Is PA depressing? (Pittsburgh, Chester, Sharon: fit in, best towns, rental)

[Dawne]

Originally Posted by clearwaterlargodude

if you think thats bad you should see EASTERN citys like HAZLETON, SHAMOKIN, POTTSVILLE AND WILKES BARRE AND BOROUGHS LIKE TAMAQUA AND MAHANOY CITY, PA IS MOSTLY A SLUM EVEN THE ONCE NICER CITIES LIKE LANCASTER AND YORK ARE GOING TO THE DOGS. MOST DEPRESSING PLACE ON THE EARTH

Okay, remember, this quote is from someone who bailed on PA in his 20s. When was the last time you were back to PA, dude?

If you don't like something, stick around and make it better rather than running away? You grew up in Hazleton, right? My grandparents grew up in Lehighton and Beaver Brook (just south of Hazleton). I come from a long family history of blue collar workers who didn't even graduate from high school and who encouraged their children to make something better of themselves.

(Now, don't anyone jump all over me about my comment about blue collar workers. They're the backbone of our society; my husband is a mechanic and I'm a typist, so I'm not dissing anyone here!!)

My parents grew up in Jim Thorpe. My dad went on to become a vice president of a bank. One of his brothers is an engineer, another retired as a superintendent of a school district, and their sister was a CPA. It's all in what you decide to make of yourself.

Some people decide their parents' lives and their hometowns aren't for them. That's fine. Make your peace with yourself, move away, and have a great life. But don't disrespect where you came from and the people who choose to stay there!

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by Dawne

Some people decide their parents' lives and their hometowns aren't for them. That's fine. Make your peace with yourself, move away, and have a great life. But don't disrespect where you came from and the people who choose to stay there!

Not a decision, just reality that a lot of people have little choice over, you go where the jobs and prosper The days of working 30 years at the local plant with no college education and earning a liveable wage with the ability to save, owning a house and raising a large family, low cost healthcare on top of having a nice pension waiting for you, are history.

I know of plenty of older people from PA and elsewhere that had this opportunity, very little in the way of that exist for the next generation, should say it went the way of the Dodo Bird a long time ago.

[fairmaiden]

I grew up in the tristate area and have traveled around the the south and the west and now live in the south because my husband's business is here. I never believed PA was a depressing place. My husband says PA is not business friendly or maybe he could succeed there. The thing that I liked about PA is the fun people, especially the Italians I knew - learned everything I know from them - compared to all the reserved and boring yuppies of the south. I don't like the south because I find the people are too reserved and the sun is too strong. I don't enjoy having to greaze myself up with sunscreen just to enjoy the outdoors. Now there are many lizard looking people who don't care about the sun damage and that's fine for them but that's not for me. If I had to make another move I would move to Europe, Canada or the northern states of the US. My advice is to get out and do some travel and see for yourself and open your mind to other ideas then make up your mind yourself. There are some people on here who talk out of their AZZ, and believe you me, they are negative about everything.

[fairmaiden]

Another thing to add about what I found in PA - noone ever forced their politics or religion down my throat. That is standard behavior for the south and west and in my book - RUDE.

[lilygirl]

I have lived in Northeast Pa., Wilkes Barre area, all my life. I am now 46. The weather is terrible, almost always cold. The summers, if we have one, are sweltering hot. Companies don't want to pay enough to support a homeless person . The landlords are very greedy and don't take care of their properties, but not all are like that. I had alot of bad experiences. The only good thing is people are pretty friendly. If you like lousy weather and enjoy being poor you'll love it here. If not, run the other way!!!

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by fairmaiden

I grew up in the tristate area and have traveled around the the south and the west and now live in the south because my husband's business is here. I never believed PA was a depressing place. My husband says PA is not business friendly or maybe he could succeed there. The thing that I liked about PA is the fun people, especially the Italians I knew - learned everything I know from them - compared to all the reserved and boring yuppies of the south. I don't like the south because I find the people are too reserved and the sun is too strong. I don't enjoy having to greaze myself up with sunscreen just to enjoy the outdoors. Now there are many lizard looking people who don't care about the sun damage and that's fine for them but that's not for me. If I had to make another move I would move to Europe, Canada or the northern states of the US. My advice is to get out and do some travel and see for yourself and open your mind to other ideas then make up your mind yourself. There are some people on here who talk out of their AZZ, and believe you me, they are negative about everything.Another thing to add about what I found in PA - noone ever forced their politics or religion down my throat. That is standard behavior for the south and west and in my book - RUDE.

Well bless your l'il old heart, dear. Here in the South, we try to help you feel welcome, so we ask "if you haven't found a church, you're welcome at ours" or if you're not sure where to vote, we'll help you get all signed up and even let you vote on a Saturday and before the official day! That's an example (or two) of what we call "good manners" and being polite. We also teach our children to call adults "Mr. ___ " or "Mrs. ___ " , unless they're native Southerners; then it's "Sir" or "M'am" in addition. I can see how one might mistake it for being rude and nosy if one has never experienced it in public from people one doesn't know. Oh, we wear sunscreen here so as not to get melanoma (that's a very bad cancer) or basal cell or squamous cell cancer (other bad cancers). Do continue acquiring an open mind and be sweet.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by lilygirl

I have lived in Northeast Pa., Wilkes Barre area, all my life. I am now 46. The weather is terrible, almost always cold. The summers, if we have one, are sweltering hot. Companies don't want to pay enough to support a homeless person . The landlords are very greedy and don't take care of their properties, but not all are like that. I had alot of bad experiences. The only good thing is people are pretty friendly. If you like lousy weather and enjoy being poor you'll love it here. If not, run the other way!!!

I'm very sorry to read about your negative experiences with Wilkes-Barre.
Bear in mind, though, that the entire region is starting to rebound greatly from the "rock bottom" it was at as recently as the late-1990s. There ARE decent jobs to be had in the area---my father nets over $50,000 as a systems analyst for a firm on Public Square, and my mother was formerly in retail management for a chain drugstore before she switched careers to spend more time with her family. I'm making nearly $10/hr. just pushing carts, lifting stuff, etc. at a local retail "big-box" store. My sister makes $33,000 as a first-year high school English teacher, and her newlywed husband earns around $50,000 as a starting engineer at Tobyhanna Army Depot. My next-door neighbor is a CPA, and, while I'm unsure of his salary, he earns enough to support his family of four on one income with two newer vehicles and a luxury home built in 1998. My neighbors two doors down drive a Mercedes-Benz and a Land Rover through successful real estate ventures. Not all of NEPA is economically stagnant and bleak---head to the parking lot at Lowe's on some Saturday and count the number of Audis, Volvos, Lexuses, Infinitis, Escalades, Hummers, BMWs, etc.---which often number about 1 in 5 vehicles in the lot! Take a drive out along Sutton Road in Shavertown sometime and be blown away by how the "other half" can live!

I'm not typing this to make you feel bad; I just want you to see that you CAN be financially-successful around here, and that you should never give up hope! While you may currently be struggling in life, there's always potential that the next day could put a blessing of opportunity in your path. Perhaps I'm just a hopeless optimist, but I just think that with enough determination, willpower, and perhaps a bit of luck, anyone can follow their dreams. Have a great night!

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by clearwaterlargodude

hhahahahhahah, in pa try getting a teaching, statepolice, city police state prison or civil service state job with out political influence im from hazleton and its who you know not what you know. its pathetic thats why the young are fleein in droves.

Really? My sister snagged a position as a secondary English teacher at a local public school district without much difficulty fresh out of college. She's earning a salary of $33,000 in her first year, which isn't too shabby. Our family flies below the small-town political radar here in Pittston (even though I'm notorious in much of the community for my big mouth! LOL!), so I don't know where you got this notion that you have to "know someone" to get a job.

[butiflygrls1220]

Originally Posted by blauskies

You live in South Carolina and are tired about the weather? It get's a lot colder in PA with more snow then in SC, you are aware of that? If your moving to Erie, be prepared for the Lake Effect Storms.

Yes it's too hot! I am looking forward to the Cold!We never fet snow.The other day it was 72 in Jan.

[Tamanddon]

Although I love my Steelers, Pittsburgh (in my opinion) has gone downhill. The job market is horrible around that area. Beautiful state though!