Offered a job in Swiftwater, housing holding us back

[inlieuofletters]

Thanks @DavidWebb, we definitely will be renting. Appreciate the good luck!

@Charmed hour, thanks for your response. I didn't realize that about the FHA loans so thank you for the info. Hope there's a new top for you when / if you sell. My daily commute in NY typically took well over an hour each way due to traffic, so in all honestly anything even close to 30 minutes would feel miraculous.

We were shown a house last weekend in Lake Arrowhead that ticked all our boxes and was a very reasonable $1400 to boot. Unfortunately for us, the homeowner was also testing the buyers market and someone made an very nice offer well over asking price.

Found another possibility through a property management company for what appears to be a beautiful house near a creek in Cresco off 447 not far at all from main street Canadensis. Half the commute time than if I was coming from Blakeslee/Albrightsville. Not sure if I'm allowed to mention management companies by name here but this one has a lot of poor reviews over the years on yelp so I'm a bit wary. Any thoughts on the area? Canadensis was recommended by some family members so I'm hopeful. Being shown the house this week, so I'll take that good luck! Thanks all and be well.

[fisheye]

I grew up not too far from where you are going to look at that property off Route 447. While I do not know which home you are going to look at, it does bother me that you said not too far from creek. Those creeks can flood. There is the Brodheads River and Goosepond Run that flow through Canadensis. After the flood of 1955 our government did construct two flood control projects to help hold back the flood waters. That said those streams can still overflow their banks from time to time.

I am not trying to change your mind about renting over there. I just want you to keep flooding in mind when looking. I loved that area when I was a child and I fished and hunted much of the area. Plus it is not that far away from your new job. Ask, when you are shown the property, if any of the local streams are still open to the public to fish? Of course everything has changed since the 1960s when I last lived there.

[inlieuofletters]

Originally Posted by fisheye

I grew up not too far from where you are going to look at that property off Route 447. While I do not know which home you are going to look at, it does bother me that you said not too far from creek. Those creeks can flood. There is the Brodheads River and Goosepond Run that flow through Canadensis. After the flood of 1955 our government did construct two flood control projects to help hold back the flood waters. That said those streams can still overflow their banks from time to time.

I am not trying to change your mind about renting over there. I just want you to keep flooding in mind when looking. I loved that area when I was a child and I fished and hunted much of the area. Plus it is not that far away from your new job. Ask, when you are shown the property, if any of the local streams are still open to the public to fish? Of course everything has changed since the 1960s when I last lived there.

Having made the drive up 447 and along the Brodhead to Cresco / Canadensis today, I can only say that I can see why you loved the area. To me it was the quintessential "river running through the woods in winter" scene that looks just like a painting. It was one of those scenic drives that make one happy just driving along!

I took some time to research that 1955 flood and wow....just devastating. A 30 foot wall of water. I saw an earlier post of yours, from 2003 I believe, mentioning you lived through it. I can't even imagine what it was like.

This house is no more than 100 feet from the bank of the Brodhead, and basically at the very base of Mountainhome. I checked the USGS water data for the area and while there has not been a significant flooding event in a while, I now understand why this raised ranch home is, well, raised so much. Thank you for pointing this out!

And ps...I asked, but the agent showing the home didn't know much, I'm sorry!

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by inlieuofletters

Having made the drive up 447 and along the Brodhead to Cresco / Canadensis today, I can only say that I can see why you loved the area. To me it was the quintessential "river running through the woods in winter" scene that looks just like a painting. It was one of those scenic drives that make one happy just driving along!

I took some time to research that 1955 flood and wow....just devastating. A 30 foot wall of water. I saw an earlier post of yours, from 2003 I believe, mentioning you lived through it. I can't even imagine what it was like.

This house is no more than 100 feet from the bank of the Brodhead, and basically at the very base of Mountainhome. I checked the USGS water data for the area and while there has not been a significant flooding event in a while, I now understand why this raised ranch home is, well, raised so much. Thank you for pointing this out!

And ps...I asked, but the agent showing the home didn't know much, I'm sorry!

I found this link to fishing stocked waters in Monroe County: https://pfbc.pa.gov/fishpub/summarya...cked_yearround. I do not think there are any sections of the Brodheads or Goose Pond Run currently open to the public to fish in the Canadensis area. But some sections might be open if you knew the land owners and asked permission? Also since I have not lived over there for many years, maybe just asking information at the township office or the local post office might be helpful.

About that flood of 55, yes I stood on the front porch of the Canadensis Hotel the night of the flood. The water was one inch from coming over the first floor. I saw cars float down the river. And I saw a house with two parents and three kids lift up and start to float down the Brodheads, but was saved because it got hung up in apple trees. So it does bother me if somebody tells me they will buy or rent close to the rivers and streams. But, like I said before, the Army Corps of Engineers did install two earthen flood control dams to protect the little town of Canadensis and everybody downstream. The streams can still get high, but should be protected from a dam breach like we had in 1955.

The closest location to your new job to rent or buy would be Swiftwater. After that I would check out Paradise Valley, Mount Pocono, Scotrun, Henryville, Cresco, Pocono Summit, Pocono Pines, Mountainhome, Canadensis, Pocono Pines, Long Pond, Skytop, and Blakeslee. I would stay away from the Tannersville and areas south to Stroudsburg on Route 611. The reason being is because our State is supposed to start a widening project on I-80 and I presume traffic on Route 611 will be a nightmare. The traffic is terrible now when there is an accident on I-80, but living north of Tannersville helps avoid many of the problems.

Let us know how you make out and if I can help you with anything.

[DavidWebb]

Pics of the flood:

https://www.poconorecord.com/photoga...312009999/PH/1

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by DavidWebb

Pics of the flood:

https://www.poconorecord.com/photoga...312009999/PH/1

My grandparents let the Army Corps of engineers camp on their 88 acre property that was the property that Staples now sits on and surrounding houses and businesses.

When you see pictures of those old cars that were washed away by the floodwaters keep in mind how heavy they were compared to today's cars. About one mile south and down river from where I stayed that night, there was a house on the far side of the river and it had a bridge for access to Route 447. They watched as the flood waters rolled a huge boulder that took out that bridge which happened to be 15 feet above the normal river.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by fisheye

When you see pictures of those old cars that were washed away by the floodwaters keep in mind how heavy they were compared to today's cars.

A few years ago during a drought the Brodhead Creek was so low near the point where it empties into the Delaware that you could see one or two old cars that had long been submerged. I wondered how they got there. Maybe it was the flood of 1955.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

A few years ago during a drought the Brodhead Creek was so low near the point where it empties into the Delaware that you could see one or two old cars that had long been submerged. I wondered how they got there. Maybe it was the flood of 1955.

Could have been? But 55 was a long time ago and we have had several 500 year floods since that time. I do not know if cars from 55 would still be visible considering how much sediment washes out every time we have high water?

There was a long very deep hole in the Delaware that had a few train cars down in the deep water. That was not too far downstream from the Bridge and the water was supposedly 100 feet deep.