Looking to move to Scranton area (Help Needed!) (Wilkes-Barre, York: transplants, homes)

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

... I live in Lower Greenridge and I can give you more info to help you see that those townhouses are not what you think and that there are nice homes with yards for the same amount of money in the same neighborhood. .

Some cross streets please, for the single family houses. I saw the townhouses when I was there in December - I was way over by Marywood doing deliveries and saw a few homes coming toward CMC back into downtown.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by new2pa

Weluvepa thanks for the post. I sent you a PM. I think the townhomes I saw were on GreenRidge st. and yes, they do seem overpriced. We'd love a free standing home anyway, I just thought those were really beautiful inside when I clicked on the virtual tour.
Other suggestions for good neighborhoods?

WeLuvPA (Daniel) is steering you on a solid path. If you're both referencing these one-story townhomes on Green Ridge Street, then I'll agree that they are way overpriced:



$300,000+ for some of these units, even with the nice kitchens they offer, is still a bit too much for the city limits. I'll admit that the modern appointments are alluring, but I'd bet that you could find an even nicer, newer home in the city for less money. These townhomes are actually quite similar in price to these ones in a trendy, upper-crust area of Montage called "Glenmaura Commons." :



I actually parked right across the street from the units on Green Ridge Street when I shot my photo tour of the nearby historic district, and I didn't think they were worth nearly what is being asked. I'd say the low-$200k range (perhaps $215,000-$225,000) would be a more reasonable range for these units. The issue with Scranton is that it's the "hub" city for a multi-county region of nearly 1,000,000 residents, and while it's trying to redefine itself as such after years of decline, the notion of "in-town living" still hasn't really caught on yet. Nationwide, people who are moving back into urban cores (mostly empty-nesters and young professionals) are looking for loft apartments, restored rowhomes, condos, and yes, even townhomes as a means to escape the dreary uniform cul-de-sacs that have permeated suburbia (South Abington, anyone?). However, Scranton has a very slim selection of all of these, which pushes the price on those that are offered through the roof. For example, the upcoming St. Peter's Square project will have ultra-modern residential units starting around $330,000. I realize that with each passing year, the "New York influence" is continuing to edge its way closer and closer to our city, but charging TriBeCa-like prices for a low-wage Mayberry is ludicrous! I'll soon be in that "young professional" category, and I can't wait to move into the city to be near the action instead of living here in Pittston where everything is a 20-minute drive away. Unfortunately, the prices being charged on all of these new urban living options are outrageous! I'm going to be a CPA for crying out loud with a starting salary in the $40,000+ range, and I don't even think I could afford any of these units---do developers actually believe that Scranton has that many chief executives willing to splurge on these units in the upcoming years? Even with the anticipated influx of well-heeled New Yorkers to NEPA, I still don't see demand being great enough to warrant some of these prices.

As far as neighborhoods are concerned, much of Green Ridge is very liveable and attractive, in my opinion. Daniel lives in Lower Green Ridge (the part just south of the Green Ridge Shopping Center), and his immediate neighborhood is prone to flooding. The city had the funding available to provide temporary relief to the neighborhood while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked its way downstream with its flood protection projects, but the city council sat on the $281,000 for three years, allowing it to expire. As such, while his neighborhood will be protected in a few years once the engineers finish up their work, he's still vulnerable to an estimated one or two more floods by that time (Which could have been avoided if city council members, including the over-exalted Janet Evans, who is the "hero of the people" for some reason or other, had used that $281,000 to somehow mitigate the flooding risk). I'm not quite familiar with the parts of Green Ridge that are subject to those airborne industrial toxins; hopefully Daniel will give you better insight into that. The parts of Green Ridge I photographed are very safe, tranquil, and scenic, but housing prices here are also steep in relation to the rest of the city. There's currently one home on the market here for $1,700,000, and another one is on the market for $525,000. Granted, both are replete with character and old-world charm, but at what point are realtors going to realize "Hey, perhaps Scranton isn't brimming with millionaires after all?" I realize that the number of BMWs and Lexuses around NEPA would make you think it's a "well-to-do" area, but believe me when I tell you that outside of a few pockets (Abingtons, Back Mountain, Montage/Glenmaura), the area generally earns less than both the state and national averages. The housing market isn't as much of a "bargain" anymore as it was even ten years ago, and I think people are finally starting to notice that, as I'm hearing more and more natives saying it's "difficult" to find an affordable home in our area now that doesn't need work.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by mm_mary73

Some cross streets please, for the single family houses. I saw the townhouses when I was there in December - I was way over by Marywood doing deliveries and saw a few homes coming toward CMC back into downtown.

Some streets in Green Ridge you may want to look into include:

Adams Avenue
Capouse Avenue
Columbia Street
Delaware Street
Dickson Avenue
Electric Street
Grandview Street
North Washington Avenue
Park Street
Penn Avenue
Richmont Street
Ryerson Avenue
Sanderson Avenue
Sunset Street
Woodland Street
Wyoming Avenue

I'm not sure which of these, if any, are affected by the industrial airborne toxins that Daniel mentioned, so he'll have to reply to nix off a few of these streets if they're in the vicinity of it. I basically gave you most of the streets wedged between Green Ridge Street, Marywood University, and Robert Morris Elementary School, which also includes some of the most expensive real estate in the city, along with parts of the Hill Section and East Mountain.

If you were doing deliveries in and around Marywood, then some of the homes you saw may have also bled into the neighboring "Hollywood" section of Dunmore, as you really can't tell when you weave your way in between Green Ridge and Hollywood.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

.... Daniel lives in Lower Green Ridge (the part just south of the Green Ridge Shopping Center), and his immediate neighborhood is prone to flooding. The city had the funding available to provide temporary relief to the neighborhood while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked its way downstream with its flood protection projects, but the city council sat on the $281,000 for three years, allowing it to expire. .............The parts of Green Ridge I photographed are very safe, tranquil, and scenic, but housing prices here are also steep in relation to the rest of the city. .............The housing market isn't as much of a "bargain" anymore as it was even ten years ago, and I think people are finally starting to notice that, as I'm hearing more and more natives saying it's "difficult" to find an affordable home in our area now that doesn't need work.

I thought that's where he was describing - there's a floral supply warehouse there. I thought that flood-prone area had been repaired years ago! - what horse's behind "forgot" the expiration date to more than a quarter of a million dollars I'll wager a guess that one can't get flood insurance on a new policy anymore..... (((sigh)))

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Some streets in Green Ridge you may want to look into include:

Adams Avenue
Capouse Avenue
Grandview Street
North Washington Avenue
Park Street
Penn Avenue
Sanderson Avenue
Sunset Street
Woodland Street
Wyoming Avenue
Green Ridge Street,

If you were doing deliveries in and around Marywood, then some of the homes you saw may have also bled into the neighboring "Hollywood" section of Dunmore, as you really can't tell when you weave your way in between Green Ridge and Hollywood.

It was around these streets - some very interesting inhabitants.
After a while I got completely turned around and ended up waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of town LOLOL

[new2pa]

SWB,
thank you for the info, as usual. And yes, those are exactly the townhomes I had seen and I thought they were expensive but the inside is truly gorgeous!
I will look into the other streets and areas you mentioned. I'm trying to gather as much info as possible ahead of time but we will not be able to visit in person until the first half of June and then we will only have 10 days or so to visit schools, houses and make up our mind. . . .

[miamiman]

Thank you SWB for all your help. You truly do provide detailed, constructive information. I will be making a trip in April when the weather improves to tour the Clarks Summit area.

[in2dadark]

Originally Posted by lfrancone

engsmom,
I have noticed a sometimes hostile tone the the NY & NJ folks looking to move to PA. I for one am looking for a better quality of life. I am tired of the rat race on Long Island, along with the high cost of living. I truly do not think I can retire here and live comfortably. So...it's off to PA we go. I cannot wait! Wide open spaces, friendly (I hope) people, scenery, and trees! Imagine, all I want is to look out my back door and see trees! Can't do that here.

Greeeen aacres is the place to be... Faaarrrm livin' is duh life for me... laaannd spreadin' so far and wide...Take manhattan, just gimme that country side....

[I LOVE PA!]

Originally Posted by in2dadark

Greeeen aacres is the place to be... Faaarrrm livin' is duh life for me... laaannd spreadin' so far and wide...Take manhattan, just gimme that country side....

Yeah, I have the countryside...but it is costing me, my husband and daughter about $200. a week to travel to our jobs, in addition to paying $1,000. a year for a private bus to take my other daughter to school. Just getting crazy with gas prices, so we are looking to get a little closer to all the places we need to be everyday.

[weluvpa]

The 1600 &1700 blocks of Dickson ave and Sanderson ave have been having the problems with the airbourne aggregates.