Why The "Competition" Amongst U.S. Cities? (neighborhoods, pros and cons)

[ontheroad]

Yup---Pittsburgh's skyline is fantastic!

Originally Posted by tahiti

I love Pgh's skyline. Hell, I love Pgh!

[tenken627]

I personally don't really mind the comparisons between areas and even the bashing that comes with it (it will happen when comparing anything).

I do think it's distasteful to bash another personally because they are from an area or build yourself up because you are in a different area.

A poster from Alabama might be more educated and more financially well off than someone from California, but people see Alabama and automatically assume that person is a "poor, uneducated hillbilly". Or someone is a "snobbish, rude elitist" because they live in the Northeast.

Comparing cities is fine, just leave out the PERSONAL remarks.

[beone]

Originally Posted by tenken627

I personally don't really mind the comparisons between areas and even the bashing that comes with it (it will happen when comparing anything).

I do think it's distasteful to bash another personally because they are from an area or build yourself up because you are in a different area.

A poster from Alabama might be more educated and more financially well off than someone from California, but people see Alabama and automatically assume that person is a "poor, uneducated hillbilly". Or someone is a "snobbish, rude elitist" because they live in the Northeast.

Comparing cities is fine, just leave out the PERSONAL remarks.

I'm sure there are people in Alabama that are better off than me financially - hey, hey, hey! I is po'!

I am serious .... just so you know...not taking a crack at Alabama...just saying you a right!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Ben Around

I had assumed he was focusing on Scranton's similarities with those other cities: e.g., their aging infrastructures, declining center city population, Rust Belt heritage (economically faltering from their hey-days), etc. Murder is but one dimension.

Agreed. I was actually just lumping Scranton together with them because all of these cities, overall, have negative reputations to many across the country for one reason or another. Scranton's crime rate is quite remarkably low for a metropolitan area of its size, but the best-paying jobs it seems to be able to muster en masse are those intended for high school dropouts. These cities all have "rusted out" images to them, which is why I included Scranton along with the others.

[quickdraw]

Maybe I have to get back to Scranton one of these days. I haven't been there in a long time, my dad was raised in Binghamton, NY. To be honest my memory of Scranton is pretty bad, but it must be doing something right as it's citizens may be the most fiercely loyal on this board.

Although maybe I'm dealing with several Dwight K. Schutes??

[Drover]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Agreed. I was actually just lumping Scranton together with them because all of these cities, overall, have negative reputations to many across the country for one reason or another. Scranton's crime rate is quite remarkably low for a metropolitan area of its size, but the best-paying jobs it seems to be able to muster en masse are those intended for high school dropouts. These cities all have "rusted out" images to them, which is why I included Scranton along with the others.

Actually, I don't know that Scranton has a reputation anywhere outside the Northeast. Here's what most other people know about Scranton:

1) It's somewhere in Pennsylvania

2) "The Office" is set there

3) That's really it.

It's kind of the Decatur/Rockford/Peoria of Pennsylvania: people have heard of it but don't know why.

[RowJimmy]

Ha, I saw the which city is more livable Pittsburgh or Philly discussions on this board. I am from Pittsburgh, and live there now. I have spent about a year and a half in Philly. I loved that city. They both have their positives and negatives when deciding which one to live in. Pittsburgh has better outdoor activities, Philly is closer to the shore. Pittsburgh's neighborhoods and inner city is very well kept in My opinion for how old the city is. Philly's neighborhoods are like Pittsburgh in that they have unique identity, but they the are much more run down in areas. However, Germantown, Manayonk, and others were great. I like center city over the golden triangle, but the Golden triangle will be much better with over 2,000 more residents, shopping, and restaurants in 5 years. Philly is home of Sesame Street, Pittsburgh was home of Mr. Rogers. I love both cities. People get biased when they attack the other across the state. I hate when Pittsburgh's put down Philly and never been there, and Philadelphians took down Pittsburgh but never been here.

This is not a competition either.........Just a compare and contrast.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by Drover

Actually, I don't know that Scranton has a reputation anywhere outside the Northeast. Here's what most other people know about Scranton:

1) It's somewhere in Pennsylvania

2) "The Office" is set there

3) That's really it.

It's kind of the Decatur/Rockford/Peoria of Pennsylvania: people have heard of it but don't know why.

Having lived in IL, I laughed out loud at this

Although I would have switched Rockford for Kankakee.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

Maybe I have to get back to Scranton one of these days. I haven't been there in a long time, my dad was raised in Binghamton, NY. To be honest my memory of Scranton is pretty bad, but it must be doing something right as it's citizens may be the most fiercely loyal on this board.

Although maybe I'm dealing with several Dwight K. Schutes??

It's certainly bounced back tremendously in the past few years. Downtown is becoming very trendy, and some of the new business ventures already here or on their way in the city include the following:

Blues Street (blues cafe)
Poochie (gourmet dog bakery & boutique)
Lavish (skin care boutique
Silhouette (LGBT-oriented bar)
New Laundry (NYC-style womens' apparel boutique)
Runway (NYC-style womens' apparel boutique)
Occasions (women's formalwear rental)
Northern Lights (espresso bar)
Molly Brannigan's (Irish pub)
Brixx (restaurant)
Martini (bar)
Vidas (tapas restaurant)
Thai Rak Thai (Thai restaurant)
Mansour's (market & sidewalk cafe)
Ipanema (Brazilian grill)
Faccia Luna (restaurant)
Osaka (Japanese restaurant)
Outrageous (gift shop)
Marquis Art & Frame (gallery/framing)
Center Street Coffeehouse (coffee)
Starbuck's (2) (coffee)

Upcoming projects/businesses downtown include the following:

Used bookstore in Casey Laundry building.
Expansion of University of Scranton campus and better integration amongst the campus, downtown, and the Lower Hill neighborhood.
Revival of Connell Building into ground-level retail, second-floor office space, upper-floor condos.
Revival of 500-block of Lackawanna Avenue into boutiques, restaurants, galleries, and studios.
Revival of Sixth Avenue area including restoration of old train station into restaurants/boutiques and construction of residential towers.
Revival of area near St. Peter's Cathedral into ground-level boutiques and restaurants and upper-level lofts.
Construction of Jefferson Pointe apartment complex.
Construction of new medical college.
Re-establishment of commuter rail between Scranton and Greater NYC.
Construction of intermodal transportation center.
Construction of "The Office" museum/gift shop.
Construction of new film office.
Revival of Scranton Lace Factory into artist/artisan community.
Revival of the Catlin House into "The Colonnade" B&B
StreetScape improvements between Center City and The Hill.
Attraction of Wall Street West firms into the city (One firm, Seccas, has already been committed).

These are just some of the projects planned for the next 5-10 years in the city, and I firmly believe that once they are all completed the city won't be recognizable from when it was dubbed runner-up for "Armpit of America" in the 1990s. Scranton has had a bad image for many years, but it is turning itself around rather quickly as of late.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

It's certainly bounced back tremendously in the past few years. Downtown is becoming very trendy, and some of the new business ventures already here or on their way in the city include the following:

Blues Street (blues cafe)
Poochie (gourmet dog bakery & boutique)
Lavish (skin care boutique
Silhouette (LGBT-oriented bar)
New Laundry (NYC-style womens' apparel boutique)
Runway (NYC-style womens' apparel boutique)
Occasions (women's formalwear rental)
Northern Lights (espresso bar)
Molly Brannigan's (Irish pub)
Brixx (restaurant)
Martini (bar)
Vidas (tapas restaurant)
Thai Rak Thai (Thai restaurant)
Mansour's (market & sidewalk cafe)
Ipanema (Brazilian grill)
Faccia Luna (restaurant)
Osaka (Japanese restaurant)
Outrageous (gift shop)
Marquis Art & Frame (gallery/framing)
Center Street Coffeehouse (coffee)
Starbuck's (2) (coffee)

Upcoming projects/businesses downtown include the following:

Used bookstore in Casey Laundry building.
Expansion of University of Scranton campus and better integration amongst the campus, downtown, and the Lower Hill neighborhood.
Revival of Connell Building into ground-level retail, second-floor office space, upper-floor condos.
Revival of 500-block of Lackawanna Avenue into boutiques, restaurants, galleries, and studios.
Revival of Sixth Avenue area including restoration of old train station into restaurants/boutiques and construction of residential towers.
Revival of area near St. Peter's Cathedral into ground-level boutiques and restaurants and upper-level lofts.
Construction of Jefferson Pointe apartment complex.
Construction of new medical college.
Re-establishment of commuter rail between Scranton and Greater NYC.
Construction of intermodal transportation center.
Construction of "The Office" museum/gift shop.
Construction of new film office.
Revival of Scranton Lace Factory into artist/artisan community.
Revival of the Catlin House into "The Colonnade" B&B
StreetScape improvements between Center City and The Hill.
Attraction of Wall Street West firms into the city (One firm, Seccas, has already been committed).

These are just some of the projects planned for the next 5-10 years in the city, and I firmly believe that once they are all completed the city won't be recognizable from when it was dubbed runner-up for "Armpit of America" in the 1990s. Scranton has had a bad image for many years, but it is turning itself around rather quickly as of late.

Well good for Scranton, I'm glad to hear it.

I hope you work for the city of Scranton in a PR type position. Seriously, you've got the passion and energy for it.