Wilkes-Barre is definatly becoming a "college town" (Scranton: apartment, rent)

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by shoegal111

That's correct. Emoticons are not always an accurate portrayal of what is meant so many people disregard them and go by the written word. BTW, there are many single and married people who don't have children because they can't have children.

Ok....

[Gerania]

Wilkes-Barre, once again looks a bit like a college town. It did in the 1960s, '70s, into the '80s. Students held part-time jobs around town, shopped, socialized there. Kings used to sponsor major concerts on campus.

I don't think the problem lies with the people who lived through or remember the flood. Some of them moved out of Wilkes-Barre, some out of the flood plain; most of them chose to stay. The business district cleaned up and rebuilt. The shopping district was, once again, active and busy. Other factors come into play, particularly the loss of jobs.

Originally Posted by Eyes

Wilkes_Barre as a college town is a song that has been sung longer than the current student population has been on earth.
Sadly ... "AGNES" did something to the valley that made many people bitter and staid.
I don't now all the details ... but until the demographics no longer include the survivors of Agnes.
The valley will sit stagnant. The current economy has slowed the little progress made.
As a small city it needs to learn to turn on a dime .. at that point it can grow into something.
I relly hope the current crop of under 30's is able to endure and prosper ...

[W-B proud]

I know the downtown used be a ghost town after dark, except for shady looking criminal types. That was only a few years ago. Now those shady looking criminals are gone (for the most part) ,and I see alot of college kids out and about around Public Square and South Main street. I also see ALOT more police patrols in the downtown, more then ever before. That is definately a good thing. The more people start to notice the downtown W-b isn't a scary place anymore, the more people will come into town for a night out. It has already started happening. Alot of people from the surrounding towns still have this negative view of W-B after dark, because they stopped coming downtown because they thought it was dangerous. The city needs to show these people that left W-B years ago with a bad taste in thier mouth, that it isn't the same downtown W-B that they knew back then. They need to spread the word that it is know safe, and becoming an entertainment hotspot with restarauts, clubs, a movie theater ect., and it is happening...you can tell by the explosion in foottraffic (especially after dark) and on the weekends, but I believe that the city should be doing more to promote itself, and the new events it has been launching. They need to do a better job self promoting, because W-B has had such a terrible reputation for so long.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

I may be nitpicking but since I currently live in the Heights, I have to ask - why are younger childless couples and singles preferable to the traditional families many neighborhoods in this area are missing?

You misunderstood me. I omitted them intentionally not because I don't want to see traditional families move into Wilkes-Barre but rather because it's almost entirely not going to happen. As long as parents with young children can afford to prance around in Back Mountain subdivisions just 15 minutes from town with above-average schools, low violent crime, etc., then they'll continue to do so. I don't ever envision a place like The Heights being a "hopping" place teeming with families. For one reason there's no parking in much of that area, and when most families today have 2-4 vehicles EACH where are you going to stick them all? I would feel perfectly content raising my OWN family in an urban neighborhood, but sadly the mantra of "suburbs are better for children" will likely never fade.

[Mr Yuk]

I will say one thing for West Scranton....there are lots of families with kids here.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Yeah, well I don't like hearing BS about how singletons, GLBTs and cohabitating adults are somehow going to "save" a city from demise. The very idea is really laughable if you sit back and think on it.

See my above reply. You're going off on a COMPLETELY errant tangent from what I had originally meant. American families today are fatter, lazier, and generally have acquired much more "stuff" than the families of the 1910s-1930s, when many of the homes in The Heights were constructed. I'd have to estimate the average dwelling size in The Heights is a 3 BR, 1 BA, 1,400 square foot two-story home on a narrow 40' x 100' lot or so (enough on-street parking in front for one SUV or two small cars). While that would be fine for me personally, as well as a prospective partner and a child, the general American standard of living has changed over the years, making these homes "outdated" to most with children. Back in 1920 there might have been a couple with four children in a home like that---a master bedroom with two boys sharing one room and two girls sharing another. Nowadays it's a "cardinal sin" of sorts to suggest children share a bedroom. Try juggling a family of six in ONE bathroom. It wasn't easy growing up for our household to have one bathroom for FOUR of us, let alone more. Everyone "has" to have everything as we're now a much more consumption-oriented society. I hate to sound blunt, but quite frankly most of the small older homes in The Heights just aren't going to cut it for a growing family to spend $75,000 on the home and then $50,000 to upgrade it ($125,000 total investment), especially when they can have a 4 BR, 2 BA bi-level on 1/2-acre lot in the Back Mountain for $200,000. I value city living and convenience over elbow room, but most families do not. It's just unrealistic to ever expect a dense, crowded neighborhood like The Heights to ever be overrun by hordes of young middle-class families again.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by go phillies

I will say one thing for West Scranton....there are lots of families with kids here.

West Scranton (for the most part) is also much less crowded than a neighborhood like Wilkes-Barre's Heights. In West Side the lots are generally a bit larger, many homes have off-street parking via rear alleyways, homes tend to be spread out enough in most areas so that you're not hearing your neighbors doing the nasty, etc. There's more elbow room in a place like West Side for kids.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by shoegal111

No one here is looking down at families as "breeders".

I think Go Phillies is still holding a grudge against EnyaGirl from a fight they had a while back about people bringing noisy children to restaurants.

[NYRangers 2008]

Originally Posted by W-B proud

Whoa! This topic took a left onto a wrong way street!

Don't they all do at some point or another. We have such a hard time staying on topic and that goes for ALL of us.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by NYRangers 2008

Don't they all do at some point or another. We have such a hard time staying on topic and that goes for ALL of us.

I don't know how toobusytoday maintains her sanity. We must be one of the biggest "handfuls" of a forum!