Scranton is a blue collar town (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: real estate, wedding, buy)

[sues1]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

So can consumers - by supporting their local small business rather than chains like Target, Wal-mart, etc.

(I am just as guilty of this as anyone else)

We all shop at Walmart, it's convenient, cheap and i don't think anyone will give it up

[ConfusingRotary]

I agree with you ScranBarre (why did you change your display name, it was so good!) about people leaving the area. I actually went to school out of state for personal reasons, but I DID come back to work for a local business. When it was time to move on, there were NO other options for me. NEPA has next to nothing for white collar, educated workers. It's really disappointing, because the region is nice, and I love the outdoors. I ended up moving to the Philly burbs, which now allows me the opportunity to work at dozens, if not hundreds, of businesses.

Is it my first choice? No, not really. It's expensive here and the sprawl is a little overwhelming, but I have a wealth of opportunities. At least I'm not stuck in a job I hate with no escape.

As far as the issue with Target, Walmart, etc. That is not going away. People shop at Walmart because it's CHEAP. I'm not saying only blue collar workers shop there, but let's be honest, it makes more sense for a family running on $30k/year to shop there than someone making $100k/year. You're effectively stuck shopping there because you don't make much, yet you're also putting yourself out of work in many cases by supporting cheap labour. That's just how it goes.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by sues1

We all shop at Walmart, it's convenient, cheap and i don't think anyone will give it up

I don't shop at Wal-Mart and shop extremely sparingly at Target. Since moving here I've made a much more concerted effort to patronize independent businesses.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by sues1

We all shop at Walmart, it's convenient, cheap and i don't think anyone will give it up

TBH, I don't shop at Wal-mart but I do shop at Target, though we have seriously curtailed this in the past 2 months or so.

IMO, convenient and cheap aren't great reasons to sell out the local economy, so we have been trying reallllllyyyy hard to stop shopping at chains that step on the little guy.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by marchawg

I agree with you ScranBarre (why did you change your display name, it was so good!) about people leaving the area. I actually went to school out of state for personal reasons, but I DID come back to work for a local business. When it was time to move on, there were NO other options for me. NEPA has next to nothing for white collar, educated workers. It's really disappointing, because the region is nice, and I love the outdoors. I ended up moving to the Philly burbs, which now allows me the opportunity to work at dozens, if not hundreds, of businesses.

Is it my first choice? No, not really. It's expensive here and the sprawl is a little overwhelming, but I have a wealth of opportunities. At least I'm not stuck in a job I hate with no escape.

As far as the issue with Target, Walmart, etc. That is not going away. People shop at Walmart because it's CHEAP. I'm not saying only blue collar workers shop there, but let's be honest, it makes more sense for a family running on $30k/year to shop there than someone making $100k/year. You're effectively stuck shopping there because you don't make much, yet you're also putting yourself out of work in many cases by supporting cheap labour. That's just how it goes.

It's frustrating. I feel terribly because I know of numerous fellow 2009 King's graduates who are still underemployed because they wanted to stay in NEPA. To snag your Bachelor's Degree and to be working as a head cashier at Home Depot or a server at Ruth's Chris making half, if that, of what your peers who left the area make is undoubtedly a humbling experience, but such is the life of many college graduates in NEPA. When I worked at Lowe's I used to be dismayed at how some (not all) customers would put us down because they thought we were uneducated or lacked professional ambition. You'd be surprised how many people were working at Lowe's with Bachelor's Degrees or even Master's Degrees because they needed to pay their bills, but opportunities commensurate with their skill sets were so scarce. The competition is fierce in NEPA for those holding degrees whereas one can be like you or me and move to SEPA or NoVA, respectively, and have hundreds of different employers available should our employment circumstances change.

I just don't see what's going to help this area. This thread obviously shows that the blue-collars in the city can't (or won't) accept that blue-collar industries are dying a gradual death, but they also won't open to the idea of diversifying the economy more the way cities like Pittsburgh have just begun to. If Scranton can't retain blue-collar jobs OR attract white-collar jobs, then it is destined for collapse.

[DarkWolf]

We need more Train Manufacturing plants in the Northeast. Scranton should ask one of larger companies to consider building a few plants in the Wyoming Valley Area. That would really bring in alot of Blue-Collar jobs and since the Trains are in such demand it will be for a few decades. Also a Streetcar / Light Rail Manufacturing plant is needed , there is only one in the US / Canada now and demand is out pacing capacity. So we have to have them made in the Czech Republic or some Asian country.

But if one or 2 were built in Scranton or somewhere in the region that would all but eliminate the In't Manufacturing need and just like the regular Trains , LRT / Streetcars are in high demand. Scranton can reinvent itself as Transit / Rail Manufacturing city. Don't like Big Box stores take over your city in-till its fully cleaned up and more investments start coming in. Because that will kill the Majority i small Businesses and some town cores ive seen it near my Ant's house in SE PA. Curse's at Wal Mart

Use other cities in the Region for Examples like Newark , which has cracked down on crime and has reinvested in its City Business / Retail areas. And focused on Family values. Thanks mostly to the Mayor and more united city. Other cities like Chicago and New Orleans have asked for help form Newark on Crime Crackdown tactics. The Mayor has also focused on weeding out corruption. Something Scranton can learn form. Gentrification is even happening in some parts , i don't think Scranton really had a White / Black flight issue. I do believe in your city its on my list on cities that i think will turn around and becoming thriving again. A Reinvented Blue-Collar city.

[sues1]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

TBH, I don't shop at Wal-mart but I do shop at Target, though we have seriously curtailed this in the past 2 months or so.

IMO, convenient and cheap aren't great reasons to sell out the local economy, so we have been trying reallllllyyyy hard to stop shopping at chains that step on the little guy.

There aren't many places around here to go get everything you need, i'd be running around all day. I think Walmart is very convenient and i'm not taking the blame for jobs going overseas because we shop at Walmart. Walmart even has prescriptions for $4.00, that cost alot more anywhere else, i think that's convenient.

[NEPAbuzzdotcom]

Originally Posted by sues1

There aren't many places around here to go get everything you need, i'd be running around all day. I think Walmart is very convenient and i'm not taking the blame for jobs going overseas because we shop at Walmart. Walmart even has prescriptions for $4.00, that cost alot more anywhere else, i think that's convenient.

And that is how nearly all walmart shoppers think. Walmart has built a business that will be nearly impossible to beat. If you offer everything cheap, people will follow. This applies everywhere, but ESPECIALLY NEPA.
It's rare to find people who are willing to pay extra and make a few more stops in an effort to support the local community.

[sues1]

Originally Posted by NEPAbuzzdotcom

And that is how nearly all walmart shoppers think. Walmart has built a business that will be nearly impossible to beat. If you offer everything cheap, people will follow. This applies everywhere, but ESPECIALLY NEPA.
It's rare to find people who are willing to pay extra and make a few more stops in an effort to support the local community.

I might do that if that if it was convenient, but it's not and there isn't a whole lot around here to get everything you need. There are no deli's to go to, no bakeries for bread, i've tried the bakery in Scranton, and it sucks, i can't think of the name of it now. I go to Rite-Aide for my prescriptions, they are convenient as well and very nice and helpful. About the only thing i really don't buy at Wal-mart for myself is clothes other than socks and things of that nature. I just don't see a whole lot of mom and pop stores in the area. I don't buy meat at Walmart and i do try to get produce at stands in the summer, they don't even have many of those around here.

[PITTSTON2SARASOTA]

Originally Posted by sues1

We all shop at Walmart, it's convenient, cheap and i don't think anyone will give it up

I never shopped at Walmart......try again. I also walk/ride a bicycle and/or take a bus to work. Each of us can change "things" in their own small way, rather than complaining constantly..

It is the "attitude" of Scrantonians....IMHO....that holds the area back. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has a dearth of Universities, cultural and natural amenities, dedicated "blue-collar" work force, etc.....just like Allentown/Bethelem....yet that area is booming! They are embracing change.....that is the KEY to the area's success.....not shunning change and new ideas. .