Job market in NEPA / Scranton? (Lancaster, Wilkes-Barre: transplants, insurance, crime)

[Positiveone]

Hi there! Since i'm a bit new at researching Scranton i have some questions!

What areas are actually considered NEPA? Is the Poconos NEPA? And is Scranton also?

I heard the Poconos has a serious crime problem these days due to the growth over many years, but is Scranton in possible danger of the same situation there?

Is there a gang problem there in NEPA? I ask because thats one thing we are trying to escape from. We live in Las Vegas, its pretty bad here.

How is the current job market in the Scranton area? Is anybody familiar with Lancaster county? What city has a stronger job market? Lancaster or Scranton?

What school districts are considerd some of the best in the Scranton suburbs? Like within 20-30 mins of Scranton.

What areas should be avoided for Floods? Is all of NEPA a flood zone?

Thanks -- Add more info if possible!!!

[W-B proud]

NEPA consist of Scranton, Wilkes Barre, Hazleton and a few surrounding counties. What the Poconos considers serious crime problems is nothing on the order of what you'd expierience in Las Vegas. There has been a spill over affect from New York, Philly, and Metro NJ into the Pocono region, bringing with it a swell in population and some crime, but not a serious crime problem, as you'd see in major metro areas. Gangs are not a problem here. Some local "gansta wannabes" cause a stir among the locals once in a while by "tagging" a building here and there, but they are not organized, and do not have turf wars and drive-bys like major metros (mostly kids being kids). I've heard that the Abingtons just north of Scranton is a fine school district. As far as jobs there has not been many as of late. Lancaster has a healthier job market then NEPA recently. I cannot comment on flood areas in and around Scranton, because in from Wilkes-Barre and do not know enough about Scranton flood zones to give an informed answer. Anyway good luck with your research.

[FightinPhils]

In the Scranton area, just about any school district is fine except for Carbondale. Carbondale consistently ranks last in the area in academic achievement. Old Forge school district also used to have fairly low scores, but they have improved over the past few years. I would think any schools around Scranton, with the exception of Carbondale, are fine. I don't really know much about Wilkes-Barre area schools.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Positiveone

Hi there! Since i'm a bit new at researching Scranton i have some questions!

Sounds great to me, considering I'm an incessant windbag full of useless facts. Shoot!

Originally Posted by Positiveone

What areas are actually considered NEPA? Is the Poconos NEPA? And is Scranton also?

This link is at the top of our sub-forum, and it sums up NEPA (Northeastern Pennsylvania) rather well.

Coverage Area of NEPA Sub-Forum

The counties highlighted in red are the ones generally considered to be NEPA, although one can argue that Northumberland and Montour Counties in the lower-left hand side of the red shading are really part of the Central Susquehanna Valley instead. NEPA is "anchored" by the larger cities of Scranton (pop. 70,000), Wilkes-Barre (pop. 40,000), and Hazleton (pop. 25,000) with some larger population centers dotted around here and there like Stroudsburg, Carbondale, Tunkhannock, etc. The Poconos and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton are both part of NEPA, although generally speaking over half of the residents of the Poconos are now transplants from somewhere else, meaning that most consider "NEPA" to be just the Lackawanna/Luzerne County area, which is less transient in nature.

Originally Posted by Positiveone

I heard the Poconos has a serious crime problem these days due to the growth over many years, but is Scranton in possible danger of the same situation there?

It's truly hard to say. After decades of decline, Lackawanna County (Scranton Area) and Luzerne County (Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton Areas) are both finally growing again in terms of population as per the last few years of the U.S. Census estimates. Hazleton is gaining a rather sizeable Hispanic community, which has led to a lot of racial tensions in Lower Luzerne County. (Google Lou Barletta sometime). Wilkes-Barre is becoming more diverse with each passing year and probably (don't quote me on this) has the highest percentage of African-Americans out of the three cities, judging from what I've seen in all three cities. Scranton remains the most "vanilla" city, where some people still consider Polish-American, Irish-American, Italian-American, etc. to be "diversity," even though they're all non-Hispanic Caucasians. There has been a growing population of Hispanics in parts of SouthSide in recent years though, including the opening of several Latin-oriented businesses.

I'm a firm believer that the rapid population growth in the adjacent Poconos WILL eventually spill up I-380 into the Scranton Area and up Route 115 into the Wilkes-Barre Area. A lot of NY/NJ transplants are already purchasing lots in the Mountain Top, Drums, and White Haven areas between Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton in Luzerne County, and the same can now be said for the North Pocono area (Greater Moscow) in Lackawanna County, which is only about 15 minutes away from Scranton via I-380. Growth is inevitably coming, but I don't foresee the growth being managed as poorly as it has been in Lancaster County, where traffic congestion, sprawl, etc. have become REAL problems due to unchecked growth. Let's not forget that in our heyday Scranton had 75,000 more residents, Wilkes-Barre had 45,000 more residents, Pittston had 14,000 more residents, etc., etc., so there's still PLENTY of room for tens of thousands of more transplants in the urbanized core of Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties before we start feeling "growing pains."

Originally Posted by Positiveone

Is there a gang problem there in NEPA? I ask because thats one thing we are trying to escape from. We live in Las Vegas, its pretty bad here.

Crime knows no boundaries. There aren't many major "gang issues" around here, but gangs most certainly DO have a presence here. A lot of people like to sweep this under the rug, but there are indeed plenty of gang members in our area, albeit less than in the Poconos, and even far less still than in SEPA/NJ/NYC. As was said earlier other than some wannabes graffiti-tagging buildings (or the sound barriers along I-81 in Dunmore for example), the gangs stay pretty silent around here. I don't worry about a Blood or Crip walking up to me and randomly blowing my head off for no good reason, and neither should anyone else who stays on the right side of the law.

Originally Posted by Positiveone

How is the current job market in the Scranton area? Is anybody familiar with Lancaster county? What city has a stronger job market? Lancaster or Scranton?

Lancaster has a stronger job market because of its high growth rate, but there are still jobs to be had here in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area as well at companies like Sanofi-Pasteur Pharmaceuticals, Tobyhanna Army Depot, MetLife, Merrill Lynch, Pennstar Bank, PNC Bank, Prudential Financial, CIGNA HealthCare, Blue Cross of NEPA, Guard Insurance, Pride Mobility, iGourmet, Pepperjam, Solid Cactus, etc. Most of those who whine about being unable to find a job for year after year are those who have little or no education or skills and also interview poorly. They instead blame it on "the system," as if it's entirely the government's fault that they can't locate a job.

Originally Posted by Positiveone

What school districts are considerd some of the best in the Scranton suburbs? Like within 20-30 mins of Scranton.

Abington Heights (Clarks Summit), North Pocono (Moscow), and Wyoming Area (West Pittston) are probably three of the highest-ranked public school districts in the Scranton suburbs. All are within about 20 minutes from the city proper.

Originally Posted by Positiveone

What areas should be avoided for Floods? Is all of NEPA a flood zone?

Generally speaking you're not fully "safe" anywhere from flooding in our area. We live at 900 feet above sea level near no body of water, yet we spent a day two weeks ago pumping out our basement, and if predictions for two more inches of heavy rainfall are true for this current storm, we'll be doing it again. Folks in the mountainous town of Bear Creek, near Wilkes-Barre, were also severely flooded several years ago during a freak stalled storm. Naturally your chances of being flooded are going to be greater near a flowing body of water, but don't get lulled into too much of a false sense of security just because you're in the highlands, either, as my family has found out.

Originally Posted by Positiveone

Thanks -- Add more info if possible!!!

You're welcome, and good luck in your potential move to PA.