First time mover, Washington state to Scranton PA (Dunmore: fit in, transplants)

[SebFontain]

I was wondering if anyone here could give me some help on things I need to do and prepare myself for when moving. I will be moving from Washington state to Scranton PA in roughly one month or as soon as I sell my car. As of now I am jobless and upon arrival to Scranton I will be staying in a motel still jobless looking for work. Ok I know not lining up a job isnt the greatest thing but I am fairly confident that I will be able to score a job anytime I want after obtaining my PA license. So yea my qiestion is, what things do I need to take care of in Scranton upon my arrival? This is what I figured so far.

1. License. I need a licence!
2. Find a job.
3. Upon finding a job and license, buy a car.
4. Open bank account
5. Find a place to live.
6. Obtain citizenship.

This is what I have so far and yes I realize it might not be in the right order either. Could someone please give me a heads up on what things I need to do!

[ScranBarre]

YIKES! You're either very brave or very foolish to just pick up and move cross-country without researching where you're moving to in advance! I give you credit for doing so though; I live such a "routine" lifestyle that anyone could predict just when my car would be in or out of my driveway at any given point during the week. LOL!

First of all, welcome to Scranton. It's refreshing to have a new resident from somewhere other than NJ/NYC (I have no problems with transplants from those areas, I just wish we had a bit more "variety" in newcomers).

What type of job are you looking for? I'll be the first to admit that the employment outlook around here is somewhat grim for many fields. If you give me what you were looking to do for a living, then I could give you a list of nearby employers in that field to look into.

As far as the license is concerned, you'll find all of the information you'll need at the following web site: http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/

The nearest drivers' license center is located in the Scranton suburb of Dunmore, just off of I-81 near the O'Neill Highway.

Good luck, and feel free to ask as much as you'd like!

[SebFontain]

Yes I will admit I am fairly brave, but maybe a little on the foolish side as well hehehe. Well my main occupation is in the transportation field. Here in Washington I have a class A CDL, but am hoping to land a job that does not involve any long haul or tractor trailer work, but instead smaller local delivery of any kind really. I thank you for helping me out and tyvm for the link!

[memoriesbre]

Seb,
There are plenty of trucking jobs in the area. You do need to get your license
first. You will need two forms of proof of address, your birth Certificate and your current license. You will need to take an eye exam also.
Once you have your PA license you should have no problem finding a job.
You can even look online for jobs before you get here.

http://www.nepajobfinder.com/site/news.cfm?brd=2544 (broken link)

Hope the link helps

[in2dadark]

Originally Posted by SebFontain

I was wondering if anyone here could give me some help on things I need to do and prepare myself for when moving. I will be moving from Washington state to Scranton PA in roughly one month or as soon as I sell my car. As of now I am jobless and upon arrival to Scranton I will be staying in a motel still jobless looking for work. Ok I know not lining up a job isnt the greatest thing but I am fairly confident that I will be able to score a job anytime I want after obtaining my PA license. So yea my qiestion is, what things do I need to take care of in Scranton upon my arrival? This is what I figured so far.


Obtain citizenship

Scrantoon is not the best place for employment. But it sounds like you're looking for blue collar work, so you'll fit in there. What made you pick scranton..?
1. License. I need a licence!
2. Find a job.
3. Upon finding a job and license, buy a car.
4. Open bank account
5. Find a place to live.
6. Obtain citizenship.

This is what I have so far and yes I realize it might not be in the right order either. Could someone please give me a heads up on what things I need to do!

Obtain citizenship

Scrantoon is not the greatest place to look for work. But it sounds like you'll be in like company seeking blue collar work..

I gotta ask, what made you choose scranton?

[I LOVE PA!]

I think you'll do just fine here in Scranton, cost of living is reasonable, there are plenty of blue collar jobs, trucking is an easy field to break into, since you have your CDL, maybe a bus driver is a possibility also.
Do you have anyone here to help you in Scranton once you get here?
I would put the 'find a place to live' a little higher on the list, you can spend a fortune on hotels. You could probably find an apartment in the $400 - $500. range, with utilities bbeing additional.
You will find some great people on these boards to answer your questions and help you!

[SebFontain]

The reason why I am moving to Scranton is, well, for the love of my life! This is were things get a little personal and tricky... I cant live or stay with her when I move to Scranton. I will have to find my own place to live for a while. I know it sounds odd but really if I were to explain you would understand completely, but its a bit personal.

I dont know how things work exactly in Scranton, but here in Washington state getting an appartment requires obtaining a job and keeping with that job for roughly 3 months. Is this the same in way in Scranton?

Also for my drivers license, I need my current license and my birth certificate with an address of Scranton on them or can the address on both be from Washington?

Wow I gotta say this, I wasnt sure of how many people frequently visit this board and I gotta say you all have been EXTREMELY helpfull. I thank you very very much!

[I LOVE PA!]

M college student daughter was able to rent 1/2 of a double house with a friend with no problem, I think apartment buildings might have some rules, but I think once you rent from an individual, they are more apt to take your situation into consideration. I can't imagine paying hotel rates for 3 months!
Our local paper might help also, you can surscribe to get any new ads placed for apartments to rent and they are e-mailed to you on a daily basis. The web-site is www.scrantontimes.com
Hope that helps!

[in2dadark]

Originally Posted by SebFontain

The reason why I am moving to Scranton is, well, for the love of my life! This is were things get a little personal and tricky... I cant live or stay with her when I move to Scranton. I will have to find my own place to live for a while. I know it sounds odd but really if I were to explain you would understand completely, but its a bit personal.

I dont know how things work exactly in Scranton, but here in Washington state getting an appartment requires obtaining a job and keeping with that job for roughly 3 months. Is this the same in way in Scranton?

Can't think of NE thing more important than that..! You will have no problem finding a rental. Finding a good

Also for my drivers license, I need my current license and my birth certificate with an address of Scranton on them or can the address on both be from Washington?

Wow I gotta say this, I wasnt sure of how many people frequently visit this board and I gotta say you all have been EXTREMELY helpfull. I thank you very very much!

Can't think of NE thing more important than that..! You will have no problem finding a rental. Finding a good rental may be a bit trickier. I had occasion to rent in NEPa for a time and it was a nightmare. There are no real laws protcting you (ie code enforcement etc). I had one place that was so bad I could hear the guy peeing in his toilet (upstairs) above my apartment. Good luck if you get stuck in one like that. Don't sign a lease. They need you. You don't need them. There are plenty of places you could rent without commiting.

Some of the high(er) end apartments require a lease. In those I would sign one as most of those hold themselves to a higher standard.