Five reasons why i hate Scranton (Allentown, Penn: buying, income, to live)

[lilyflower7]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

So why do we have such a high number of great postsecondary educational institutions in the area? SOMEONE supported them (and continues to do so), right?

How are these supported by the local population? Most of the great postsecondary schools are private schools - U of Scranton, Marywood, Kings, Wilkes are all private. The only "public" schools in the area are the satellite PSU campuses where students often have to go to State College to finish their degree studies anyway. (Yes, I know PSU Scranton offers four year programs now but not in every discipline.) To get to a true public four year school from Scranton you have to drive close to 2 hours minimum. There's also not that many public community colleges in the area. In terms of community colleges the only public one in the area is LCCC which is a bit of a haul from most of Lackawanna county. Where I live in NJ, I'm within a half hour of New Brunswick campuses of Rutgers, each county has its own community college, almost every town near me (including my own) has non-credit adult education classes to sharpen skills that are either free or really cheap to residents. I literally get something in the mail once a week about an education offering from one of the local county colleges (I'm close to two as I live near the county line) or classes my town (and at least three adjacent towns) are offering.

I can't speak to the makeup at the other schools but I'm a U of Scranton alum and a LOT of my friends that I went to school with were from Philly, NJ, NYC, etc. From what I understand out of area enrollment at most of these schools has been increasing for decades. Think about how much on-campus housing the U has built since the 90s: There's been TWO (soon to be THREE) upperclass apartment complexes (Mulberry, Madison and whatever that new one is going to be called), a giant sophomore residence hall (Condron Hall), a grad student apartment complex (the name of it escapes me at the moment), and they also bought those apartments on Linden from LJC (the complex is called Linden Plaza). That's IN ADDITION to the number of students that live off-campus in the hill section. Sure, some of the dormers/renters are local students but there's a LOT of out-of-area kids there. Wasn't Marywood trying to build a new dorm too?

Going a step further, consider library access. If you live in Scranton there's a few branches of the Scranton Public Library (not sure which have been closed so I'm not going to even guess at this point) library access is spotty at best. Going north of Scranton along Rt. 6 the only library between Scranton and Carbondale is the Interboro Library in Peckville. When I first moved to NJ I was floored by the number of libraries there were. Almost every town in NJ has its own library and a lot of the suburbs are pretty small towns. Where I live now (Plainsboro, NJ), the town JUST built a brand new three story library because they outgrew the old one and it was mostly funded through community donations. I should note here that this is a town that has a VERY high percentage of PhDs and individuals with other advanced degrees.

And for the record, I'm 30, soon to be 31, but I don't know why that matters.

[ElectricCityMan]

Urban Dictionary: scranton

First definition sums up my feelings about this post pretty nicely.

[ChosenReject]

Originally Posted by ElectricCityMan

Urban Dictionary: scranton

First definition sums up my feelings about this post pretty nicely.

lol i love that

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by lilyflower7

To get to a true public four year school from Scranton you have to drive close to 2 hours minimum.

Both East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg University are a lot closer to Scranton than 2 hours, plus Binghamton University (considered a public Ivy) is only an hour away, all of which would be defined as true public four year schools. I realize they are not right next to Scranton, but all are probably at most an hour away.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

Originally Posted by johnqpublic

Just a guess.. not a slam, a legit question, Lehigh and Lilly are under the age of 27?

That is an awesome guess, i'm only 19.

I know, youthful ignorance.

[bloominscranton]

Originally Posted by ElectricCityMan

Urban Dictionary: scranton

First definition sums up my feelings about this post pretty nicely.

lol

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by Lehigh Valley Native

I may be speaking out of turn, but I think they were being sarcastic. As you yourself have pointed out, higher education isn't something that has a big emphasis in this area. This is especially true in WB, which has a low % of residents with 4 year degrees. That "third world barrio" of Allentown, as it is often referred to here, even has a higher % of residents with 4 year degrees.

Totally disagree....an overwhelming majority of my high school class went on to college. The "low percentage" of people with degrees is due to so many people moving away after college. Everybody's looking for that greener grass on the other side....they think its a big deal when they can get a $50,000/year job in NY, NJ, MD, etc., rather than a $30,000/year job in NEPA....but the truth is that you can live better on $30k here than on 50k in those places. Living on $50k in NJ, NY, or DC is almost impossible. But you can live comfortably on $30k in Scranton.

[johnqpublic]

Originally Posted by Lehigh Valley Native

That is an awesome guess, i'm only 19.

I know, youthful ignorance.

And that isnt a bad thing, its a rite of passage, we all have been thru it. and as much as you dont believe it now, time and life experience will make todays views vastly different than the ones you will have in the next 10, 20, 30, and 40 years. youth calls it jaded, but older adults call it realistic and more true to life.
If you have noticed on this forum, you can pick out different attitudes and opinions and group them by age in decades..no one is right or wrong , its just the more life experience one gains, the less simplistic things are. Rose colored glasses are replaced by clear lenses, then bifocals!! LOL

[westcoast30]

Originally Posted by ElectricCityMan

Urban Dictionary: scranton

First definition sums up my feelings about this post pretty nicely.

I agree with most of the definitions there, particularly #6.

Urban Dictionary: scranton

"Often referred to as the armpit of America, Scranton is a gray town, peppered with lush trees, an overabundance of bars, churches, and pizza parlors. What makes this barely thriving town so unique is the time-warped mindset of the natives. There are 5 parts, the North Side, which is often ignored, as its residents are nothing to write home about, the South Side, whose heroin supply keeps all the local junkies in check, the East Side, also known as the hillsection, which was once the neighborhood of the rich and fabulous coal breakers, but has since become a melting pot of the minorites, the poor, and the bourgeoisies, and lest we forget, the west side, a wretched place saturated with overzealous christianity and GED-toting scumbags.

Although I could live much more comfortably with my income in Scranton than Corona, the negatives of that region, particularly the lack of emphasis on education and attracting business, keeps me away. I'd rather struggle a little bit here than live comfortably in a mess you call NEPA. NEPA= Non Educated Pennsylvania

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by westcoast30

I agree with most of the definitions there, particularly #6.

Urban Dictionary: scranton

"Often referred to as the armpit of America, Scranton is a gray town, peppered with lush trees, an overabundance of bars, churches, and pizza parlors. What makes this barely thriving town so unique is the time-warped mindset of the natives. There are 5 parts, the North Side, which is often ignored, as its residents are nothing to write home about, the South Side, whose heroin supply keeps all the local junkies in check, the East Side, also known as the hillsection, which was once the neighborhood of the rich and fabulous coal breakers, but has since become a melting pot of the minorites, the poor, and the bourgeoisies, and lest we forget, the west side, a wretched place saturated with overzealous christianity and GED-toting scumbags.

Although I could live much more comfortably with my income in Scranton than Corona, the negatives of that region, particularly the lack of emphasis on education and attracting business, keeps me away. I'd rather struggle a little bit here than live comfortably in a mess you call NEPA. NEPA= Non Educated Pennsylvania