relocating to wilkes barre/dallas, pa area (Wilkes-Barre, Back Mountain: transplants, house)

[donnaofnj]

Hi, my husband is a truck driver and being transferred to wilkes barre terminal. we currently live in south jersey near phillie. we are looking for a good area for our children 4 and 6 girls: good schools, nice neighborhoods, parks, etc. we dont want to live with a long commute or lots of traffic. We would prefer to have nice views, nice downtown, not too far within 30 minutes to most major stores. Also, looking for an area with low taxes, and we can definetly get more land and more house for the least amount of money. We cant spend more than 180,000 on a house and we need 4 bedrooms. Thank you for any help. And if you have pictures of these areas. Or if you know the kind of commute from these areas to wilkes barre for work. Oh, also, if anyone is an LPN, I am a LPN and was curious if anyone could tell me good place to work out there and the average pay for a LPN out there. Once again, thank you so much.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by donnasteidle

Hi, my husband is a truck driver and being transferred to wilkes barre terminal. we currently live in south jersey near phillie. we are looking for a good area for our children 4 and 6 girls: good schools, nice neighborhoods, parks, etc. we dont want to live with a long commute or lots of traffic. We would prefer to have nice views, nice downtown, not too far within 30 minutes to most major stores. Also, looking for an area with low taxes, and we can definetly get more land and more house for the least amount of money. We cant spend more than 180,000 on a house and we need 4 bedrooms. Thank you for any help. And if you have pictures of these areas. Or if you know the kind of commute from these areas to wilkes barre for work. Oh, also, if anyone is an LPN, I am a LPN and was curious if anyone could tell me good place to work out there and the average pay for a LPN out there. Once again, thank you so much.

Hello Donna!

You mentioned Dallas. While this town and the surrounding Back Mountain is a magnet community for new transplants, there really isn't a "downtown" to speak of. Downtown Dallas extends for roughly one block and ends at a congested five-points intersection. The surrounding communities are mostly just subdivisions and free-standing gas stations, banks, pharmacies, fast-food restaurants, etc. Finding a 4-bedroom home in the Back Mountain for under $180,000 will also be nearly impossible due to that area's rising home prices.

You might want to try the "West Side" communities, namely Kingston and Forty Fort. Here you'll find a lot of tree-lined streets, flat terrain, older homes, parks, etc. while only being just across the river from Downtown Wilkes-Barre which is now starting to rebound with a new movie theater, Barnes & Noble, Starbuck's, and restaurants. Member Lehigh Valley Native lives in Kingston and could probably help you out if Kingston looked to be the type of place you'd like. You may also want to check out my http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...hoto-tour.html .

Kingston has a population of about 14,000. Forty Fort has about 5,000. Both towns are part of the Wyoming Valley West School District, which I haven't heard great things about, but there are plenty of private and parochial schools around, including Wyoming Seminary and Holy Redeemer, amongst others. Neither town has a "downtown", but Wyoming Avenue (U.S. Route 11) is lined with businesses, as are Pierce and Market Streets in Kingston. Both of those streets also have bridges linking the town to Downtown Wilkes-Barre.

West Pittston is also a great town to consider, and it is about 10 miles northwest of Wilkes-Barre at the northern end of Wyoming Avenue (Route 11). It is part of the Wyoming Area School District, which has a better reputation. Housing prices in this town can be steep though. You might want to check out my http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...hoto-tour.html . The town sits across the river from Downtown Pittston, but there's little vitality left there; urban sprawl has been terribly unkind to Pittston.

Hope this helps a bit, and please let me know if you have any more questions. I live just north of Wilkes-Barre.