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I am an Entrepreneur travelling throughout the rural Northeast/Great Lakes coast, and I have some questions about the region.
I've been here before, briefly, and I've noticed that things look pretty rough in the area. However, I still got the vibe that it wasn't a ghetto, just very down on its luck.
Anyway, I have some questions about NEPA, and I thought I'd ask them here.
1. Does this place suffer from 'Stranger Danger?' I notice that many places in the US are very socially close-minded and refuse to work with others in the community. In these places, striking up a conversation with a stranger is offensive, even when we are neighbors down the street. I won't name the places I've been at, but does NEPA put up with 'conversation across tables?' Or are people mainly focused on dwelling in their houses on the Iphone?
2. Does NEPA trust business-as-usual, or is their an exhaustion with the status quo? For example, I know of towns who didn't see the danger inherent to Wal-mart, and wound up losing all their small businesses and property within the year. I feel like I wouldn't much enjoy certain places, for instance, because any work done would be destroyed by the Walton's 'useful idiots.' Granted, I know of the big box stores in the region, but what's the past is the past, and this is just an example of what I mean.
If I were to build something, however, I would need to know if my community would stand up for itself, when it was being taken advantage of.
3. Crime and drugs are a normal part of a hard-scrabbled society. But is their a glorification of that culture, or do most people consider it desperate and meaningless? Again, not naming names, but I've been to places where that is considered to be a norm, and outright celebrated. Its disgusting.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this. And I apologize if my skepticism is unwarranted as well.
Last edited by Good_Stranger; 07-10-2015 at 01:56 PM..
OK, I'll throw out the first pitch. Yes, NEPA is not overly welcome or open minded to strangers. We were told most people go thru a 10 year "approval" period. How true that is in all cases may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point. Business as usual??? There is little to none as far as new venture capital to the area. The place is more like being in a state of limbo. Drugs? They are plentiful. Are they glorified? No, it's not like the cash rich folks of the 70's when coke and runway models were chic. Plus folks here are just plain simple. As long as the pills or meth are available, they are good. Crime? well Hazleton is the poster child of how Dominican and Hispanic illegals can flush a city down the crapper. Avoid that mess at all costs. Enjoy your visit, but don't make long term plans.
OK, I'll throw out the first pitch. Yes, NEPA is not overly welcome or open minded to strangers. We were told most people go thru a 10 year "approval" period. How true that is in all cases may be a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point. Business as usual??? There is little to none as far as new venture capital to the area. The place is more like being in a state of limbo
I guess there is an old trope in American history about the 'Stranger riding into town.' IE: A community struggles to solve its problems, and a badass Civil war Vet comes to save the day. There is an actual truth to this, however, as our ancestors were pretty desperate like us. However, they accepted and expected honest help when they could get it. The world is a large place, you'd be surprised how damn strong some people are.
If you've watched the show, 'Have gun, will travel,' the protagonist is technically a San Fran liberal of all things. And this is the 50's! But the last time a show featured this was in the 80's; A-Team + Macgyver are two examples of the trope.
What's interesting to me, however, is the '10 year approval period.' That shows there is a community left, as people have to be informally 'approved' by it. It's necessary to have standards, because without them, a community rots into a tumor.
However, ten years! Hell, not even men like George Washington would have given scrutiny to a '10 year' approval period. He just gave his credentials (Military Colonial for the British) and articulated his plan (Here is my idea for a Continental Army.) A 9-month approval period is more realistic, but then again, I could be a San Fran liberal for what all you guys know... :-P (I kid. I kid.)
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Drugs? They are plentiful. Are they glorified? No, it's not like the cash rich folks of the 70's when coke and runway models were chic. Plus folks here are just plain simple. As long as the pills or meth are available, they are good
I bet there are folks who would want something more than Drugs. Hence, I phrased the question in such a way. Life without money is tolerable. Life without a purpose is tolerable. But life without money and purpose is suicidal.
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Enjoy your visit, but don't make long term plans.
Well it would be a shame if ALL troubleshooters were forbidden from trying to do good. Don't get me, wrong, skepticism is necessary. God forbid how many of those Social justice types roam around America making a ****ty mess of things.
But the thing is, there are leaders out there. Powerful and proven men whom if given a chance, could do a lot of good. Nobody hears about them, because frankly nobody wants to listen. Which is fine. For the leaders.
Forgive me for my meddlesome optimism though. It takes serious strength to deal with how crappy this nation has become. I guess that's why principles are so important. If I owned nothing, I'd still have my principles.
And Thank you x 100 for the answers. It cleared alot of things up for me. As someone who builds organizations, I travel where I am needed, so that I can do the most good with them.
If anyone else wants to add anything, I would love to listen as well.
Last edited by Good_Stranger; 07-10-2015 at 07:57 PM..
A couple of days ago, we got an inquiry from a well-intentioned individual, but one who definitely represents one side of the polarization which afflicts our nation. I'll begin by posting a link, but have some additional comments:
This is still a somewhat older and more-provincial region, one that was considered a "depressed area", and did not share in the post-World War II prosperity as much as many of its neighbors, but that issue began to correct itself back in the 1980's; It is drawing some new residents from the Coastal cities, particularly in the Poconos, and there are a number of smaller communities, particularly to the north (Tunkhannock, Honesdale) and southwest (Bloomsburg, Danville, Lewisburg) which are doing pretty well.
Within the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys, the contrast between the older neighborhoods in the cities and surrounding small boroughs vs. the upscale suburbs on higher ground (a consequence of the Hurricane Agnes flood -- now over forty years ago) remains, Hazleton actually planned ahead and began orienting itself away from a dying coal industry as far back as the early Fifties, but the more provincial and short-sighted among the locals are still resentful about "the leveling of the playing field" and the demise of unionized jobs, and the newcomers (the majority of whom are as hard-working and decent as anybody else) get the blame.
So I think I'd have to conclude that we have our problems (methedrine seems to be a big one right now) but probably no more than anywhere compatible. I grew up here, and intend to play out the string here; no regrets.
I also enjoy marijuana a great deal, and although I understand it is still considered illegal there, my question is HOW illegal? Do people truly hassle you for it or do they leave you alone if you aren't being obnoxious about it?
I honestly had to stop reading there. That's just obnoxious in of itself. I'm sure things get even stranger.
But then again, I cut my teeth among those types, and I learn never to expect any standards from them. A good majority of Hipsters are mentally ill, anyway.
There is something that was said that I'd like to add on this.
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But the more provincial and short-sighted among the locals are still resentful about "the leveling of the playing field" and the demise of unionized jobs, and the newcomers (the majority of whom are as hard-working and decent as anybody else) get the blame.
Take it from a guy who cut his teeth in DC and is a member of the 1%. The only thing left that can save America is Anger with Purpose. Believing is something is essnetial, when people have nothing. The fact that people hold resentment means that they have a chance to survive the coming hell storm. From my experience, it feels like there are people who want something better, but the past isn't going to work anymore.
But our government has abandoned us. It's like a neglectful step-dad. In fact, I left politics because I learned how bad it really was. Nothing good can come from the Town anymore.
Yet if people lose their expectation to make life better life, then Meth is really all they have, to be honest. (Get busy living, or get busy dying...)
But if NEPA, or anywhere else, would be willing to stand up for something more, I'd be game about that. Hence, why I plan on doing a trip through the area, and then through Upstate New York. Find people who still have a spark left in them.
Reagan's sun is setting and its night in America. I do wonder who will live to see the new day.
Last edited by Good_Stranger; 07-10-2015 at 08:37 PM..
Well, The vast majority of the area is exploited in warehouses making less then 10 bucks an hour. They know they are exploited but are powerless to change it due to the low cost of living(you can always move to here but not always away). Unless a person is in the top 5% for motivation they really have no chance of getting ahead here(seems closer to 20% for most places Ive been). In the 70's is was common knowledge that if you wanted a decent job you had to bribe some politician. For 20 buck's an hour you would get people that would dig to china for you. More then money or purpose people are looking for a reward to loyalty.
At least for me, I feel like I'm living the prelude to the Canticle of Leibowitz. I will inherit a fortune, but I'm also smart enough to know that very fortune will be meaningless when I am older. I'm extremely suspicious of my fellow countrymen, because they are mindlessly killing themselves for the ghost of St. Reagan.
I'm looking for a place, wherever that is, which is interested in building something better. But in our twisted time, good intentions are considered malicious, which is why America has turned to such ****.
I've been to places where a good idea is bad because it's an idea. And since all ideas must be bad, we have to ignore the good ones, because they are ideas too. My nation is so strange, it preaches innovation and then cries in horror when someone is innovating.
Regardless. There isn't a floor to pain. Things will get worse and worse over time, until people become strong enough to save themselves by saving their community. It's hard for me to hear the merits of 'pragmatism' when life is so terrible, they need painkillers to survive on a day to day basis.
"I have found one good idea to be worth more than 100,000 men" - Tamerlane, a man known for being a Barbarian Warlord. Even he was smart enough to realize how important ideas were.
I am in Monroe County and we have one of the most diverse counties in the State: Monroe County gets more diverse as Pike gets older - News - poconorecord.com - Stroudsburg, PA. Part of that is because we are a "tourist" hotspot with one casino; but many, many resorts. We also have a very large water park that just opened in July; of course we have two other water parks that were already open. And, of course, we offer skiing in the winter. So we cater to everybody and we have sold to everybody; locals are the minority. You will not find discrimination against 'outsiders' because most are outsiders or were outsiders at one time.
As far as drugs: I would and have fought to keep them out of our workplace and off our roads. But I have lost many battles; including trying to keep legalized gambling out of our State.
At least for me, I feel like I'm living the prelude to the Canticle of Leibowitz. I will inherit a fortune, but I'm also smart enough to know that very fortune will be meaningless when I am older. I'm extremely suspicious of my fellow countrymen, because they are mindlessly killing themselves for the ghost of St. Reagan.
I don't have any idea what the hell you're talking about. In your first post it sounded like you were some kind of millionaire playboy/lottery winner who's looking for a place to build a factory or something, but you were trying to make sure your subjects were worthy of your largesse first. You seem to hold it against Northeast PA that they voted for Reagan in the 1980's yet you overlook that they voted for Obama in the 2000's. Why?
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