Do you miss Pennsylvania? (Scranton, Lancaster: housing, rent, income)

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by tubpojntxoog
I will only live in PA if there is no other piece of land on earth. here is why:

the roads are too narrow and crooked.

big snow storms and schools close too many times per year.

Air quality sucks.

gang activities are same as that of LA and other big city for city like Lancaster, york, and reading.

the economy is nasty. imagine your making 8.50/hr on east coast cost of living.

people are rude with the exception of those in the western part of the state.

it's too crowded, even traffics for small towns are horrible.

it stincks, especially in lancaster county, due to overcrowded farmlands. some farmers simply toss their dead animals to their backyard, especially the Amish people. sometimes your craving for nice fresh air, especially in the summer.

the idea of cheating the customers runs across from small business owner to large coperation such as bank.

one of the most racial discrimination places in the US.

too mountainous and hilly. a nice big park is a dream here.

wheather is nasty. 40 degrees one day and 80 the next day.

can't wait to leave.

Originally Posted by Time2Moov

Agreed.

I made a huge mistake in 2000 when I moved myself and my fiance from New York City to Montgomery county.

- The people are nasty and antisocial
- The food is the worst I have ever had, you can't even buy decent stuff to cook yourself!
- The housing has gone up so much, we're starting to talk Long Island, where I'm originally from.
- The drivers. Pennsylvania has the worst drivers out of any state on the east coast. The only drivers I found to be almost as bad were in Michigan.
- The seniors, and senior social programs. There are WAY TOO MANY advantages to being a senior citizen in this state. Even the lottery goes to pay for people who should have been saving for retirement, rather than education like it does in most states.
- The education. Worst public schools I have ever seen. I got into a conversation with this girl in her early 20's about Katrina. I ended up saying something about Jesse Jackson. No lie, she asked "I forget, when was he president?"
- Oh yeah, did I mention the people were nasty inbred hillbillies for the most part? Well, not all of them. Just the ones I seem to encounter day in, day out, every lousy day that I have been here. I'm no longer surprised that the largest Klan rally in history was held in 1991 in the great state of PA. It makes sense now. Something else weird, no matter where I shop the cashiers never say "thank you" after I pay them for something. I guess thats a common courtesy us nasty New Yorkers are used to. The list goes on.

Thankfully, the housing market in LI is poised to head due south. We're waiting like vultures to spring on the first decent deal we can find.

Well, gracious! T2M, I do hope you are referring to Long Island in New York and not in North Carolina;
I'm afraid y'all would be much too unhappy here among us, bless your heart!, because we have real "hillbillies",
the KKK, long 2-lane roads (Blue Ridge Parkway), and cousins who marry each other and go on TV to talk about it!
Y'all be sweet.

[turboredcart]

im surprised over the negative comments. more people leave PA then move to PA.

my brother hates PA, yet he cant decide on a his utopia.

as compared to IL/Chicago, PA is a very nice place.

45,000 square miles- there is something for everyone here. the mountains and hardwoods are beautiful.

I consider quality of life issues.

As to the air quality- it is slipping. I hate that people burn trash in burn barrels.

[ScranBarre]

Granted, the air quality is horrific in much of the state (I can't tell you how many times I've coughed so hard after a grueling rush-hour run that I've ended up throwing up my Propel all over the pavement!) However, I still think the "pros" in our region far outweigh the "cons."

[jbhent]

I am from Ga, but i moved to Pa in the early 70's.. I went to college,had great jobs and owned a business.. But one day i got this idea that i wanted to move back to Ga.. What a mistake !!! I lost everything in 1.5 yrs, the people are so far behind in education & etc: Racism wasn't from the white people... It was my own people... I when into several businesses and the people had such attitudes, I was so disappointed that in 2002 some of us still haven't gotten the picture. People lost their life so that we can get the jobs and homes that we have, everyday we should thank God for those people..
Those of us that work so hard to rid ourselves of the negitive views that people have of us, have to fight both sides and feel left outside..
I don't want my family members shot or carjacked... Yes i know this happens everywhere.. but it's not white people shooting at us, killing our kids, fighting in professional sports, walking around with our pants to our knees...

I moved to Fla in 2004 and now i have 3 businesses (people are slow) but i haven't seen anything like what i saw in Ga.. Do i miss Pa ???? Yes..
I wish i could have so of the conveninces that we had there...

We need to pray for our people, before it's to late and we all have to pay a price for the one's that refuse to see the truth.

Dr.

Originally Posted by bamboosmom

Well, we are originally from NY and then Jersey and now Florida.
I love Pa. We are going to move there as soon as we sell our home in Florida!

[sunseeker]

Gloom gloom gloom gloom gloom! Don't move here if you have Seasonal Affective Disorder! It never gets warm here. No need for air conditioning. But you can expect to have your heat on 9 months out of the year. We had our first fall frost September 30th and a majority of the leaves are gone from the trees now. Time to get ready for long hard cold grey bleak depressing winter. Yes, it is time for me to move! Somebody get me outa here! Help me find the sun and civilization!

[Adream]

Originally Posted by Time2Moov

I made a huge mistake in 2000 when I moved myself and my fiance from New York City to Montgomery county.

Yep, you should have moved to Bucks County!

After h.s. in Bucks Co., I lived in Mont. Co. You would think that a short move from one county to the next one over would not be so different. That's what I thought! I detested Montgomery County!

I finally - ThankYouLord - sold that house and moved back to Bucks Co. Enjoyed three years back there, and then life changed and I had to move again. I would not move back to Montgomery County if someone gave me a free house. There are so many beautiful and friendly places in PA, don't give up on the whole state because of that one place.

BTW - my DH was raised in Montgomery County and detests PA with a passion. So, that state is not on our list of future possibilities.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by daveyfromfrack

crazy thats all i could say no value in pa property

I'm inclined to disagree. In 1996 my parents bought our current home for around $110,000. As of 2006, the home is currently worth in the neighborhood of $200,000, an appreciation of $90,000 over 10 years, or $9,000 per year! (An average ROI of more than 8% annually isn't too shabby!) When you consider that homes in other "cooling" markets rose several times as much during the same period, it's nice to know that our homes will CONTINUE to appreciate steadily here in Northeastern Pennsylvania for years to come as the bubble "bursts" just two hours away in overinflated areas in NY, NJ, and the Philly 'burbs.

[sunseeker]

The real estate market in NEPA compared to the the rest of the country in the same time period is still very depressed even at 8%. May other areas of the country had real estate gains in the 100%, 200%, even 500% range. Even with over inflated prices or bursting bubble the gains have been incredible and will not be returning to the 1996 market prices. Scranton Wilkes Barre has gotten better, but can not compare to other areas.

[floridadamselindistress]

Born and raised in Pgh. Every once in awhile, I miss the fall, especially that certain smell that came when Pgh. turned into spring. Love the Steelers. Try to always watch them. Miss chipped ham. Live in Florida and hate it. Homeowners insurance is wacko, going up, up, up into the middle thousands and some even $26,000 annually. No one wants to write a new policy here. Property taxes high too. Everyone wants to sell and get out but to move back to Pgh?? Lots of taxes there. Don't want to give all of my money away to the taxman. Looking for a good place to move to with low taxes, insurance, etc. Anyone know of a good place like that?

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

While I agree Bucks County is nice and has some areas nicer than Montgomery County, it's really unfair to paint Montgomery County as a terrible place to live to those seeking information on these boards. Montgomery County can be a wonderful place to live, ask me... I lived there for over 25 years. Would you advise someone to live in downtown Norristown? Absolutely not. But if you choose Hatboro-Horsham, Blue Bell, North Wales, Montgomeryville, Lansdale, in Eastern Mongomery county, these are all beautiful places to live with some Blue Ribbon School districts. All three of my children when through the Hatboro-Horsham school district and received an excellent education.

If you ask me, Bucks County has some crummy areas of it's own (i.e. Lower Bucks) but I would never paint the whole county as being nasty. These counties are very large and it's simply not realistic for readers to come away with the thought that Montgomery County is "detestable".

Readers... it's simply not true that Montgomery County is undesirable. Do your research on any particular area without taking blanket statements such as this to be truth.