Moved? Moving? Considering it?

[PeterPaul]

I know some members of CF have moved around a lot. I am curious because I've been considering moving for some time. Would you share your story? Why did you move? Is it better where you live now? How is the Catholic community where you are versus where you were?

I don't know why, but I am attracted to Scranton, PA. Anyone from there?

If you could share your story I would be much obliged.

PP

(and please give us the name of the town if possible, unless you really don't want to share it.)

 

[NDIrish]

Scranton is the armpit of the US.

 

[PeterPaul]

Is that a bad thing? (I'm an immigrant remember)

 

[NDIrish]

BTW, I've been from NJ, to NY, to Indiana, to Detroit, and now in Nashville.

 

[NDIrish]

Is that a bad thing? (I'm an immigrant remember)

Yeah, it's not a great thing...

 

[PeterPaul]

Could you elaborate? Is it boring? Maybe there is no work there. The people stink...etc etc.

 

[Michelina]

Wilkes-Barre, just south of Scranton, is a great community. There are some very good schools in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area. NE PA is quite beautiful.

 

[PeterPaul]

I appreciate it Michelina. As I've said in the past, LI, NY is getting way too expensive.

 

[PeterPaul]

Maybe Nyj can tell us a little about OKC. And Aaron can about Texas and the D.C. area.

 

[Michelina]

The economy is improving in the area, PP. Wilkes-Barre is developing nicely. I-81 runs right thru the area and the Penn Tpk and other good roads service it. It has a good airport (intntl).

 

[ps139]

I heard a funny story about Scranton from some of my friends who lived there - this winter they ran out of sand/salt to fix the roads after it snowed, so they crushed up beer bottles and "broken glassed" the roads!! Not big enough shards to give you a flat, but its still funny

 

[PeterPaul]

Lol!

 

[PeterPaul]

It doesn't have to be the Scranton area. If anyone knows any nice, safe, city with work and a great Catholic "community" the advice would be helpful!

 

[bigsierra]

Come to Kansas City. It has low cost of living and is a decent city. If you hurry, you can make it before our next get together

 

[Veritas]

I'm moving Monday! Actually, I moved almost exactly a year ago into this very nice Apt. community called Adirondack Lodge. It's in Northwestern US which is odd because the Adirondack's are in the Northeast. Anyway, I thought I was getting a SW corner unit and it turned out to be a NW corner unit. I discovered that I got too little sun in the winter. My previous home had a lot of Southern exposure and I loved it. So...when they started building the new phase I reserved a SW corner unit there and am moving this week! I hate moving, but since I did it a year ago and had already cleaned out stuff (11 years worth!), I figured I could do it again. Because I love to garden, I plan to stay here for a year or 2 than find a house that's got a nice yard.

 

[bigsierra]

Praying that it goes easy, Veritas. I hate moving.

 

[ufonium2]

I hear St. Louis has a low cost of living, if you actually live in the city.

Memphis is a hole. I don't know if it was on your list, but scratch it off regardless.

Knoxville is nice.

Kentucky is also nice, but the Catholic scene may be a little dull.

I've lived in like 8 different cities, all in the South. Cost of living is generally much more reasonable here, but you're not going to find the ethnic enclaves and communities that you might find elsewhere. We're pretty much generic "white" or "black" (we know what continent our ancestors were from, because of skin tone, but beyond that we probably can't get specific) and we tend to emphasize our Southern culture over the cultures of our ancestors.

I think a lot of Catholics from the north are scared of the overwhelming Evangelical presence down here. But, from my experience it's better to be around Evangelicals than atheists. There's suprisingly little anti-Catholicism, and virtually zero anti-Christianity here. It's the main advantage to living in the "Bible belt."

 

[BrianV]

No no no, you don't want to go to eastern Pennsylvania. Come over to the western part of the state and live in Johnstown. Things aren't the greatest right now, but we're rebounding, so you can get in on the ground floor.

Low crime rates, low cost of living, beautiful scenery, friendly people, and--even though we aren't in the same league--our hockey team is better than the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hockey team. Lots of other activities to enjoy as well.

Plus, we've got some beautiful Catholic (and non-Catholic) churches in town. In one section of town, there's 5 Catholic Churches in 8 blocks, plus a Greek Orthodox and Byzantine.

And on top of that, Johnstown was built by immigrant back when the steel mills and coal mines were in full swing, so we're full of ethnic heritage.

Johnstown, Pennsylvania: The Friendly City.

P.S. I hope you like snow and lots of it!

 

[MattMMMan17]

Southern California a few miles inland, away from the smog of LA. I'll even give you a tour

 

[Ann M]

Brisbane Australia is nice this time of year. Located between the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. No such thing as snow. 6 deg Celsius is a cold night, can get up to 25 deg cel throughout the day here in the middle of winter!! Beautiful blue skies, grass is brown though, bit of a drought going on hmmm....