Oh, no! Forbes now ranks Scranton No11 in America's Best bang for your Buck Cities (Pittsburgh: middle-class, apartment)

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by johnqpublic

I think the Doomer name callers need to understand something, Many here are 3rd generation or more, We know the political and "connected"families, we know people who have loose lips and we know the secrets... things the paper wont print because they are one of the "connected" families,
I personally dont mind the same old every week at council, there are a few less than well spoken people there, they arent as "educated" as scranberry, but their opinions are no less important..hopefully the squeeky wheels will get a little bit of oil..
The powers that run this valley have been doing it for generations, It doesnt matter if they lose an election, the next one is just a few years away, and they are right back there , taking care of them and theirs , and screw the rest of the people.
Why do they keep getting elected??? The subject of my next post, not enough time right now...

Do you really think Scranton is going to move into the 21st Century under the leadership of someone like Janet Evans?

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by go phillies

I think he was referring to these out-of-town "investors" as slumlords who will buy property here to make a buck.

[johnqpublic]

to the

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Do you really think Scranton is going to move into the 21st Century under the leadership of someone like Janet Evans?

In a nutshell, I hope so, she is the antichrist to the entrenched powers that be
Time will tell, It cant get worse...

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by blip

Hahahahhhaaa. Effin' HAHA.

Anyone who says a any positive things is deemed a "kool-aid drinker", but anyone who never has a single positive thing to say (about pretty much anything) is a "realist".

Nice.


And way to trainwreck another thread, team, with the same old tired discussion...

:::standing Ovation::: You hit the nail on the head with this one!

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by NYRangers 2008

Exactly. There are many great higher learning institutions in this area. Why do people get educated here and don't stay? You said it, NO JOBS here. I blame the local and county governments for not doing a better job in securing and luring good job opportunities to the area. I do believe that a lot of the govt. officials here are corrupt and just do not care about the people. That is why the SWB area will always be in the dark ages.

Speak for yourself.

There are jobs here for those with an education. As many as say, in New York or Philly? No. But I know enough affluent people (who were born and raised here) who make their living here that I question the veracity of such a broad, general statement.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Speak for yourself.

There are jobs here for those with an education. As many as say, in New York or Philly? No. But I know enough affluent people (who were born and raised here) who make their living here that I question the veracity of such a broad, general statement.

As someone who has recently done some casual browsing of the local job opportunities in my own field (which requires a degree) I can safely say that there are vacancies for seasoned veterans in the field (i.e. controllers at manufacturing plants, audit supervisors, etc.) as well as those who only have an Associate's Degree and limited career experiences (i.e. A/P clerks, A/R clerks, bookkeepers, etc.) The former pay generous salaries for the area (generally $50,000-$80,000+), but good luck obtaining such a position before age 35. The latter are "joke" jobs that are beneath someone like me who was earning MORE in retail sales than the wages that were being offerered (generally $9/hr.) Try to look for "in between" opportunities in the area for someone in my field with a Bachelor's Degree and 1-3 years of experience. There's not many, if any, vacancies, hence the "Brain Drain" of young accountants out of NEPA.

My own school, King's College, encourages its graduates to leave the area by generally only inviting firms for on-campus recruitment that are OUTSIDE the region. I applied for an internship with Parente Randolph, made it to the final cut, and was discouraged to learn that they only had one position available for an internship due to the economy. Naturally with the "final cut" still having about 15 applicants, some of whom already had field experience or came from two generations of accountants, what shot in hell did I really have? Out of the King's College Class of 2009 I can think of only two peers of mine who obtained positions as accountants in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. Most of the rest of us are now living in NNJ, NYC, NoVA, MD, DC, etc. A few others who have stayed are still working at the same retail jobs they were working at before they earned their degrees and are becoming quite discouraged. So while someone like me could move back at age 35 and earn a comfortable living or take a dead-end job in the field that pays less than a retail job, there is a scarcity of the "in-between" positions geared towards those in their 20s and pay in the low-to-mid-$30k range (hence why so many of us leave like bats out of hell).

[bloominscranton]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Speak for yourself.

There are jobs here for those with an education. As many as say, in New York or Philly? No. But I know enough affluent people (who were born and raised here) who make their living here that I question the veracity of such a broad, general statement.

Ummm...sorry but you are completely wrong once again, take a look at the labor department stats...this is and has been an economically depressed and under employed region FOR DECADES..

We moved back here because I have a secure source of income and my husband has a federal position...

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Are there jobs for all? Uh no. But find me a place where there is.

Northern Virginia. However, it wouldn't exactly be my top place as a recommendation for a place to live.

[Magritte25]

There are jobs for every single person in Northern Virginia? I've never heard of 100% employment rates.

[Magritte25]

I will add Paul, that I know our area doesn't have a huge employer pool. BUT to say that there are no jobs in our area is a defeatist and erroneous statement.