Mahanoy City, PA (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, York: appointed, real estate, apartment)

[AnthonyS14]

Hi,

Does anyone here live in, or near, Mahanoy City? I am curious about this town. I live in New York, and I am thinking of picking up property there.

thanks
Anthony

[sleeplessinpa]

I do not live real near(maybe an hour or so).

It is an Old Coal Town with homes going cheap. Every few months one of the row homes burns down. Many times it is done on purpose.

People are older and there are FEW jobs.

Investment wise- you will not make money and probably loose money there. People are Very Very Poor! They still have working coal mines there.

When I drive through that area I cringe- buildings are falling apart on the main street and there is not much in shopping.

Just an ugly town.

[Kathydd]

Hello,
I am familiar with that area as my Mom grew up the next town over. Shenandoah, PA.
In the peak of the mining days it was quite a nice area. Unfortunately it has gone down hill over the yrs as there is not much to keep anyone there except for the cheap housing.
In my opinion it would not be a good investment unless you are into revitalizing the town.
Good Luck, Kathy

[SteelCityRising]

I agree with the other two replies. Much of Schuylkill County is very economically-depressed, and many of the residents are impoverished, depending on the government to help feed and clothe themselves and their families. Shenandoah, Mahanoy City, Frackville, Pottsville, McAdoo, St. Clair, Schuylkill Haven, and Tamaqua all come to mind as old mining towns with abandoned downtowns and crumbling row homes adorning every block. NOBODY is migrating "into" these communities from out-of-state, so if you were planning on investing and/or flipping properties here on account of the inexpensive real estate, then you'll probably be disappointed in the potential here. For the most part, many of the teenagers leave Schuylkill County for college and never return. The elderly, most of whom never planned for their retirements, live frugally and miserably off of their meager social security checks. Alcoholism, drug abuse, and domestic violence run rampant here, and educational attainment and high-culture opportunities are both ABYSMAL, as most residents see no value in obtaining a college degree to work at Wal-Mart or in a coal mine.

If you were looking to invest in an area of Northeastern Pennsylvania, consider the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. For many decades our population was plummeting and all hope seemed to be lost. However, in the past 5-10 years real estate has been BOOMING here as more and more people from NY/NJ have gained an interest in purchasing primary residences in PA and commuting daily to work in NY/NJ via I-80 or mass transit. Here in the Pittston area, new, upscale housing developments seem to be springing up every month or two, bringing with them dozens of new homes. I've noticed that about HALF of the lots sold in these subdivisions are to people from outside of the area as well when I look them up in the online property transfers. If people are becoming interested now in PA McMansions, then it won't take long for them to consider buying properties that others have flipped (allowing the "flipper" to laugh all the way to the bank).

I know you NY/NJ people think you're "better than Scranton", but our area's really been on an upswing in the past 5-10 years, and it seems as if the real estate explosion that hit the Poconos in the 1980s and 1990s is finally creeping right up along I-380 into the Scranton area as well.

[sleeplessinpa]

Scranton- is right on all accounts.

I lived in Schuykill County as a child and was in a Disfunctional Family. Bars are abundant as are Churches- I guess the drunks needed to repent for all the garbage they caused . I saw many a times my father beat my mother and when we got older and tried to stand up to him he would do the same to us.

(Not a wonderful life for a young girl).

I had dreams of getting away from that Hell Hole. Neither of my parents believed in College- They felt we could get a job without it . They also never went any wherer in their life or had any money. They died Poorer than Poor.

I live in the Poconos now and put myself through college as an Adult. I would never go back to a place that is filled with violence and lack of respect for women or children let alone no Culture.

The men and women of that area(and most coal towns-even some here in the Jim Thorpe area-but not as bad) have one of the poorest manners, are poorly educated and lack any kind of grooming.

Think Planes ,Trains and Automobiles at the part where Steve Martin and John Candy get a ride from the hotel owners son. The Guy and the Women there are pretty typical of the Coal Region people. And how that guy treated his wife in the movie- well - that is in Reality how women are treated there.

[carmover]

Read through the e-mails on this page and I just bought two houses on one property in Frackville, PA. It is only 5 miles away and a nice area. To give you the specifics I bought a 3 bedroom detached with a full attic to refinish on a full lot built around 1900. also included was a 4 car garage with a 2 bedroom apartment above it built in the 80's. Both were move in condition but need paint, carpet, etc. I picked them both up for 100k. You can find properties in Mahanoy City for under 20k and I have seen them refinished and sold for in the 60-70k. Simple fact is that most of the properties in Mahanoy City are renters and many are prisoners families. School system sucks, lots of poor people but an abundance of properties. If I were you I would look to spend a little more and buy a couple of houses such as a double or similar to what I have. There are fun things to do here like ride 4 wheelers and such. I just closed so I don't know much about crime but my neighbors in Frackville are very nice older people and there are some properties on my block that people from New Jersey own. It is a nice quiet town. My wifes parents live in Mahanoy City and they stay there because there house is paid for and they own both sides of a double and have done extensive work over the years. I would just come out and look around at properties. Let me know if you need any help. by the way I grew up in OK so the property prices in some of the areas here were outlandish to me. I could afford a $250k house but think it is stupid to pay that in any neighborhood because the taxes never go away even when it is paid for.

Kevin

[WasPA]

Nearby Shenandoah was, however, the birthplace of the famous Dorsey brothers, Tommy & Jimmy, of the 'big band' era. They often played in the bandshells of local amusement parks such as Lakewood and Lakeside, both now in ruins.....the area has lots of history, despite of the lingering coal era
atmosphere......

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by WasPA

Nearby Shenandoah was, however, the birthplace of the famous Dorsey brothers, Tommy & Jimmy, of the 'big band' era. They often played in the bandshells of local amusement parks such as Lakewood and Lakeside, both now in ruins.....the area has lots of history, despite of the lingering coal era
atmosphere......

I think we'll eventually see much of small-town Schuylkill County's "charm" return to it before too long. Think back to the mid-1990s; people had the same impression of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area as they do of Schuylkill County today. Now, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has been rebounding very nicely since 2000; people no longer think of the two cities as being "hopeless." I predict Schuylkill County is simply long overdue for growth and success. My one main gripe with the county is that the housing stock is largely-outdated. There are so many crumbling rowhomes in many of these former mining towns that families today with larger families need to move out-of-town entirely to either build a new home with acreage or find an existing one with more elbow room, leaving mostly elderly and/or low-income residents behind in these rowhomes. There's also been a trend recently of these rowhomes burning to the ground left and right; I seem to see a story on WNEP-TV news every other week about a few rowhomes smoldering in Pottsville, Mahanoy City, Shenandoah, etc.; be sure to install firewalls should you invest in some of these rowhomes (also be leery of those currently with firewalls as most of the attics are common and can spread a fire just as easily amongst adjoining homes).

I currently am not too impressed by the "gloom and doom" mentality down in Schuylkill County, but nationwide we're seeing a push to revitalize the "Rust-Belt" little by little, city by city. Pottsville and its surrounding smaller towns will bounce back again someday; that day just won't be in the next several years.

[Trainman]

Originally Posted by AnthonyS14

Hi,

Does anyone here live in, or near, Mahanoy City? I am curious about this town. I live in New York, and I am thinking of picking up property there.

thanks
Anthony

Mahanoy City is a small quiet town with no work. Its heyday is over with the demise of the coal industry. If you are an upstanding citizen that would take pride in your property and the town, by all means come. If you are going to be an absentee landlord that rents to only gov subsidized housing, PLEASE STAY OUT!!! enough of those kinds have ruined this town. Trash have ruined this town where I grew up and love because of those types of landlords.

And to those snobs who have criticized this town terribly, HOW DARE YOU!!

Our teachers in this town are second to none, this is NOT a miserable town, you must be a miserablr person!!!

There are still upstanding citizens here who have nice houses and take pride in the town. Its the people who bought up the cheap housing only to rent or sell to trash that have given this town the problems it has.

If more people would buy the housing( by the way the homes are for the most part from the 1860's ) fix it up and live in he community, it would be once again the beautiful town it once was.

[Trainman]

Originally Posted by sleeplessinpa

I do not live real near(maybe an hour or so).

It is an Old Coal Town with homes going cheap. Every few months one of the row homes burns down. Many times it is done on purpose.

People are older and there are FEW jobs.

Investment wise- you will not make money and probably loose money there. People are Very Very Poor! They still have working coal mines there.

When I drive through that area I cringe- buildings are falling apart on the main street and there is not much in shopping.

Just an ugly town.

How dare you call this an ugly town!!!!! Sure, it is passed its heyday, the town boomed with coal. Now, it is old and needs citizens to respect it. Absentee landlords are the BIG problem with this town now. There is no work and no there are NO coal mines still operating here. If there were the town would have jobs.

Our school system is second to none, scholarships are given yearly. No where in the country will you find friendlier people than in the coal regions. Only city snobs turn heir nose up at small towns. Does everyone in your town that you pass on the street say hello to you even if they are complete strangers??? I bet not. They do in the coal region. This town only recently has people like some city people that are slobs. We are hoping more good people will buy property and relocate here. With your remarks and attitude, I hope you stay away!!!