hazelton or johnstown which is better/worse in your opinion?

[Clark Park]

Originally Posted by firehaz1

Looking to move to Hazleton from Philly. What is it like?

While I am interested in the history of anthracite coal mining in northeastern PA, I find Hazleton depressing.

Some towns in the region are charming like Jim Thorpe and Clark's Summit. Other larger towns such as Scranton and Wilkes Barre have more than their share of problems, but they do have some notably good restaurants, shopping and even some interesting attractions. The scenery surrounding the area is lovely.

I wish I could say the same for Hazleton. When I was last there a year ago it seemed that half the businesses on the main street were closed and empty. A local resident complained about the city government being broke and unable to cope with the growing immigrant community. I'm told there is even gang violence.

I actually nominated Hazleton in a thread called "What Is The WORST city in Pennsylvania."

[CHIP72]

Originally Posted by firehaz1

Looking to move to Hazleton from Philly. What is it like?

Not particularly good. If you are moving to that part of Pennsylvania I would recommend Jim Thorpe or Lehighton (15 and 20 miles SE), Bloomsburg (about 30 miles west), or Wilkes-Barre (about 25 miles north and considerably larger). Hazleton is a town that is a mix of older, white people and younger Latino people (the latter group moved in from the NYC area in the 2000s), most of whom are not particularly well-off. It has never fully recovered from the decline of the anthracite coal industry in the 1950s. It is a little too far away from New York to benefit from that metropolis' economic engine (excluding some degree of distribution-related development), unlike say the Lehigh Valley or the Stroudsburg/East Stroudsburg area.