Honesdale , PA (Scranton, Kingston, Clarks Summit: sales, Home Depot, theatre)

[Pensypat]

You are correct on that one Paul. We used to crawl to Dickson City to go to the mall. Now we just hop on the highway and zip in. It's much faster and much more convenient. I also agree that I would like to shop in more than just Wal-Mart stores. My personal concern is that I cannot find anything made in the USA in Wal-Mart. That's just a pet peeve of mine though. I do shop there because of the convenience and low prices....but I also look for stores with USA products. (and they are hard to find!) Sigh :-(

[bethiej29]

hey I read your post
I just became a member.... anyway, we live in Honesdale - it's a very nice town and the schools in the Honesdale, Lake Wallenpaupack and Lake Ariel area are supposed to be among the best in the northeastern region of PA. Contractors should have no trouble finding jobs around here - my husband does a little contracting on the side and finds himself working a lot in the Hawley area... People from New York and New Jersey often are looking to build, remodel.... summer homes in this area. Nursing also is not a problem - my sister in law is in that field - there is a hospital right in Honesdale (in fact, we live about 2 blocks from it) and travel to hospitals in Scranton (pay might be better...-and there are 3 to choose from) is only 1/2 an hour away. wildlife issues - we don't see a lot of deer or bear in Honesdale - though if you go on a drive out past Bethany area - Damascus... you can easily see them in the woods... (probably if you've been visiting the Hideout for a few years you've seen a lot of them - they tend to congregate there for some reason...) anyway, if you have any other questions about Honesdale, I can try to answer them - we have 3 boys (young ages) as well and actually, we're looking to move down south in the next 2-3 years so... anyway
good luck!

[newjerseybt]

Originally Posted by Pensypat

You are correct on that one Paul. We used to crawl to Dickson City to go to the mall. Now we just hop on the highway and zip in. It's much faster and much more convenient. I also agree that I would like to shop in more than just Wal-Mart stores. My personal concern is that I cannot find anything made in the USA in Wal-Mart. That's just a pet peeve of mine though. I do shop there because of the convenience and low prices....but I also look for stores with USA products. (and they are hard to find!) Sigh :-(

The only product I found in Walmart that was Made in USA was a Kitchen Aid mixer. They also have a limited bakery. Nothing tastes homemade and the mass produced baked goods have plenty of preservatives in them that I can't seem to digest.

Walmart is just about all Chinese. China has recently surpassed the US as an export nation. Some conservative economists such as Larry Kudlow feel that China must be part of the mix in a global market economy. You can debate whether free trade will eventually result in a free China but what is not subject to debate is the fact that we are supporting communism. I doubt whether the money that is funneling into China is going to it's hard working citizens but rather to it's military and other branches of it's communist government that support oppression.

I don't think the Casey highway is that bad for Honesdale. What would be worse is a commuter train to NYC. I came to Honesdale to get away from the congested nightmare I was living in. There is plenty enough development in Honesdale IMO. I can accept the heavy tourist traffic as I think the town's economy would be weakened without it. I believe that Walmart, HomeDepot and Lowe's are using a corporate crystal ball. They envision a large increase in population starting in the next 3 years when the babyboomers begin to retire.

It is up to the city to resist the temptation of higher rateables. Honesdale in my opinion does not bring in a ton of tax money and when unexpected expenses come up such as damage from storms, things like paving dirt roads are put off. This makes the city use some self control and self control means reasonable taxes. My Brother-in-Law is a tax assessor in West Milford, NJ. One year he scrounged up an additional $30,000,000 in rateables. Rather than reduce taxes, it gave the city government an excuse to spend that money like drunken sailors. The more projects you generate, the more chance of kickbacks. It gets too hard to follow the money.

[rwk]

Originally Posted by Pensypat

Sorry, but there isn't one.

Yes there is, Port Jervis, NY on Metro-North/NJ Transit. A ride to NY will require a transfer at the junction station with the Amtrak line between Newark/NY. Depending on where you're at, you can take Rt. 6 or I-84 to get to Port Jervis. I was just there last week traveling and saw the trains. There IS a train at Honesdale, but it's strictly a tourist train and only goes as far as Lackawaxen and does not in any way connect with the train at Port Jervis although a freight line goes through Lackawaxen toward Port Jervis which the shortline connects to at Lackawaxen. This line is essentially the same route continuing from Port Jervis, crossing into PA and going toward Binghamton, NY. Commuter rail from Hoboken ends at Port Jervis. The line from Port Jervis to Binghamton is freight only.

[I LOVE PA!]

rwk,
I think Pennsypat was answering the question honestly.
The poster wanted to know where the nearest station was to commute to NYC. Driving to Port Jervis to pick up a train, and then yet another train is hardly a feasable way to travel to a job in NYC on a daily basis.

[MichaelMarinelli]

Originally Posted by PANIC

i've searching for a place to move in the past 2 years , my choices are Shallote ,NC , Spring Hill ,FLA Honesdale PA. i'm a general contractor and my wife a R/N so finding work shouldn't be a problem . i have 2 boys ( 9 mos. and 2 1/2 yrs ) so schooling is very important in the near future. i have been coming to The Hideout , Lake Ariel for the past 13 yrs and know something about the Pocono section . some of my questions are about the schools , weather (compared to LI ,NY) taxes , crime rates , wildlife issues (bear , deer ) any general info about this town would be helpful

If you're going to move to NEPA, I think I'd rather the Wallenpaupack Area School District. From what I understand it's the best rated school district around here.

Weather compared to LI is about the same. Figure during the summer months 5-7 degrees cooler except during those nasty heat spells where the temps get to be about the same. Winter time, well...it's the mountains....10-15 degrees COLDER!

Crime rates around here aren't much to be concerned with.

Wildlife issues...well it's the country, so there's plenty of it. They all seem to like to cross the road infront of my vehicle too. Thank god for my quick reflexes. I have yet to see a bear, but I've heard if you live in a wooded area, they are there.

Considering yours and your wifes professions, I think you'll do alright here in NEPA. There's always plenty of building and contracting work. I used to do framing work, but my back said..no no, that's enough of that. RN's seem to be compensated nicely in this area, at least that's the impression that I get.

[azurskye]

If you happen to live in Northern Wayne County, as did I growing up, you can actually get an option to go to school in Hancock, NY, which for that area is much closer than Wayne Highlands and is a NYS school, so it has the Regents program. While much smaller than Wayne Highlands, I'd say the quality of the education is excellent for its size, as many of the teachers are wonderful. To get an idea of where you'd have to live to be able to do that, I'd say near or north of Equinunk. The elementary/middle school for that area is Preston, as a reference. Northern Wayne is a little more backwoods than Honesdale though, so keep that in mind.

I for one disdain that awful monstrosity of box stores along Rt. 6 on the south end of Honesdale. I remember 10 years ago traffic used to back up almost all the way to the downtown sometimes; I can only imagine it's gotten worse since then. There was a cool mini golf/batting cages/go kart place in Beach Lake that I remember going to as a kid though. Downtown Honesdale has a pretty nice main street, though I think Clarks Green is nicer albeit smaller.

Elk Mountain, which was mentioned here, does have some fine skiing, often rated best in the state bar-none. I actually was an instructor there for several years, and IMO they have the best Ski School in the state; very professional. A lot of people complain that there are no on-slope hotels, and as a youth I used to agree, but looking at it now makes me realize how much of a gem Elk really is. The owner is very anti-growth, and wants the atmosphere a pure skiing experience. Albeit the nightlife is a bit limited, but there are some interesting places not far away (i.e., Chet's - ask any local at the mountain and they'll point you in its general direction).

Other than that, best of luck in making your choice!

[NYRangers 2008]

That place azurskye speaks of with the mini-golf and go-karts is Carousel Water and Fun Park on RT.652 in Beach Lake. I used to go there a lot too when I was younger. A nice little place to take the family for a day out.

As for Honesdale the traffic is crazy for a little town. Coming in from the north (RT.6) it takes almost 5-10 minutes to get through town on Main Street sometimes. And when the Wayne County Fair is there, which will be in a few weeks, it gets crazier. The additions of the big box stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot in the last 10 years, hasn't helped the traffic problems there either. But, I guess that's the price of progress in small town America.

[azurskye]

Originally Posted by NYRangers 2008

And when the Wayne County Fair is there, which will be in a few weeks, it gets crazier.

Gosh I forgot about that! Yes, do not try driving on PA-191 in Honesdale when the Fair is going on, unless you enjoy sitting in sweltering heat through mobs of cars. Unless you are going to the fair of course, in which case I suggest getting there early

[newjerseybt]

Originally Posted by azurskye

Gosh I forgot about that! Yes, do not try driving on PA-191 in Honesdale when the Fair is going on, unless you enjoy sitting in sweltering heat through mobs of cars. Unless you are going to the fair of course, in which case I suggest getting there early

If you have local knowledge, there are ways around the Route 6 and 191 Fair traffic. Most of the year, traffic is not that bad. I relocated from NJ so it depends what your perception of "heavy traffic" is.

There is a back road (Bucks Cove Road) running North almost parallel to Route 6 running from White Mills to Honesdale. You would be lucky to find another car in front of you. You might want to have 4 wheel drive in spots though.

As for the tourist traffic, it is the lifeline of our little postcard city. I like the sound and smell of traffic on Route 6 during a summer morning...it smells like prosperity!