considering moving my African American family from Philly to Monroe county

[DavidWebb]

Originally Posted by lovallcolours

Yeah Sorry about the typo, I can see that's the only thing you read from my comment,but ty for taking the time to reply and correct me,you are so thoughtful.Although I didn't mention the valley at all....LOL

actually I read your entire comment so there's no need for the sarcastic remarks...was only kidding but obviously you have no sense of humor...

[lovallcolours]

Originally Posted by DavidWebb

actually I read your entire comment so there's no need for the sarcastic remarks...was only kidding but obviously you have no sense of humor...

Sarcasm is funny ? No?lol hey I caught a smile from it and your post, no worries or offense taken....was just a reply fitting for your comment....teehee

[lovallcolours]

Originally Posted by DavidWebb

What makes you think it's any different up here?? Crime up here has seen a major spike since I've been coming up here (since '96) and the major spike in transplants coming here from the big cities: NY, NJ, CT, and Philly...paying high rent to live in a safe area will be no different up here IF you chose to live in a gated community where you'll pay dearly for the amenities you may not always use just to *feel safe*...



Living up here will be a major adjustment as well not only for you and you other half but for the kids as well...part of the reason many of the kids up here get into trouble with the law is because their bored because they have nothing to do after school because the parents are both out working and no one is home to keep an eye on them...not saying that's your case but just to give you an idea...my advice to everyone who asks on this board is always the same: research, research, research...otherwise you'll regret it later...good luck!!

The thing is, so many folks from NEPA on these threads talk about how bad it is, but you know beauty and ugliness is in the eye of the beholder. Opinions are all relative;if I were a home owner there I would be cheer leading the area, after all it only helps to have a higher demand than supply. ALL areas have good and bad (crimes,drunk drivers, traffic accidents and congestion.) I wish the theory was wrong, studies show for every unhappy customer will tell 10 people how terrible their experience is, and every happy one reports less than 1 of 5.... You see more people are willing to complain than compliment. I believe by human nature we expect all to be well and ignore the fact when it is, and only take time to complain when its not. All things considered to those who read these forums or any other.....

[CarbonCountyLiving]

To the OP:

I'd also like to recommend Carbon County over Monroe. For one thing, it is closer to Philly. I visit Philly frequently and it is a quick and easy ride down the turnpike. I also recommend Jim Thorpe. It is not only beautiful, but you have a variety of choices of where to live. You can live in town on the East Side, which is a little bit more spacious, or in the downtown area, which is more touristy. The downtown area is where most people visit and the section most people think of when they think of Jim Thorpe, but Jim Thorpe is much more than that. There is also the Heights/Liberties section, which isn't quite as spacious as East JT but still out of the touristy hustle-and-bustle of downtown Jim Thorpe. Right outside of town are several community developments, such as Bear Creek Lake, Penn Forest Streams, and Towamensing Trails. These communities seem to have escaped the issues that plague some of the developments in Monroe, specifically A Pocono Country Place.

Don't discount other towns in Carbon County though. Palmerton is a beautiful town that has its own hospital, library, clothing stores, restaurants, etc. Lehighton is a nice town but it is experiencing some struggles in its downtown area right now; however, local leaders have finally started to look at ways to make it better. If you are on Facebook, many of the towns and local organizations have pages where you can follow what is going on around the area; this will give you a much better picture of what is going on around Carbon County than a low-traffic message board such as City Data will.


An important thing to note is that it is very much a buyer's market in Carbon County right now, and you should be able to buy much more house for your dollar. Also, IMHO Carbon County is on the cusp of a boom, where we will begin to grow in some very positive ways. We've seen the problems that Monroe County has endured from adding too much, too quickly, and we don't want to make those same mistakes, but the younger generations understand the importance of growth. I think now is a very good time to come to Carbon County.

I also will add that if your husband is self employed as a contractor he will encounter much less competition here. You can't swing your arms in Monroe County without meeting someone who is a contractor. We certainly have quite a few here, but he will encounter less competition and have more opportunity for business growth. Also, our local chamber of commerce now partners with Lehigh Valley Chamber, which is one of the top 10 largest chambers in the country, so if he joins the chamber he will have a ton of networking opportunities.

Best of luck! Obviously I'm biased toward Carbon County, but we'd love to see you join us here!

[Hillrunner]

Originally Posted by LilyGizzy

Hi there! I moved to Monroe about five years ago (Mt Pocono) and while I have to say there are a lot of nice people there I also noticed big changes. I moved to Carbon county last year to get away from the noise and chaos, I felt like it was getting just as loud, busy and as crowded as some places in NYC. Here in Carbon I've have had a year of peace.

I won't say it's "bad" but I will say that the population has gotten younger and in some cases reckless and rowdy.

Those houses in Tobyhanna are cheap because they are mostly in developments (2 - 3 different ones) and the original owners want out and out fast. Pocono Country Place being one of them.

Now this is all my opinion. I personally wouldn't move to those two areas in Monroe if I had small children. LOL I have small dogs and the changes for them helped with me wanting to move.

Now a positive...NEPA is BEAUTIFUL!! So much nature and adventure all around, and most of the people are so nice and friendly. Since you both work at home look around Carbon county and come visit more if it's affordable since there are plenty of short term rentals so that you can really get to know the area.

I wish your family good luck! This move changed my life!

Thank you for the well wishes. Our family did move to Carbon County right at the top of the Mountain in BigBear Lakes. It is beautiful. They have their own patrol which I plan on becomnig a part of due to my Military experience. And they are very stringent when it comes to riff raff. We even have our own raDar guns to help keep the speed down and a fantastic community watch. everybody looks out for everybody. It is also very clean and pleasant. If you plan on moving BB lakes is a top notch community. Good luck and I hope you find what your looking for. It is also heavily patrolled by the state police.

[Sugashane]

I just moved up to stroudsburg from jersey last spring and I gotta tell you some of these posts are over-the-top exagerated on every level.Stroudsburg and East stroudsburg are basically one giant town refered to locally as the burg or burgs and seperated by a big 2 lane white bridge going over a small river.This is mainly known as a college town, East stroudsburg University takes up a major portion of East strouds, sits next to the area hospital, and has a lot of student housing around it.The neighborhoods are mixed income and diverse ethnicity mostly 50/50 white and african american , smaller pockets of dominican, puerto rican, jewish etc sort of a small town melting pot unlike the city where different areas reflect a defined culture and identity.The areas closest to the bridge and super walmart are a little seedy and run down, but not really dangerous , once in a while you ll see some homeless down their, or some gang people (I only say because they ll be wearing matching red bandanas or beads, but who knows) but I've never been bothered or harassed by anyone their.Its a busy little area because of all the college kids zipping around in sports cars which no one seems to acknowledge lol.Down town stroudsburg looks like small city block, with cool bars and restaraunts, clubs, Sherman theater for big concert events, starbucks , plus in the summer their are big festivals and live bands on the street.Both burgs have giant parks with pools and anything you could wish for, great for families.Theirs a mall on 9th st as well as casinos and ski slopes and outlet malls all within a ten to fifteen min drive.If you want nature its 5 seconds out of town in beauty.Crime here is minimal , drugs in certain spots, robberies on a very marginal scale.Most of this stuff you read in the paper and never see in all reality lol.The schools look nice and new although my kids aren't old enough to go their yet.Definitely come here for a day trip and see if this is what you like.