Why Our Local Real Estate Market Is Now in Danger (Scranton: for rent, crime)

[weluvpa]

[NYRangers 2008]

Anyone here need a box of tissues?

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by NYRangers 2008

Anyone here need a box of tissues?

Well I don't know what's been going on for the past page or so, but my allergies have been irritating lately, so perhaps I will take a box of Kleenex!

[NYRangers 2008]

I believe Dan was referring to Luna.

[memoriesbre]

Boy, I didn't read all the debating on the last few pages...
My opinion is.... If the city grows and becomes a desirable place for "trendy" shops, condo's, townhomes, etc. then I would think about moving into the CITY. First we need change for people that are looking for these things. Nothing stays the same. Creating an appealing atmosphere will bring in MONEY to the city and the entire area. Make it desirable and they will come.

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by memoriesbre

Make it desirable and they will come.

I don't agree with that....You can put lipstick on a pig and its still a pig. Who determines what is desirable or not? Paul?

You want people to move into the city then you better have more reasons then coffee shops and boutiques....You need jobs...We have no tech industry, little to no manufactoring and a jobless rate that continues to rise.

You can build these useless projects and waste the taxpayer dollars on it and we are on our way to a socialist form of gov't......If the private sector does not have enough faith or trust in the city or their projects to use their own money then why would we want to see them use our money? It they fail we are on the hook not them and its not right.

I personally do not believe that in Scranton.."if you build it they will come" because they have been building and building and NO ONE IS COMING...

[memoriesbre]

Possibly, if the city offers desirable housing, we will draw retiree's to the area. Also, there is potential in companies seeing that Scranton is not far from Wall Street and Philly and hence they too will come...

[weluvpa]

Its not like we just popped up on the map..Scranton has been 2 hours from NYC and Philly forever and yet they do not come....Wall Street West was a joke with the fiber optic infastructure stopping in the Poconos and the Lehigh Valley...

There is no draw for the younger work force to stay here and those are the people that they want for those positions.......Suitable housing for retirees is not going to rebound our city, since most are looking to live in the poconos or outside of the city they don't really come into play as a significant factor in our economy.

[blip]

Kinda a tangent, but I was always amazed that lots of folks in NYC didn't retire early or temporarily retire and move somewhere like this. I'm not even necessarily talking about the loads of wall-streeters with millions in the bank. Tens of thousands others, at least, were sitting on apartments and brownstones (townhouses) worth a few million dollars at the height of the market.

(No, unfortunately I wasn't one of them-- I thought real estate was overvalued 10 years ago. )

But, that'd be enough dough to retire to a place like this. Sure most wouldn't be interested-- people who really like their work there, who want butt-loads more of money, or who are really tied to family and friends. But I think a lot would have been more flexible, especially if they weighed in not having to work / getting to work on whatever they want. I honestly think more would have done it if they realized their property values wouldn't keep climbing irrationally, and if they knew just how much cheaper other places were.

Yeah, I know the "you get what you pay for" idea, but cost of living is still a huge plus for some people, and this town is still a lot safer than many of those neighborhoods in NYC. And, if you're focused on raising kids it's not like you've really got time to culturally take advantage of the city. And for some, the hell-hole-ishness of Scranton would increase their ironic cred.

Well, maybe next bubble, Scranton can try to poach such residents...


But, getting a little more back on topic, it is hard to get people to migrate without real jobs pulling them in-- that's the quickest way to spur migration. I do believe some of these other things can work too, but they'll take time to reverse the downward spiral into an upward one, and lure some migrants who aren't moving just for a job. It's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem, and you need some balance of approaches if you can swing it..

From everything I've heard about this town from in-laws, it sounds much better place to live than 10-20 years ago. The fact that any builders, even with government largesse, are talking about building lofts downtown sounds like a big change. I'd like to hear from other long-time residents, is Scranton a better place than 10 or 20 years ago?

[NYRangers 2008]

I have a friend that I work with, he's lived in Scranton for all of his 56 years. He said Scranton was actually better 30 years ago than it is now. There was actually more industry he tells me and the city's administration didn't pump money into useless projects. He tells me his neighborhood in West side was safer than it is now. So this isn't coming from me, this is from a life-long Scranton resident.