Mahanoy City, PA (Philadelphia, Reading, Scranton: renting, violent crime, new home)

[Trainman]

Originally Posted by sleeplessinpa

Scranton- is right on all accounts.

I lived in Schuykill County as a child and was in a Disfunctional Family. Bars are abundant as are Churches- I guess the drunks needed to repent for all the garbage they caused . I saw many a times my father beat my mother and when we got older and tried to stand up to him he would do the same to us.

(Not a wonderful life for a young girl).

I had dreams of getting away from that Hell Hole. Neither of my parents believed in College- They felt we could get a job without it . They also never went any wherer in their life or had any money. They died Poorer than Poor.

I live in the Poconos now and put myself through college as an Adult. I would never go back to a place that is filled with violence and lack of respect for women or children let alone no Culture.

The men and women of that area(and most coal towns-even some here in the Jim Thorpe area-but not as bad) have one of the poorest manners, are poorly educated and lack any kind of grooming.

Think Planes ,Trains and Automobiles at the part where Steve Martin and John Candy get a ride from the hotel owners son. The Guy and the Women there are pretty typical of the Coal Region people. And how that guy treated his wife in the movie- well - that is in Reality how women are treated there.

I am sorry to hear you have had a rough life. PLease DO NOT say that is typical of coal regions. I grew up there and I and all I know have had wonderful lives, only love and affection. As with anywhere there are families that are disfunctional but the vast MAJORITY in the coal regions are wonderful.

[Naomi]

I live in Delaware but my parents were both from Mahanoy City and I spent many wonderful summers there and in Tamaqua. Last spring we purcahsed a weekend house up there and love it. The people are so nice, it is like stepping back in time. The house we bought was built in 1863 and the previous owners did alot of work to the house. We ripped up some floors in the bedrooms and found totaly intact newspapers from the 1930's. I have to say I have never slept so well anywhere in my life. Very quiet town. Yes the town needs some work, they had a bad flood over the July 4th weekend last summer. We plan on retiring there in 10 or so years.

[Dawne]

Hopefully Mahonoy City, Shenandoah and some of the other "coal towns" can experience a revitalization like Jim Thorpe has seen. When my parents grew up there (it was still Mauch Chunk at the time) it was a place to be (and get away) from. Now it's a trendy place to go. It's always been known as "The Switzerland of PA" but now it's also part of the Poconos.

I think other coal towns have so much possibility. They have some fabulous architecture in some of those old buildings, and so much character. All it takes is a group of citizens interested in revitalization, some applications to the state for grants that are available, and maybe a Main Street Manager or some other downtown program.

[DeLorean]

well I drive through Tamaqua pretty often, and I often times stop by Coaldale Saturday nights to go see the Rocky Horror picture show there! it's pretty good actually, if you are in the area on midnight on saturday night it's the place to go. Personally, I don't mind the area but It clearly is in need of some major work. Heading west in the Panther Valley... Coal, coal, coal and more coal is all you see, and crappy houses, with about 1/2 of them vacant... Not exactly a good place to do real estate investing, but who knows... maybe in 20-40 years, they will be worth something. they really can't get much lower! many of the vacant and dilapidated houses you could probably get for the cost of the back taxes.

[Bengyk]

Anthony,
My father lived in Mahanoy City and passed away on July 14th.
I was looking for a realtor to check his property to assess the market value as I will be selling it.
It used to be a grocery store and was converted to a living room and large storage room when he retired at 79.
It has 4 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths eat in kitchen, TV room or dining room and oversized front room. His house has ductless air conditioning which is rare in that area.
The basement, as most in that town, is unfinished. If you know what a cellar is, that is what he has.

[Natasha007X]

I go through Mahanoy city all the time, I live near there, its a severely depressed town with no employment opportunity and is quickly filling up with NY'ers due to the low cost of rents...

Perhaps it will end up like Hazleton PA. filled with Illeagle aliens and having gun fights in the streets. How nice it is for this area of Pennsylvania who proud history of hard working men and women has been all but forgotten.

If youre thinking of buying some land in Mahanoy City or the surrounding area, dont expect to get rich from it and dont rent to illeagles!

[travelling man]

Mahanoy City is becoming a haven for illegal immigrants. I've been through the town numerous times. In the summer, it still amazes me the beauty of the hills and valleys surrounding this city and other cities like it in this area. I hope things change and it stays a beautiful area, but the original residents of this town are good and friendly people, despite the recent migration of those that want to hide from the INS.

[sweetdtrinity]

well im from jersey city right next from new york , my sister move 2 years ago to mahanoy city i've been down there well is verry quiet, alot of abandoned houses, people are very friendly about jobs well ever since my brother in law moved up there he has a good job well i guess thats what he says . they been trying to get me to move up there but oh noooooo. im use to the city lol. my kids hates it. houses are really cheap up there.so think about it .ok

[johnbrooks]

I stayed at Mahanoy City for several months this year while visiting relatives. To sum it up, “YUCK!” I found the town filthy, noisy and ugly. Heavy trucks rolled by all day, shaking the houses. They were so loud, you couldn’t sleep. You would dust the furniture in the morning and black filth was covering it by night. Drug use was rampant--and there was a bar practically on every corner. I’ve seen people deal drugs right in front of the police. In fact, the police know a lot of the drug dealers, but they turn a blind eye. The sewer smells at times were unbearable. Our basement and front porch smelled like a cesspool. The streets and sidewalks are sinking. Sinkholes are everywhere. The nearby coal mine periodically releases illegal substances into the air--there were a few times when there was a “pink cloud” lingering in the sky. You couldn’t go outdoors when this cloud was lingering. Their water supply is tainted from the mines, as are the water supplies to neighboring towns. Cancer rates are sky-high. .
The school district is awful. Cheating is rampant--the teachers apparently turn a blind eye to it. They have tons of honor students, but how did they get that way--from cheating. I know this first hand, because my relatives had a son in the high school, and he showed me how they did it. Learning disabilities are overlooked. My relative’s son has autism. Instead of helping him, the teachers glided him through classes with honors! He has no social skills, and he’s in college now, struggling.
The strangest thing I noticed is that most people are oblivious to the poor condition of their town. They don’t care about their health--most smoke and obviously don’t care about their eating habits or dental health. My relatives suffer from constant coughing and general ill health. Goodness knows why they’re still living there. Anywhere would be better than living in Mahanoy City.

[greenboy]

I am living in M-City and yes is an uggly town. I work very hard to keep my house in good shape. my neighbors are the best, my block probably is the best block in the east of the town. We have a lot of renter and they dont keep their homes. If you want cheap housing this is where you should go, however, please if you are going to rent the house and stay away please dont do that to us. . My neighbors are very friendly but if you don't fallow the "unspoken rules" you are in trouble and shunning is very commun, our major problem we have a restaurant and car wash, abandoned by his owner, he wants $300,000 for both businesses but I think you need to put about $50,000 to make the business going, he is a very selfish man, since he had problems with his wife, is making the town to pay, having an abandoned business right there in town. What really make me upset is the town administrator doesnt force him to do something with those businesses.
Now Hazelton our closer big city, is growing very fast and i saw last year projected "blue print" and Hazelton is growing our way and will swallow M-city in the next 10 years or so. Also we are having people from NY. buying in town and keeping the properties.

[quote=Trainman;232416]How dare you call this an ugly town!!!!! Sure, it is passed its heyday, the town boomed with coal. Now, it is old and needs citizens to respect it. Absentee landlords are the BIG problem with this town now. There is no work and no there are NO coal mines still operating here. If there were the town would have jobs.