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I have never prescribed to the belief that one must spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to be successful. I just sort of fell into...
Ditto. I only have a high school diploma, fell into a career out of necessity, and I'm earning well over the median household income all by myself. Family sustaining, even. My wife has a masters and I'm earning more than she is. I know a degree means more money long term, but that assumes you can find a job in your field. Many people can't, for a variety of reasons. And I've yet to run across a person with only a high school diploma having any "sense of entitlement" the way a 23 year old kid with an MBA and no experience feels entitled to a corner office with a window and 75K to start. Apparently, I run with a different crowd, I guess.
Hello, I'm brand new to this site. I just found it by accident, but I love sites about local topics, and I hope all you veterans to this site welcome my two cents! Anyway, I was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre. I lived in Scranton for about two years, but I didn't like it, and moved back to Wilkes-Barre. I'm an ex-taxi driver in the city, and Ive seen it all! I love my hometown of Wilkes-Barre and want to see it thrive. In a nutshell these are my feelings about our area. I think W-B has gotten a well deserved bad reputation over the years especially when it comes to crime, drugs and violent crime, and that reputation is the biggest wall in W-B's path to success, but I think the tide is turning in our favor. W-B has been beefing up it's police force, adding survalence cams. to troubled neighborhoods, and it's starting to pay off! A few weeks ago it was reported that crime in the city has finally started to drop off after years of growth. I think the perception is much worse than reality. This bad rep. is what keeps people from visiting our city. and investing in it. City officials need to work on changing the perception of W-B from negative too positive. I think a well run marketing campaign would go along way. Also, I think that Public Square needs many, many more festivals like the fine arts feista. There is no reason why the Square should be empty in the summertime! Our Mayor is simply not doing enough! W-B has the potential to become one of the most beautiful cities in Pa. All the pieces are there, but we need visionary leadership to put them together. And I don't think we are getting it. And while our downtown may leave alot to be desired, let's not forget that the outskirts of W-B offer some of the best entertainment options in the entire region. The Mohegan Sun IS the top grossing entertainment complex the W-B/Scr. area has ever seen, The Woodlands is the biggest and most successful nightclub complex in the W-B/Scr. area, and the Arena has been wildly successful ever since it first opened it's doors! Still selling out hockey games and top notch concerts. So this perception that Scranton is some fabulous nightlife mecca, and W-B is a dumpy ghost-town simply is not true! Our downtown definatley DOES have a long way to go, but I truely think, starting this year, it's going to make some real strides, and a dramatic change for the better is gonna begin. The much anticipated Riverfront Project is supposed to be unvailed this fall, The Hotel Sterling is "getting there" and The W-B Chamber is going to sell the theater complex to that L.A. firm. Once that happens, I think all those empty store fronts in the theater complex will fill up fast. I think once that happens store fronts all over the downtown will follow suit. I think this is going to be the year. I can feel it! Sorry, I know this post was very long and probably put everybody to sleep, but thats how I feel.
Hello, I'm brand new to this site. I just found it by accident, but I love sites about local topics, and I hope all you veterans to this site welcome my two cents! Anyway, I was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre. I lived in Scranton for about two years, but I didn't like it, and moved back to Wilkes-Barre. I'm an ex-taxi driver in the city, and Ive seen it all! I love my hometown of Wilkes-Barre and want to see it thrive. In a nutshell these are my feelings about our area. I think W-B has gotten a well deserved bad reputation over the years especially when it comes to crime, drugs and violent crime, and that reputation is the biggest wall in W-B's path to success, but I think the tide is turning in our favor. W-B has been beefing up it's police force, adding survalence cams. to troubled neighborhoods, and it's starting to pay off! A few weeks ago it was reported that crime in the city has finally started to drop off after years of growth. I think the perception is much worse than reality. This bad rep. is what keeps people from visiting our city. and investing in it. City officials need to work on changing the perception of W-B from negative too positive. I think a well run marketing campaign would go along way. Also, I think that Public Square needs many, many more festivals like the fine arts feista. There is no reason why the Square should be empty in the summertime! Our Mayor is simply not doing enough! W-B has the potential to become one of the most beautiful cities in Pa. All the pieces are there, but we need visionary leadership to put them together. And I don't think we are getting it. And while our downtown may leave alot to be desired, let's not forget that the outskirts of W-B offer some of the best entertainment options in the entire region. The Mohegan Sun IS the top grossing entertainment complex the W-B/Scr. area has ever seen, The Woodlands is the biggest and most successful nightclub complex in the W-B/Scr. area, and the Arena has been wildly successful ever since it first opened it's doors! Still selling out hockey games and top notch concerts. So this perception that Scranton is some fabulous nightlife mecca, and W-B is a dumpy ghost-town simply is not true! Our downtown definatley DOES have a long way to go, but I truely think, starting this year, it's going to make some real strides, and a dramatic change for the better is gonna begin. The much anticipated Riverfront Project is supposed to be unvailed this fall, The Hotel Sterling is "getting there" and The W-B Chamber is going to sell the theater complex to that L.A. firm. Once that happens, I think all those empty store fronts in the theater complex will fill up fast. I think once that happens store fronts all over the downtown will follow suit. I think this is going to be the year. I can feel it! Sorry, I know this post was very long and probably put everybody to sleep, but thats how I feel.
You are right on point W-B Proud and welcome to the forum. I am really happy to see another positive person join the forum. We need more of your type here to boost morale. As I always say, let's keep it positive and works toward bringing this town back to glory.
i think the issue is more the fact that what ever skills or degrees one has the commencing compensation stinks in nepa not whether you can earn more than 10 bucks an hour or not. there may be some careers that do okay but i think overall thats not the case local.
we maintain homes now in both nyc and nepa. although our kids are grown and have careers of their own if we pretend we are still raising them but in nepa this time heres what i found.
cost of a home about 1/2 of nyc(queens not manhattan). taxes about 1/2 ,electric utilities about 60% less, car insurance 1/2.
now the bad, food, gasoline , clothes , college ,health insurance , propane for heat, phone, cable, eating out , and almost everything else about the same within 10% or so.
while at best if we had 1/2 to 60% our ny income we could probley have the same life style but fact is we both cant even get 1/2
Last edited by mathjak107; 02-19-2008 at 02:41 AM..
Ditto. I only have a high school diploma, fell into a career out of necessity, and I'm earning well over the median household income all by myself. Family sustaining, even. My wife has a masters and I'm earning more than she is. I know a degree means more money long term, but that assumes you can find a job in your field. Many people can't, for a variety of reasons. And I've yet to run across a person with only a high school diploma having any "sense of entitlement" the way a 23 year old kid with an MBA and no experience feels entitled to a corner office with a window and 75K to start. Apparently, I run with a different crowd, I guess.
not sure what your median income reference is? that info is almost a decade old
Here's my 2 cents, if you are good at what you do they you do well. There are people that have higher education and no common sense. You need a slew of things to make it. Higher education, motivation and common sense do well together. I believe it is all in the person and what they want out of life and what they are willing to settle for. Then, there are people out there with no education beyond high school that do very well for themselves. Getting back to the orginal question is why people stay here...........they stay because they they really can not afford to live anywhere else.
Another reason a lot of people stay here is because their family lives here. Family is important to a lot of people in NEPA. They wouldn't leave because their clan is here. And I think that's a very good thing NEPA has going for it.
On the college topic...too true about it doesn't matter what degree you have. I graduated form college in '04...all in all at least a 200K education...I've got an OK job...I'm not going to get rich doing it, but it is rewarding and interesting. BUT...even the most optimistic forecasts see my job going overseas within the next 5 years. Many people who do what I do, who are older, and therefore paid more highly, have already lost their jobs to Indian competition. The only reason I am so busy is because I am working for a lower wage than someone with more experience.
And the only reason I even have my white collar job now is because I work remotely for a company in a big city. Other than newspapers and one children's magazine, I don't know of any publishing gigs in NEPA.
I often think of jumping ship to do something less stressful and more fun...even though it would mean less money in the long run.
Why is it that with some folks all they see is doom and gloom in the area (glass half empty), yet they continue to live and/or work here? I was born and raised in the area, left for about 15 years after high school (VA, NY, MD, DC) and returned with my wife (also from the AREA) to raise our family. We've been going on 15 years and still enjoy all that the area has to offer. Family close by, Cost of living is way less than a lot of other areas we lived, Quality schools, Family sustaining employment and Things to do. NYC & Philadelphia just hours away if you want to go get a $25 hamburg to snap you back into reality.
So if things are as bad as people paint them, why stay?
The gloom and doom part is because the politics are so crooked and corrupt in this area. There is definitely a "good ol boys" network here that makes Boss Hogg and Roscoe P. Coltrane look honest. That said, this area is still a nice place to live for the reasons you mentioned above. Just because some people, myself included, may complain about the crooked politicians, doesn't mean that I am miserable with Scranton or NE PA. Exactly the opposite...I grew up in the area, and moved into Scranton voluntarily and like it here. The good outweighs the bad, in my opinion.
Many folks who grew up in the Valley stay because their families/friends are nearby. I have extended family who were born & will die & be burried in the Valley. They have no desire to move, no matter how the area changes as they're family oriented & choose to remain close to their roots. They also are quite aware they can find bigger financial opportunities if they uprooted their families & chose to move. They like their towns, their family homes & way of life, so stay. You find this in any locale. Despite the good or bad, they will remain, weathering whatever economic/environmental/population changes time brings because they feel they're at home. We all have to settle in one way or another regardless of where we grew up, now live or will move.
I'd also venture to guess many stay because crime & COL are lower than larger cities. This is the main reason most of my relatives remain. Take a look at any newspaper to see that growing crime & traffic may seem high to some who are used to the ways of old, but comparitively, it's certainly not as bad as many metro areas. You don't have to have lived in NYC/Philly/Boston to see how much more expensive & stressful a daily way of life can be than in the small towns in NEPA.
With those who move into the area doesn't expectation come into play, as well, in regard to complaining yet staying? I read a lot on many state's boards about people who move from large cities & can't find the same ammenities they're used to back "home" in their now smaller cities. No matter where I've lived, locals complain they're being inundated with "outsiders", area newbies complain it's not the same as "back home".
A large part of the problem is just complainers. Why would someone who moves from inner-city L.A. to a small town in northern CA think it's supposed to be the same? Why would anyone move from any large city to WB & be surprised there aren't designer stores, dozens of theatres scattered throughout town & a plethora of upscale restaurants? It's never been, isn't & never will be that kind of area. Are people shocked after visiting the county or seaside resort town that it's not the same as their huge city way of life? We take daytrips & vacations to experience something different. Addressing the OP's point, I feel that anyone who moves to small-town NEPA & complains it's not "the same", has grievously unrealistic expectations & that's the true problem.
With the volume of info gained by the touch of a keystroke available to us all from our home computers, there's no excuse for being caught off-guard by what's available anywhere else. Sure personal experience is optimal in a pre-move trip, but, don't move to Boston & complain the traffic is too loud, prices are too high or the planes flying overhead are too frequent. Ah... the airport is in Boston, readily seen on any online map in seconds. An Internet search can reveal in minutes that we have some of the worst congested rush-hour traffic nationwide, because our roads were never built to handle the volume of traffic they have been for decades. Any poll read or trip here will show that we have some of the higest prices on most things, food, housing & utilities, in particular.
Similarly, why move to WB complaining there's too many trees & parks & not enough Neiman Marcus/Saks-clad folks wandering the public square or skyscraper corporations in an area of 53K population? We all knew what coal country was like beforehand & if someone didn't & is surprised, shame on them for not taking 10-minutes to see what they were getting into before relocating. And... wherever you currently live, if you don't like it, go home & make room for someone else who can be an asset to the community by bringing a positive spirit & attitude with them, hoping to assimilate into their new surroundings. Everyone can blend if they try or at the very least, accept. If we don't find what we're looking for where we are, ah, well, last time I looked there were no laws barring us from moving from one side of town to another, from region to region or from country to country.
I currently live in Boston but my heart's always been in coal country... although I don't wear it on my sleeve. Whenever & wherever I move (it's been far & wide & often), I look for things to enjoy, people who are positive & fun & try not to shake the core of the neighborhood by stating rights I feel I should have because I'm for somewhere else. Complainers... stop trying to be the "Grinches who Stole Christmas" & enjoy your bloody lives already. They'll be over soon enough.
Have fun... VV
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