Looks Like You Made It! (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre: 2009, unemployment rate, live in)

[Spyarella]

Hey there Scrantonians!

Thought I'd share with you an article I came across today on Lifehacker.com, The 10 Most & Least Affordable US Cities. Low and behold, Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA was ranked #10 on the best list for metropolitan areas with a population over 500,000.

Anyway, congrats my good old hometown! I was shockingly surprised that I did not see my current resident city of San Diego listed on the worst of the list...but I'm quite sure we're quite likely somewhere in the top 20.

One has to wonder though how the high unemployment rate does or does not come into play in their ranking system?

BTW, from this point on I'm changing my name to
"Currently Searching for Work Spyarella"

[roxxy38]

Wow! Finally something positive about Scranton. I sure hope no one ruins this post!!!

I dont live in Scranton but frequent it and think that some areas are very nice. I like the old architecture is beautiful. Soon as the weather gets nice I am going to stroll through some of the areas in Scranton to get a better view.

Great Post!!!!!

[roxxy38]

again I am shocked! No person has said a nice thing about Scranton. Where are you Scranbarre!!!!!

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by roxxy38

again I am shocked! No person has said a nice thing about Scranton. Where are you Scranbarre!!!!!

I'm putting my tail between my legs because I know I've been defeated. Scranton is leading in a new "Richmond vs. Scranton" poll I've started though on the "City vs. City" forum.

[blip]

Thanks for sharing, Spyarella, and sorry to hear about the job loss.

Looks like this was based solely on housing prices, but sounds like California's jobless rate is far worse than PA's. (9.3% vs 7 and change for PA, the last stats I saw.)

Originally Posted by roxxy38

again I am shocked! No person has said a nice thing about Scranton.

Well, it's certainly the best geographical location of the top 10. It's interesting that you can have one of the most affordable metro areas so close to the NY metro area...

(Btw, the whole list seems somewhat suspect with El Paso being on the most expensive?)


Speaking of Rustbelt and Sunbelt, there's an interesting article in the Atlantic by Richard Florida on how the current crash will affect the country demographically:
How the Crash Will Reshape America - The Atlantic (March 2009)

Peppered with some Creative Class stuff, of course. All in all an interesting take on where this will take us. Has me more convinced our best hope is more integration into the greater NY economy, (though I don't think that can be as a typical commuter town.)

[Spyarella]

Originally Posted by blip

Thanks for sharing, Spyarella, and sorry to hear about the job loss.

Looks like this was based solely on housing prices, but sounds like California's jobless rate is far worse than PA's. (9.3% vs 7 and change for PA, the last stats I saw.)

Thanks blip. You are correct, California's unemployment rate is worse and sadly, adding the 20,000 government workers that are being laid off will hit us even harder. After sending out 48 resumes and having had very few replies, I'm getting the feeling that having been self-employed for the last 16 years is working against me! If I hear one more person tell me, "gee, I never realized I could hire someone else for so much less", I'm gonna lose it! And trust me, I'm not asking for alot. Just enough to get by is good enough for me.

I must say, Scranton is looking pretty desirable to me these days, especially the idea of being back with my family and friends, so I'm considering ALL possible options. Maybe I'll be meeting you in person soon!