What Has Lead to Scranton's Negative Image to Outsiders? (Philadelphia: appointed, hotel)

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by tasmtairy

Oh!! I thought the poll was about you SWB. LOL!!! Sorry no vote, haven't been there.

HA! Thanks for the laugh! LOL! Well, between my December brou-ha-ha on the NJ forum in regards to the cost-of-living issues there, as well as my rant a few months ago about "Gas-Guzzlers," I think it's pretty obvious why people hate yours truly. I was just wondering why people still seem to view Scranton as PA's "hemorrhoid" of sorts, even though it seems to be making a comeback. All I hear from city residents themselves is how "slummy" the city is, even though most first-time tourists like the historic architecture and "charm" of the city. I just wish there was a way to open the eyes of people like "WeLuvPA", the "Legion of Doom", Joseph Pilchesky and his "DohertyDeceit" following, etc. to showcase some of the better things about living here.

[bmurphy]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

HA! Thanks for the laugh! LOL! Well, between my December brou-ha-ha on the NJ forum in regards to the cost-of-living issues there, as well as my rant a few months ago about "Gas-Guzzlers," I think it's pretty obvious why people hate yours truly. I was just wondering why people still seem to view Scranton as PA's "hemorrhoid" of sorts, even though it seems to be making a comeback. All I hear from city residents themselves is how "slummy" the city is, even though most first-time tourists like the historic architecture and "charm" of the city. I just wish there was a way to open the eyes of people like "WeLuvPA", the "Legion of Doom", Joseph Pilchesky and his "DohertyDeceit" following, etc. to showcase some of the better things about living here.

Scranton, I like your enthusiasm, but do you realize that not everyone is going to love Scranton? Some people just won't like it and will probably get annoyed if you keep shoving if down their throat...I'm just saying. You always get upset about that incident in the NJ forums, well I would think that if you make people mad it could repeat itself -- don't slam your opinion down their throats and let them think what they want. Who cares?

Why would outsides know about things like Scranton's wage tax, anyway? This poll is a little overdone.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by bmurphy

Scranton, I like your enthusiasm, but do you realize that not everyone is going to love Scranton? Some people just won't like it and will probably get annoyed if you keep shoving if down their throat...I'm just saying. You always get upset about that incident in the NJ forums, well I would think that if you make people mad it could repeat itself -- don't slam your opinion down their throats and let them think what they want. Who cares?

Why would outsides know about things like Scranton's wage tax, anyway? This poll is a little overdone.

I suppose it all comes down to my own personal insecurities and feeling the need to "justify" my choice to remain in Scranton to raise my family in the future. I'm continually second-guessing myself, and the fact that I can't find anyone out there who enjoys living in the city causes me to become very depressed. I'm generally optimist by nature, but 99.9% of the residents of the Electric City seem to hate living there, and they make it known not by moving out, but rather through widely-publicized avenues such as DohertyDeceit , Scranton City Council meetings, WNEP-TV's Talkback Online, the Times-Leader message boards, etc.

I wake up every morning less and less enthusiastic about my decision in life to stay in NEPA, and everyone I come into contact with tries their best to steer me AWAY from Scranton. I continually harp on and on about the city (to the point of ANNOYING many people on this forum) because I'm simply hoping to find even one other person who doesn't hate the city like the plague. Unfortunately, I haven't been too successful. All I've met are people like WeLuvPA, StuckPA, mechtm84, Joseph Pilchesky, etc. who drone on and on to anyone and everyone willing to listen to them that the city is a sty.

I'm just having "second thoughts" about my future. All of my college friends have either already moved out of NEPA or are planning to do so upon graduation, leaving me wonder and worry if I'll be able to have any college-educated peers to befriend in the Electric City in the upcoming years. Judging by the humiliating debacles at Scranton City Council, I've already decided that the only Scrantonians I want to associate myself with are those who possess an education; if none are remaining by the time I get there, then what's the point?

Everyone has told me for years and years that NEPA is an awful place to live, but I always wanted to disavow their claims in order to find a silver lining here. Now, I find myself tearing up to realize that they may have been right all along if I can't find anyone else who has a shred of hope for this place anymore. I think I've been living in denial for far too long, and now it's finally catching up to me. I wanted so dearly to stay here and make this city a great place to live, but it will do no good if nobody wants the city to come back.

Perhaps I should just be like all of my friends and leave Scranton for my own "greener pasture," such as Minneapolis/St. Paul or Seattle. I don't want to be the "lone cowboy" with hope for a better tomorrow for Scranton any longer; why should I devote my life to rebuilding a city that everyone else WANTS to see fail?

[SteelCityRising]

I think I'm experiencing what I learned in my Principles of Marketing class here at King's to be what is known as cognitive dissonance. Essentially, I weighed my options, which included the following:

1.) Relocate to Scranton
2.) Relocate to Minneapolis/St. Paul
3.) Relocate to Seattle
4.) Relocate to San Francisco
5.) Relocate to Manhattan

After a lot of soul-searching I determined that Scranton offered anything and everything I could ever want from an urbanized area with an affordable cost-of-living and relative proximity to NYC and Philly, which is why I chose the first option.

However, now I'm experiencing "cognitive dissonance" in that I feel the need to justify that the decision I made was, in fact, the correct one, and that is beginning to become increasingly difficult for me to do when I'm surrounded by the "Scranton Sucks" crowd at every juncture. Even North Jersey has its loyal supporters; where are Scranton's?

[bmurphy]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

I think I'm experiencing what I learned in my Principles of Marketing class here at King's to be what is known as cognitive dissonance. Essentially, I weighed my options, which included the following:

1.) Relocate to Scranton
2.) Relocate to Minneapolis/St. Paul
3.) Relocate to Seattle
4.) Relocate to San Francisco
5.) Relocate to Manhattan

After a lot of soul-searching I determined that Scranton offered anything and everything I could ever want from an urbanized area with an affordable cost-of-living and relative proximity to NYC and Philly, which is why I chose the first option.

However, now I'm experiencing "cognitive dissonance" in that I feel the need to justify that the decision I made was, in fact, the correct one, and that is beginning to become increasingly difficult for me to do when I'm surrounded by the "Scranton Sucks" crowd at every juncture. Even North Jersey has its loyal supporters; where are Scranton's?

Are you sure you're not overthinking this?

If you like Scranton, stay. If not, leave.

It's simple -- don't let the crowd sway you. Don't over analyze it.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by bmurphy

Are you sure you're not overthinking this?

If you like Scranton, stay. If not, leave.

It's simple -- don't let the crowd sway you. Don't over analyze it.

Thanks for this simplistic view. I do like the city, and my constant "pro-Scranton" types of threads are just my way of "fishing around" for another city loyalist like myself to latch onto for a shred of hope. I don't care if I can convince people to move to the city as opposed to its suburbs; if all of my hard work results in just one person out there who shares my view that the city can bounce back with a lot of hard work, then I'll be happy. It is not my intention to "ram Scranton down your throats," as a lot of people seem to think. I'm just young and terrified that I made the choice to try to find a silver lining in a city full of "Chicken Littles." I am versatile though; I can always settle in Scranton with my degree, work for a few years, pay taxes for a few years, wander around downtown for a few years, join groups like POWER, Scranton Tomorrow, Scranton Jaycees, etc. and then decide whether it was a wise choice or not to stay here AGAINST the advice of everyone I know. If not, then Minneapolis/St. Paul or Seattle are only a plane ticket away. If so, then I'll be the happiest person alive. I'm only 20, and I have a LOT of mistakes ahead of me to make and then learn from. I'm just hoping that investing in a city rife with political turbulences and nasty, bitter people isn't one of them.

[mechtm84]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Thanks for this simplistic view. I do like the city, and my constant "pro-Scranton" types of threads are just my way of "fishing around" for another city loyalist like myself to latch onto for a shred of hope.

Keep on fishing. I'm sure there's a pothead out there that will come to your rescue eventually.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by mechtm84

Keep on fishing. I'm sure there's a pothead out there that will come to your rescue eventually.

Like this guy?

[miamiman]

Originally Posted by bmurphy

Well that area of PA does have fairly low % of sunshine relative to other cities. It's not ridiculously low, but it's significantly cloudy.

Scranton is about an hour south of the cloudiest city in the entire United States: Binghamton, NY. Depressing.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Like this guy?

No, s/he actually lives next door to me, but with petunias for brains!