Lake Front Property (Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre, Back Mountain: middle-class, transplants, crime rate)

[dansdrive]

Former resident of WB area and have moved away for my career and in he coming years I plan to retire and will explore moving back to the area. I would be looking for some lake front property to build on or may buy an existing year round home. Willing be looking in the areas of WB and southward. What lakes are still left that have lots and or homes on them?

I read these threads and am concerned with the crime rate and lack of growth in the area. In the years I have been gone noting really changed on the growth aspect but the crime seems to have increased many folds. Taxes have gone up everywhere I have lived so that seems to be relative.

What ever happened to the slogan, "The Valley With the Heart"? Does it need bypass surgery or is it already dead? I hope now. Having lived in many places I still think the NEPA area is still is a great place to come back too. I hope I'm not mistaken.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by dansdrive

Former resident of WB area and have moved away for my career and in he coming years I plan to retire and will explore moving back to the area. I would be looking for some lake front property to build on or may buy an existing year round home. Willing be looking in the areas of WB and southward. What lakes are still left that have lots and or homes on them?

I read these threads and am concerned with the crime rate and lack of growth in the area. In the years I have been gone noting really changed on the growth aspect but the crime seems to have increased many folds. Taxes have gone up everywhere I have lived so that seems to be relative.

What ever happened to the slogan, "The Valley With the Heart"? Does it need bypass surgery or is it already dead? I hope now. Having lived in many places I still think the NEPA area is still is a great place to come back too. I hope I'm not mistaken.

You're not at all mistaken. While I do get the sense that by and large people here are less friendly than they were said to be before I was born (mid-1980s), there are still a lot of nice folks around---you just have to dig a bit to find them, and don't expect to find them at our local big-box stores where they'll push you to the ground in order to grab the last iPhone at Best Buy on Black Friday. I've noticed that it takes a bit of time and effort to get people to warm up to you around here. When we moved to our upper-middle-class housing development near Pittston back in 1996, only one woman came over to welcome us to the neighborhood, and she had just moved here herself from Los Angeles. When a lesbian couple from Philadelphia was contemplating purchasing a home here, I overheard a lot of gossiping and negative comments about their "lifestyle" that sickened me, as I don't agree with judging someone based upon their race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation until you've had a chance to get to know them. When I'm driving in and out of the subdivision (which seems to be constant since we can't WALK to anything in the sprawling hell of Pittston Township), I notice a good half of the people I wave to while driving by will NOT return the wave, even though I've done nothing to warrant being ignored. As such, I think neighbors being cold towards one another is amplified in our more transient suburbs, where people are just too afraid to get to know one another too well for fear that a job transfer will have them packing in another three years.

As far as crime goes, I just posted a new thread about how far the crime in the region has declined in recent years. From 2005-2006, NEPA has moved up several dozen places on the list of safest places to live, to the point where we are now nearly in the Top 10%. The comments you see on this board about "high crime" are largely overblown. I HAVE found an abnormally-high level of petty theft and property crime around here, but violent crime isn't common at all. I feel perfectly safe walking around after dark, and I've been a victim of petty crime more in the suburbs than I have been in the city.

As far as lake communities are concerned, Harvey's Lake's property values have exploded since you left. If you don't believe me, do a search for homes on the lake out there and compare them to other lake communities, such as Lake Carey or Lake Winola, for example. You'll be blown away. A lot of wealthier out-of-state transplants are buying up old cottages there and tearing them down for new McMansions, which, in my opinion, is runing the once-sleepy atmosphere of Harvey's Lake. Those ugly new cookie-cutter townhomes at the entrance to the lake also detract greatly from its character---who wants to look at wall after wall of vinyl when they approach the lake?

Lake Nuangola, near Mountain Top, continues to be a very nice, serene setting, and prices here tend to be more reasonable than Harvey's Lake. There are also some "forgotten" little lake communities in the nether lands of the Back Mountain, like North Lake and Lake Silkworth, for example, which still have affordable smaller homes and plenty of land to build. The downside (or upside) of course, is the long haul to get to Wilkes-Barre for shopping, services, nightlife, etc.

[dansdrive]

ScantonWilkesBarre, thank-you very much for the perspectives and recommendations. I shall check them out. They are all places I remember when I lived in the area. I would stay clear of Harvey's Lake anyway, to big and busy in the summer months.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by dansdrive

ScantonWilkesBarre, thank-you very much for the perspectives and recommendations. I shall check them out. They are all places I remember when I lived in the area. I would stay clear of Harvey's Lake anyway, to big and busy in the summer months.

Definitely. Harvey's Lake is become more overdeveloped and congested during the summer. Definitely check into the other lakes in the Back Mountain though---North Lake, Lake Silkworth, Sylvan Lake, Lake Jean, or even Shickshinny Lake.

[WasPA]

Don't overlook Lily Lake tucked away near Pond Hill, somewhere between Nuangola and Wapwallopen.......very quiet and few houses. Singer/actress Edie Adams (wife, then widow of Ernie Kovacs) once has a place there.......

Lake Pine Crest near lovely Huntington Mills (actually at Town Hill hamlet) is a pretty lake...nearby Shickshinny Lake is fine, but the taxes are unusally high......

[dansdrive]

Originally Posted by WasPA

Don't overlook Lily Lake tucked away near Pond Hill, somewhere between Nuangola and Wapwallopen.......very quiet and few houses. Singer/actress Edie Adams (wife, then widow of Ernie Kovacs) once has a place there.......

Lake Pine Crest near lovely Huntington Mills (actually at Town Hill hamlet) is a pretty lake...nearby Shickshinny Lake is fine, but the taxes are unusally high......

Thanks for the suggestions. I know Lilly Lake, fished there as a kid. I think it just became a State Park back them. Very nice place as I remember.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

I think if I had my choice, I would move to Big Bass Lake. Prices seem reasonable and the year round activities and amenities are pretty awesome.

Big Bass Lake

[poconoproud]

Originally Posted by dansdrive

Thanks for the suggestions. I know Lilly Lake, fished there as a kid. I think it just became a State Park back them. Very nice place as I remember.

Lily Lake has many great memories for me, too. I fished with my father and brother there many times. I hadn't thought about that for awhile, and I will share those memories today with my father when he comes for Thanksgiving dinner.