Really?

Well, my first 4.5 months in NePA have come to an end...

It has been, well, interesting.

Coming from many years in Chicago and then on to Connecticut I can say in all certainty that NePA is from another time, still! We settled in Carbondale which is definitely caught somewhere circa 1981. Yeah, a bit scary. The best way I can describe it is that old movie Children of the Corn. You get in, but can you get out. If the current residents are indicative I would hazard a guess of "no"! Everyone is pleasant enough, but there seems to be a "look" in their eyes. I am avoiding drinking the water just in case...

Dining in Carbondale has been an experience, and one I would rather not repeat in the near future. So, dining out means I have to trek down to Dickson City where fine dining options include the OG... Olive Garden. Yeah, it's all chain food, but at least you know what to expect...

The IMAX theatre in Dickson City is great, and as soon as I pay off my credit card from the first time I was there (yeah... not cheap and I went to a matinee) I might take out a loan and go again...

Haven't made it down to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, but have been many times to the original and I just can't imagine that the smaller imitation can compare. I also have this sort of gut check about lining the coffers of any Indian tribe from Connecticut while their cousins have wrongfully been shut out of the game...

I rented (with the option to buy) a lovely (in the pictures) house in Carbondale. It's hard to rent with the dogs and all I really had to go on was the pictures and the realtor. Admittedly, it was the middle of winter (one of the worst in CT history) and I didn't have a lot of options and Carbondale has no numeric limits on pets so I was thrilled I got this huge old Victorian pretty cheap... remember, I was paying CT living expenses. There is a difference. I truly do enjoy the layout, but there happens to be a natural spring in the double lot backyard. So even after 10 days of no rain if you step on the grass you sink to your ankle, so the dogs get the patio to potty, which has to be scrubbed daily. All of that water in the yard ends up in the basement which is waterproof… that is water seeps in, but doesn't seep out. That makes for a lovely smell of rot, death, mold and mildew.... Then there is the fact that 120 year old windows aren't very energy efficient which makes it difficult to heat 3500 square feet. And when it is 95 degrees outside you really hate the person who painted the windows shut! Yeah, those windows, it would cost me $30,000+ to replace them if I bought this place.

"What's that Mr. Owner? You know the windows suck, the yard is a cesspool that turns the basement into a literal cesspool and that the whole exterior needs to be painted and that you didn't even touch the upstairs or the 1950s kitchen, but you still want to make $20000 on a house you paid too much for 7 years ago in Carbondale?"
"Yeah, Mr. Owner, I am no moron and your best bet when I walk out of here is to turn this beast over to the bank. Yeah, take the hit on your credit cause this place is so upside down on your mortgage (which I pay monthly for you per your RE Agent) that you will never see the light of day. And trust me, even these children of the corn (oops meant Carbondale residents) aren't stupid enough to buy this place for what you want!!!"

So, I have been looking for another house to buy, and that has caused me to do tons of research on the market and what is and is not selling. And my “Mr. Owner” isn't the only moron out there; in fact 95% of sellers are equally dumb. God bless www.Zillow.com.

“Yo, seller, you bought that piece of crap in '05 for 350% more than it was ever REALLY worth, you've done NOTHING to it, and now you want someone to pay you $50,000 more than what you moronically paid for it? DON'T THINK SO!!! “

So, the next posts will be my general impression of the market, at least here in NePA, what I have seen while out looking and my impressions of what the hell is going on in and around here in NePA... Trust me, if my Agent has shared my comments with the other agents there is no way we would see any houses. I am brutal, but honest. This is a big expense, and if you want $250000 of my money it better be worth it or I am coming for you!!! LOL

Also, this will be very "confidential". I really don't want to be blacklisted by the agents in the area. So, when I am done looking and I buy something I will tell you all who the best and worst agents in NePA are... I have the best, and everyone should hunt her down... maybe I will start hiding clues in my posts....

Later NePA!