Best and Worst Towns in PA (Philadelphia, Reading: hotel, buying a house, neighborhoods)

[turboredcart]

I myself am retired. My grandparents used to winterize thier house and stay at a gated camp for retired in FL. the money saved on heat- payed teh camp site,. they did this for 20 yrs.

There is a certain beauty to the change of seasons.

I have a freind in LA. she doesnt have a furnace or AC. yet- went out and bought all new furniture. i said - why dont you get your furnace fixed?

some prefer TN/NC...well ice storms are pretty bad.

you cant beat the mountains here. i used to work in tourism..people from all over the world- would tell me how beautiful it is here. :-)

in teh past few years- PA has had a great governor.

you will be fine. im excited for you! :-)

[dovidk]

To willkes-barre advocate. That city needs a massive clean-up, I think it looks retched.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by dovidk

To willkes-barre advocate. That city needs a massive clean-up, I think it looks retched.

So do many of the "Rust-Belt" cities, including Akron, Toledo, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Scranton, Erie, etc. Nevertheless, if you compare Wilkes-Barre in 2006 to Wilkes-Barre in 1996, you'd share the optimism that WBAdvocate and myself have for the Diamond City. As Mayor Thomas Leighton would say "I Believe." Just in 2006 alone, the city welcomed many new businesses to its downtown, including Barnes & Noble, Starbucks, Club Fuse, Club Mardi Gras, Campus Billiards, Bart & Urby's Pub/Restaurant, Wilkes-Barre Movies 14, Oyster Restaurant, a new Bed & Breakfast, etc. By 2010, the city will be home to a new RiverWalk project with a large amphitheater, a "calmed" River Street with lush landscaping, four new loft apartment projects including the transformation of the rusted-out Hotel Sterling complex, an intermodal transportation center that will eventually provide rail service to NYC, and many other positive additions. The transformation of Scranton into a "chic" city has been even more evident---their downtown is now home to such businesses as a gourmet dog bakery, NYC-style fashion stores, bistros, Starbucks, etc. In the grander scheme of the "Rust-Belt", Scranton and Wilkes-Barre are bouncing back much more quickly than any other city I've visited in the Upstate NY/PA/OH area.

[WilkesBarreAdvocate]

Thanks, SWB, my thoughts exactly!

[covebound]

That is what revitilization is all about. It is exciting to see the old buildings given a new life. The area is a buzz with new activity. You don't have to worry about hurricanes blowing your house away either.
The weather is quite nice up there right now. I vote for the area
100%

[MrMarple]

Glad to see S/WB being rehabed. I always thought it had a lot of promise just needed a push in the right direction. I haven't been through in some years. Has that car dump along side of I-81 been cleaned up. That was a real eyesore.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by MrMarple

Glad to see S/WB being rehabed. I always thought it had a lot of promise just needed a push in the right direction. I haven't been through in some years. Has that car dump along side of I-81 been cleaned up. That was a real eyesore.

Are you talking about the one between Montage Mountain and Scranton that was owned by Louis DeNaples? If so, then I have good news to report. The last time I was up that way, I couldn't see an vestige left of that old junkyard. That was always a thorn in my side as well---It gave a very negative impression to outsiders that we don't take pride in the aesthetic beauty of our area. Unfortunately, if you haven't been through that stretch in a number of years, do NOT take a look at Montage Mountain from I-81---There's hardly any trees left, as it's been gobbled up by urban sprawl at its worst, with a new NYC-oriented outlet mall, cineplex, office complexes, hotels, chain restaurants, multi-million dollar homes, etc. now vying for space on that once-beautiful mountainside. It's such a shame to think that if all of that development was used to redevelop "brownfield" sites in the city of Scranton itself, the Electric City would be bouncing back even more quickly than it has been as of late.

If you were to come up this summer to visit downtown Wilkes-Barre and downtown Scranton, you truly wouldn't recognize either downtown. Scranton is becoming a cheaper, mini-Manhattan, with new art galleries, loft apartments, clothing stores, gift shops, bistros, etc. Three new chain restaurants, "The Soup Man" on the 300-block of Adams Avenue (Based upon the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld), Molly Brannigan's Irish Pub, and two Starbucks, (one inside the Hilton, and one soon-to-be-open in the Mall at Steamtown) have recently opened in the downtown, along with a variety of mom-and-pop businesses. The old, hulking Hotel Casey was demolished to make way for the new Scranton Hilton. The old Casey Laundry Building is now home to Marquis Art & Frame, OUTrageous gifts, an art gallery, coffee shop, and loft apartments. The 400-block of Spruce Street is now home to Poochie (dog bakery), New Laundry (NYC-style apparel), Northern Lights (espresso bar), Martini (multi-story pub), Lavish (skin care products), Semian & Gress (upscale realtors), etc.

There's no longer that overwhelming sense of "woe is me" in either city, especially in Scranton, where a recent 25% city tax hike to offset a budget shortfall was largely taken in stride by city residents, who realized that all of this progress and the recent upswing in their own housing values has to be financed somehow. Wilkes-Barre's last remaining hurdle to recovery is its violent crime. While Scranton, and all of Lackawanna County for that matter, hasn't had a murder in a year-and-a-half, Luzerne County, especially Wilkes-Barre, was home to 18 homicides in 2006. I'm one of many who fear walking around town alone at night, instead opting to stay in suburbia. Considering Scranton is nearly twice the size of Wilkes-Barre and is mentioned much less on the evening news, there's truly no reason for Wilkes-Barre's crime rate to be so out-of-kilter. A city of 40,000 people should NOT be home to 18 murders annually within a 20-mile radius in the county. Just this past semester, I was threatened by a drunk homeless person on my way to class, and last year, I literally had to run two city blocks to my car as I was terrified by a group of "gangsta"-looking types who were making cat calls at me from across the street at night. As soon as Wilkes-Barre gets its crime under control, then you'll see people starting to flood back in to rehabilitate homes and raise their families, as they've just begun to do in Scranton. Don't get me wrong---I think Wilkes-Barre is a fine city; I just don't get why the crime rate is so terrible for a city of just 40,000 souls.

[dufala15468]

IN THE TRI-STATE AREA OF PENN.-W.V.- an O.H.. THE GREATEST TOWN IS... ONLY 40 MILES S. OF THE PITTSBURGH AREA, AN ONLY 20 MILES N. OF THE MASON-DIXSON LINE. LYING AT THE FOOTHILLS OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS SETS THE BEAUTIFUL TOWN OF UNIONTOWN. A REJUVENATED TOWN THAT KEEPS IT'S FEEL OF IT'S LONG HISTORY WITH A YEAR OF 2007 FLAVOR. UNIONTOWN OFFERS EVERTHING. WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF SHOPPING INCLUDING A DELIGHTFUL MALL, THE #1 WAL-MART IN THE WORLD, AN EXCITING DOWNTOWN SHOPPING. WITH ANY STYLE OF RESTAURANT THAT ONE WOULD CRAVE INCLUDING VERY CLEAN AN ESTABLISHED FASTFOOD RESTAURANTS OF ALL FERANCHISES, UPSCALE RESTAURANTS OF RED LOBSTER, 30 EAST MAIN, AN (THE BEST RESTAURANT THIS SIDE OF THE MISSISSIPPI) THE COAL BARON, AN ALL EATING IN BETWEEN. WITH MANY EXCITING EVENTS AN RECERATIONAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING THE PGA 84 LUMBER CLASSIC GOLF TOURNAMENT HOSTED BY THE NEMCOLIN WOODLANDS RESORT A FEW MILES INTO THE MOUNTINS FROM DOWNTOWN, SHOWS AT THE STATE THEATRE, OR RELAXING AN ENJOYING YOUR SELF AT STOREY SQUARE. AS THE TREES TURN COLORS AN THE AIR BRINGS A NIP, FALL BLENDS INTO THE WINTER THAT BRINGS MANY DELIGHTFUL DAYS OF SNOW FALL AN BEFORE ONE COULD COMPLAIN SPRING ROLLS IN WITH A NEW REFRESHING FEEL FOLLOWED BY SUMMERS THAT CREATES PEACEFUL EVERLASTING MEMORIES. WITH A GORGEOUS VIEW OF THE RIDGE LINE OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS WHERE SITE SEEING, CAVE EXPLORING, AN WHITE WATER RAPIDS ARE UNLIMITED. SURROUNDED THE OTHER 3/4 BY A WIDE SPREAD OF BEAUTIFUL ROLLING HILLS OF SMALL COUNTRY SIDE TOWNS AN FARM LANDS, ALL SURROUNDING A WONDERFUL AN ENJOYABLE TOWN THAT CARRIES A CITY LIKE ATMOSPERE WITH A HOME TOWN FEEL.



STARTED AS A REST FOR TRAVELERS, GREW AS MORE COAL WAS FOUND, AN TRANSLATED INTO THE TOWN OF TOGETHERNESS.

[YouKnowWhatItIs212]

worst city in PA is probably Chester in my opinion.

[Rhazula]

I'd rather live in Wilkes-Barre than where I live at in Bedford-Styvesant (a neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY).

On New Years Day, I almost got shot in my own living room. Some dumb bozos thought it would be fun to shoot their guns...out of the front door (I live in an apartment building).

They smoke crack and pot in front of people's doors (I live on the first floor) and I have to listen to people carry on like vagabonds and singing like they have talent. The murder and crime rates are so ridiculous here. I'm afraid to even go outside after 5pm.

This August, I'm kissing Brooklyn goodbye, and moving to Pennsylvania. Not sure where, but anywhere is better than Bedford-Styvesant!