Hawley, PA - What's it like to live there? (Scranton: for sale, lease)

[whattoknow]

Hello all,

Does anyone have any comments they'd like to share about Hawley, PA? There is a senior community I am thinking of moving to, mostly because I want to live live as near to Warwick, NY as my income will allow. I am managing on SSDI.

Would you consider living there yourself? Why or Why not?


Thanks,

[mathjak107]

the area is nice but depressed . business fail left and right .

the area lost the tanglwood ski area years ago and has been in a down trend ever since . we had a house in a development not far . we sold the house 3-1/2 years ago . the new owners just sold it this month for 50k less .

[Wells5]

Hawley is a safe and pretty little village. It once boasted the largest blue stone building in the world, the Bellemonte Silk Mill, which closed decades ago and is now home to a myriad of shops, a B&B, gym and community college. Today, Hawley relies on the service and tourist industry and it hosts a 4 diamond restaurant, The Settler's Inn.

[mathjak107]

as they say - a great place to visit but not a place i would want to live day in and day out .

[whattoknow]

Thank you all for your comments. Really appreciate it.

[KarenRice]

I have lived here in the Hawley area my entire life. I was born in NJ but my family moved here in the very early 1970s. It is a challenge to make a living here, but I am very thankful to have raised my children here. All three of them have done very well in the Wallenpaupack school district - it is an excellent district. I like the quietness of the area. Scranton is not far away for "major" shopping - Honesdale is nearby with a larger downtown area, plus Kmart, Walmart, Home Depot.

If you're looking for someplace quiet to land, it's a nice place. I guess it totally depends on how you will support yourself. It is a pretty little town, and there are a lot worse and more depressed places you could land.

[mathjak107]

we left tanglwood north 3-1/2 years ago and i found it amazing how many business are either gone or for sale .

we saw aj's , rumors , the fallsport inn , muggs , the fairview cafe , the ice cream stand , angelo's bakery and sooooo many others either fail or go up for sale .

the problem is there is so little to support the area all winter now that the ski area is gone .

i couldn't believe the people we sold the house to sold it last month for 50k less then we sold it to them 3 years prior and that does not include the brokers fees .

i think you even had it on your web site as a mls for them .

[KarenRice]

Just Rumors is not failing - seems to be doing a decent business every time I drive by (I live nearby). But then again, I don't go to bars. LOL

The Fairview Cafe was in my opinion, something that was overbuilt for the the area. Beautiful building - someone spent a LOT of money to build it.. I also not find the atmosphere or food appealing when the last owner had it - I went there once or twice and had no desire to go back. The food was mediocre and expensive, and I didn't care for the loud TVs on all the time! The ice cream stand has a thriving business every year - just because they are selling it does not mean it is failing.

Another local restaurant - which I will not name - is also up for sale. My husband and I went there 3 different times to eat: the first time, they lacked 2 menu items (the very reason we went there.) The second time, the meal was OK but very small portions. The 3rd and last time we went there, once again, they did not have a menu item, I had to settle for something else, my corn on the cob was served to me COLD, and my "serving" of cole slaw was given to me in a tiny plastic cup most people use for Jello shots. I'm not surprised it is up for sale. Other people I talked to had similar experiences there.

Some people start up businesses and have no idea really what they are doing or who they are serving - some start up businesses and decide the life of being a slave to your business isn't for them. The guy who recently purchased the Pine Hurst was on the TV show Restaurant Rescue or whatever - while on the show he admitted he never even WORKED in a restaurant before, let alone knew anything about running one. No wonder he needed help! LOL

There is no doubt that this is a tough economy here - but you have to be smart when you open a business, know your clientele, and for heaven's sake don't insult them with cold food and minuscule portions. Yes, the ski area closing has hurt the winter time economy - no doubt. Like I said in my first post - whether this area is right for you or not depends on how you are going to support yourself financially. My husband and I are both self employed (he is a contractor) and we do OK. Some years are better than others. I try to patronize local businesses as opposed to chains as much as I can but sometimes THEY make it hard with limited hours, limited selection etc.

[mathjak107]

rumors was gone when we sold , they were bought by new owners and reopened .

fairview lost their lease and got the boot but they were doing well . a bit high end for the area but they had a following .

there is just little stability in business in the area . for one reason or another business's come and go like crazy . more so then when we first came to the area .

it is a tough area to earn a living .

that is one of the things that kept us from moving there pre retirement .

while we could make do with about 1/3 less income in pa then here in queens the pay for what i do was less then 1/2 .

ultimately we decided not to retire there because if i wanted to do a little work in retirement there was little that paid enough to make it worth my time .

here in queens i do some consultation work in retirement just 2 days a month and make more then a weeks pay in nepa .


i can see being a contractor in nepa , that would be a decent job . our old gardner/ maintance man / snow plow guy also works as a bail bondsman in hawley and does okay . but he does have to where a lot of hats to make ends meet .

[KarenRice]

Another thing to remember is a lot of the local people just can't afford to eat out and patronize tourist-centric businesses. That's definitely a consideration. Again - depending on what kind of lifestyle you want to live here, and how you will support yourself, it can be a nice area or it can be boring as heck. I will take boring over the city life any day!

I personally am happy here - I do want to leave the area eventually but only because I want to be closer to my family in Seattle. And I want milder winters. LOL