Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Relocation Specialist (Unofficially!) (Butler, Pittston: lower-class, insurance, how much)

[butiflygrls1220]

Hi you seem to know alot about Pa.Do you have any info on Erie? It's hard to find any info on that county on this forum.We are moving in JUne for my husbands work.We are going to come up in March to look around.

[tommylori2001]

whats wrong with the bronx conorsdad?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by butiflygrls1220

Hi you seem to know alot about Pa.Do you have any info on Erie? It's hard to find any info on that county on this forum.We are moving in JUne for my husbands work.We are going to come up in March to look around.

Good morning! Well, unfortunately, I wish I could tell you that I was a vast storehouse of helpful knowledge on the entire state of PA, but my range of expertise basically stops when you go west of the Lewisburg area. I've never been to Erie, so I'm not going to try to give you information about a place I've never been to, as I don't want to give you a faulty impression of the place.

I'd suspect that Erie is just like most other "Rust-Belt" cities, such as Akron, Buffalo, Scranton, Pittsburgh, Toledo, etc.---Its major industries probably collapsed from the 1960s-1980s, and it's just now starting to rebound economically. From the aerial footage I've seen, the city looks to be in a very attractive setting along Lake Erie and with Presque Isle State Park. I also believe that the crime rate in Erie is on the very low side; reading the state news daily online, I can't remember the last time I read about violent crime in Erie. The city lies a little over two hours north of Pittsburgh via I-79 and around an hour-and-a-half from both Cleveland and Buffalo.

I'm sorry I can't be of more help; I'm hoping to see residents from other parts of the state joining the forums soon as I continue to spread the word about City-Data on MySpace, FaceBook, etc.

Best of luck to you, and please enjoy your visit!

[butiflygrls1220]

Thanks that still helps me.We are going to make the most of it and it will be a new adventure.The only place we have lived is in SC so I am looking forward to snow and new things.This forum really does help with getting info.Thanks alot!!!

[rascalbonsai]

Hi,
We are relocating to the area in a few months. I will be working in Piottston, but am happy to commute to find a nice house in a child,dog friendly area. Originally, we had thought about trying to find a house on the outskirts with some land(still considering it-lots of nice o0ld farmhouses!), but having seen the pics of the victorians on other threads, we have fallen in love with them(never thought we could afford them, but they seem to be very reasonably priced!!
In any case, I'm trying to figure out if there are still families with young children in town (its been implied that many are moving away), since it is obviously important for them to have friends nearby growing up. My husband and I grew up in what we now feel was relative safety, and could run around with our friends safely, even when we were in elementary school. It seems like in so many city areas it is almost unsafe, even for older children, to go to parks/playgrounds/etc. I think that is probably the attraction of the subburbs-having a little land for your kids to play on safely. If the city areas are truely safe though than things like the Nay Aug Park can certainly make up for the lack of personal yard space.
I'm also looking for good areas for running. If anyone knows of any trail systems that would be great.

[SteelCityRising]

Hey there Bonsai! Well, if you're going to be working in Pittston, I'd gladly recommend the charming town of West Pittston to you, just across the Susquehanna River. The town is aptly nicknamed "The Garden Village", and it is home to an array of Victorian homes and many streets lined with very large shade trees. The town is also relatively-flat, and nearly all streets have sidewalks, which makes it a runner's paradise. I'm likewise an avid runner, and I often drive over to West Pittston and run along Susquehanna Avenue, even though I live clear across town on the east side of Pittston. The community also hosts an annual Cherry Blossom Festival in May in which the riverfront comes alive with tents, bands, games, food, etc. beneath the riverside cherry blossom trees. It truly is a wonderful community to call home, but be advised that Susquehanna Avenue and approximately two blocks inland along it are prone to flooding. Just this past June, the community was submerged from the mighty Susquehanna River, and we spent much of the day helping to evacuate my aunt, uncle, and cousins from their historic home in the first block of Montgomery Avenue off of Susquehanna Avenue. Nevertheless, even the homes nearest to the river sustained damage only to their basements, so if you fall in love with a home on the riverfront, just keep the basement decorating to a bare minimum and you should whether the floods just fine. (West Pittston also flooded in 2004, 1996, and 1972 in recent memory, and perhaps a few times in between as well).

West Pittston is a very friendly, walkable community, and the residents, in my opinion, are very friendly. There aren't an abundance of young children in town, but there certainly are enough within the Wyoming Area School District to keep your children happy. There are various small recreational areas dotted throughout the community, including a public pool, a playground on Montgomery Avenue, a little league field, and a few other playgrounds here and there. The Montgomery Avenue Elementary School serves West Pittston, and it has a great reputation. The Wyoming Area Secondary Center is located just over the town border in nearby Exeter, and it also has an excellent reputation. If private schooling beckons to you, there is a great Catholic elementary school system in Exeter, and Wyoming Seminary, about ten minutes south of Exeter in Kingston, offers one of the most prestigious private education environments in the state.

We're family friends with the mayor of West Pittston, so if you'd like any sort of insider political information about the town, I'd be more than happy to put you in touch with him. Otherwise, feel free to ask me anything about the town if it interests you. Judging by the criteria you listed, West Pittston is the perfect fit for your family, and it's only five minutes from your job.

[SteelCityRising]

Here are some current listings from West Pittston. Feel free to ask me for more information if you're interested in this community.






Address: 912 Susquehanna Avenue
Price: $374,000
Number of Rooms: 12
Number of Bedrooms: 6
Number of Bathrooms: 4
Square Footage: 4,000
Lot Size: 67' x 230' (Home) & 67' x 105' (Riverfront)
Annual Property Taxes: $3,988




Address: 1322 Susquehanna Avenue
Price: $368,000
Number of Rooms: 9
Number of Bedrooms: 3
Number of Bathrooms: 2.5
Square Footage: 3,400
Lot Size: 120' x 149'
Annual Property Taxes: $4,789


Address: 506 Exeter Avenue
Price: $299,500
Number of Rooms: 12
Number of Bedrooms: 6
Number of Bathrooms: 2
Square Footage: 2,300
Lot Size: 54' x 202'
Annual Property Taxes: $1,638






Address: 212 Warren Street
Price: $275,000
Number of Rooms: 7
Number of Bedrooms: 3
Number of Bathrooms: 1.5
Square Footage: 2,115
Lot Size: 38' x 180' & 38' x 55'
Annual Property Taxes: $2,183


Address: 133 Delaware Avenue
Price: $249,900
Number of Rooms: 7
Number of Bedrooms: 3
Number of Bathrooms: 2
Square Footage: 1,905
Lot Size: 50' x 130'
Annual Property Taxes: $1,202





Address: 2 Philadelphia Avenue
Price: $244,500
Number of Rooms: 8
Number of Bedrooms: 4
Number of Bathrooms: 1
Square Footage: 2,081
Lot Size: 50' x 100'
Annual Property Taxes: $2,122





Address: 137 Philadelphia Avenue
Price: $229,900
Number of Rooms: 9
Number of Bedrooms: 4
Number of Bathrooms: 1.75
Square Footage: 2,688
Lot Size: 50' x 106'
Annual Property Taxes: $1,338

[SteelCityRising]

Address: 7 Delaware Avenue
Price: $219,900
Number of Rooms: 11
Number of Bedrooms: 5
Number of Bathrooms: 2.75
Square Footage: 2,600
Lot Size: 50' x 147'
Annual Property Taxes: $2,114





Address: 708 Wyoming Avenue
Price: $184,900
Number of Rooms: 9
Number of Bedrooms: 3
Number of Bathrooms: 1.75
Square Footage: 1,889
Lot Size: 54' x 95'
Annual Property Taxes: $1,270




Address: 126 Philadelphia Avenue
Price: $169,900
Number of Rooms: 10
Number of Bedrooms: 4
Number of Bathrooms: 2
Square Footage: 1,948
Lot Size: 50' x 125'
Annual Property Taxes: $974








Address: 407 Third Street
Price: $159,000
Number of Rooms: 8
Number of Bedrooms: 3
Number of Bathrooms: 1.75
Square Footage: 1,530
Lot Size: 43' x 100'
Annual Property Taxes: $1,381



Address: 17 Montgomery Avenue
Price: $154,700
Number of Rooms: 8
Number of Bedrooms: 3
Number of Bathrooms: 1.5
Square Footage: 1,936
Lot Size: 52' x 130'
Annual Property Taxes: $3,389




Address: 232 North Street
Price: $144,900
Number of Rooms: 7
Number of Bedrooms: 2
Number of Bathrooms: 1.5
Square Footage: 1,254
Lot Size: 50' x 63'
Annual Property Taxes: $715




Address: 349 Baltimore Avenue
Price: $135,900
Number of Rooms: 7
Number of Bedrooms: 3
Number of Bathrooms: 1.5
Square Footage: 1,660
Lot Size: 50' x 100'
Annual Property Taxes: $1,200




Address: 7 Tunkhannock Avenue
Price: $114,900
Number of Rooms: 6
Number of Bedrooms: 3
Number of Bathrooms: 2.5
Square Footage: 1,400
Lot Size: 40' x 96'
Annual Property Taxes: $1,009

[SteelCityRising]

The first home photographed has been reduced in price from $374,000 down to $350,000.

[rascalbonsai]

: Now it just has to stay on the market until I get there!!!