Moving to Scranton-WilkesBarre

[jmlance]

very entertaining stuff

Here's another question:
How are the schools, My daughter is 4 and going to be going to school next year,

I'm sure they are better than here, on account of phoenix being either 49th or 50th in ranking.

but even so, what the story on that?

[Chefkey]

On education I can't answer for quality because I don't have kids to find out if they are good or not. I will say though that I live close to G.A.R High in Wilkes Barre and it looks very nice. Clean and safe looking and the kids really seem to participate in their school. I always see kids in sports programs at the track and the marching band right around this time of year rehearses there. It is nice for me to hear them rehearse from a few blocks away as it reminds me of where I grew up in Wall Township, NJ. I lived across two fields and a highway to the High School and I would hear them practicing at the same time of year. When I heard this for the first time two years ago it made me smile with the memory.

[SteelCityRising]

Hello jmlance!

Welcome in advance to our area. 61scout80 is a member who used to reside in the Wilkes-Barre area and who has since relocated to Phoenix, so he may be a good resource to consult about quality-of-life issues in each of the two areas.

I may be biased, but I personally think the standard of living is much higher here in Northeastern Pennsylvania than it is in the "Valley of the Sun." We have far fewer issues with illegal immigration. We may have a lot less sunshine, but the beauty of the foliage changing in the fall, snow-lined birch trees in winter, fresh blooms in spring, etc. truly can't be matched. Variety is the spice of life after all. There is probably more history to be found within one square block of Scranton than the entire downtown core of Phoenix. Judging by what I've seen in satellite imagery, there's a lot of sprawl and lack of identity in Phoenix whereas our area has a lot of tight-knit neighborhoods with many homes over a century old, some of which have been held in the same family for multiple generations. Scranton is two hours and fifteen minutes from either New York City or Philadelphia and three-and-one-half hours from Baltimore or the New Jersey beaches. Phoenix is two or three hours from what? More desert? I'd definitely feel quite claustrophobic living there.

I didn't intend to bash Phoenix---I just wanted to make you want to move here! LOL!

[jmlance]

thanks for the imput, yeah, it takes a couple hours to get from one side of phoenix to the other, the only bonus in drivable distances is vegas being about 4-5 hours drive,
honestly, i used to have an hour and change commute and i never left phoenix city limits,( that doesn't include the metro area IE peoria,scottsdale,glendale,mesa)

and for as big of a city as this is, not alot to do with out a big pile of cash.

I'd really like this christmas to be a white one for my kids, they've never actually seen snow.

[Pupmom]

Originally Posted by Chefkey

I believe it was Scranbarre that first posted this video on NEPA linguistics but it is an essential reference for how to speak around here.

Here is the link:


YouTube - Heynabonics

This is too funny - I work with high school kids and I use this as part of a lesson on "speech". It's great!!!!!!

[W-B proud]

Wilkes-Barre has been having a rebirth as of late. Alot of investment and improvements into the downtown. Check out Pine Ridge, new, nice houses in a nice, clean neighborhood. Like Scranbarre said, we're close to everything: NYC, Atlantic City, The Jersey Shore (great for summertime vacations), Philly, Baltimore. Cost of living is very good. Also check out Kingston, Forty-Fort, West Pittston, Plains (these are all some of the nicer towns surrounding Wilkes-Barre itself). The school system isn't bad, my daughter currently attends a W-B are school, and I'm a product of one myself. Anyway, if you have any other questions feel free to ask, and good luck!! P.S. the only real downfall is the job market in this region. I don't know your personal situation as far as work, but there isn't much to brag about when it comes to our local jobs and wages.

[W-B proud]

Oh and by the way, your kids will definately see snow!

[wbnurseguy]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Hello jmlance!

Welcome in advance to our area. 61scout80 is a member who used to reside in the Wilkes-Barre area and who has since relocated to Phoenix, so he may be a good resource to consult about quality-of-life issues in each of the two areas.

I may be biased, but I personally think the standard of living is much higher here in Northeastern Pennsylvania than it is in the "Valley of the Sun." We have far fewer issues with illegal immigration. We may have a lot less sunshine, but the beauty of the foliage changing in the fall, snow-lined birch trees in winter, fresh blooms in spring, etc. truly can't be matched. Variety is the spice of life after all. There is probably more history to be found within one square block of Scranton than the entire downtown core of Phoenix. Judging by what I've seen in satellite imagery, there's a lot of sprawl and lack of identity in Phoenix whereas our area has a lot of tight-knit neighborhoods with many homes over a century old, some of which have been held in the same family for multiple generations. Scranton is two hours and fifteen minutes from either New York City or Philadelphia and three-and-one-half hours from Baltimore or the New Jersey beaches. Phoenix is two or three hours from what? More desert? I'd definitely feel quite claustrophobic living there.

I didn't intend to bash Phoenix---I just wanted to make you want to move here! LOL!

I know you weren't trying to bash Phoenix. I was born and raised there, lived there for 29 years and in W-B for 8 years. I would like to compare the two areas for the person contemplating moving here. Each category will be listed with the better city.

1. Summers- Nepa
2. Winters- Phoenix (duh!)There is no Fall in Phoenix, Spring is pretty there when all of the cacti bloom.
3.cost of living- Nepa
4. wages- Phoenix
5. crime-totally depends on the area you live in in each city-kind of a tossup and neither area is overly frightening
6. friendliness of people-Phoenix- The one thing that often annoys me about Nepa is the lack of the use of "please" and "Thank You" in many but not all residents
7. traffic-Nepa
8. proximity to other cultural areas- Nepa
9. healthcare- Phoenix
10. Schools- not a good judge of that since I never went to grade/high school here.
11. colleges-Phoenix- ASU in-state tuition is so much cheaper than all the colleges here.
12. shopping-Phoenix
13. Sports-Phoenix
14. outdoor activities-Nepa, skiing is closer,its too hot in summer in Phoenix to do anything outdoors
15. Home prices-Nepa
16. culture (museums, venues, etc)-phoenix
17. nightlife (gay and straight)-phoenix
18. pizza-Nepa
19. Mexican food- Phoenix-lol
20. less air pollution-Nepa
21. public transportation and airports- Phoenix
One point that was made that was inaccurate was about Phoenix's downtown. It doesn't have much history but it is much more bustling that Scranton or W-B. It made a huge turnaround in the 90s and the historic districts downtown rival old L.A. neighborhoods. Vintage Spanish architecture and cute bungalows. They are two totally different climates, populations, history, politics, and are really quite difficult to compare. Good luck with whatever decision is made.

[Vinny536]

Originally Posted by jmlance

Hello All, I am currently in Phoenix, az, and am looking into possibly moving to the area, I've been to wilkes barre once, and I greatly enjoyed it there, I was just wondering, how much do you folks really like the area,

thanks for helping me make my decision

Here i am! I'm really busy today, so I only skimmed the thread. I'll try to get back to type up a nice comparison later on today.



I may be a good help to you since i moved from the wilkes-barre/scranton area to phoenix metro 3 years ago, but i could use more info from you.

Do you have a job lined up? what area? if not, what do you do?
What made you choose wilkes-barre/scranton out of everywhere else in the world?
What do you do in your free time? - include your hobbies.
Do you prefer to be in the thick of things, or out on the outskirts?
Need a yard? garage?
What do you do in the phoenix area that you can't live without?
What section of phoenix do you live in?
Have you lived anywhere but phoenix?
What stores and resturaunts are your favorites?

All this will help me to compare how you live here to how you will be living in my home town