I love living near downtown Wilkes-Barre (Pittsburgh, Scranton: hotel, theater, dangerous)

[W-B proud]

Originally Posted by sheena12

Nice to hear such good things (for the most part) about WB!
I think it's a cute city any it gets a bad rap. I'm not sure why. Two well respected colleges and plans for a river front promenade! I also like the Square and while I have heard bad things about the area I cannot see why. I have never felt unsafe there and I have stayed at the Best Western / Genetti several times.
Where are the really nice residential areas of WB???
There are some beautiful homes in South side but I have not heard too many positive things about the schools that serve the area.

There are some nice residential ares in Wilkes-Barre where white collar people live. Parsons Manor, Barney Farms (where the mayor lives) and Pine Ridge a brand new neighborhood in Miners Mills with nice new houses. Wilkes-barre is an old city (probably a hundred years older then Scranton) so there is alot of old, run down housing in the city, but if you know where to look, you can find newer, nicer houses. Alot of the people that don't live in the city, but just visit, or work downtown only see the neighborhood's that surround the downtown (which are the oldest neighborhood's in the city) so the houses are usually more rundown. There are pockets of newer housing though, if you know where to look.

[go phillies]

Actually it looks like it is spreading to Scranton, and look, the perpetrators are black and from out of state, big surprise:

Three held after shooting in West Scranton - News - The Times-Tribune

It really seems that the minorities that come to Scranton and Wilkes-Barre do their best to make their entire race look bad, which obviously is not true if you've ever left this area at all.....

[blip]

Originally Posted by W-B proud

Wilkes-barre is an old city (probably a hundred years older then Scranton)

According to Wikipedia, Scranton was incorporated as a city 5 years before Wilkes-Barre, and has had a significantly larger population every census since 1860.

(Though Wilkes-Barre was incorporated as a borough 50 years earlier, the population of both was pretty trivial in the early 1800s, so I don't think either town has large chunks of housing > 150 years old.)

Nothing against the WB, but I've just seen this myth on here that Wilkes-Barre is an older and/or once larger city than Scranton. I don't know why, but I feel a need to correct it.

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scranton, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That said, I do like the streetscape, parks and riverfront of downtown WB.

[Magritte25]

Hey Sheena,

There are nice neighborhoods in Wilkes-Barre. North Wilkes-Barre and Heights are two of those neighborhoods. South Wilkes-Barre has nice streets, but it really depends on the street. I'd stay off Carey Ave and upper Horton Street. Lower Horton Street and the surrounding streets on the south side of Carey Ave are nice. Streets back by the levee system (Gordon, Deibel, et al) are all very nice areas.

Hope this helps!

[marchawg]

I have family that lives in Wilkes-Barre, and I've been through every single neighbourhood there. I personally find it ugly, even the new construction. Just because it's new doesn't mean it is good.

As far as the "mentality" you don't understand, are you talking about the NEPA mentality of "Why bother?" or are you talking about my mentality of not living in a place I don't like? Please be more specific.

Also note that because of Wilkes-Barre's general lack of foot traffic, it gives off a much sketchier vibe than a place like mid-town Manhattan, where you can barely escape people.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by marchawg

I have family that lives in Wilkes-Barre, and I've been through every single neighbourhood there. I personally find it ugly, even the new construction. Just because it's new doesn't mean it is good.

As far as the "mentality" you don't understand, are you talking about the NEPA mentality of "Why bother?" or are you talking about my mentality of not living in a place I don't like? Please be more specific.

Also note that because of Wilkes-Barre's general lack of foot traffic, it gives off a much sketchier vibe than a place like mid-town Manhattan, where you can barely escape people.

Not everyone here has a why bother attitude and I've noticed more residents becoming proactive in the last 5 years or so. Also, I'm not sure when you lived here but there is a high amount of foot traffic in busier areas like downtown Wilkes-Barre. As far as the more residential areas, why would there be a ton of foot traffic there???

[marchawg]

Like I just said, I worked in center city WB just a couple years ago. I was just there about 3 weeks ago. High amount of foot traffic? Have you never been outside of the city?

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by marchawg

Like I just said, I worked in center city WB just a couple years ago. I was just there about 3 weeks ago. High amount of foot traffic? Have you never been outside of the city?

Yes, I have been out of the city. NYC, Philly, Baltimore etc. Those cities are not comparable to WB. They have a MUCH higher population than we do. I think like 41,000 people live within city limits. In the busier parts of the city - downtown, near the colleges and the shopping areas - yes, there is a high amount of foot traffic. What do you expect with a population of 41,000 - many of them elderly?

[marchawg]

I don't expect anything. I am observing that WB, aside from lunch hour, is pretty much a ghost town as far as foot traffic. Same for Scranton. This area is just too much of a commuter area to have it any other way.

So back to the topic, I don't like Wilkes-Barre, as a matter of opinion. That's all there is to it. :\

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by marchawg

I don't expect anything. I am observing that WB, aside from lunch hour, is pretty much a ghost town as far as foot traffic. Same for Scranton. This area is just too much of a commuter area to have it any other way.

So back to the topic, I don't like Wilkes-Barre, as a matter of opinion. That's all there is to it. :\

And that's fine if you don't like Wilkes-Barre. I am not trying to "sell" it to you because frankly I don't care that much.

However, you are wrong about WB being a ghost town.