Looking to buy in Old Forge (Scranton, Taylor: renting, crime, houses)

[jsschwass]

My wife and I are currently renting in Scranton but found a house we love in Old Forge. I am a native Scrantonian, but know very little about the Old Forge area (other than the pizza, of course). Any info is appreciated (ie taxes, crime, things to do, etc).

[blip]

Originally Posted by jsschwass

My wife and I are currently renting is Scranton but found a house we love in Old Forge. I am a native Scrantonian, but know very little about the Old Forge area (other than the pizza, of course). Any info is appreciated (ie taxes, crime, things to do, etc).

Howdy, I'm pretty new to the area, but have family in Old Forge, so a couple pointers until others pipe in. I think maddie10 is a frequent poster who lives in OF.

Taxes: property taxes are higher than Scranton for the house you get, but you'll see the particulars for the houses you look at. There is a 1% wage tax for residents vs. 3.4% in Scranton.

Crime is pretty low from everything I can tell. Many people keep doors unlocked most of the day.

Things to do other than pizza: not much. There's a little park in the middle of town with a decent playground if you have young kids. It's at Susquehanna and Maxson.

There are a couple bars in town, GI's has the best/worst repute. Dooley's pub is popular and I've heard good things about the food, but haven't been there. My in-laws also like Jitterz Cafe on N Main.

Rossi's is an ok grocery store for basics, but my in-laws tend to go up to Price Chopper for produce and bigger shopping trips. There's a little health food grocery store too, right on Main.

Hope this helps. Good luck with the house..

[jsschwass]

Thanks so much for the info!

[chezbowski]

i lived in Old Forge for 25 years... nice town to grow up in... where's the house? The Polish section (Austin Heights) or the Italian Section (the rest)?

[jsschwass]

It's on south main st.

[chezbowski]

THink that's in the Italian section. But seriously, Old Forge has some great Italian restaurants, great pizza, and some nice neighborhood bars.

Pizza:
Gigarelli's (if you like onions)
Revello's (if you don't)
Salerno's (if you don't like onions, and like lots of cheese)

Italian:
Cafe Rinaldi, Arcaro's, and Anthony's are all very good; Anthony's is a bit more expensive than the others. My favorite is Amadeo's however, and is very affordable compared to these other 3.

Bars:
Dooley's is the most accessable bar to someone new in town. A couple different taps, a bunch of odd imports, big food menu. The food service is wicked slow at times however.
Salerno's and GI's have established clientelle, and usually when a non-regular walks into GI's, the record scratches to a halt, and everyone turns around to look. I used to own the place...it's quirky. And if you're a Penn State fan, stay away on game day. If you like Pitt tho, you'll fit right in.

Supermarket:
Rossi's... not much in the way of anything special here. I used to go to Taylor for Price Chopper, or Wegmans in Dickson City when I want something really out there.

As far as things to do, you'll probably end up doing most of what you did in Scranton.

[SuperNova44]

The pizza in Old Forge may have attained a good reputation but it isn't what it used to be (too much confidence maybe, a false sense of security?). Gigarelli's is so bad that it shouldn't even be served - dry, usually burned, not real cheese, no taste and the service is awful.... Salerno's and Riviello's aren't as bad but the service is horrible. You're lucky if you get a napkin or if someone smiles at you. Actually, consider it a National holiday if you get half-decent service. All of the places are run down holes in the wall. Do yourself a favor and go to a national chain for pizza - at least you'll know what you're getting.

[SuperNova44]

Do you even know what you're talking about? You speak of sections like it's Germany. Grow up.

[Marietta Schiavo]

We have a large house, with a pool, for sale in Old Forge. It has 4 bedrooms,2.5 baths, finished downstairs, updated kitchen, closed in backporch with a woodburning fireplace. Nice quiet street, dead-end, we're next to the last house on the street. Great neighbors.

[Marietta Schiavo]

Off of Moosic Road