So Confused Moving to PA (Philadelphia, Scranton: condo, crime rates, mobile home)

[DIS816]

Hi Everyone

I came across this website yesterday and i cant keep myself off.

We are planning on moving to PA by next spring and I had my mind set on the Poconos but of course after reading now I am scared.

I need some ideas my husband and I will be commuting to NJ and can take either 80 of course or even 78


Poconos is it really that bad I also heard so many good things
East S of course the main place I was looking is getting the worse reviews.
So should i just give up on the Poconos
If not what surrounding towns are good

Also what county is near I78 I hear of Easton but how are things there

HELP

[Griffis]

DIS816, I'm not from Pennsylvania, nor do I live there. Yet. It is one of the areas my family would very much like to go to.

I've been following PA threads very closely and as I understand it, the Western Poconos are a little better. Further North as well. As I seem to remember hearing, Monroe County is not a good place. Lots of NY'ers and NJ'ers (no offense to them) have moved in and made it crowded and expensive.

But some other Poconos counties are supposed to be much better, if more remote.

I've heard there is some trouble with meth and such in some rural parts of Pennsylvania, but I hardly know where you can go to avoid everything like that completely.

Good luck to you. Recall, this is all secondhand info.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Griffis

DIS816, I'm not from Pennsylvania, nor do I live there. Yet. It is one of the areas my family would very much like to go to.

I've been following PA threads very closely and as I understand it, the Western Poconos are a little better. Further North as well. As I seem to remember hearing, Monroe County is not a good place. Lots of NY'ers and NJ'ers (no offense to them) have moved in and made it crowded and expensive.

But some other Poconos counties are supposed to be much better, if more remote.

I've heard there is some trouble with meth and such in some rural parts of Pennsylvania, but I hardly know where you can go to avoid everything like that completely.

Good luck to you. Recall, this is all secondhand info.

Griffis, you're a quick learner! Much of what you just said is exactly what I would have told DIS816! I'd have to say that 75%-80% of the Poconos are still a great place to raise a family; the areas to avoid are the parts of Monroe County closest to I-80 and the Delaware River (The Stroudsburgs, Marshalls Creek, etc.) due to the horrific tourist traffic congestion, overcrowding, and rising crime rates. (Think of images of battling heavy traffic everyday to get anywhere due to excessive gawking, similar to The Hamptons or Cape Cod). You'd swear that NJ people never saw a tree before the way they hold up traffic on two-lane roads by seemingly stopping for no reason! LOL!

Depending on what part of NJ you'll be working in, I have a few suggestions. If you're working somewhere closer to the I-78 corridor, then consider extreme northern Northampton County (Portland, Slateford, Wind Gap, Pen Argyl, Bangor, etc.). If you're going to be working somewhere closer to the I-80 corridor, then Pike County (Milford, Matamoras, Bushkill, Dingman's Ferry) is also an option, as you can cross the Delaware River at Milford and take Route 206 South right through Sussex County, NJ to Route 15 and catch I-80 near Dover. (about a 45-minute commute between Milford and Dover, depending on traffic). If I had to pick one or the other, I'd only be able to suggest Pike County to you, as that's where I'm more familiar with. I know Milford is served by the Delaware Valley School District, which has a great reputation, should education become an issue.

Finally, you may also want to consider the Knowlton Twp./Columbia, NJ area as well, right along the Delaware River and I-80 and about five minutes from Stroudsburg. The cost-of-living here is lower than it is in much of North Jersey, but still higher than it is in Pike County or northern Northampton County.

[Griffis]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Griffis, you're a quick learner! Much of what you just said is exactly what I would have told DIS816!

Hey, I learned it all from you, SWB! And I'm really doing my research. Looking for jobs too.

I go to several states on this forum, and I don't think I've encountered anyone as knowledgeable or helpful as you.

If I'm lucky enough to get us moved to NEPA, I owe you a bottle of good wine.

(Maybe some homemade cookies if you aren't the drinking type.)

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Griffis

Hey, I learned it all from you, SWB! And I'm really doing my research. Looking for jobs too.

I go to several states on this forum, and I don't think I've encountered anyone as knowledgeable or helpful as you.

If I'm lucky enough to get us moved to NEPA, I owe you a bottle of good wine.

(Maybe some homemade cookies if you aren't the drinking type.)

Thanks for the offer! With that said, I'm only 19 (I'll officially be a "twenty-something" on November 2! ), so I'd have to opt for the latter. LOL! This reminds me of just about every time I treat one of my friends to dinner around here and am offered the drink specials, no questions asked! It seems as if people think I'm over 21 not only in person, but now also online as well! Thanks for the compliment; I wish I was a few years older actually so people would stop assuming that I don't know anything because I'm a teenager. I may be young, but I've also spent just about all of my free time the past several years taking daily drives throughout NEPA, striking up conversations with total strangers wherever I end up, and photographing as much as I can! I'm also very interested in statistics; I used to have the U.S. Census Bureau as my homepage! (I know I'm a nerd! ) LOL!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Griffis

I've heard there is some trouble with meth and such in some rural parts of Pennsylvania, but I hardly know where you can go to avoid everything like that completely.

Generally speaking, the Endless Mountains are the worst "rural" havens for meth production, especially Bradford County! I don't remember which one it was, but one national publication did an article on all of the rural meth labs in the Towanda area and how the townspeople are reeling from the negative publicity. Overall, I don't consider a middle-aged bum cooking up some junk in the basement of his mobile home to be that bad (especially when we've had nearly 300 homicides in Philadelphia so far this year!), but there is definitely room for improvement. The meth labs have also begun to seep into both Wyoming and Susquehanna Counties as well, but their presence here is much less notorious (Don't worry "Bamboo!")

The Poconos, overall, aren't meth lab havens; they're just an hour-and-a-half from a direct supply in NYC vs. the Endless Mountains, where rural meth labs are being established to help feed the habits in places such as Elmira, NY, Williamsport, PA, and Binghamton, NY. Nevertheless, you'll find drug abusers and/or suppliers EVERYWHERE in America; I'm sure there's even some pool boys and golf caddies in Greenwich, CT that shoot up from time to time after sleeping with a few "Desperate Housewives!"

If it's any consolation, the rural drug problem doesn't lead to violence in any way; they generally keep to themselves. In NYC/Newark/Camden/Philly, you're more prone to see "turf wars" being waged over spheres of the drug market whereas the Scranton-area druggies are more peaceful. I'm not condoning drug use; I'm just happy that the abusers here are hurting nobody but themselves unlike in many other urbanized areas.

[Griffis]

SWB, age ain't nothin' but a number, bro. I gotta say, though (and I hope this doesn't come off as condescending), you really seem to have it together for someone your age (I'm about double your age.)

If you are a product of a Scranton-area school upbringing, I think that says a lot of good about the educational system up there.

[bamboosmom]

Originally Posted by Griffis

SWB, age ain't nothin' but a number, bro. I gotta say, though (and I hope this doesn't come off as condescending), you really seem to have it together for someone your age (I'm about double your age.)

If you are a product of a Scranton-area school upbringing, I think that says a lot of good about the educational system up there.

Sranton is a great young person!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by bamboosmom

Sranton is a great young person!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Griffis

SWB, age ain't nothin' but a number, bro. I gotta say, though (and I hope this doesn't come off as condescending), you really seem to have it together for someone your age (I'm about double your age.)

If you are a product of a Scranton-area school upbringing, I think that says a lot of good about the educational system up there.

The schools in our area are as good as you want them to be. If a child applies himself/herself, then he/she will turn out to be a great contributor to our community in the future. Our local school districts provide all of the resources needed to obtain a great, quality education; some utilize those resources and succeed after high school while some others let the "jock mentality" get to their heads and end up failing miserably once they enroll in college when they realize that they can't "schooze" their way to an "A" any longer!

Believe it or not, I went to Pittston Area, a school with a pretty horrific reputation. Just to give you some insight onto the quality education I received, take a stab at my class rank. Go ahead! Yep. You guessed it---Not even in the top 10%, yet I can probably outperform many adults in a formal debate! Our teachers were excellent and cared a great deal about us not only as "commitments that have to be fulfilled to earn a paycheck", but also as budding young adults and human beings. When I was going through a suicidal stretch in high school, the support I received from astute, vigilant teachers was phenomenal!

While many locals jeer at Pittston Area (mostly because they're jealous that the teachers net up to $70,000+ salaries before retirement while they probably barely make half that) I think most of our graduates turn out to be successful, morally-upstanding young adults. Was there an overemphasis on high school football? Yes. Did it hurt my educational journey at all? No. In fact, I was thrilled to be the only student in the Fall semester of my Freshman year who could properly cite a paper in MLA format. I truly think anyone could excel at any school (even the "sub-par" ones such as Pittston Area) if they just applied themselves! I have friends who graduated with me who aspire to be marine biologists, chemical researchers, U.S. senators, artists, authors, neurosurgeons, and Christian missionaries. Our local schools are churning out the best and the brightest; that's just sadly being overshadowed by the envious words of the mostly mediocre townspeople who are trying to find a reason to justify slashing the salaries of our teachers so that they don't upstage the rest of the town with their Beemers and Volvos. Believe me, they've earned them!