you want to hop the invisible commuter rail from Scranton to Hoboken). 
People around here aren't very socially "enlightened" on a lot of issues. I'll gladly loan one of these "Wal-Mart is awesome" folks my DVD "The High Cost of Low Price" sometime if they'd like to see the side of Wal-Mart besides the flying smiley face marking down prices. Furthermore, if the potential job applicants deem $8/hr.-$10/hr. to be "progress," then God help NEPA! 
