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Hello all well we got an offer on our house last night and we opened escrow today. So looks like we will be moving up to PA in January. Everyone keeps telling us we are nuts to move to PA considering we have never been there before. The wife and I still cant pinpoint where excatly in PA where we want to go. She has been looking at Pittsburgh but I just want to make sure that we make a informed decision. I really like Scranton more and more. How often does it snow out there? We still havent firgued out if we are going to get a uhaul truck and move our our stuff or hire movers. Also we are going to rent for a couple of months until we firgue out where we want to buy. Where are the best areas to raise a family and has the best schools. Any help would be greatly appriated.
Congratulations, Alex, on your offer. This forum is excellent to get the take on a place without going there. Although, you do have to visit someplace first to get the"feel" of it. I just posted my viewpoint on the Pittsburgh area so you can see I wouldn't be very encouraging on moving to this area. NW PA is worse. Check out all the threads for the Eastern part of the state. Are you prepared for a culture shock? Good luck with where ever you move!
My wife and I are going to fly out there and check things out but we do have are minds up in moving to PA. I did read your post and it has not changed our mind we still want to go out there and start a new life. We just need to get out of California as I dont want to raise my kids in this horrible state. I have lived in California all my life and its time to move on to better things. Can I ask you a question it sounds like you are a bit bitter of the divorce and perhaps thats why you hate Pittsburgh. For all your folks that live in Pittsburgh can shed some light to this post.
I don't know what the day to day life in the Scranton area is like, but its certainly a beautiful location. My dad was born there( i grew up in Philly area) and we would take summer and ski vacations up there every year and what an awesome place.
One thing that will get your attention is the winter cold. It gets cold down here in Philly but its a different dimension of cold in Scranton because of the elevation. If you can hibernate for Jan -feb this looks like an incredible place to live.
I've also have relatives in Pittsburgh area and I've heard nothing but good things about living there as well. GL
Check out Pike county in PA. Very cheap cost of living, access to NYC if you want some entertainment, very pretty, low crime, good schools (Delaware Valley) and there is the Delaware River Gap and lots of parks for recreation. Has to be on of the best places to live in PA, and is the fastest growing county. People here though are fighting the growth by buying up land so they can keep the small town feel. We have wildlife and mountains, fishing, hiking, boating, skiing and the bus to NYC or access to the historic and beautiful Hudson Valley in NY for day trips.
Another gem of a place is upstate NY Cortland/Syracuse area. I know you say that right now you have set on PA, but in case you change your mind give those areas a thought.
Feel free to ask questions if you have any. I live in Pike County in a small town called Shohola. We have been here a little less than a year but I am pretty familiar with this area.
BTW, as far as snow goes, some winters we can get a few feet at a time on the ground, others you may go weeks with none and get 6 inches here and there.
Expect temps to be in the 30's for a high most winter, with some sporadic colder periods. Summer can be hot, highs in the 80's and humid sometimes too.
I don't know what the day to day life in the Scranton area is like, but its certainly a beautiful location. My dad was born there( i grew up in Philly area) and we would take summer and ski vacations up there every year and what an awesome place.
One thing that will get your attention is the winter cold. It gets cold down here in Philly but its a different dimension of cold in Scranton because of the elevation. If you can hibernate for Jan -feb this looks like an incredible place to live.
I've also have relatives in Pittsburgh area and I've heard nothing but good things about living there as well. GL
The weather in Scranton is totally unpredictable at just about any time of the year. Just yesterday, December 1, we hit 71 degrees, and an F-2 tornado slammed into the Wilkes-Barre suburb of Mountain Top, leaving thousands of homes without power, damaged, and trees uprooted left and right (This was a milestone for PA in that it was the first December tornado ever recorded in the state, as well as the all-time warmest temperature ever recorded in the region in December!) Crestwood High School lost its roof, windows at the Mr. Z's Supermarket were blown in, injuring several people, and many homes had their roofs blown off. I was working last night at Lowe's in Wilkes-Barre, about seven miles north of where the tornado touched down, and the violence of that storm is something I'll never forget---Shopping carts, signs, and inflatable Santas being pushed all over the parking lot and into unsuspecting vehicles! The hail from the storm was actually so wind-driven in the 60+ mile per hour gusts that it was actually painful! Today, the cleanup began; I was working again from 10:30 AM-8 PM, and my back now aches from loading up generator after generator for Mountain Top residents who are just trying to return to normalcy after the twister! I couldn't help but see the "irony" in the situation---Most people Moutain Top are upper-middle-class and avoid Wilkes-Barre like the plague, thinking it's some sort of unihabitable "third-world country". Now that there's no power and barely-passable roads in Mountain Top, they're more than happy to trek into Wilkes-Barre!
Today, in contrast, we had abundant sunshine and temperatures in the upper-30s, half as warm as yesterday---people went from wearing shorts to wearing parkas overnight! Lake-effect snow showers are now in the forecast for the early part of next week, and I'm predicting our first major snowfall in the week preceding Christmas. (Keep that in mind if you're entering WNEP-TV's Snowthrower give-away contest!)
The Scranton area's weather is so extreme and varied that it's a meteorologist's dream---I was never as awe-struck in my life last night as I was while watching the incessant lightning show approach from behind Barnes & Noble as a wall of black advanced towards us. In contrast, there are sunny Spring and Fall days here that hover around 70 degrees with a light breeze and low humidity that make the region perfect for hiking, biking, etc. The winters recently haven't been snowy or cold at all; last year we were over a foot below average in snowfall---It's been quite some time since we had an above-average snowfall season, and judging by how warm it's continuing to be now in December, this may just be added to that list (Cough...global warming...cough...Bush doesn't care...cough!)
I am from Pittsburgh, born and raised, and moved to California when I was 22. I had just graduated from college and the town was very economically depressed (the steel industry was on it's way out), so I moved to California to take a job. I have been in the San Francisco Bay Area for 25 years and I have to admit that I have my ups and downs with California - the main thing keeping me here is the weather. However, I realize, at 47 years of age, I am never going to get ahead in California. I am moving back to Pittsburgh in February, and I get the same thing from my friends here - What?, you're moving to Pennsylvania, why? I visit my family twice a year and I can tell you Pittsburgh has done a complete 360 since I left. It is more of a white collar tech town than a blue collar town, and the City is beautiful. The economy is good, the air is clean, you can buy a 4 bedroom 2000 sq. ft. home for $150,000, and the people are very friendly. But you have to be a Steeler fan because you are in Steeler country! Seriously, Pittsburgh is a great town and you won't regret living there. Besides, I have moved around enough to know that you make wherever you live - it is all in your attitude. Best of luck and maybe we will pass each other on the freeway. Patrick
I am from Pittsburgh, born and raised, and moved to California when I was 22. I had just graduated from college and the town was very economically depressed (the steel industry was on it's way out), so I moved to California to take a job. I have been in the San Francisco Bay Area for 25 years and I have to admit that I have my ups and downs with California - the main thing keeping me here is the weather. However, I realize, at 47 years of age, I am never going to get ahead in California. I am moving back to Pittsburgh in February, and I get the same thing from my friends here - What?, you're moving to Pennsylvania, why? I visit my family twice a year and I can tell you Pittsburgh has done a complete 360 since I left. It is more of a white collar tech town than a blue collar town, and the City is beautiful. The economy is good, the air is clean, you can buy a 4 bedroom 2000 sq. ft. home for $150,000, and the people are very friendly. But you have to be a Steeler fan because you are in Steeler country! Seriously, Pittsburgh is a great town and you won't regret living there. Besides, I have moved around enough to know that you make wherever you live - it is all in your attitude. Best of luck and maybe we will pass each other on the freeway. Patrick
Thanks for the reply and giving me some more insight. I'm starting to see how important sports are out there. That is one reason why we want to get away from California is to get ahead and get away from the all the problems and gangs and illegal aliens that are causing a major strain in the economy. One thing I will probaly miss is the weather and all the places where I can ride my motorcycle but I'm willing to sacrafice to raise my kids in a better place. Once again thanks for your post and maybe we will past each other on the freeway. Where in California do you live if you dont mind me asking?
The weather in Scranton is totally unpredictable at just about any time of the year. Just yesterday, December 1, we hit 71 degrees, and an F-2 tornado slammed into the Wilkes-Barre suburb of Mountain Top, leaving thousands of homes without power, damaged, and trees uprooted left and right (This was a milestone for PA in that it was the first December tornado ever recorded in the state, as well as the all-time warmest temperature ever recorded in the region in December!) Crestwood High School lost its roof, windows at the Mr. Z's Supermarket were blown in, injuring several people, and many homes had their roofs blown off. I was working last night at Lowe's in Wilkes-Barre, about seven miles north of where the tornado touched down, and the violence of that storm is something I'll never forget---Shopping carts, signs, and inflatable Santas being pushed all over the parking lot and into unsuspecting vehicles! The hail from the storm was actually so wind-driven in the 60+ mile per hour gusts that it was actually painful! Today, the cleanup began; I was working again from 10:30 AM-8 PM, and my back now aches from loading up generator after generator for Mountain Top residents who are just trying to return to normalcy after the twister! I couldn't help but see the "irony" in the situation---Most people Moutain Top are upper-middle-class and avoid Wilkes-Barre like the plague, thinking it's some sort of unihabitable "third-world country". Now that there's no power and barely-passable roads in Mountain Top, they're more than happy to trek into Wilkes-Barre!
Today, in contrast, we had abundant sunshine and temperatures in the upper-30s, half as warm as yesterday---people went from wearing shorts to wearing parkas overnight! Lake-effect snow showers are now in the forecast for the early part of next week, and I'm predicting our first major snowfall in the week preceding Christmas. (Keep that in mind if you're entering WNEP-TV's Snowthrower give-away contest!)
The Scranton area's weather is so extreme and varied that it's a meteorologist's dream---I was never as awe-struck in my life last night as I was while watching the incessant lightning show approach from behind Barnes & Noble as a wall of black advanced towards us. In contrast, there are sunny Spring and Fall days here that hover around 70 degrees with a light breeze and low humidity that make the region perfect for hiking, biking, etc. The winters recently haven't been snowy or cold at all; last year we were over a foot below average in snowfall---It's been quite some time since we had an above-average snowfall season, and judging by how warm it's continuing to be now in December, this may just be added to that list (Cough...global warming...cough...Bush doesn't care...cough!)
ScrantonWilkesBarre thanks for another informative post. I sent you a PM and wanted to make sure that you got it. One thing my wife wants is to be close to Italian Delis and such. Once again thanks for your post.
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Crestwood High School lost its roof, windows at the Mr. Z's Supermarket were blown in, injuring several people, and many homes had their roofs blown off. I was working last night at Lowe's in Wilkes-Barre, about seven miles north of where the tornado touched down, and the violence of that storm is something I'll never forget---Shopping carts, signs, and inflatable Santas being pushed all over the parking lot and into unsuspecting vehicles! 
(Keep that in mind if you're entering WNEP-TV's Snowthrower give-away contest!) 
