looking to relocate next year>> Clarks Summit area (Scranton: relocation, estate)

[retcop]

Hello:

From L.I. N.Y. & looking to buy a home in Clarks Summit area. We are near retirement and want to get a head start. We do not want to be too far from family in Brooklyn and L.I. so 150 miles isn't too bad. Just can't afford to retire on L.I. with the prices and massive property taxes. Jobs not an issue. Wife is a nurse and I have a pension and want to supplement it with any type of work, part or full time.

I have done massive amounts of research on crime, weather, prices, etc. and keep coming back to Clarks Summit, (Clarks Green, etc. area and would appreciate any input as to how anyone here finds living in this area. Likes, dislikes, etc.

Thanks

[ScranBarre]

Clarks Summit (pop. 5,000) and Clarks Green (pop. 2,000) are the two "hub" communities in a large suburban area of Scranton called "The Abingtons." Clarks Summit has a small (yet charming) downtown with a variety of upscale boutiques. Some businesses in Clarks Summit include Talbots, Everything Natural (organic foods store with seminars), Wonders of the World (exotic gifts), State Street Grille (Live jazz music), The Kitchen Pantry (kitchen-related items), Sole to Sole (shoes), and Bennetton (clothing). Clarks Green is the sister city of Clarks Summit and is primarily residential, with the exception of a Walgreen's and a professional office or two. Both towns are very hilly, very shady, and very walkable, so I can envision you, as retirees, going for a morning jog amid the quiet, tree-lined streets of Clarks Summit and/or Clarks Green.

Also in the Abingtons is South Abington Township, (pop. 9,000), which is actually where most of the listings you find online are probably located (It shares the zip code with Clarks Summit, which confuses realtor.com). South Abington Township is where you'll find your cookie-cutter newer housing developments, even though most are tastefully-planned (Some are indeed UGLY and bland though!) It's also in South Abington Township where you'll find the "chains" of the Abingtons (Bennigan's, Damon's Grill, Krispy Kreme, Weis Market, Sheetz, etc.)

Abington Township is home to Waverly, a small, wealthy enclave of historic homes and a few shops. Housing prices in Waverly are extreme, but so are the median household incomes (which hover around $100,000). I like to drive up here on pleasant Autumn mornings when I'm off from work to park my car and just walk past the beautiful 19th Century homes. West Abington Township and North Abington Township are mostly rural and home to a few working farms. Glenburn Township and Dalton are home to a few larger estate-style homes, some with horses, along country lanes.

Overall, the entire Abington area is very similar to many parts of Fairfield County, CT that I've seen. Housing prices here are still quite reasonable for an "upscale" area (especially the closer to Scranton you are and the smaller lot size you have). If you want a "cheap, rural version of Long Island", then I think the Abingtons probably have what you're looking for.

There are a few drawbacks, in my opinion, to the Abingtons though. Routes 6 and 11 is the major commuter feeder into Scranton and can often backlog with traffic. State Street (Clarks Summit's Main Street) is also congested, and turning left onto the street from a side street is practically impossible at any time of day. Thankfully, with a lot of wealth often comes a lot of altruism and further education, so pedestrians often enjoy having vehicles immediately stop for them for a safe crossing anywhere in the Abingtons. (Unlike the rest of the Scranton metro where you'd be roadkill! LOL!)

I also have an udder disdain for the "snootiness" expressed by many (not all) of the residents of the Abingtons. I have nothing against the upper eschelons of society, but I truly don't see why they need to flaunt their wealth so shamelessly. It's not unusual to see Range Rovers and Porsches lining State Street, nor is it unusual to see couples without children living in posh eight bedroom manors. Many in the Abingtons just have that "status" factor that I don't appreciate---You have young families flocking to South Abington Township from Scranton who are immediately caught up in the "keeping up with the Jones's" rat race. (Think of hectic parts of Jersey)You also have the "old money" floating around Waverly, Glenburn, and Clarks Green (Think Greenwich, CT)

Then again, you can always take that last paragraph with a grain of salt. After living in the La-La 'burbs for the past 19 years of my life, I've realized that I'm much more of a "city person", and a move into Downtown Scranton is in my not-so-distant future. I'm just not into the whole "have to compete for the best-looking lawn" type of atmosphere that you'll find in many of Scranton's suburbs. Granted, Scranton has much more crime than the Abingtons, but I'd like to have the convenience of being able to WALK to my firm, WALK my children to school, WALK to a cafe for lunch to meet my significant other, WALK to church, WALK to the park, WALK to the mall, WALK to the theatre, etc. In the Abingtons, you'd have to drive anywhere from 15-25 minutes for most urban conveniences.

I wish you the best of luck in your relocation. I'd gladly recommend the Abingtons to anyone looking for more of a "quiet, safe, well-manicured suburban lifestyle", but as for me, I'm still young and want a taste of city life (Even though Scranton isn't much of a city at only about 75,000 souls). You'll definitely find something for everyone in the Clarks Summit area.

[ScranBarre]

I also forgot to mention that while the Abington Heights School District is among the best in the Commonwealth, it comes at a very steep price. Don't be shocked if your property taxes in the Abingtons are actually comparable to those back on Long Island! Then again, the lower housing costs and generally more laid-back quality-of-life are probably worth the tax expense.

[retcop]

for your quick and informative respnse. You sure seem to love that area.

LOL Wifey is a late sleeper. Me I'm up at 6 A and do my a.m. exercise routines. We visited there a few times and walking around the area I found it quite nice.

Thanks again.

[ScranBarre]

Also, you'd probably enjoy finding part-time work in one of the neat little shops on Clarks Summit's main drag. I could see you working at the Taylor Hobby Store, Everything Natural, or the Kitchen Pantry. I love shopping in Clarks Summit (I just wish I could afford it! LOL!) You also have every national chain you could think of for employment about 15 minutes away in Dickson City, Scranton's "chain" district (Gander Mountain, Lowe's, Target, Best Buy, Starbuck's, Borders, Pier One Imports, etc.) Your wife wouldn't have any trouble finding part-time work in the nursing field, if she so desired, in the area. Our metro is one of the most geriatric in the country, so our hospitals, retirement communities, nursing homes, etc. are always looking for RNs, LPNs, CNAs, etc.

[retcop]

How high are property taxes? From what I have seen they are 1/2 of L.I. 's.

[ScranBarre]

You're quite welcome. ;o) Yes, I do actually like Clarks Summit. I just wish there was some way for both the Abingtons and Scranton to thrive. Whenever a new housing development springs up in South Abington, it drives families out of Scranton, hurting the downtown's recovery efforts. Whenever a new upscale boutique opens in Scranton, it likewise takes away from Clarks Summit's shopping options. Since I'm more partial to Scranton, it's just a bit sad to see Clarks Summit doing so well at Scranton's expense.

[ScranBarre]

I guess taxation is all relative. We pay $2,500 on our three bedroom ranch home valued at $170,000. (We consider this "high", but that's probably a bargain for LI) I'd have to estimate that tax rates in the Abingtons would average between $3,000-$4,000 annually for combined school, county, and town taxes on most of the newer construction homes up there. I guess nothing oppressive if you're going to sink $300,000 into a home. ;o)

[retcop]

3-4 K is still cheap compared to here. Friends of mine are paying 8-10K. Just about everyone got a big increase lately.

Crooks.

[ScranBarre]

Gotta love the government (Grumble, grumble!) I work at the Lowe's in Wilkes-Barre Township, and we're hit with a $52 whammy annually for "emergency services." Don't get me wrong---I respect the police, fire department, and paramedics, but the municipality is making SO much money off of this tax that they're actually refunding property taxes to its residents from the surplus! I made less than $10,000 last year---Why not refund some of that $52 to ME? LOL! If it were up to me, this tax would be covered by the deep pockets of our Fortune 500 employers, NOT from the poor pockets of the mostly college students who work in them! (Grumble, grumble!) ;o)