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Northeastern Pennsylvania Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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Old 03-29-2010, 01:39 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,613 posts, read 77,399,506 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by go phillies View Post
I just find it funny that people who move here think that "under $200,000" is cheap.
I was eying up a no-frills 2 BR vinyl-sided townhome in the exurbs here in NoVA for $215,000. $200,000 for a nice home IS dirt cheap!
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Old 03-29-2010, 01:49 PM
 
Location: NE PA
7,931 posts, read 15,777,141 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RestonRunner86 View Post
$200,000 for a nice home IS dirt cheap!
Not around Scranton, its not. There's probably no need to pay more than $125,000 for a house in Scranton. You can still find decent houses for well under $100,000. Comparing Scranton home prices to NoVA or NY is apples and oranges.
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Old 03-29-2010, 01:53 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,613 posts, read 77,399,506 times
Reputation: 19096
Quote:
Originally Posted by go phillies View Post
Not around Scranton, its not. There's probably no need to pay more than $125,000 for a house in Scranton. You can still find decent houses for well under $100,000. Comparing Scranton home prices to NoVA or NY is apples and oranges.
Correct, and it all depends upon the prevailing wages in the area. In June I'll be earning a $52,000 salary. That would be considered a great salary in NEPA, but in NoVA that is only HALF the median household income (yes, half of all households in NoVA make well into the six-figures!) This explains why a particle-board and vinyl piece of trash on a cul-de-sac here goes for $600,000.
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Old 04-07-2010, 06:30 AM
 
25 posts, read 41,098 times
Reputation: 26
So,

Wilkes-Barre is a go for the Wandering Ts. We'll be moving in the summer.

Folks mentioned Kingston/Forty Fort/West Pittston. Any comments on Swoyersville, Wyoming, and Luzerne? I know folks have poo-pooed Edwardsville and the parts of Kingston that border it.

Best,
Mark
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Old 04-07-2010, 03:56 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,613 posts, read 77,399,506 times
Reputation: 19096
Quote:
Originally Posted by WanderingT View Post
So,

Wilkes-Barre is a go for the Wandering Ts. We'll be moving in the summer.

Folks mentioned Kingston/Forty Fort/West Pittston. Any comments on Swoyersville, Wyoming, and Luzerne? I know folks have poo-pooed Edwardsville and the parts of Kingston that border it.

Best,
Mark
Hi Mark,

Generally speaking I really do love much of the "West Side" of Luzerne County, which includes the Wyoming Area and Wyoming Valley West School Districts, ranging from West Pittston in the north down to Plymouth in the south.

West Pittston is probably by far one of the best-kept secrets in the Wyoming Valley. The town is mostly flat, is replete with sidewalks, shade trees, and stately older homes, offers a riverfront setting, is convenient to either Scranton or Wilkes-Barre, and has a true "community" atmosphere. If you want to get a good feel for a place like West Pittston, you may want to eat a nice home-cooked breakfast at Agolino's, attend the annual Cherry Blossom Festival on the riverfront, take a walk to admire the historic architecture, and then cap off the afternoon with ice cream at Blue Ribbon Dairy. To me West Pittston is idyllic "Small Town U.S.A.", which is unusual considering its partner across the river, Pittston, is one of the most run-down and drug-infested communities in the entire region. Pittston let itself go over the years whereas West Pittston never let itself get to that point. I have an aunt, uncle, cousins, and many friends in West Pittston (including the mayor's family), and all are very content there. Not many complaints other than occasional river flooding (be wary, as there is no levee here). Most homes are older, but there are a couple of newer subdivisions.

The next town south would be Exeter, where my sister and brother-in-law, aunt and uncle, and more friends live. I was never really a big fan of Exeter because it felt very "disorganized" to me. West Pittston is pretty compact and walkable, and its heavy tree canopy gave it the nickname "The Garden Village." Exeter has far fewer trees, its housing stock is a weird array of older "miner homes" (not all of which were very well-kept or updated over the years) that could be directly adjacent to a new McMansion subdivision. Exeter's "downtown" along Wyoming Avenue (U.S. Route 11) has been on life support for years, is very small, and really isn't remarkable. The town just approved a new Wal-Mart, which will be built along Wyoming Avenue and will probably add to that street's traffic woes (and could potentially attract higher property crime, as has been the case with the store near Wilkes-Barre since it opened). There are some great mom-and-pop businesses in town that have stood the test of time---Magikal Garden (owned by a family friend), Pizza L'Oven, Carter's Ice Cream, Voitek Appliances, Sabatini's Pizza, and Kurlancheek's Furniture all come to mind. However, I just don't get the same "cozy" feeling that I get from West Pittston. It's just a personal preference with me though, and I'm sure if you came for a visit you might even like Exeter better than West Pittston. If it matters the Wyoming Area High School is located here, along with a very good Catholic school. There's also a bowling alley, Modern Lanes, but the last time I was there it was a dump---I much preferred Chacko's in Downtown Wilkes-Barre.

Wyoming/West Wyoming are the next two communities south along U.S. Route 11/Wyoming Avenue. I would peg my affinity for these two communities somewhere above Exeter yet still below West Pittston. Wyoming Avenue through Wyoming is rather wide and is lined with some very impressive homes, along with the historic Wyoming Monument. There is a major state police barracks in Wyoming. On the southern tip of the town, near the Forty Fort border, is the Midway Shopping Center, home to The Bon-Ton (regional department store), a grocery store, and numerous smallers stores, banks, offices, and restaurants. Across the street is Rich's Golf Center, a family hot-spot featuring mini-golf, bumper boats, an arcade, batting cages, etc. Adjacent to Rich's is the "famed" Victory Pig Pizza (although I always thought it was gross---to each his own---you'll learn pizza is a religion in NEPA). Both Wyoming and West Wyoming, outside of the Midway Shopping Center area, are largely residential, with a few businesses or churches thrown in for good measure.

Forty Fort is a near-replica of West Pittston, and it is further south along Route 11 (known locally as "The Ave") and has a distinctively different overall residential architectural style (more bungalows, cape cods, Tudors, and Craftsmans vs. a lot of Victorians or four-square colonials in West Pittston). Forty Fort is largely residential but does have some businesses lining "The Ave." Forty Fort begins the Wyoming Valley West School District, which, while not terrible, isn't as well-regarded as the Wyoming Area School District. The tree canopy in Forty Fort is generous, and many love to run/walk on the paved levee-top trail. Also in Forty Fort is a small airport for those with private aircraft that is adjacent to the Midway Shopping Center. You'll notice homes in Forty Fort and West Pittston will probably be amongst the steepest for what you get on the West Side.

Swoyersville: See Exeter. There's really not a whole lot of a difference. Swoyersville, too, is largely residential, has a few businesses, and is really largely non-descript. It's not the most desirable part of the West Side. It's not an undesirable part. It's just sort of "there." There are less trees than Forty Fort, Kingston, or West Pittston. The housing stock is mixed. There are some corner bars and churches thrown in for good measure. That's Swoyersville in a nutshell.

Luzerne/Pringle/Courtdale: I merged these three small adjoining towns together because the two latter ones wouldn't be anything without Luzerne, anyways. Luzerne has a small downtown business district that has had some success in being renovated in recent years with a popular restaurant "Hops & Barleys", an organic foods market (not sure if it's still open), a consignment clothing store, etc. There is a shopping center in Luzerne that has, if I'm not mistaken, a grocery store, a dollar store, and some other conveniences. The housing stock in all three communities tends to be older and in many cases in need of serious updating, which makes homes here a steal, in my opinion, for someone savvy with "flipping" and an interest in the West Side.

Edwardsville is an absolute dump. Another woman was just violently attacked in an alley here several weeks ago atop a crime wave that was going on when I moved out of the area. The downtown is so outdated that it makes you half-expect to see mullets and people with perfectly-waxed K-Cars, but instead you see chain-smoking pregnant 17-year-olds loitering with their abusive "baby daddies" at 2 AM in front of one of the town's 800 dive bars. It's a shame, too, as Edwardsville was probably at one time a very nice place. You can tell it was probably really thriving at one point. I really hope it gets its act together someday and can turn itself into a beautiful place again. I really do.
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Old 04-08-2010, 09:36 AM
 
25 posts, read 41,098 times
Reputation: 26
Quote:
Originally Posted by RestonRunner86 View Post
Hi Mark,

West Pittston is probably by far one of the best-kept secrets in the Wyoming Valley.
Ixnay on the ecretsays. Otherwise it won't be secret!

Seriously, thanks again for a great overview of the West Side.

Best,
Mark
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Old 04-08-2010, 12:32 PM
 
4,277 posts, read 11,742,393 times
Reputation: 3931
What do youse think of Laflin? I don't recall seeing much mention of that municipality on here for good or ill.

(Thanks for the image of the perfectly waxed K Cars, now I can't get that out of my head...)
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