thinking of moving to scranton hill section. (Wilkes-Barre, Old Forge: middle-class, apartments)

[nsa162]

I am thinking about moving to the hill section of scranton. I looked at a few houses there and i instantly fell in love with the place. The beautiful homes and hills. Can anyone tell me if this area floods? I heard they had flooding in scranton in june and more recently last week. Is the hill section prone to flooding? Has it ever flooded? How about the crime rate? Any answers would help alot. Thanks.

[SteelCityRising]

Good morning NSA! I live about 20 minutes south of the Hill Section in the 'burbs, and I'm a future resident of the Hill Section myself, so hopefully I can be of some assistance to you.

Yes, there was a major flood in our area back in June, but the Hill Section escaped flooding woes, with the exception of course of some ponding of water on the streets. Scranton, overall, wasn't impacted very much by the flooding; the hardest-hit area was in a part of North Scranton known as "The Plot", as well as the low-lying areas of Green Ridge, generally near the railroad viaduct over Green Ridge Street. A new extensive network of flood gates is nearly finished, which should protect both of these flood-prone neighborhoods from future flooding issues from the Lackawanna River.

Most of the flooding issues back in June were related to the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, about 25 minutes or so southwest of Scranton in the Wilkes-Barre area. CNN and FOXNews even covered the mass mandatory evacuation of 200,000 people from Wilkes-Barre and its inner suburbs as there were legitimate fears that the levee system along the Susquehanna River would fail, considering that the anticipated crest of 39 feet would be just about at the very top of the levee. In general, Wilkes-Barre is much more flood prone than Scranton, as the Susquehanna River is much more damaging than the Lackawanna. Also, there was some damage from the Lackawanna River just downstream from Scranton in Old Forge, but very few homes here were impacted.

Just this past Thursday we had another freak flash flood throughout the area, in which 3-4 inches of rain fell in just a few hours onto already-saturated soil. The torrents of runoff washed out bridges, caused mudslides, and will cost Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties millions of dollars to recover. Basically, every local neighborhood was fair game for damage from this freak downpour, including my own hilltop development, where many of us sustained basement flooding for the first time since our homes were built around 1970. The flooding coverage this past Thursday was non-stop; while the Hill Section wasn't referenced at all, I'd assume that there were probably homes here with basement flooding as well (As a sudden 3-4 inches of water comes gushing down a steep hillside, that's bound to occur!) In general, the Hill Section doesn't flood, but in freak occurrences like Thursday, where several homes and businesses in my hometown of Pittston were literally DESTROYED, anything is possible anywhere!

As far as crime is concerned, the Hill Section has made a 360-degree turnaround from where it was as recently as the mid-1990s. Just a decade ago, local news stations would practically set up overnight camp in the Hill Section and then wait for a gunshot or for police sirens to have ammo for their 11 PM top stories! However, aggressive, random police saturation patrols cleaned 90% of the rifraff out of the Hill Section in seemingly just a few months. Since then, reinvestment has been occurring in the Hill Section, as people feel safe enough again to move back into this neighborhood and are starting to rehabilitate these older showplace homes. In the past 2-3 years alone, the Hill Section has become home to two upscale new townhome complexes, and an old mill that has been converted into loft apartments. Judging by the luxury cars that abounded during my walk through the neighborhood yesterday, I'd have to say that the neighborhood has definitely gone from being a slum to being largely white-collar.

As a side note, recently-elected U.S. Senator Bob Casey, who defeated incumbent Rick Santorum, resides in the 900-block of North Webster Avenue in the Hill Section with his family. If the neighborhood is good enough for a U.S. Senator, then it should be good enough for any of us "Joe Schmoe's!" LOL! In general, if you move East (uphill) of Harrison Avenue, you're going to be too far to walk to downtown, but you'll be a stone's throw from Nay Aug Park along Arthur Avenue, which has also been the focal point of redevelopment in recent years with a new hiking trail to the waterfall, public pool, gardens, and small zoo. If you move West (downhill) of Harrison Avenue, you're going to be close enough for a 10-15 minute walk to Downtown, but you'll also be within 10-minutes walking distance of the University of Scranton, which could be a positive (cultural events) or a negative (noisy off-campus parties). In general, the neighborhood along the 600-800 block of North Webster Avenue and North Taylor Avenue, which I photographed yesterday, is a stable area that's just far enough away from the college to retain quietness, yet just close enough to downtown so you could leave the car behind and go pub-hopping on St. Patty's Day (Which is a BIG event in this city!) LOL!

[nsa162]

thank you for the very informative reply. I would also like to thank you for the wonderful pictures that you took. I think i am pretty much sold on the hill section. You just cant beat the beautiful architecture that they have there. I am currently living in New Jersey and they are just building these really big and ugly boxes that they call houses. Its not a house. Thanks again.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by nsa162

thank you for the very informative reply. I would also like to thank you for the wonderful pictures that you took. I think i am pretty much sold on the hill section. You just cant beat the beautiful architecture that they have there. I am currently living in New Jersey and they are just building these really big and ugly boxes that they call houses. Its not a house. Thanks again.

Well, our area has those too! I like to call them "McMansions" because they're about as common on the American landscape as "McDonalds", and they stick out like sore thumbs in older communities as "mansions." Those "really big and ugly boxes they call houses" is the one of only two reasons I see that Scranton's population isn't growing (the other reason being the 3.4% city wage tax). The town of Clarks Summit, just to the northwest of Scranton, is probably the epitome of "McMansion heaven", as there are now thousands of these ostentatious homes in dozens of housing developments where trees once proudly stood!

I actually posted another thread about a week ago that compared housing prices in Scranton to housing prices in Clarks Summit, and the overwhelming conclusion is that you spend more money for a smaller home in Clarks Summit as compared to Scranton. This stems solely from two main issues: First of all, Clarks Summit is home to the Abington Heights School District, rated among the top 100 public school districts in the nation. This "desirability" for young families is fleecing Scranton of its middle-class and packing 'em into those big gawdy homes in Clarks Summit and "The Abingtons," even though many of them can now barely afford to make ends meat with the more expensive cost-of-living here. The other reason is simply the "status" factor among the upper-middle-class professional crowd in Scranton; it's simply not fashionable for one to tell his colleagues that he's living in Scranton, even in the Hill Section. On the other hand, if a professional were to comment on "building a new home in the Abingtons" while enjoying a round of golf, he/she instantly commands respect from others, as if the word "Abington" immediately translates to "better" than everyone else.

I'm actually a very vocal opponent of urban sprawl and what it will do to our area if left unchecked. I'm basing my arguments upon other areas that have seen their quality-of-living decline after a sudden surge in sprawl. No offense to you, but I often use both Monroe County, PA (Stroudsburg Area) and your native Northern New Jersey in my arguments, citing an increase in traffic congestion, decrease in open space, increase in crime, overcrowding of public schools, etc. as being reasons to oppose unchecked growth patterns. Unfortunately, all of my complaints fall upon deaf ears; as I continually read about another new housing development or strip mall somewhere in the region sprouting up on a weekly basis! There will come a time when we're so car-oriented that we'll fully be at the mercy of rogue nations for oil supplies! By moving back to more "in-town" environments, such as the Hill Section, we can all take a stand against being slaves to the automobile by walking to church, work, shops, restaurants, banks, nightlife, pharmacies, parks, etc., as opposed to DRIVING to all of them! I currently live in a "commuter neighborhood"---A small enclave of 31 homes along a four-lane highway. As such, I drive over 300 miles per week to EVERYTHING in life, and I spend so much time behind the wheel and sitting in gridlock at rush-hour that I'm beginning to notice it affecting my health! This is why I can't honestly wait to move to Scranton in the upcoming years, where I can walk to evening classes at the University of Scranton, walk to work at my downtown office, walk to the movie theater, walk to the Steamtown Mall, walk to church, walk to Starbucks, etc. Not only is trading in the automobile for your two legs a lot less stressful on your mind and the environment, but it's also better for you physically as well!

[scoyne]

Originally Posted by nsa162

I am thinking about moving to the hill section of scranton. I looked at a few houses there and i instantly fell in love with the place. The beautiful homes and hills. Can anyone tell me if this area floods? I heard they had flooding in scranton in june and more recently last week. Is the hill section prone to flooding? Has it ever flooded? How about the crime rate? Any answers would help alot. Thanks.

The Hill Section is rarely flooded and it is a great place to live especially the Petersburg part of the Hill Section. Crime doesnt happen too much there.The Hill Section is filled with beautiful and Historic homes. I hope you consider to buy a home in the Hill Section its the "Place to Be".