where to go and still hit nyc (fit in, apartment)

[ff18wife]

Originally Posted by flyboy367

i just did a quick search of Shohola. just at a glance is that near milford? i feel that could definitly be a point of interest cause the bus even though cutting it close runs there and the train isnt far away. i definitly will be joining a company when i move. i love firefighting, just have to get used to not having my ladder truck since there arent highrises lol

Shohola is the next town up from Milford. Borders Barryville, NY (Sullivan Cty). Not far from Port Jervis either. Neither Milford nor Shohola have ladders. Dingman Twsp FD does (Sta 26/ New Page 1 ). You also might want to look there but I think they have quite a few gated community type areas.

If you check out the LINKS section on each of the PA FD websites, you can see what apparatus each one has.

Any other questions, ask away....especially FD related...

[flyboy367]

eh ill take no ladder vs gated community and homeowners association. 80% of the time when we roll with the ladder it isnt used anyway we just run in without it. busy day today ice and 5 major highways intersecting makes great rollover conditions.

[ff18wife]

...too funny.

Milford covers Route 84...they had quite a few jobs out there today. A few cars spinning off the road and I think one tractor trailer call.

What company are you on and what is your yearly call volume? Hubby is suffering withdrawls out here in the sticks. They get MAYBE 3 calls a week between fire & ems.

[RUBIES77]

Just a point of information: Would you recommend the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area to a member of a minority group? My friends tell me that the Northern Pa. area down to Reading is wall-to-wall hate groups, the KKK and the White Aryan Nation have a multitude of chapters there. They mentioned Pocono Pines, Stewartstown, Shamokin, Allentown, Thompson, Whitehall, including East Stroudsburg, and the Scranton area. They mentioned also that Towanda is best known as "Methamphetime Valley." Is all that true, or do they have a vivid imagination? I was so dissapointed to hear this, because I thought we were all God's children. Please advise, Thank you,

[flyboy367]

my company is part of the sayreville fire department. we are morgan hose and chemical. our year goes nov-nov and currently we are at 814 which is a little low. i havent been on a call since july when i hurt my shoulder at my dayjob. kills me sitting at home listening to my radio. i should be back in january though and cant wait. the department wide number is somewhere around 3000 last i heard.

[ff18wife]

Originally Posted by RUBIES77

Just a point of information: Would you recommend the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area to a member of a minority group? My friends tell me that the Northern Pa. area down to Reading is wall-to-wall hate groups, the KKK and the White Aryan Nation have a multitude of chapters there. They mentioned Pocono Pines, Stewartstown, Shamokin, Allentown, Thompson, Whitehall, including East Stroudsburg, and the Scranton area. They mentioned also that Towanda is best known as "Methamphetime Valley." Is all that true, or do they have a vivid imagination? I was so dissapointed to hear this, because I thought we were all God's children. Please advise, Thank you,

Sorry, I can't help you with that. Hopefully one of the other members here who is closer to that area can jump in and offer some advice. SWB...where are you???

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by RUBIES77

Just a point of information: Would you recommend the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area to a member of a minority group? My friends tell me that the Northern Pa. area down to Reading is wall-to-wall hate groups, the KKK and the White Aryan Nation have a multitude of chapters there. They mentioned Pocono Pines, Stewartstown, Shamokin, Allentown, Thompson, Whitehall, including East Stroudsburg, and the Scranton area. They mentioned also that Towanda is best known as "Methamphetime Valley." Is all that true, or do they have a vivid imagination? I was so dissapointed to hear this, because I thought we were all God's children. Please advise, Thank you,

Originally Posted by ff18wife

Sorry, I can't help you with that. Hopefully one of the other members here who is closer to that area can jump in and offer some advice. SWB...where are you???

ff18wife: Here I am!!!

RUBIES77: I suppose it all depends on what sort of miority you happen to be. I'm an openly-gay male that is relatively well-accepted and tolerated around here, but then again I am also a rather masculine-acting male of European descent, so most people still don't "know" about me. Those who do though were (and are) very understanding of my situation and try to do their best to not make me feel awkward or unwelcome.

I know that there have been issue as of late with African-Americans alleging that racial slurs were hurled at them by a police officer and specators during Wilkes-Barre's recent Christmas parade, but by and large I find most folks to be rather tolerant. If you happen to be a woman of African-American descent, I might suggest that you try to get in contact with Mr. Ronald Felton, a former co-worker of my father who has been the president of the local chapter of the NAACP for quite a number of years now. Speaking from a personal standpoint, the younger (under-30) generation tends to be very open-minded and tolerant about different races, cultures, ethnicities, and sexual orientations whereas some of the "old-school" types still raise eyebrows, whisper, stare, etc. as if they have more of a right to reside in the area than anyone who is not "mainstream" does.

What I can tell you though is that things are rapidly improving. For the past few decades tens of thousands of people from Greater NYC have been relocating to the Pocono Mountains, and that growth is just starting to spill over into the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area as well, bringing a fresh wave of diversity with it. As some of these "old-school" types are exposed more and more on a daily basis to people of minority status, hopefully they'll become more accustomed to them and less quick to judge. It is true that the headquarters of the KKK has recently relocated to North Central Pennsylvania (I believe to Potter County), but by and large I find most locals to be rather tolerant.

As far as Towanda is concerned, Central Bradford County is home to very many meth labs, but they are mostly assembled in rural mobile homes several miles from town on dirt roads---it isn't usually prudent to establish a drug-making operation in the heart of a busy community where your chances of being caught are much greater. The town of Towanda itself is quite quaint and attractive, but given its very, very rural locale, I'd be much more worried about someone of minority status fitting in there. I'd say your best bet would be Monroe County (Stroudsburg Area), which is now very diverse, or the increasingly-diverse Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.

Best of luck!

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by RUBIES77

Just a point of information: Would you recommend the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area to a member of a minority group? My friends tell me that the Northern Pa. area down to Reading is wall-to-wall hate groups, the KKK and the White Aryan Nation have a multitude of chapters there. They mentioned Pocono Pines, Stewartstown, Shamokin, Allentown, Thompson, Whitehall, including East Stroudsburg, and the Scranton area. They mentioned also that Towanda is best known as "Methamphetime Valley." Is all that true, or do they have a vivid imagination? I was so dissapointed to hear this, because I thought we were all God's children. Please advise, Thank you,

NE PA, well, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre anyways, is not hate-group territory...especially not the kkk. I think the reason is that the kkk hates Catholics, and we Catholics make up a majority of the Scr/WB population...so we're not very accepting of white sheets and burning crosses around here. You may find some uneducated comments or stereotypes directed at minorities in NEPA, mainly from the older generations...but I think its more rooted in ignorance than it is in hate around here.

[milford-re]

Originally Posted by flyboy367

i agree good advise. im currently not working due to having shoulder surgery so i might take a dry run just with my car. i was actually thinking maybe busing in during the spring summer and fall and taking the train in the winter. i know 80 can be a pain in the butt once the white stuff hits and maybe the rail would be easier.

don't discount some of the communities --- remember, communities offer lower taxes. yes, some do have restrictions on property modifications and require permits to do work --- but, remember, ALL property mods in NE PA must be approved inside and outside of communities. However, most restrictions are very, very fair and are for the benefit of both you and your neighbors. I, too, went in to a community with some ambivalence....but, it was no big deal. Actually, it worked out better because no one was able to "ruin" the neighborhood with junk...everything was clean and tidy. Also, your dues will cover road maintentance, sanitation, etc. ---- living outside, your taxes are higher and you are personally responsible for sanitation, snow plowing, etc.

Just a thought!

[bldginpa]

The community we will be in has low dues which cover sanitation (dumpsters in a central location within the community) and road maintenance which includes plowing. Yes, there are rules, but they are of the common-sense variety. Have no problem with that as I feel it offers some protection from the neighbors who love to pile up junk in their front yards & part whatever they feel like wherever they feel like.