Moving to the area - looking for neighborhood suggestions (Scranton: apartments, rentals)

[Nursesharky]

My husband and I and our two young daughters are relocating from Baltimore due to a job in Wilkes-Barre. We currently live in downtown Baltimore, and want to maintain a little bit of our city lifestyle by living in a walkable neighborhood. But we are also focused on living in an area safe and friendly for our girls.

We are both fairly young, and like to mix with the "artist" crowd.

Any suggestions on neighborhoods we should look into? We have been looking a little bit at Greenridge in Scranton, but I'm a little concerned it won't be diverse enough for us, and we looked a little at Hyde Park, but the area seems little rough. Most of downtown Wilkes-Barre seemed too run down for us - but maybe we weren't in the right areas?

[Wells5]

Do you intend to rent or buy and what is your housing budget?

[Nursesharky]

We will eventually buy - we may rent temporarily to get a feel of a place/commute/etc.

our house budget will likely be around 200-300k

[Wells5]

I would avoid Scranton City. They impose a 3.4% wage tax on your income. Most other areas have a 1% wage tax or near that level. You would also have to fight the traffic on I-81 to get to WB. I would also avoid Wilkes-Barre City even though the bad rap that it gets is largely undeserved. The Dallas/Back Mountain area is where the professional class lives and is very safe and their schools are the best in Luzerne County. There are no "downtowns" there. Also very tough to find a decent house within your price range.


Central city WB is really the only true downtown in the Wyoming Valley, the various other downtowns having been supplanted by shopping centers and the mall. See links.


http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...nton-area.html


http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...fessional.html


http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...y-schools.html


http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...dallas-pa.html


http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...ar-wilkes.html


http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...e-seniors.html


http://www.city-data.com/forum/north...k-mtn-etc.html

[Chefkey]

You won't like the commute from Scranton to Wilkes Barre, it's not commuter friendly getting in and out of the Scranton area. You would mostly need to use Route 81 if you were going to and from and it's just not a pleasant thing to do every day. I had a job in Dickson City for a while and lived here in Wilkes Barre and it was just murder.

The only close place that I would say might be your thing would be around River Street near Barney farms but it's not really walking distance to the center. It is in the City though in a beautiful section and there is a nice Levee walking path there. You could check out Barney Farms but it's isolated from the rest of the city and you need to go through a not so nice area to get there. Then you have Kingston right across the river, lots of nice houses and walkable streets and Kirby Park and Nesbitt Park nearby. It's walkable but not much there for places to stop though, just a few things on Market and then a shopping hub off 11 but it's very congested around there and you can't really walk it. I wouldn't suggest the actual center of the city for living as there just aren't really any nice houses there. It's mostly the two colleges, Kings and Wilkes and a bunch of dorm type dwellings for the students.

You might like Mountain Top though, it's not a walkable town but it has many nice neighborhoods where the girls can find friends. The school there Crestwood High has a good reputation and appears to be a classic type High school upbringing. We go to the fireworks at Crestwood every summer and I'm always impressed with the community feel you get when you are there. Don't even think about North Wilkes Barre though, it's a real dicey area, south is hit or miss. You have the bad area near Carey Ave and Hazle Street but past that you get some decent sections and the area along the river is quite nice and has a levee.

[ASRGUY]

Sharky, the Nepa area isn't very diverse especially compared to Baltimore. If you are African American and prefer to be closer to other AAs, Wilkes Barre area perhaps Kingston followed by Scranton will be your best bet. Not saying you or family will have issues elsewhere but some parts of Nepa are just not diverse.

While traffic from Scranton to WB for work might not be ideal I would imagine compared to Baltimore it would be a breeze. I did it and would guess it was 30 to 40 minutes most days but come for a visit and make the drive on 81 S.

If top schools are your priority you are going to sacrifice some diversity to be honest. WB and Scranton city schools being urban in our areas tend to perform worse than the burbs. Compared to Bmore crime here is also not a big concern but WB and Scranton have a few less than ideal areas.

Perhaps look at Kingston, Pittson, Mountain Top all in Luzerne County. Your request for urban, walkable and good schools isn't too realistic in Nepa.

But make the quick drive up you can get a good idea of the area in a day perhaps two.

[ASRGUY]

Sharky, there are also nice parts of the upper hill section of Scranton. This is closer downtown Scranton than Green ridge and is diverse. Large Jewish population, AAs, Indian etc. As another poster mentioned property tax is high but with your budget you can get a really nice house there. Chef has a valid point your commute is probably 35-45 minutes.

If you are willing to sacrifice a longer commute and diversity and be 10 mins from Scranton and 5 to 10 mins from shopping in Dickson City the best school district is Abington Heights. This includes Clarks Summit,Clarks Green, North and South Abington Township. One nice part about there is easy access to the turnpike and 81 for getting to WB for work.

So basically, you might need to weigh diversity and urban vs less diversity and burbs with top schools. Sorry to be that blunt but just what Nepa is. Keep in mind I cannot imagine even the worst city school in Scranton or WB could compare to those in BMore you know? Just not as bad an area.

[DavidWebb]

Originally Posted by Nursesharky

My husband and I and our two young daughters are relocating from Baltimore due to a job in Wilkes-Barre. We currently live in downtown Baltimore, and want to maintain a little bit of our city lifestyle by living in a walkable neighborhood.

Moving from a big city like Baltimore to NEPA is like moving from Florida to Alaska....you're not going to find big city living up here.....

[ASRGUY]

Webb is right all I can suggest is coming for a weekend visit. I personally like downtown Scranton better than downtown WBarre. I also think Scranton is a bit safer. I honestly would suggest the Hill Section of Scranton first given the OPs preferences. You will sacrifice commute time for work to WB.

[takun]

I have a relative who has lived in the upper Hill section for 5 years now. They rented for 3 years and bought a house around the corner 2 years ago. It is a nice neighborhood. Neighbors welcomed them. There are lots of kids in the area. We always see them coming home from school or riding bikes, etc. They run out of candy every Halloween since there are so many!

We like to visit downtown Scranton. Many wonderful restaurants, great Broadway touring shows come to the Scranton Cultural Center (and they have shows and activities for kids as well), seasonal events such as the Buy Local marketplace at the Cultural Center, the Holiday Market run by the Scrantonmade organization, La Festa Italian festival on Labor Day weekend, the University offers different programs. So we are out there frequently. I know the city has its problems, but it also has its good points too.