Businessweek: best places to raise kids - Cranberry (Rochester, Freedom: 2013, low crime)

[UKyank]

The Best Places to Raise Kids 2013 - Finding the Best in Small Towns - Businessweek

[heartchya]

I am guessing no one actually visited Cranberry based on the blurb referring to it as charming. I can admit there is a lot to do for kids. They offer a lot of different programs through the park/rec department. However I have never thought of Cranberry as charming.

[Caladium]

One of these days I'd love to see a photo tour of Cranberry to get a feel for what it looks like.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by Caladium

One of these days I'd love to see a photo tour of Cranberry to get a feel for what it looks like.

It's impossible to photograph such a place.

[FreightTrainRunning]

Originally Posted by Caladium

One of these days I'd love to see a photo tour of Cranberry to get a feel for what it looks like.

Here you go.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Caladium

One of these days I'd love to see a photo tour of Cranberry to get a feel for what it looks like.

Well, I did get a new camera (should arrive today), so maybe I'll try it on a nicer day sometime, if I find time for that on such a day. In general, though, Cranberry has been until recently the worst kind of example of sprawl, with little regard to what is next to what, no sidewalks, etc. It also has a key nasty traffic bottleneck that is hard to fix because it requires a new bridge over the PA Turnpike and the businesses are kind of close to the existing bridge. It looks mainly like any kind of generic sprawl. I think perhaps some don't realize what has happened there. This is not an old town that has grown into a sprawling suburb. This is complete rural farmland that grew directly into the sprawl, and the sprawl got out of hand before the township got a plan in place. New stuff has some better requirements, but it's still sprawl, and you can't (quickly, anyway) change what is already there. There is no town to speak of or take pictures of. It's just a jumble of stuff.

There are a few remnants of the original rural nature of the place, including the open space and barn on Rochester Rd near Rt 19. But that land is all set for development as well. If you go out into the far corners of the township some of it is still at least semi-rural. There is also the longtime fudge stand on Freedom Rd. She has been back selling recently, and she'll be there over this weekend so anyone local I highly recommend you stop in and get some.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Here you go.

Taken abstractly, there are some fascinating images in that search.

[aw_now_what]

I'm not sure how The Place That Gave Us Homo-hating Daryl Metcalf (R-Cranberry) could be a good place to raise kids.

[MountainDewGuy]

The challenge in coming up with such a list, besides the criteria of what makes a good community being highly subjective, is that statistics don't tell the whole story. Looking at the set of criteria that Business Week used, Cranberry easily scores well with decent schools, low crime, low unemployment, etc. However, these stats can't account for the heart and soul a place has... and at risk of upsetting some people, I think these suburban sprawl communities like Cranberry have very little heart and soul. They have no center. You must drive just about everywhere you want to go. Many of the homes are large and look exactly the same, and located in made up communities with made up names that sounded good to someone... Apple Grove Meadows (with no apples) or Country Hills (with no hills).

[SammyKhalifa]

To be fair, the new leadership in Cranberry really seems to be trying to bring the place together. Problem is that it's gotten to this point.