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Northeastern Pennsylvania Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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Old 07-25-2007, 05:36 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,262,075 times
Reputation: 19071

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Mod cut: Please note that this thread was started in 2007

Not to steal PoliticalChic's thunder, but I just came across his/her EXCELLENT thread "Why So Much Hatred for Indianapolis," and I must admit it is a great question that deserved to be asked. Even here in PA, I haven't heard any good things about Indianapolis, even though it is now our nation's 13th-largest city, with a population of around 800,000. That thread has now evolved into some interesting conversation.

In similar fashion, all I ever hear from outsiders regarding Scranton, PA is negativity, and I was just wondering why? Other than the childish remarks of "it's a dump," would any of you care to elaborate why you all hate Northeastern Pennsylvania so much? The NY/NJ transplants are moving here in droves, so we're obviously doing something right, aren't we? Why the hatred? Is it because everyone considers the city to be "Rust-Belt" and possessing no hope, or are others just jealous that we've begun turning ourselves around as of late? Comments?

Last edited by toobusytoday; 09-17-2018 at 09:43 AM..
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Old 07-25-2007, 05:39 PM
 
Location: St. Louis, MO
3,742 posts, read 8,339,575 times
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Well, wasn't Scranton, Pennsylvania the place where that truck driver was killed in Harry Chapin's song "30,000 Pounds of Bananas"? That might explain a lot...hehehehe:rolle yes:
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Old 07-25-2007, 05:45 PM
 
Location: Denver, CO
5,610 posts, read 23,228,163 times
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There was the one reference to Scranton in that movie, the Ladykillers.

Truth is, I haven't really heard anything about Scranton-- until I started looking at this forum, and that's only because you talk about it all the time! It's one of those places that, at least where I'm from, isn't a household name. And I just learned a week ago that Wilkes-Barre is pronounced willksberry. I only heard of Wilkes-Barre because a wannabe politician from that town who came to Colorado in 2006 tried to run for governor. After seeing your beautiful pictures of the region, though, northeastern PA is on my list of areas I want to visit. Although not the top of the list.
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Old 07-25-2007, 05:57 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,262,075 times
Reputation: 19071
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajf131 View Post
Well, wasn't Scranton, Pennsylvania the place where that truck driver was killed in Harry Chapin's song "30,000 Pounds of Bananas"? That might explain a lot...hehehehe:rolle yes:
Yes it was. Scranton's airport was also featured on Home Alone when the McAllister family is stranded en route back home to Chicago to come to the aid of their left behind son. Scranton was also referenced by Archie Bunker on "All in the Family," and it is the setting for the fictitious paper company Dunder-Mifflin in NBC's hit sitcom, "The Office." Jen Yemola, one of the three current finalists in FOX's "Hell's Kitchen," is a native of the area. Hillary Rodham-Clinton's family resides in a Scranton suburb, and the Clintons have been in our city often, even dining at Cooper's Seafood House, a legendary local restaurant shaped like a giant ship. Ross from Friends mentioned Scranton in an episode in which the city's zoo wouldn't accept his pet monkey. Paul and Mira Sorvino are opening a new film office here, and its first production, "The Trouble With Cali," which was filmed in the city, is expected to be released either later this year or early next year.

I'm a vast storehouse of useless knowledge in regards to Scranton; why won't the Chamber of Commerce hire me already?! LOL!

Last edited by SteelCityRising; 07-25-2007 at 05:58 PM.. Reason: Typo
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Old 07-25-2007, 06:00 PM
 
Location: Colorado Springs,CO
2,367 posts, read 7,625,865 times
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Scranton isn't exactly a very big city.Alot of people gravitate towards cities of more than 300,000.
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Old 07-25-2007, 06:06 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,262,075 times
Reputation: 19071
Quote:
Originally Posted by CTownNative View Post
Scranton isn't exactly a very big city.Alot of people gravitate towards cities of more than 300,000.
True. Hell, I've even been tempted to move to Minneapolis myself in the past. However, I don't think a diminutive size necessarily detracts from a city's quality-of-life, especially when you're a two-hour drive from both
New York City and Philadelphia.
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Old 07-25-2007, 06:55 PM
 
Location: 602/520
2,441 posts, read 6,980,836 times
Reputation: 1815
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre View Post
Not to steal PoliticalChic's thunder, but I just came across his/her EXCELLENT thread "Why So Much Hatred for Indianapolis," and I must admit it is a great question that deserved to be asked. Even here in PA, I haven't heard any good things about Indianapolis, even though it is now our nation's 13th-largest city, with a population of around 800,000. That thread has now evolved into some interesting conversation.

In similar fashion, all I ever hear from outsiders regarding Scranton, PA is negativity, and I was just wondering why? Other than the childish remarks of "it's a dump," would any of you care to elaborate why you all hate Northeastern Pennsylvania so much? The NY/NJ transplants are moving here in droves, so we're obviously doing something right, aren't we? Why the hatred? Is it because everyone considers the city to be "Rust-Belt" and possessing no hope, or are others just jealous that we've begun turning ourselves around as of late? Comments?
I think that Scranton and other towns and cities in the rust-belt have been looked at as being undesirable by many for years and years. It is extremely difficult for many of those towns and cities to the stigma that has been attached to that entire region. Detroit is undergoing economic redevelopment, but for many Detroit is still viewed as a decaying, violent, and gray place to live.

I believe that spurring economic redevelopment in rust-belt cities is a lost cause, because (in many cases) the population of those cities is still declining very rapidly. The businesses that are established in the downtown areas are often too expensive for local residents; they shut down in a couple of months, and that cycle continues.

Scranton is no different. The city is still losing significant population. The city is establishing boutiques in the downtown area that most Scrantonians can't afford. Outside of those boutiques, a very poor job is being done at improving the quality of life for residents. Why would that prove attractive for new residents?
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Old 07-25-2007, 08:42 PM
 
Location: St. Louis, MO
3,742 posts, read 8,339,575 times
Reputation: 660
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre View Post
Yes it was. Scranton's airport was also featured on Home Alone when the McAllister family is stranded en route back home to Chicago to come to the aid of their left behind son. Scranton was also referenced by Archie Bunker on "All in the Family," and it is the setting for the fictitious paper company Dunder-Mifflin in NBC's hit sitcom, "The Office." Jen Yemola, one of the three current finalists in FOX's "Hell's Kitchen," is a native of the area. Hillary Rodham-Clinton's family resides in a Scranton suburb, and the Clintons have been in our city often, even dining at Cooper's Seafood House, a legendary local restaurant shaped like a giant ship. Ross from Friends mentioned Scranton in an episode in which the city's zoo wouldn't accept his pet monkey. Paul and Mira Sorvino are opening a new film office here, and its first production, "The Trouble With Cali," which was filmed in the city, is expected to be released either later this year or early next year.

I'm a vast storehouse of useless knowledge in regards to Scranton; why won't the Chamber of Commerce hire me already?! LOL!

THAT'S RIGHT!!! SCRANTON...HOME ALONE...HAHAHAHAHA!!! is it just me or is Scranton more often than not in songs and movies just used as a place where bad things happen and you don't want to be? lol...the example I gave and the home alone example certainly prove that. How do you fly from Paris to Dallas and then wind up in Scranton of all places? LOL....that's about the last place I'd expect to wind up even during holiday travel..oh well...it's a movie
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Old 07-25-2007, 08:44 PM
 
Location: Denver, CO
5,610 posts, read 23,228,163 times
Reputation: 5447
Quote:
Originally Posted by miamiman View Post
I think that Scranton and other towns and cities in the rust-belt have been looked at as being undesirable by many for years and years. It is extremely difficult for many of those towns and cities to the stigma that has been attached to that entire region. Detroit is undergoing economic redevelopment, but for many Detroit is still viewed as a decaying, violent, and gray place to live.
The one hope I do see for Scranton is if it is able to reinvent itself as a "satelite" city of the Northeastern megalopolis. Have you ever heard the thesis of the "megapolitan" area? As far away as Scranton seems from the major urban cities (not really commutable to downtown Manhattan every day, unless if you are mentally insane), it is close enough to the outskirts of the northern New Jersey suburban/exurban areas that someday people might think of it as part of that area, rather than just "somewhere" in Pennsylvania. It could establish itself as a regional transportation and business hub. The Wall Street West idea SWB keeps talking about sounds like a good idea-- if only it actually happens.

Also, having some nice hills around, rivers, and being naturally forested gives it a scenic advantage. Detroit has diddily-squat in that respect. If Scranton was smart, they would reinvent themselves as an outdoors mecca, like the Boulder, CO of the northeast, and invest in environmental cleanup, preserving open space, and building up an extensive network of parks and trails. The #1 threat to Scranton's future, it seems, are the people who live there! If we could just find a way to kidnap everyone who lives there, ship them off to an early retirement in Yuma, AZ or some other godforsaken place, then Scranton could start over fresh!
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Old 07-25-2007, 08:52 PM
 
Location: Henderson NV
1,135 posts, read 1,197,084 times
Reputation: 82
There it is! Scranton is the home of Dunder/Mifflin. I thought Scranton sounded familiar! The perfect example of the power of Hollywood.
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