NEPA area questions! (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport: transplants, health insurance, home)

[TootsieWootsie]

Okay, I am VERY interested in this part of the country; but have read on this board some pretty negatives comments about the attitudes of the men in NEPA. Are they good old boys there?
Houston is my only reference point, and there really is a good old boy system silently in place there--despite all these dreamers squeeling with delight over how "friendly" Houston is. Wait until some of those career women "lose their place" and see just how delightful those good old boys will be to them...they will lose their little fantasy about how friendly they are pretty quick, I will bet. They can get mighty mean there.
So, NEPA is mostly old coal miner country and there is a good old boy system strongly entrenched there, yes?
Scranton appears to be the big city there, and how bad is the attitude there towards businesswomen?
Do they have any women in NEPA that are in political office there?
Also, does anyone have any statistics on projected growth in the Scranton area and surroundings?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by TootsieWootsie

Okay, I am VERY interested in this part of the country; but have read on this board some pretty negatives comments about the attitudes of the men in NEPA. Are they good old boys there?
Houston is my only reference point, and there really is a good old boy system silently in place there--despite all these dreamers squeeling with delight over how "friendly" Houston is. Wait until some of those career women "lose their place" and see just how delightful those good old boys will be to them...they will lose their little fantasy about how friendly they are pretty quick, I will bet. They can get mighty mean there.
So, NEPA is mostly old coal miner country and there is a good old boy system strongly entrenched there, yes?
Scranton appears to be the big city there, and how bad is the attitude there towards businesswomen?
Do they have any women in NEPA that are in political office there?
Also, does anyone have any statistics on projected growth in the Scranton area and surroundings?

Political corruption runs rampant in essentially all corners of the country anymore---PA's elected officials look like Eagle Scouts in comparison to the vitriol that NY/NJ residents spew out about their elected officials on their state forums! Politically, the biggest complaint around here is family nepotism, especially on local school boards. Otherwise, I find most of our local politicians to be doing an adequate job; I even greatly admire Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty for what he's done to enhance the quality-of-life in his city in such a brief period of time. I don't really understand too well the scenario you gave about Houston, but if your main concern is equal treatment of genders in the workplace, then you don't need to have any worries in our area; the woman who runs the local chapter of Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance even lives in a nearly-seven-figure home in the Scranton 'burbs. Around here, your gender isn't a barrier to economic opportunity, if that's what you meant. Also, there are a growing number of female entrepreneurs in the city itself---one just opened a gourmet dog bakery called Poochie and another recently opened a NYC-style fashion boutique called New Laundry in addition the female-owned Lavish skin-care products next-door. Women aren't "held back" at all around here, contrary to many opinions. As a future business-owner myself in the city, I'll be looking for the best candidates to employ at my firm. Issues such as gender, religion, physical disability, sexual orientation, etc. won't even be taken into consideration as a barrier in my decision, as employers who do discriminate are potentially turning away great employees.

As far as political office is concerned, there admittedly aren't many around here, but that's just due to a lack of ambition on the behalf of local women, as I rarely see any females on the ballots. We have Phyllis Mundy, who is the state representative for much of Luzerne County and Mary Wolf is the mayor of the city of Williamsport. The borough secretary/treasurer in Dupont is a woman. Scranton's city council is dominated by women, and Janet Evans is especially notorious for being the city's most vocal, active critic of Mayor Doherty. Women around here could make a difference and excel in politics if they'd only consider running more frequently.

Finally, while I don't have any concrete evidence or census trends for the area, I predict personally that while the city of Scranton and the counties of Lackawanna and Luzerne have been shedding population quickly in the past few decades due to slow job growth and a lack of white-collar opportunity in the past, our future is getting brighter. I think that between the 2000 and 2010 Censuses, our population still will have declined, but by a much lower rate than what it has been, as I'm starting to see more and more out-of-staters from NY/NJ buying up property in the property transfers in local newspapers. Also, as Monroe County, which is now NYC's outermost bedroom community, continues to "fill up" with development, the next logical targets for residential growth are Pike County (which is already the fastest-growing county in the state), and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. I've already had inquiries about the North Pocono School District in Lackawanna County, about 20 minutes south of Scranton, from new transplants. As such, I think that between 2010 and 2020, our population is going to start growing again, especially if "Wall Street West" and the commuter rail line to NYC become as big of a reality as they're projected to.

[TootsieWootsie]

Thank you for your response.
I have tried to find some information about projected dates of the rail system, but cannot find anything on the net. Do you know where I could get that or if anything is available?

[tanersmom]

Hi,
I just read you blog about Scranton. I have lived in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area my entire life! I was born and raised here. Granted, that makes me have no point of reference, but I feel that this area is BORING!

Men here can tend to be a bit snobby, but I don't know if that is just PA or everywhere. There are also ALOT of really sweet men that I have been in contact with. For the most part, we have pretty "good boys" out here.

There is not much of a "middle class."

It can snow (on and off) for up to 6 months out of the year! So if this area is what you want, get good snow tires lol.

Now for all the good STUFF! The area has been on the rise! Higher education is absolutely superb! The Yankees farm team is here, if you like baseball. The area is just beautiful. My favorite time of year is the fall. All of the leaves change and it looks beautiful. The best part is that we are not too far from Philly or NYC.

If you find out anything about the rail system, you'd be lucky. We have no idea when it is coming. But rumor has it, we will be getting a new one with daily commutes to NYC, etc. If they come out with a date of when the rail system will be in, people will start fighting to buy properties and mostly businesses close to the station before its release. I am just speculating with that one.

[beesee8]

Originally Posted by TootsieWootsie

Okay, I am VERY interested in this part of the country; but have read on this board some pretty negatives comments about the attitudes of the men in NEPA. Are they good old boys there?
Houston is my only reference point, and there really is a good old boy system silently in place there--despite all these dreamers squeeling with delight over how "friendly" Houston is. Wait until some of those career women "lose their place" and see just how delightful those good old boys will be to them...they will lose their little fantasy about how friendly they are pretty quick, I will bet. They can get mighty mean there.
So, NEPA is mostly old coal miner country and there is a good old boy system strongly entrenched there, yes?
Scranton appears to be the big city there, and how bad is the attitude there towards businesswomen?
Do they have any women in NEPA that are in political office there?
Also, does anyone have any statistics on projected growth in the Scranton area and surroundings?

Howdy maam, I grew up as a farm boy in this neck of the woods. It isn,t the hicksville people paint the picture of. Just simple down home people who love the simple way of life. It,s the only place left where people wave to you as they go by. A place where you can live off the land by cutting your own firewood and growing and shooting your food. Where the almighty dollar is just green paper and where a person,s word is written in stone. Where a person wipes their own ass and don,t follow fads like holding your pants up with one hand while beboppin down the road. I guess it ain,t what your average person considers living, but it,s honest and your heart feels good and you can sleep good when you go to bed. Yep It ain,t for everybody but I reckon We ain,t either. But there ain,t a better breed of man anywhere else. Thats a fact.

[sandylw]

I don't know about the Scranton area, but I have lived in Pennsylvania all my life. Anything you want to do in PA is political. If you want a that has absolutlely any hope of earning you a decent living and potential to succeed, you probably need to know someone. However, that is probably true of anywhere you go. Now, if you have a skill that is in need, you're o.k. People here are generally very nice. I have always found it to be a friendly place as compared to other places. People help each other. Neighbors in my area still welcome new neighbors with baked goods and dinners. When someone dies,food is almost on your doorstep. It is wonderful for families. I can't say enough. Even so-called "bad places" have good qualities.