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Pittston, Pa in the 1960's & 70's. Oh, you mean now?
Do yourself a favor, follow the other fam south. PA is in a death spiral of increasing taxes & decaying infrastructure. It's basically NJ w/ bad teeth, racism & inbreeding.
Things I consider taxes that aren't likely included in the study linked are state vehicle inspections, roads that have a great potential to damage your vehicle and police that don't do their jobs.
Crime is an ever increasing issue in PA. Even just day to day annoyances like code enforcement & barking dogs are not enforced esp. if the person knows someone. There's a rampant do you know who I am mentality; & Luzerne county for example has like 80 different cities & townships all w/ their own tax collectors, mayors and council. So basically, everyone in PA is someone important.
Nice link! You realize that link sells our State's tax system over NY and NJ. It scores PA as #24 out of the fifty states and NJ as #7 and NY as #1 for the highest taxes. Of course there is the 'comparing apples and oranges' issue because of higher fuel taxes and other issues.
As far as roads; yes we have some problems. But it is up to our residents to keep the pressure on our representative to fix our problems. That is how we get change.
I do get upset when I hear people making claims about PA like: "It's basically NJ w/ bad teeth, racism & inbreeding." For one thing; my area is almost all transplants from NJ or NY. If they are quilty of any of those charges; they brought them with them! 99.9% of the people I bump into when I shop are not from our State. Of course there are areas of our State that have enclaves of people that do not want to change; but that would be expected. To me a racist is anybody that treats any group of people as a group; instead of treating people as individuals.
As far as your comment about people making themselves more important than others: that can go for any state. It isn't that other states, even NJ, have people that think they are very important - like Jayson Williams: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayson_Williams.
Be aware PA septic system rules are much more draconian/expensive than most other states. A rural place that looks to an outsider cheap to fix up, especially close to the NJ border, may be cheap for that reason (or possibly floodplain, or both). About 3% of PA soils (probably less in the Poconos) qualifies for the in-ground trenches that's the normal system in other states. (The "dry well" not uncommon even now in NY state, won't fly in PA at all.) The standard sand mound (colloquially "turkey mound") is $20k typically and that's if you're lucky. Many places will need a mini sewer plant before the sand mound, or a stream discharge, or basically have no legal means of discharge at all, and PA won't allow a new-build home on a holding tank. State rules are locally administered, meaning even more of a tendency to soak the new guy. If you are on town sewer $75/month rates are not unusual.
One new fun feature to snag the new-builder is stormwater rules. An example is creating 1,000 sq ft or more of impervious area (that's not just the house square footage, includes the driveway too even if it's stone, and the deck), though this varies by township, will force you to hire an engineer or surveyor to draw up a stormwater management plan, dig up more ground for something that allegedly infiltrates rain water, and then you have to pay the township engineer possibly as much as it cost you to hire someone to draw it up, to review this document before paying the extra for these infiltration features. Again these are locally administered, new guy watch out.
Be aware PA septic system rules are much more draconian/expensive than most other states. A rural place that looks to an outsider cheap to fix up, especially close to the NJ border, may be cheap for that reason (or possibly floodplain, or both). About 3% of PA soils (probably less in the Poconos) qualifies for the in-ground trenches that's the normal system in other states. (The "dry well" not uncommon even now in NY state, won't fly in PA at all.) The standard sand mound (colloquially "turkey mound") is $20k typically and that's if you're lucky. Many places will need a mini sewer plant before the sand mound, or a stream discharge, or basically have no legal means of discharge at all, and PA won't allow a new-build home on a holding tank. State rules are locally administered, meaning even more of a tendency to soak the new guy. If you are on town sewer $75/month rates are not unusual.
One new fun feature to snag the new-builder is stormwater rules. An example is creating 1,000 sq ft or more of impervious area (that's not just the house square footage, includes the driveway too even if it's stone, and the deck), though this varies by township, will force you to hire an engineer or surveyor to draw up a stormwater management plan, dig up more ground for something that allegedly infiltrates rain water, and then you have to pay the township engineer possibly as much as it cost you to hire someone to draw it up, to review this document before paying the extra for these infiltration features. Again these are locally administered, new guy watch out.
Many of the new regulations were shoved through at the National level during the last years of the Obama administration. Everything has progressively become more complex. It is also one of the reasons we have hoped for change with the new administration. What I am saying is that PA is not entirely at fault. Although every state can have their own interpretations of those rules.
Pittston, Pa in the 1960's & 70's. Oh, you mean now?
Do yourself a favor, follow the other fam south. PA is in a death spiral of increasing taxes & decaying infrastructure. It's basically NJ w/ bad teeth, racism & inbreeding.
Things I consider taxes that aren't likely included in the study linked are state vehicle inspections, roads that have a great potential to damage your vehicle and police that don't do their jobs.
Crime is an ever increasing issue in PA. Even just day to day annoyances like code enforcement & barking dogs are not enforced esp. if the person knows someone. There's a rampant do you know who I am mentality; & Luzerne county for example has like 80 different cities & townships all w/ their own tax collectors, mayors and council. So basically, everyone in PA is someone important.
Be aware PA septic system rules are much more draconian/expensive than most other states. A rural place that looks to an outsider cheap to fix up, especially close to the NJ border, may be cheap for that reason (or possibly floodplain, or both). About 3% of PA soils (probably less in the Poconos) qualifies for the in-ground trenches that's the normal system in other states. (The "dry well" not uncommon even now in NY state, won't fly in PA at all.) The standard sand mound (colloquially "turkey mound") is $20k typically and that's if you're lucky. Many places will need a mini sewer plant before the sand mound, or a stream discharge, or basically have no legal means of discharge at all, and PA won't allow a new-build home on a holding tank. State rules are locally administered, meaning even more of a tendency to soak the new guy. If you are on town sewer $75/month rates are not unusual.
One new fun feature to snag the new-builder is stormwater rules. An example is creating 1,000 sq ft or more of impervious area (that's not just the house square footage, includes the driveway too even if it's stone, and the deck), though this varies by township, will force you to hire an engineer or surveyor to draw up a stormwater management plan, dig up more ground for something that allegedly infiltrates rain water, and then you have to pay the township engineer possibly as much as it cost you to hire someone to draw it up, to review this document before paying the extra for these infiltration features. Again these are locally administered, new guy watch out.
Thank you for this info...definitely something to keep in mind. We just learned this firsthand as our neighbors put in a new septic (it was working fine...but they are in a duplex and the other side was sold, and flipped/renovated and bullied them into it and they didn’t stand up for themselves) and had to have a pump by code...so now they have an extra electric bill and a problem when the power goes out. We are lucky that we are on a slope on the other side of the street, so never have to worry about that, but it was something I knew not much about and so I will be more aware when looking at places to move.
Many of the new regulations were shoved through at the National level during the last years of the Obama administration. Everything has progressively become more complex. It is also one of the reasons we have hoped for change with the new administration. What I am saying is that PA is not entirely at fault. Although every state can have their own interpretations of those rules.
Agreed. I’m from NJ. I would be naive if I expected government that really wants what’s best for us. We’re just looking for a slightly better quality of life/cost of living for the 20 years or so until we can retire. Especially with our new governor, I’m not sure NJ is that place.
Agreed. I’m from NJ. I would be naive if I expected government that really wants what’s best for us. We’re just looking for a slightly better quality of life/cost of living for the 20 years or so until we can retire. Especially with our new governor, I’m not sure NJ is that place.
The main thing is to do your homework. Visit areas you think you might be interested in. Talk to potential new neighbors and get a feel for any new neighborhood. Possibly stop into the local police station or post office and ask about the problems you could encounter. I am not pretending it is a perfect solution; but buying a new house can tie up your funds for may years. Many of us have suggested that people rent before they buy. It can only take one bad neighbor to spoil the apple barrel.
There are always some that had higher expectations than reality. We also have many 'professional' salespeople that simply want to earn their commission (that is not exclusive to PA). They make their money from selling; regardless of your happiness. Real estate agents are not your 'friends' no matter how strong their handshake - buyer beware.
Thanks! This is helpful. What towns would you say are considered “rural” in Wayne County?
There are not that many what I would consider real towns with a main street and all. Honesdale, Hawley and I don't know what else. Take Hamlin or Lake Ariel for instance, there's not what I would even call a downtown. Perhaps then I would consider that rural, though there is that big development nearby, the Hideout. Hamlin does have grocery stores etc. Well actually there are two Weis stores the one in the Plaza with the Tractor Supply doesn't seem very busy so I don't know if it will continue on or not. But there are some conveniences there and it is still pretty rural for what it's worth. Lake Ariel is not far from Hamlin also.
Someone mentioned the south as being so much better, that may be I can't say but it reminds me I was talking to an acquaintance from northern NJ who recently had the occasion to visit TN and stopped at a convenience store to get gas etc. and the workers there noticed his accent right away and refused to sell him a sandwich..."you're a Yankee we're not making you a sandwich". lol He did find the landscape beautiful though and other parts of TN were friendly enough.
Schuylkill County is where you can find fixer uppers on acreage for under $100,000. Many of the towns have main streets which reflect the prosperity that the county enjoyed when anthracite coal was king. There is some poverty in this region and many people have moved on. The topology is hilly but there are many beautiful areas. If you are not averse to living in an urban environment, houses in many towns can be found for under $35,000. And Republican voters out number Democratic voters. Newark is about a 2 hour drive away.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 03-27-2018 at 07:52 AM..
Reason: Single real estate listings are not allowed
There is plenty old timey feel but not necessary charming i would rather look into nh vermont maine.
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