Long Term Relocatoin to Wilkes-Barre Area (Pittsburgh, Scranton: middle-class, section 8, new home)

[Johnny Five]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

Have you ever tried getting over yourself?

Shawnee huh, lemme guess, vulture capitalist, crony or triple dipper of government entitlements. Regardless, looks like I struck a nerve.

Duke

[ConfusingRotary]

Thirty minutes from Wilkes-Barre could be decently far. What town will you actually be working in?

As for WB itself, you're best off living right around the square. While it's technically a city, it is more like a small, dense suburb than bigger cities. Many of the homes in city limits are single family houses with a small yard. Aside from a few lofts that came in maybe 5 years back, there isn't a very large typical "city" area. WB is dangerous relative to the area surrounding it, but to be honest, it's more a matter of it being kind of scuzzy than actually dangerous.

If you give us the actual town you're working in, we might be able to give you more options.

[Chefkey]

Originally Posted by Johnny Five

They did it because they are pseudo yuppies who think Disney World is a high brow vacation. Most of them have never seen a foreign place beyond the deck of a cruise ship. Within the cavernous volume of their Mc Donald's mansion lies Chinese furniture sold at Costco along with their store bought oil paintings. They are soulless prunes of humanity devoid of free will who think Sean Hannity is a great American. They are rape shamers, s1ut shamers, poor shamers, birthers, Birchers, flat earthers, creationists, doomsday preppers, kool-aid drinkers and monster truck spectators who are rebels from the war of Northern aggression.

Their motivation is simple...ego. Yes, there is a loathing deep in my stomach like a fine Stilton cheese.

Namaste,

Duke

Your bombastic rhetoric renders your point uncredible and is not in context with the OP's topic. Ramble on if you must, maybe just find a political thread to air your pomposity instead of wasting your colorful jargon us poor mountain folk.

[Johnny Five]

Originally Posted by Chefkey

Your bombastic rhetoric renders your point uncredible and is not in context with the OP's topic. Ramble on if you must, maybe just find a political thread to air your pomposity instead of wasting your colorful jargon us poor mountain folk.

NEPA's situation calls for bombastic colorful jargon. As I sit in Peckerwood Estates, (its really Penwood Estates but my name sounds better) I ponder my ramble and feel no regret. Although my rant contains vitriol, it spurs emotion to my readers. I thought all you hillfolk love a Chris Christie gangster type figure. I thought NEPA loves a villain. You certainly love living in their mess.

The OP coined the verbiage "pansies". What can I say, I am encouragible.

Namaste

Subcommendante Raul Duke

[Gerania]

South Franklin and South isn't quite the ghetto. That area borders Wilkes University. It's not Camden, NJ or East St. Louis, IL, though there are some streets, neighborhoods not far from there which are rather unsavory.

In which neighborhood did you grow up? Your daddy was probably a lawyer or an accountant and you lived in the 'burbs and slummed in the city to pi@@ him off.

[StickyWidget]

Hi Everyone, thanks! Even Johnny Five, who reminded me that jokes don't transmit without tags.

Marchawg, I'm working near Berwick. I'm fine with a 30 minutes commute, I've been making it all week so far with no problems. I'd guess winter will be different, talking with residents about the winter leads me to believe the roads are tough in snow. I will also be flying in and out, and it seemed like W-B was a good halfway mark.

Chef, the area I'm looking at now is near the Wilkes campus. I had a chance today to drive it, and I liked it pretty well. I guess I'm just looking for any other options I should consider before snapping this place up.

Ofhs, thanks for the Kingston recommendation! I'll check it out! Any neighborhoods or streets I should look at specifically?

And theatergypsy, no disrespect intended but I understand I have offended, and I ask that you not read into my ill-considered joke with malice. The folks I talked to were adamant that the area I was considering was extremely dangerous, but when I went there myself I didn't see anything that indicated danger. I saw a campus, with students playing volleyball and reading on benches, and several houses and businesses in older large houses w/ no bars on windows. I think they keyed on my mention of Franklin street, which I now understand hosted several shootings in 2013. If anything, at the time I thought that W-B residents were giving a very nice part of their own downtown an undeserved bum rap.


Sticky

[Cpt.Trips]

Hey Johnny, By chance you like Hunter S. Thompson??? You walk the line of Gonzo I kinda admire.

[Johnny Five]

Originally Posted by Cpt.Trips

Hey Johnny, By chance you like Hunter S. Thompson??? You walk the line of Gonzo I kinda admire.

I try to channel the good Doctor but need much practice. It is kind of a hobby of mine to write in his style. I thought moving to Scranton would provide me with endless material.

My hope is the good people of NEPA will rise up and kick these ba5tards in the nuts.

J

[StickyWidget]

Originally Posted by Johnny Five

I try to channel the good Doctor but need much practice. It is kind of a hobby of mine to write in his style. I thought moving to Scranton would provide me with endless material.

My hope is the good people of NEPA will rise up and kick these ba5tards in the nuts.

J

LoL. I would expect a Hunter S. Thompson follower to spell "Raoul Duke" right.

Sticky

[SteelCityRising]

OP, Downtown Wilkes-Barre is just fine, and it's only getting better from a residential perspective. Off the top of my head if you were to live Downtown you'd be within an easy walk of:

• YMCA
• Barnes & Noble
• Boscov's (regional department store chain)
• Thai Thai (Thai restaurant)
• Cafe Toscana (Italian restaurant)
• Bart & Urby's (great pub grub)
• Rodano's (pizzeria)
• King's College
• Wilkes University
• Cinema 14 Movie Theater
• Public Square (along with Fine Arts Fiesta, farmers' markets, rallies, etc.)
• F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
• Various Houses of Worship
• Art Galleries
• Kirby Park
• River Commons
• Banks
• Chinese Restaurant(s)
• Professional Offices (Physicians, Attorneys, Dentists, etc.)

I attended King's, commuted there from sprawling suburbia (Pittston Township), and grew to really appreciate the finer things of urban life so much that I left a cushy post-graduate position in the exurbs of Washington, DC to pursue living in the heart of another major U.S. city. There's something to be said for walking out your door and being able to access a mocha frappucino, a run at the park, a book signing, Chinese take-out, a happy hour, hitting the weight bench at the gym, attending a college lecture, buying fresh produce, listening to a band, etc. within minutes. Where I grew up I would have to run for exercise along a sidewalkless four-lane commuter belt (Highway 315) and always had to fear for my life. I could only somewhat safely walk to a truck stop due to poor suburban planning. For the life of me I'll never understand the mindset of suburbanites who think living on some far-flung cul-de-sac where they have to drive their kids (in traffic) for playdates, for ice cream, to go bowling, etc., etc. day after day is preferable to walking with them to all of this in a fraction of the time. As we've seen with Littleton; Newtown; Murrysville; Aurora; and so many more examples "upscale suburbia" can be just as much of a breeding ground for violence (and often rampage-styled RANDOM violence at that) as a city---where you may be blocks from gunfire but will remain unscathed as lowlives target other lowlives and keep innocent bystanders out of it.

Nationwide cities large and small have been experiencing a resurgence in private investment, population regrowth, job creation, etc. For some reason Scranton and Wilkes-Barre aren't jumping on the bandwagon due to inept leadership and an apathetic populace. On a smaller scale you should see what Pittston has been doing just over the past few years. It's like night and day from being the decrepit hellhole it was when I moved away to actually making a serious stab at becoming the Jim Thorpe of Luzerne County now. Pittston will never be a "nice" place to live due to all of the irreplaceable gap-teeth in the streetscape owing to decades of inept leadership and lack of foresight, but at least it's trying more than most other communities in the region.