Northeastern Pennsylvania Photo Tour: PART FOUR (Pittsburgh, Scranton: lawyers, new home, school districts)

[ScranBarre]

Good morning again fellow forum regulars! Due to the overwhelming two votes I received for the Back Mountain in my poll, I decided to hop in my car and head on out to Shavertown, the "gateway" to the Back Mountain, today to snap a few pics. The Back Mountain is so massive and so sprawled out that it will take me quite some time to photograph the entire area as extensively as I have with the other threads. For this morning, I've uploaded about 50 new pictures, just from the area along Sutton Road! The following are images from only three of the dozens of housing developments in the Back Mountain (Bulford Farms, Sutton Farms, and Woodridge).

The Back Mountain refers to the collective suburban wasteland...errr...paradise just fifteen to twenty minutes northwest of Wilkes-Barre via the Cross Valley Freeway (Route 309) Homes here are among the steepest in Luzerne County; some of the homes I've photographed will net well over $1,000,000 if sold. Overall, the Back Mountain tends to "branch out" rather haphazardly. You have Route 309, which is the main commuter artery between Wilkes-Barre and the Back Mountain, and then you have a series of windy, narrow country roads that branch out from 309. From there, you have secondary roads that branch out into various sprawling housing developments. The area is a very safe place to call home, but I personally think it's a bit overpriced considering you could still find many great "in-town" properties for a fraction of the price. Enjoy! As always, please go to my poll thread and vote for the next photo tour!


Welcome to Kingston Township (Shavertown), the Gateway to the Back Mountain!



A pair of scenes along the Cross Valley Freeway as it enters the Back Mountain.

(Continued Below)

[ScranBarre]

A pastoral setting highlights the ritzy subdivisions along Sutton Road; how long will vistas like these last with the massive growth that's been occurring in the Back Mountain?















Some scenes from the second phase of "Woodridge."

[ScranBarre]

More of Woodridge.




Scenes from Along Sutton Road Between Woodridge and Bulford Road


Another New Home Going up Near Bulford Farms


Bulford Road







Some scenes from Sutton Farms (Why do I see two-car garages instead of FARM silos?)








More Scenes from Sutton Road






Leaving the Back Mountain via the Cross Valley Freeway

[Sharon R.]

Well, very impressive! I like that 35 speed limit. I'll bet those back roads slow to a crawl during rush hours. Beautiful scenery, but I'm with you in wondering how long it will last. It reminds me a lot of Northern Virginia if you head for the outlying suburbs, the area where there are a lot of horse farms. Very pretty, very safe, people are very nice to you if you're one of them I enjoyed that life for a few years (don't tell anybody but I rented a basement in exchange for feeding the horses). I would not turn down a petsitting job in any of those houses, but no way I'd want to live there.

[goodgirl49]

The area was lovely, but I thought that the older homes in Honesdale had more character. Probably some of them would need upgrading though. Prices are still lower than CA though. If we come back east though, we will probably settle around Pittsburgh as that was where we were from and still have some family there. A lot of western PA seems to be similar in looks to your area.

Cathy

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by Sharon R.

Well, very impressive! I like that 35 speed limit. I'll bet those back roads slow to a crawl during rush hours. Beautiful scenery, but I'm with you in wondering how long it will last. It reminds me a lot of Northern Virginia if you head for the outlying suburbs, the area where there are a lot of horse farms. Very pretty, very safe, people are very nice to you if you're one of them I enjoyed that life for a few years (don't tell anybody but I rented a basement in exchange for feeding the horses). I would not turn down a petsitting job in any of those houses, but no way I'd want to live there.

I likewise agree. Our family drove through Loudoun County, VA a few years ago on our way to a vacation in Hampton Roads, and I thought to myself "Hey, we're back in the Back Mountain!" as we drove through the Leesburg area. All we saw were strip malls, country clubs, gated communities, etc., which is exactly what the Back Mountain exemplifies. If you can even believe this, the Back Mountain is not the "poshest" part of the region; the Abingtons/Clarks Summit area blows the Back Mountain out of the water with housing values and median household incomes. These prices come with some benefits though; the Abington Heights School District in Clarks Summit is ranked among the best 100 public school districts in the nation for academic excellence, and their cultural/gifted programs are phenomenal.

Then again, this is indicative of every well-to-do area. The children of doctors, lawyers, business executives, engineers, etc. are more likely to feel pressured to overachieve academically than the children in more traditional blue-collar communities such as Wilkes-Barre or Scranton. As such, our inner city schools are often plagued with ills while our suburban school districts are in the top tier. Personally, I'm repulsed by the Back Mountain; what was once a rural, scenic paradise is being scarred more and more annually with every new approved housing development.

As you alluded to, traffic is nightmarish during the rush-hours; don't expect to get too far very quickly INTO the Back Mountain at 5:15 PM or out of the Back Mountain at 7:30 AM. Tens of thousands of commuters clog Route 309 daily, and the congestion is expected to continue to worsen over the upcoming years as our population continues to shift outward. What you saw in Loudoun County, VA is what you can expect to see in the Back Mountain in the upcoming years.

[Sharon R.]

I lived in Great Falls, right on the border of Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. I used to absolutely love Leesburg, the downtown area. There used to be a lot of real farms there. I still go there every year or so. There's a ferry off a side road in Leesburg that crosses over the Potomac River into Maryland near where my brother lives. Route 193, which runs the length of Great Falls, used to just be a complete line of cars morning and night. The strange thing was, you didn't have very many rude drivers, people would always let you in from the side streets. That drive took me straight to the G.W. Parkway, which led to Alexandria and Washington DC. It was actually a very pleasant and scenic drive. If you gotta sit, at least have something nice to look at!

[marilyn manente]

this forum is new to me so someone please reply so i know if i,m talking to myself or not.. i was hoping to see more small town feel. old farmhouses with mtn views victorians in the country. i better get up to pa. quick before the city folk catch on . marilyn in charleston (cant wait to move)i