Mountain Top or Clarks summit (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre: cul-de-sac, middle-class, sale)

[blip]

Originally Posted by pennsynative

Do you live in Mountain Top? I have not gotten the "redneck" feel as you described from your picture (is that YOU?) here at all. Clearly, you also aren't aware of some of the newer subdivisions with very nice homes.

Haha, no, I wish I could pull off that look.

My cuz-in-law lives in Mountain Top. He's no redneck, but it's just the vibe I get from the place. CS feels a *little* more urbane.

[Huskyz]

Originally Posted by go phillies

I would go with neither...look into other parts of the area, there are plenty of towns here with nice neighborhoods, even nice newer developments, without paying for the "prestige" of an Abington, Mt Top, or Back Mtn address. In Lackawanna County, look into any town in the valley from Jermyn to Dickson City, and in Luzerne County, I would check out Kingston, Forty Fort, and West Pittston.

It depends of what the OP seeks. They were pretty general on this. Maybe they did enough 'homework' to know they met their full criteria. To imply that those who select these towns do so largely for 'prestige' is a bit of a leap. I doubt many would list it on their 'must have' list.

Not that there is anything 'wrong' with most other valley towns. You excluded some of the down valley towns near Scranton (Moosic, Taylor, Old Forge, etc) which also have proponents. Each has something to offer and should be considered depending on one's preferences, budget, and needs. That's one of the things that makes the metro area 'interesting', there is plenty to choose from.

[Jay68442]

I moved to mountain top 4 years ago from Long Island. The schools are very good and the area is nice. You will have to drive down the mountain for all your shopping needs but I like that. It keeps the congestion away from the area. One of the reasons I left NY. As for things to do, not a whole lot going on locally but plenty to do within a short driving distance. Coming from LI I consider the home prices to be very affordable and the taxes too.

[to570717]

I am under 30 and grew up in the Summit. The kids with horrible family lives were the ones that did drugs. Kids with good parents skied, played football, baseball basketball and were generally living in a john Hughes movie.

If you are a parent and a total idiot, then i don't care if your in Mayberry, your kids probably going to get int he wrong crowd and be a loser.

I want my kids growing up in an area that is conducive to the values that i will teach them. I would like their friends to be active in sports and strive to accomplish as much as possible in school. I also want them to work hard and understand the value of hard work.

I dont want to raise them in an area that has disgruntled middle aged people complaining about other towns and how snooty they are. I don't want them being around kids whose parents are bums....

Call me crazy, but i want my kids to be all they can be. Their environment is an important factor.

[catdam]

Okay, well...that went well...lol. thanks for all the comments and now I am really confused...lol. Well, I will just have to have a spirit of discernment.

We are an african american family. My son is a child actor (newbie) and I am an author. My husband got transfered there to open up a new building, so we want to make sure that we will be moving to an area that is very family oriented, low crime, excellent schools, and accepting of our race. Any other suggestions?

[memoriesbre]

Basically the area of both are good choices. You need to come and stay for a weekend and drive around.

Clarks Summit is very nice and so are the people!

[cbones]

"very family oriented, low crime, excellent schools, and accepting of our race"

Definitely Clarks Summit. They have great schools and you can always send your kid to Scranton Prep or Wyoming Seminary if you want a private high school education for him. Mountaintop has a very high percentage of hicks. Don't move there.

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by cbones

"very family oriented, low crime, excellent schools, and accepting of our race"

Definitely Clarks Summit. They have great schools and you can always send your kid to Scranton Prep or Wyoming Seminary if you want a private high school education for him. Mountaintop has a very high percentage of hicks. Don't move there.

I think the exception would be the last one...Clarks Summit is not a town in this area I would think of when someone mentions acceptance of racial minorities. The Abingtons are pretty much upper-class lily-white suburbia. The few racial minorities there are more than likely a couple of Indian or Asian doctors. I can't recall ever seeing a black person in Clarks Summit.

Here is the racial breakdown of Clarks Summit borough according to city-data: 97.2% white, 0.9% hispanic...not even a mention of an African-American population. Clarks Green: 97.8% white, 1.2% Asian Indian (probably the 3 Indian doctors and their families who live there). Actually, South Abington Twp has enough of a black population to register at a whopping 0.7% black.

I'm not trying to say that the Abingtons are full of Klan members who will harrass black families, but I do think they would feel quite out of place, and their kids would probably get some sort of negative treatment by other kids, probably being just about the only black kids in school.

If they weren't interested in living in the cities of Scranton or Wilkes-Barre, I would still recommend something closer to the cities and not a Stepford Wives suburbia area. I would think Kingston, Plains, Dunmore, Wilkes-Barre Twp., Taylor, Moosic.

[to570717]

Originally Posted by go phillies

I think the exception would be the last one...Clarks Summit is not a town in this area I would think of when someone mentions acceptance of racial minorities. The Abingtons are pretty much upper-class lily-white suburbia. The few racial minorities there are more than likely a couple of Indian or Asian doctors. I can't recall ever seeing a black person in Clarks Summit.

Here is the racial breakdown of Clarks Summit borough according to city-data: 97.2% white, 0.9% hispanic...not even a mention of an African-American population. Clarks Green: 97.8% white, 1.2% Asian Indian (probably the 3 Indian doctors and their families who live there). Actually, South Abington Twp has enough of a black population to register at a whopping 0.7% black.

I'm not trying to say that the Abingtons are full of Klan members who will harrass black families, but I do think they would feel quite out of place, and their kids would probably get some sort of negative treatment by other kids, probably being just about the only black kids in school.

If they weren't interested in living in the cities of Scranton or Wilkes-Barre, I would still recommend something closer to the cities and not a Stepford Wives suburbia area. I would think Kingston, Plains, Dunmore, Wilkes-Barre Twp., Taylor, Moosic.

This is why no one should listen to uninformed opinion. I grew up in the Abingtons. There were African American kids Pakistani, Indian, Jewish, Christian ect... Abiginton has a Diwali celebration for INdian Students, a very big emphasis on MLK day and other Civil rights and Black history events.

Also remember, Clarks Green is part of the Underground Rail Road. The Abingtons have a long history of Equality. Hickory Grove Cemetery in Waverly is known for being one of the first significant burial grounds for African American Non Slaves.

If you want actual information on the area ask those who know, not those who speculate and make false statement based on bias.

[Mr Yuk]

Originally Posted by to570717

This is why no one should listen to uninformed opinion. I grew up in the Abingtons. There were African American kids Pakistani, Indian, Jewish, Christian ect... Abiginton has a Diwali celebration for INdian Students, a very big emphasis on MLK day and other Civil rights and Black history events.

Also remember, Clarks Green is part of the Underground Rail Road. The Abingtons have a long history of Equality. Hickory Grove Cemetery in Waverly is known for being one of the first significant burial grounds for African American Non Slaves.

If you want actual information on the area ask those who know, not those who speculate and make false statement based on bias.

Don't let your personal vendetta against me get in the way of fact. There is NO significant minority population of any kind in the Abingtons....you have nothing to argue that fact. The stats don't lie. There is really no significant minority population in this area at all except for in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, and even the minority population in those cities is small compared to most towns their size.

You're making it sound like the Abington is like some sort of melting pot like you'd find in NYC. Like I said, I've never seen a non-white face in the Abingtons, save for a rare Asian or Indian. There are some, but they are few and far between.