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I'll be moving to NEPA due to a new job in the Wilkes Barre downtown area - I know nothing of NEPA, however, and figured I'd ask a few questions here.
For living, I had settled on Gateway Apartments in Edwardsville. The website is located at - http://www.gatewayapts.com. The apartments seem fairly nice from the website and some Bing/google maps views. There seemed to be a nice park next to the apartments with some tennis courts as an added bonus. I'd be able to walk to my work location in downtown WB should the need ever arise.
1.) However, after reading these forums people seem to be saying that Edwardsville isn't a very safe area to live in (one of the worst in NEPA). So, my enthusiasm is a bit dampened. Are these apartments/area really that unsafe? Should I reconsider? If anybody has experience living in these apts, I'd appreciate a review.
2.) How do city income taxes work in this area? Do I need to pay WB city tax (work location) if I work there in ADDITION to Edwardsville city tax (since I'd be residing there?) Or do I just pay tax for Edwardsville only?
3.) How do people deal with snow in NEPA? Seems like nobody uses garages to avoid snow/ice buildup on the windshields. Isn't it incredibly annoying to have to dig the snow/ice from your windshield every morning for the 6 month winter? Or is winter not that severe?
Any advice/tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
Last edited by tnsply100; 05-10-2010 at 12:32 PM..
I cannot really give any answers on the first two questions. As for the snow, It might help to know what part of the country you are moving from to know what you might consider a severe winter? Usually i run outside while im making my breakfast and start the car and let it defrost for a few minutes. (Now my town is pretty safe so i dont have to worry about someone driving away with my car!) I hit the car with the brush and im on my way within 10 minutes.
Earlier this year we had a storm that was pretty bad and it took me almost 4 or 5 hours to dig my car out and side roads were pretty impassable. We can get storms like this several times a year or once every few years. Its all up to mother nature really. When that happens i usually call off of work and dig out for the day and then relax and have a few beers
I'd be moving from the south where we get almost no snow. However, I have lived in central Michigan before - I would consider the snow there to be fairly heavy.
Layers of ice used to form on the windows/windshields there, and we had to hammer the ice layers with a scraper to get a crack in the ice and then use the scraper in the crack to remove the sheets of ice. This used to be an average day in the winters (unless you had some of those instant ice melting sprays). Doing this for the windshield, mirrors, front windows, and rear shield was a huge chore of 15 minutes in the biting cold - while trying to get to work on time.
So, if I understood your post, on an average winter day day (without a severe storm), you are saying that you spend 10 minutes removing the ice/snow from your car? Or did I misunderstand that? Is the above description similar to what you have to deal with on an average day?
No, not really 10 minutes spent removing it. I just like to let the car warm up with the defrosters on for a few minutes while im inside my warm house . It makes taking any layer of ice off much easier for me. Then 1 minute with a scraper is all it really takes...Removing a foot or two of snow from a car is a different story. But it doesn't happen too often. Most typical winter days i just have to deal with fogged up windows or a small dusting of snow which takes nothing more than waiting for the car heater to kick in. I am pretty sure Michigan gets worse winter weather than we do. We just get storms called Nor'easters from time to time which can be pretty bad. But again, they don't happen too frequently
Also, Edwardsville should be a few degrees warmer than the surrounding higher elevations so it shouldn't be as bad as the areas i am used to being in most of the time.
One quick tip i could suggest. One year i had RAIN-X on my windshield in the winter time and i found that it prevents the ice from bonding with the windshield and it just slid off pretty easily. I haven't used it since but it is something you might want to try out if dealing with ice is a big deal for you
I'm one of those on here who has condemned Edwardsville, but the Gateway Apartments straddle the Kingston border near Northampton Street and Kirby Park and are actually in a very solid middle-class neighborhood. The "bad" areas of Edwardsville are closer to the downtown area (Main Street), and even then the violent crime that occurs here is almost never random. In recent years there have been numerous murders (for a town of under 5,000, anyways) stemming from drunken thugs killing each other at or near one of the community's zillion dive bars. A woman was raped here not long ago, but I don't think that was random either. The problem with Edwardsville is that it became the dumping ground for a lot of public housing, and while I don't like to stereotype it seems as if when you cluster economically disadvantaged people together they start to feel hopeless, and they can and will resort to criminal activity (especially drugs). Edwardsville's housing stock, overall, is also aging and very run-down, which makes it inexpensive (and, in turn, attractive to out-of-state slumlords or drug dealers).
Your part of Edwardsville should be fine. You are near the major shopping districts on the West Side for added convenience, and the walk between your complex to Downtown Wilkes-Barre for work, dinner/movie, to see a show at the Kirby, to see the Philharmonic, to attend a seminar at King's or Wilkes, etc. should be a safe one. If you were living near Main Street and near to the projects I'd have more reservations.
I've personally never lived in these apartments, nor do I know anyone who has, but they always looked nice enough for my tastes. If I had the same relocation as you I probably would have chosen Green Acres in Kingston instead since it's also walking distance to Downtown Wilkes-Barre, is in a more upper-middle-class area, and is literally a minute from Route 309 (Cross-Valley Expressway) for easy access to the mall/arena area, casino, or Back Mountain.
Since you'll be renting you do NOT have to pay property taxes to Edwardsville. When I used to work in Edwardsville and lived in Pittston Township I paid an annual tax to Edwardsville, but since you don't work there you won't be subjected to that EMS tax. You'll most likely just be paying taxes to Wilkes-Barre, but since I haven't lived in the area for a year now this is all a bit fuzzy to me.
If you're worried about de-icing in the winter I know they sell heated ice scrapers that melt the ice as you scrape, and what also used to work for me was draping a canvas sheet over my windshield to collect any moisture before it had a chance to come into contact with and freeze on my windshield.
I'd be able to walk to my work location in downtown WB should the need ever arise.
Yes but it's not exactly short walk, guess it depends on what you consider short. That's more like a nice easy bike ride. There is bus service.
Quote:
1.) However, after reading these forums people seem to be saying that Edwardsville isn't a very safe area to live in (one of the worst in NEPA).
That's probably a pretty good assessment, guess it depends on what you consider bad. It's not like inner city bad.
2.) How do city income taxes work in this area? Do I need to pay WB city tax (work location) if I work there in ADDITION to Edwardsville city tax (since I'd be residing there?) Or do I just pay tax for Edwardsville only?
Quote:
3.) How do people deal with snow in NEPA? Seems like nobody uses garages to avoid snow/ice buildup on the windshields. Isn't it incredibly annoying to have to dig the snow/ice from your windshield every morning for the 6 month winter? Or is winter not that severe?
You might have to do that 10 or 20 times a year. You're going to have a thin layer of ice on most mornings but most people start their car and let it warm up for 5 minutes which you should do anyway. If you scrape it's only a few minutes. Keep in mind only December through March is really cold, usually by the end of March you'll have some Spring weather. I think the average temperature is just below freezing during those months but it can get down to around 0.
I'll be moving to NEPA due to a new job in the Wilkes Barre downtown area - I know nothing of NEPA, however, and figured I'd ask a few questions here.
For living, I had settled on Gateway Apartments in Edwardsville. The website is located at - Apartment Rental - Furnished Apartments - Edwardsville, PA - Gateway Manor Apartments. The apartments seem fairly nice from the website and some Bing/google maps views. There seemed to be a nice park next to the apartments with some tennis courts as an added bonus. I'd be able to walk to my work location in downtown WB should the need ever arise.
1.) However, after reading these forums people seem to be saying that Edwardsville isn't a very safe area to live in (one of the worst in NEPA). So, my enthusiasm is a bit dampened. Are these apartments/area really that unsafe? Should I reconsider? If anybody has experience living in these apts, I'd appreciate a review.
2.) How do city income taxes work in this area? Do I need to pay WB city tax (work location) if I work there in ADDITION to Edwardsville city tax (since I'd be residing there?) Or do I just pay tax for Edwardsville only?
3.) How do people deal with snow in NEPA? Seems like nobody uses garages to avoid snow/ice buildup on the windshields. Isn't it incredibly annoying to have to dig the snow/ice from your windshield every morning for the 6 month winter? Or is winter not that severe?
Any advice/tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
I stayed at the Gateway apts. on 2 different occassions. It's slowly going downhill. There was an incident there recently. The first time I stayed there I never heard the lady below me. I didn't realize it was because she wasn't in very good health. The second time I stayed there while hunting a vacation home. I could hear everything from the people below. It was a LONG 3 months stay. But I am used to living in my own home. I wouldn't stay there again. On the upside, the people that run the place are as nice as they can be (if they are still there).
If I had to choose between NEPA and Florida, where I stay in the winter months, I'd stay in NEPA full time. The summers south of the mason dixon line are too much for me. But I grew up here. I never got used to the southern summers. The winters here can be brutal. But you'll also have the occasional mild one. A mild one can help you adjust. But who knows. We're over due for a mild one for sure.
Not sure if you mentioned the southern state, but you'll pay higher taxes here for sure. State tax, city tax, right to work, and vehicle inspection- basically another tax.
One quick tip i could suggest. One year i had RAIN-X on my windshield in the winter time and i found that it prevents the ice from bonding with the windshield and it just slid off pretty easily. I haven't used it since but it is something you might want to try out if dealing with ice is a big deal for you
Its called Ice-X and its made by the same company that makes Rain-X. Good stuff, I recommend it as well.
Its called Ice-X and its made by the same company that makes Rain-X. Good stuff, I recommend it as well.
It seems that screws windows up if you don't continue to use it. The water seems to puddle, almost like you have an oily film on the window making it very hard to see.
I spent the first 18 years of my life in Edwardsville in one of the poorer areas of town and I still go back to visit family. Safety concerns never crossed my mind growing up, but now when I go back I'm sometimes uneasy about family still living in this area. I do agree with RR in that the crime has always tended to be of the domestic variety...it is very rarely random.
For the most part it is a poor community and the town is a bit rundown, but the people who live there have a lot of character. I wouldn't be too worried about crime in the area of town you're moving to.
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. It makes taking any layer of ice off much easier for me. Then 1 minute with a scraper is all it really takes...Removing a foot or two of snow from a car is a different story. But it doesn't happen too often. Most typical winter days i just have to deal with fogged up windows or a small dusting of snow which takes nothing more than waiting for the car heater to kick in. I am pretty sure Michigan gets worse winter weather than we do. We just get storms called Nor'easters from time to time which can be pretty bad. But again, they don't happen too frequently 
