Any new news on the high-speed train from Scranton? (Stroudsburg: transplants, real estate)

[memoriesbre]

Just wondering about that train that is supposedly going to be going to NYC?
SWB, any info?
Daughter's boyfriend would consider working in NYC in the next few years in the accounting field. NYC pays very very well. Now, about that train??

[weluvpa]

I would not count on it in the next 10yrs at the rate that it has been being delayed and delayed.

[Need_affordable_home]

Heard it will be out in 2 years but its still a long commute! Why not just rent/live in NYC next to your job?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

I would not count on it in the next 10yrs at the rate that it has been being delayed and delayed.

I would tend to agree. I'm more of a realist in this respect, and I think the best "estimate" for the line being operational would have to be perhaps 2014. However, there has finally been progress on this issue, as there have recently been four concerned citizens' meetings (Scranton, Stroudsburg, and two in North Jersey), to give nearby residents who may be impacted by the rail traffic an opportunity to voice their concerns. The two meetings in PA went off without a hitch and without much, if any, concern from nearby residents, but I'm not sure how the two North Jersey meetings went. With how much red tape both NJ and PA have on their own terms, I could only imagine how much there would be for them both to be working cohesively on such a large project. I'd agree that the sooner, the better for this rail connection, as I'm looking to potentially commute daily to NJ or NYC as well by 2010 or so to work. My plans are to net a very large NYC salary and use that as a "nest egg" to bank for a few years until I have enough saved to open up my own personal downtown CPA firm in Scranton, hopefully by the time I'm 28.

[samvit]

Is this project really practical anyway?? From what I've heard, it wouldn't be a direct line into the city, travelers would have to transfer to another train at the Hoboken station. This would be what, something like a 2.5 hour commute each way, or 5 hrs total each day? No thanks. Sure, it would be a nice thing to have, but really just as an amenity, and not practical for people who work in the city on a daily basis.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by samvit

Is this project really practical anyway?? From what I've heard, it wouldn't be a direct line into the city, travelers would have to transfer to another train at the Hoboken station. This would be what, something like a 2.5 hour commute each way, or 5 hrs total each day? No thanks. Sure, it would be a nice thing to have, but really just as an amenity, and not practical for people who work in the city on a daily basis.

You'd be surprised just how far some people are willing to go if they perceive the benefits of their children growing up in a safer environment to be greater than the costs of a stressful daily commute. Look at Tobyhanna, just over the Lackawanna County line, where thousands of people commute two hours each way to Manhattan now for work. Tacking on an extra half-hour each way on top of that wouldn't be much more of a burden for some people if they thought they could live in a "better" area, and Scranton may someday resemble that for them, especially if the Poconos continue to become more congested as the years progress. I'm actually not the only one I know who's considering staying in Scranton after college and commuting daily back and forth to NYC for work, regardless of the time. If NEPA had more $50,000 salaries as opposed to people defending $9/hr. jobs at the Wal-Mart distribution center as being "family-sustaining", then perhaps our college-educated youths wouldn't have to endure five-hour round trip commutes everyday? I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm a realist---even Accounting careers aren't very easy to come by around here, so the train might just be what I'm looking for.

[samvit]

Yeah, these are good points, Paul. It is true that people currently living in the Poconos endure hellish commutes to the NYC/NJ region. I guess I too often look at things from my perspective, and the very notion of wasting 5 hrs a day on a train is beyond my comprehension. Let's also keep in mind, however, that with current communications technology many people are working remotely, either entirely or partially. So perhaps there are/will be a sizeable number of people whose company is based in NYC, but have the ability to work from home, and only need to be in the office a few days a week.

Actually, that description pretty well describes my brother in law, who is a financial guru (has been on CNBC many times), and lives in the bedrood community of Cold Spring, NY. He goes into the city 2-3 times a week. The town is directly on the train line, just an hour or so commute to the city. Cold Spring really is nothing spectacular in terms of appearance. It's very small and for the most part nondescript, though it is nestled in a nice setting near the Hudson. But, it offers a nice, quiet, small town lifestyle that's only a stones throw from NYC in terms of commute time. Because of that it attracts an eclectic group of people, mostly NYC transplants. It also means that property values are sky high.

[weluvpa]

I commuted 2 1/2 hrs one way to Old Bridge NJ for almost 7 years and I would rather have my car. At least if something goes wrong you get around it......Commuting is tough the worst part is rt 80 around wayne NJ or rt 280 thru the Oranges either way its a hassle to get into NYC on time from here. You ahve to leave around 5:30 am or earlier and the ride home is usually twice as long. I have had 9hr drives from NYC home.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by samvit

Is this project really practical anyway?? From what I've heard, it wouldn't be a direct line into the city, travelers would have to transfer to another train at the Hoboken station. This would be what, something like a 2.5 hour commute each way, or 5 hrs total each day? No thanks. Sure, it would be a nice thing to have, but really just as an amenity, and not practical for people who work in the city on a daily basis.

You could drive to NYC faster than this train will get you there. All the NYC-Scranton train would be is a replacement for Sister Adrian's welfare bus. The crackheads looking for free welfare would board the train rather than the bus to bring the ghetto to Scranton.

No thanks.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

You'd be surprised just how far some people are willing to go if they perceive the benefits of their children growing up in a safer environment to be greater than the costs of a stressful daily commute. Look at Tobyhanna, just over the Lackawanna County line, where thousands of people commute two hours each way to Manhattan now for work. Tacking on an extra half-hour each way on top of that wouldn't be much more of a burden for some people if they thought they could live in a "better" area, and Scranton may someday resemble that for them, especially if the Poconos continue to become more congested as the years progress. for.

The problem is, I, and most Scrantonians, do not want Scranton to become another Poconos. I do not want to live in a "Pocono Country Place," and I do not want the Scranton School District to become the underperforming, dangerous, gang-and-drug haven like Pocono Mountain School District. I don't mind some out-of-towners here and there if they are decent people, but the growth in the Poconos has been unhealthy growth, the schools and infrastructure cannot keep up, and with skyrocketing taxes and real estate, the locals are being forced out. Not to mention that many problems stem from parents who commute to NYC for work and leave their kids home unattended, and then the kids get into trouble.

Sorry, that is not what I want for my hometown. The only good part of that situation is that I would sell my house at an overinflated NYC price, and get the hell out.