Good Jobs in Northeast PA? (Scranton: house, college, taxi)

[Bagldot]

Don't forget the cost of car insurance. Coming from NJ to almost anywhere else brings you a decrease in car insurance, most definitely lowe in PA. For us, moving to PA is also a positive as they won't tax my husband's pension, so it's like getting a raise to move there.

[mathjak107]

Food is definatly not much less, we alternate 1 week in queens , 1 week in nepa.. things are so close that i wouldnt even count it as a difference at this point

[Bagldot]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

Still cant make due on 1/2 the wages no matter what. like i said maybe 30% less but not 1/2..... not for our lifestyle anyway

I agree we wouldn't be able to take that big of a pay cut either and most wouldn't be able to. I'm very lucky as I can take my job with me, and trust me, if it weren't for that, I doubt we'd move either.

[FightinPhils]

Food in the Poconos probably isn't much less than in NJ/NY, because its an area full of tourists and NY/NJ transplants, so the stores are taking advantage of that and charging more. I will guarantee than food and other items are cheaper in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre than in the Poconos. Even real estate has gone up so much in the Poconos that I can't see how its even worth it to move there and commute to NYC, especially with the price of gas. Poconos home prices sound expensive to me, since I'm used to Scranton prices.

[mathjak107]

Dont confuse 2 issues, retiring in pa is fine. i find it quite retiree friendly. once the kids are out, your pensions are in place, you have met your savings goals pa is a nice place to retire

the problem is raising a family, paying for college and saving for retirement ,thats a problem for most with the greatly reduced salary

[Bagldot]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

Dont confuse 2 issues, retiring in pa is fine. i find it quite retiree friendly. once the kids are out, your pensions are in place, you have met your savings goals pa is a nice place to retire

the problem is raising a family, paying for college and saving for retirement ,thats a problem for most with the greatly reduced salary

I guess we kind of straddle that line. Husband is retired, I'm not, and won't be for a while. One kid will still be in college, the other one on her own.

[Acevaz]

So I guess I should keep the home as a vacation spot. Kind of bummed that PA doesn't have a more booming job opportunites.

[NYRangers 2008]

I wish there were better jobs up here too, we all do.

[poconosmama]

It also depends how far you are willing to commute. 45 minutes to an hour and the sky is the limit. We live super comfortably with my husband commuting to NJ. He loves his job and we love our way of life, so it's a good balance. Doesnt work for everyone, but it's an option!

[mathjak107]

another 2 or 3 years hopefully and we will be ready to pull the plug and be full time bums. financial markets permitting maybe sooner as we are hoping to retire while still in our 50's .

pennsylvania has pretty good tax breaks for retirees, only negative i see is that their is an inheritance tax in pa thats pretty low ,... new york follows the federal rates which are probley beyond 95% of the people in the states income but pa has their own which is too low in my eyes. but then again taxing the dead is good, they dont vote!