Searching for nice place to live - Hazleton area (Philadelphia: rent, amusement park)

[88keys]

Hello all!

We’ve been reading many of the threads on this forum ever since my husband began considering a new job in Hazleton last fall, hoping to get a better idea of what it would be like to live in NEPA. Well, we liked what we read, and he has been offered and accepted the position, so we will be moving out your way once our house sells. (That could take a while, I know, but let’s hope . . .) We’ll be going out together in early April to scout out places to live, and we’d like to narrow down possibilities as much as we can beforehand.

Here’s our situation:

1) We’ll be bringing 3 children with us (elementary, middle-school, and high-school aged), so a good school district is very important. According to my sons, nice teachers are a priority. I would like the school to be large enough to have some nice offerings but not too large. Right now, my daughter attends a high school with an enrollment of 2000, and that’s a little large for my taste.

2) My husband is willing to commute up to 45 minutes each way, but I’d really like to have him home more.

3) We have another son who will be starting college in the fall. He wants to stay behind to go to school, but we’d like to live someplace close to a university in case going to school so far from his family doesn’t work out.

4) An Episcopal church close by would also be nice.

5) We promised our daughter horseback riding lessons, and our children have been active in Taekwondo, so availability of those activities would also be a plus.

6) We like older homes - our first house was built in 1913, our second in 1950.


Places that look appealing to us so far include Bloomsburg, Jim Thorpe, and Dallas, but there are so many communities in NEPA! I wonder if there may be others I’m unaware of which might also be a good fit for us.

We appreciate any suggestions you might have.

[W-B proud]

Hazleton itself is an older coal town that hit it's peek probably 100 years ago, like many other cities in this area. It is a very compact city, with the houses stacked right next to each other (from what I've seen), and not much greenery, trees, bushes ect. It is called the mountain city, because of it's higher elevation, and it is noticably colder in the winter time then other valley cities in the region. It has a small, modest downtown. There has been a huge influx of latino immigrants into the city in recent years, and with it, a small spike in crime. This has lead to racial tensions in the city, between the natives and the latino newcomers. These racial tensions have gotten national attention, as well as the mayor, Lou Barletta, who has taken a hard line approach to illegal immigration. All of this seams to have simmered down though recently, which is a good thing, and hopefully a sign that these two groups are learning to live side by side. All and all, I'd say it's a quiet, decent town to raise a family. Jim Thorpe is a beautiful small town nestled in the mountains. It's downtown area looks like a mix between The French District in New Orleans and Switzerland. It is very unique. It is also a tourist destination for white water rafting, The Lehigh Gorge ect. Out of the towns you have mentioned, Jim Thorpe would be my personal pick. Bloomsburg is a nice, medium size town. It is most known for being a college town, because of Bloomsburg University. It has a suprisingly thriving downtown, with alot of shops, pubs, restaraunts ect, that cater to the college population, but it retains a small town vibe. Knoeble's amusement park is nearby, and is a great family amusement park. Dallas is a suburb of the city of Wilkes-Barre. It is mostly in a country setting, with alot of middle/upper class housing developments. It has a main artery (rt.309) which is where most of the buisnesses, restaraunts ect. are located. The town of Dallas itself has a very small downtown with a couple of buisnesses. It's a typical suburban type setting. A few highlights are Hillside Farms, and Harvey's Lake. Dallas is about 15 minutes outside Wilkes-Barre and the area's major shopping district's, the arena, the casino ect. Anyway, I hope this helped. Good Luck with your choice.

[rcb1966]

Mountaintop and White Haven are also great choices. Both towns are part of the Crestwood School District...a very good school in the area. Mountaintop is typical soccer mom suburbia without a true downtown, but has great proximity to everything and a quick commute to Hazleton. you may find an older home in the Glen Summit region of Mountaintop. White Haven, like jim Thorpe is on the river & supports the same activities. There are many old victorians in town, it is quaint, but not quite as nice as Jim Thorpe. However, the school district is much better than Jim Thorpe in my opinion. There is quite a bit of city influence on Jim Thorpe because a lot of the surrounding subdivisions have folks who moved west on 80 from NY & NJ. Jim thorpe is not a bad school district, just not as good as Crestwood. Conyngham is nice, rolling farms & mountains. You may also want to try Mifflinville....many nice older homes, good school district (Central Columbia) & great proximity to 80 as well.

[88keys]

Thank you for your replies! I hadn't really considered Mifflinville, and I was unaware of White Haven. I (wrongly) had the impression that everything in Mountain Top was built in the last couple decades. We are definitely looking for something with at least 1/2 an acre, as my husband is an avid gardener. And I mean absolutely no disrespect whatsoever to all the wonderful soccer moms out there, but I think those who know me would all agree that this phrase does not describe me!

How about access to airports?

[88keys]

Oops, I was confused! Glen Summit is the older part of Mountain Top, not White Haven! I'll have to map out White Haven - I have no idea where that is. (Like I said, all these communities are really confusing to me - I'm so used to Nebraska where you have to drive forever just to get from one tiny town to another.)

[ScranBarre]

I'll second what those above you have said. I personally would not send my children to the Hazleton Area School District. Not only is it the largest school district in the county (which would be bothersome to someone seeking smaller class sizes), but it also has the same sort of "tensions" between Hispanics/Caucasians that many of the older generations in the city of Hazleton possess for one another. Crestwood is routinely tied with Dallas for being the "best" public school district in Luzerne County, but as you correctly inferred the vast majority of the housing stock in Mountain Top is newer construction; it's a VERY rapidly growing area, despite the recession. The Glen Summit section of Mountain Top, White Haven, or even Nuangola (a small older lakefront community) would be your only real options for an older home with character in the Crestwood School District (the rest is Wisteria Lane/Stepford Wife suburban hell).

The immediate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area is a hot bed for higher education, with all sorts of programs offered at multiple universities (architecture, engineering, accounting, education, pharmacy, pre-law, medicine, criminal justice, forensics, etc., etc.) Sadly MOST graduates flee the area. I have an interview at 9 AM Friday that will determine whether or not I, too, will be leaving the area with my degree. I've made it from a pool of eight down to the final three, so I have a good shot at this, but if not then it's to Virginia I go! My biggest gripe about NEPA would be this "Brain Drain" phenomenon. I become very depressed continuously saying good-bye to friend after friend after friend as very, very few college graduates choose to stay in NEPA (there's limited economic opportunity here unless you're a successful entrepreneur or wish to be underemployed).

Welcome in advance to Pennsylvania!

[88keys]

Thanks, ScranBarre - I hope your interview went well! Nebraska has a similar problem with Brain Drain, especially in the rural areas as kids leave to attend college and never go back, but also to a significant extent in the cities. I don't mind living in a racially diverse area - we lived in the most integrated part of Omaha for 11 years - but I really don't want my children in a high school with over 3000 other students. As a teacher, I know that's not in kids' best interest.

[rcb1966]

Airports...... Scranton W-B...about 20 minutes from Mountaintop (via Rte 80) or White Haven (via the PA Turnpike). The next closest is Allentown, (50 minutes) or Philadelphia (1 hr 35 minutes from White Haven). Cheapest flights are from Philly, rent the hotel room the night before for $149 (Marriott, Hilton,etc.) , park free all week, & shuttle to & from the airport via hotel transportation. Quickest is Scranton, but tix run about $60 more per person.

[88keys]

Thanks for the info on the airports, rcb1966. So far my husband has only used the airport in Scranton W-B, but it seems like his flights are always getting delayed. We'll have to try Philly one of these days.