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State Sen. John Yudichak said it best when he recently commented, “We don’t give ourselves enough credit for all the good in the Northeast.”
We do need to give ourselves credit for all the good here because other people do!
Take Joe, for example. A native of Cape Cod, he moved here a year ago from New Jersey to join the research team at The Institute. I recently asked Joe what he thought about his move to the region.
“I am really happy that I moved here,” he said. “There are many things that I enjoy about living here. I think people from here sometimes have a hard time seeing what I see – maybe it’s because they have lived here for a long time.”
Interesting, Joe.
Every day, people are making the choice to live and work here.
While Joe migrated from outside the region, there are many people (like myself) who left for school or work and came back. Donna and Chris Caruso are also two of those people.
Donna Bigoski-Caruso was born and raised in Luzerne County and moved to Florida to finish college, which is where she met her husband, Chris. After a career in television, she joined Chris’s family’s custom pool contracting business in Orlando. After years of traveling to Northeastern Pennsylvania to visit Donna’s family, Chris fell in love with the region.
“I love the weather, the terrain, the people and the food,” says Chris. “Where we lived in Florida was so overcrowded, hot and overpriced. We were ready for a change and moving here made sense.”
Donna couldn’t be happier with the return to her roots.
“We love the sense of community and the variety of activities that change with the seasons,” Donna said. “Our move here has been everything we hoped it would be.”
The Caruso’s have jumped in with both feet and will be opening The Eleventh Element, a wellness and relaxation spa in the Gateway Shopping Center in Edwardsville in the fall. And it doesn’t stop there – Chris’s parents will also be relocating to Northeastern Pa. soon!
And then there are those who are from here and choose to stay, like Matt Simoncavage. Matt grew up in Nanticoke and after high school pursued a degree at LCCC in their graphic design program. He credits that degree and the college with his success as the lead web developer and designer at Coal Creative, a regional marketing and design company.
“LCCC had a great program – better than some of the larger schools that I looked at,” Matt said. “I was working for a small business start-up at the time and I chose to get my degree locally.”
Matt loves the experience of being a young professional in the region. “The music scene here is great. There are a lot of local bands that have a great following and support from their fans. There is always a show to see. I have been to other places and seen my fair share, but I think I will always come back here. It has a nice mix of everything I like.”
No region is perfect. Ours has seen its fair share of struggles over the years but there is a lot of good to see here if we just open our eyes. I did that at the Rockin’ the River fest on Friday. Kudos to Luzerne County, the Visitor’s Bureau and all who were involved in hosting such a great event.
I paused for a minute to stop and take in the view. It was amazing to see so many people enjoying the great weather, food, and music, in a venue our area is lucky to have.
Whether we have moved here, moved back, or stayed, we too are choosing to live and work here. And there is no better time than the present to appreciate all the good our region has to offer.
We are getting there, Senator, one Rockin Riverfest at a time!
