Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Please Keep in mind that the writer "ScrantonWilkesBarre" is only 19 years old.
What does my age have to do with my maturity or my ability to provide my own opinion on the economic state of a community? You're barking up the wrong tree, "Imright", if you're trying to somehow imply to others that I'm not credible just because I'm young. By the way, my birthday was recently; I'm now 20. Just because you disagree with my opinion of Carbondale doesn't mean that I'm not "credible" in any way. I disagree with your opinion that Scranton is "dangerous and dumpy", yet you don't see me attacking that, do you? Everyone has unique and differing opinions about different areas. Some see how far Scranton has advanced since 2000 and are optimistic that this renaissance of boutiques, restaurants, residential restoration, etc. will continue for years to come. Others feel as if Scranton will forever be some sort of "Rust Belt Tragedy."
I think Carbondale is a fine place to call home, but it is more depressed than Honesdale and Scranton, (in my opinion). Honesdale, as I said, is becoming a cute, out-of-the-way tourist draw for NY/NJ residents roaming around the Poconos, and Scranton is reorganizing itself as the "hub city" for the Pocono Mountains. Carbondale, meanwhile, doesn't really have an "identity" yet; it's just kind of "sitting there" (amid a beautiful backdrop of mountains may I add). Carbondale is primarily residential, and I wasn't too impressed with the "character" or "charm" of its downtown the last time I visited a couple of months ago (as compared to Downtown Honesdale or Downtown Scranton, for example). Then again, my hometown of Pittston is the same way; it's a great, quiet place to call home, but the downtown is abysmal!
I wasn't "attacking" Carbondale in any way, so I don't know if that's why you took issue with my age. However, we're going to have to agree to disagree here. You think Scranton is "dangerous and dumpy"; I think it is "up-and-coming." You think Carbondale is a great town. I think it needs a lot of improvement (and youthful invigoration that hopefully Mayor Taylor can infuse). The town is "outdated" in every sense of the word, from its housing stock to its downtown. However, I feel as if Carbondale does have great potential to shine brightly once again, as it's poised about midway between Honesdale and Scranton, two towns that I see as thriving in the upcoming years, as well as being located along tourist-heavy U.S. Route 6.
Don't get me wrong ScrantonWilkes-Barre, I think you sound like a very nice young man, with a lot of potential. I am impressed with your writing skills, and I think that you are a real estate agent in the making! I think that you are very young (which is a good thing ), however, since you are expressing opinions, I think that it is important for the reader to know your age.
Believe me, when I was 19, or 20 (Happy Birthday!) I too felt like I knew everything. However, as I have aged, I am twice your age almost, I have found that my interpretation of what is a good place to live has changed!
Actually, I must apologize then greatly for mistaking the context of that reply. In the past, I've had people point out my age as some sort of "leverage" to try to tell other people that I'm "not worth listening to." (As if people under 40 somehow aren't "experienced enough in life" to be able to form an opinion about the community they live in) As a result, I automatically "jumped the gun" here and thought you were doing the same thing as the others had done! I'm sorry for that!
Overall, I'm very much in love with our area. Where most of my peers see Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as being a "dump", I see it as having "potential." The influx of transplants from NY/NJ to Monroe County is now just begninning to seep within the borders of Luzerne/Lackawanna Counties as well, so I foresee the population loss that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has endured for several decades bottoming out and then starting to rise again in the upcoming years, fueled by New Yorkers and New Jersians seeking cheaper housing, lower crime, better schools, and a two-hour or less commute to the Big Apple. We've already seen this occurring in Bear Creek (Laurel Brook Estates) and Moscow (Windsor Hill, Harmony Hills, Independence Ridge, etc.) Scranton and Wilkes-Barre themselves sit only 20 minutes from all of these housing developments; growth is on our horizon.
I see this upcoming wave of new residents as opportunity for both cities to totally revitalize themselves into the showplaces they once were as recently as 50 years ago. Not every new resident from NY/NJ is on a quest to tear down a half-acre trees in the Abingtons or Back Mountain to build a new McMansion; a brand new thread (to which I'll soon reply), is from a person who wants to relocate their spouse and three children into the Hill Section of Scranton, which is one neighborhood I feel has seen a real upswing over the past five years. (I wonder if my photo tours on the Hill Section had anything to do with the recent interest?)
I eventually want to rise to elected office in our area, as I can see nothing but hope and great things for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. In my opinion, if you were to look at NEPA's overall road map for redevelopment, Scranton is ahead of the curve in urban recovery, probably about 5-10 years ahead of the norm for our local urban areas, as the new upscale image that the downtown is starting to exude is beginning to attract some new residents back into the city. Wilkes-Barre is just about exactly where you'd expect a revitalizing Rust Belt city to be at in reinvestment with its new "Entertainment District" starting to have a positive impact on the quality-of-life in turning the city from being a 9-5 one into being a 24/7 one while the crime issues continue to scare people into the 'burbs. Meanwhile, you also have Nanticoke, Pittston, and Carbondale, the three other principal cities in our area that are languishing about 5-10 years behind where they should be in redevelopment, judging by their decrepit downtowns, housing stocks in need of updating, and aging populations. Nevertheless, all three towns are very safe, stable places to raise a family; they're just "ugly" from an outsiders' perspective and need some younger residents to remain, rehab the older homes to raise their families in, open up funky new shops and restaurants in the downtowns, and work to make all three cities hum along again.
Ideally, I'd love to become mayor of Scranton someday (assuming the reputedly homophobic city residents wouldn't scoff at the notion of being amongst a minority of U.S. cities with an openly-gay mayor). I just see this city coming back to life little by little, block by block, and I'm starting to feel inspired by it---My next move will be to a downtown loft once I'm established in my CPA career. Carbondale will bounce back too someday; it's just kind of stuck in a rut, just like Pittston and Nanticoke. All three cities just need a "catalyst" to get their revitalization projects underway (Pittston has a leg up here, as two new 102-unit luxury condominium towers overlooking the river are slated for construction next year, bringing much-needed foot traffic to Main Street). If you care so much about Carbondale, then just try to think of a similar "catalyst" that could really help your town "take off", and try to get the community to rally behind it. While Pittston's new glass condo towers will clash greatly with the historic architecture of the skyline, people are still supportive of 102+ new residents living a block away from Main Street, creating a demand for shopping and dining. What does Carbondale need? More downtown residents? A movie theatre? A dance club? All it needs is one catalyst, such as the one coming to Pittston, and the city will truly bounce back.
Scranton is kind of dangerous, and dumpy. However, it too is not too bad. Honesdale is awesome, however, there is a Walmart there and it has a "sprawl" effect to it. Carbondale is a little town nestled in the mountains, apart from all of the other cities in the area, and it has a more community feel to it. Even though it is so far from Scranton, it is connected by way of a new highway and a fairly new (in the last ten years) business route 6 that is just a beautiful drive to shopping, in about 15 to 20 minutes away. The stores and homes in the Carbondale area are nice to look at, and the people are nice. The mountain ranges that it is nestled in between make the community feel very serene. The grocery store (Weis) just went through major renovations and looks very upscale. It seems as though life is good in Carbondale. It may have had a bad reputation before, maybe because it was so isolated from the other communities. However, since the two roadways have been put in (the highway and the business route 6) the area has become more and more refined and revitalized. The Governor just gave the City of Carbondale a 3 Million dollar grant to further upgrade the city. The prices of homes have been going up rapidly and now it is hard to find a nice three bedroom home for less than 75 to 80 thousand. Only two years ago, those prices would have been in the 50 thousand range. There are many more houses in this area going for much more than that.
Sorry. I disagree. While I wish no ill will towards Carbondale and the many good people who live there, I have to say that Carbondale is by far the dumpiest town in NE PA, at least this side of Wilkes-Barre. Its been neglected way too long. Hopefully, it can bounce back...but as of now, I wouldn't live in Carbondale. If I wanted live up that way, I would find Mayfield, Jermyn, Waymart or Honesdale to be better options. Plus, like I said before, Carbondale schools are the pits. They consistently rank at the bottom of area schools in academic performance.
I just came back from a one-week trip to see upstate NY and NE PA, to decide where to relocate. On the way up to Syracuse on I-81, I took a detour to see Scranton for a few hours, and actually spend the night there, unplanned.
My initial impression of Scranton was not the best. Many, many run-down (formerly beautiful) areas in various states of disrepair. I was amazed by the number of advertisements I saw for "exotic massages", clearly it was geared toward truckers looking for "a rub and a tug". Also, many "checks cashed" establishments, indicating that a large percentage of the population is unable to obtain the proper credit to use a legitimate bank.
To me, these are signs of collapse. It was prevalent upstate as well, especially in Binghamton and Elmira. Syracuse seemed to be doing notably better, probably due to having a world-class university in town.
People blame the ills of these cities on the weather, stating that everyone is moving out due to the snowfall, cloudy days, and persistent dreary conditions. Its simply not true. Its the taxes. I had a choice to relocate to NY or Virginia. Virginia's property tax is less than $1,000 a year. NY, in a similar home, is $5,000 a year. Name one northeastern state gaining population on the same level as the Sun Belt. Its not Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. It's New Hampshire. Why? No state income tax, no sales tax. No wage tax. No county or local taxes. And NH is gaining population almost like Nevada. As long as there is a 3% wage tax in Scranton, I would NEVER live there.
As long as there is a 3% wage tax in Scranton, I would NEVER live there.
There may be a 3% wage tax in Scranton, but all of the other places you named with low taxes have real estate prices that are out of reach unless you have a very high income. While in most places, you can't buy a detached home with any kind of yard for less than $300,000, in Scranton and the surrounding area you can buy a nice home in a stable neighborhood with a good sized yard for less than $100,000. Sure, there are bad neighborhoods, but in all honesty, Scranton probably is the most liveable city I have seen among similar sized cities. The bad neighborhoods are pretty much contained to a few areas.
I diagree on Syracuse...I took a wrong turn up there one time and could have sworn I was in West Philly.
Okay - the drive to Carbondale used to be pretty in the fall... 'course, that's going back ~25 years or so Is the big glacier pothole still open - I can't for the life of me remember what it's official name is.
^^^Archbald Pothole...in Archbald..... go figger....
THANK YOU!!!!!!! Is it still open? or has someone closed it down? I seem to recall someone climbing over the railing and falling in (and dying, I think) a long time ago. Used to be a pretty spot.....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You're barking up the wrong tree, "Imright", if you're trying to somehow imply to others that I'm not credible just because I'm young. By the way, my birthday was recently; I'm now 20. 
Just because you disagree with my opinion of Carbondale doesn't mean that I'm not "credible" in any way. I disagree with your opinion that Scranton is "dangerous and dumpy", yet you don't see me attacking that, do you? Everyone has unique and differing opinions about different areas. Some see how far Scranton has advanced since 2000 and are optimistic that this renaissance of boutiques, restaurants, residential restoration, etc. will continue for years to come. Others feel as if Scranton will forever be some sort of "Rust Belt Tragedy." 
"ScrantonWilkes-Barre"
I think that you are very young (which is a good thing 
As a result, I automatically "jumped the gun" here and thought you were doing the same thing as the others had done! 
I'm sorry for that! 
We've already seen this occurring in Bear Creek (Laurel Brook Estates) and Moscow (Windsor Hill, Harmony Hills, Independence Ridge, etc.) Scranton and Wilkes-Barre themselves sit only 20 minutes from all of these housing developments; growth is on our horizon.
