Moving to Scranton. Is it really that bad? (deed, tax)

[sues1]

Originally Posted by Trucker7

+1
This is exactly how I feel about Scranton. They should make the city more business friendly and lower the wage tax, which only punishes people that actually work. If it was up to me, I'd also limit the number of rental properties on the city to 15%. I really hate it when I see beautiful single family homes divided into five or six section 8 rental units.

Yea, and in those 5 or 6 section 8 rental units, there are alot of people living in one unit.

[justinaxxo]

Originally Posted by spee

Hello NEPA,

I'm moving, somewhat reluctantly, to Scranton in November for work. I have a unit rented in the Connell Building which seems to be coming along nicely, despite what people have said in other threads. I work for one of the contracting companies, so I have somewhat of an inside line on the progress.
Floors 7 and 8 should have occupancy by early November.

Anyway, it seems this board has some pretty negative opinions of the city. I'd have thought that with the university so close to downtown there'd be some energy. I'm hoping to make the best of my time there and meet some interesting people.

I'm thinking of getting a season pass at Montage (Snö). I know theres better riding elsewhere, but I like to convenience of Montage. Anybody a regular there? Is the pass worth the $500?

I guess I'm just trying to get a handle on the whole scene. I'm 22, a recent Penn State grad and working full time. It seems to be that most residents are either college students or middle-aged people. Is there a "young professional" crowd? Or does everyone skip town as soon as they graduate?

Please, give me some hope.

Depending on the area, it can be a nice place. It has it's ups and downs. Scranton is usually cheaper in rent though compared to the other surriouding towns and cities like wilkes-barre, plains, pittston, taylor, old forge, moosic, west pittston, hanover, kingston, edwardsville, etc etc.

Downtown Scranton, including Wilkes-Barre for that matter there is an increasing drug problem. A lot of cars get broken into from people looking for anything to pawn from bookbags, steroes, ipods, cash, anything that might be of value even. So if you are in Scranton or any city similar especially Edwardsville or wilkes-barre leave evrything of value out of your vehicle.

Jobs are okay right now and are starting to become more competitive with pay rate. I know at the moment you can find some great customer service jobs in this area as well. If you can't manage that or nothing is available try various temporary or staffing agencies which are qualified and usually test you on your skills before job placement. They pay great, are competitive with other agencies, and also can sometimes offer indefinite placement.

As far as great things to do. We used to have Rocky Glen, a beautiful amusement park around the area but is long gone now. So far we have a few movie theatres, tons of places to eat out, recreational parks like Ricketts Glen, Moon Lake, Francis Slocum, and Nauage Park, other than that you have some nice things in good weather like the Bloomsburg fair and Luzerne County fair. Scranto usually has it's own things and activites going on through out the year, weather permitting of course.

Personally, I cant stand the one ways through uut Scranton, drives me crazy. Too many one way streets.



As far as this young professional crowd. I'm really not seeing that. You do have your college grads and students, outside of that there really isn't anything else besides trashynight clubs and bars. You might find a more upscale bar but I am not too familiar with the bars in Scranton.
I will tell you one thing, it is a diverse city.

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by justinaxxo

Scranton is usually cheaper in rent though compared to the other surriouding towns and cities like wilkes-barre, plains, pittston, taylor, old forge, moosic, west pittston, hanover, kingston, edwardsville, etc etc.

Scranton has cheaper rent/home prices than other towns in the Scranton area, except for Carbondale...I think Carbondale may be the cheapest spot in Lackawanna County. But in no way is Scranton cheaper than Wilkes-Barre, or Edwardsville or Pittston for that matter. It seems home prices in Wilkes-Barre are way cheaper than in Scranton.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by go phillies

Scranton has cheaper rent/home prices than other towns in the Scranton area, except for Carbondale...I think Carbondale may be the cheapest spot in Lackawanna County. But in no way is Scranton cheaper than Wilkes-Barre, or Edwardsville or Pittston for that matter. It seems home prices in Wilkes-Barre are way cheaper than in Scranton.

Agreed. Scranton isn't quite the "bargain" people think it is on a regional scope. I mean, some people may find Scranton to be undesirable, but they'd be nuts to be willing to pay more to live in Edwardsville.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

You don't have to think Scranton sucks, it just does. Scranton is weak at best and hanging on its last thread.

Survivability of a small business in the downtown is like that of a wounded gazelle on the Serengeti.

The Word of God, er, I mean Dan

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by sues1

Yea, and in those 5 or 6 section 8 rental units, there are alot of people living in one unit.

You should call the city or county then. It's against the law to have more than X number of people living in a certain sized home.

[weluvpa]

good luck with that............

[sp2007]

Originally Posted by go phillies

The only thing wrong with Scranton is bad politics...and those politics are leading to people moving out of the city and undesirables and higher crime moving in. If we could just stop that trend, there's nothing major wrong with Scranton.

Is there any mayor or councilperson or upcoming local leader that can change this trend? Anyone?

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by sp2007

Is there any mayor or councilperson or upcoming local leader that can change this trend? Anyone?

I doubt it...they're all in the same political good ol' boys club around here. If you aren't a connected part of the political machine, you can't get anywhere in politics around here. There may be different factions of the machine that don't like each other, but in the end, its the same old corruption. The best we can hope for is the FBI gives this area the enema it needs.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

good luck with that............

Oh I know!

I'll amend my post:

Sit around, whine, ***** and complain but don't take a simple step to try to fix any problems. Because it won't work and Scranton is a cesspool.

Better?