Moving to mountain region of PA-Tell me how it is?

Submitted by gregv64 t3_113e3lj in Pennsylvania

Hello, my wife and I (3 kids, 5, 3, 2) are looking to move to the mountain region of PA. We love mountain views...we'd go to the Rockie's but too much family in Canada to be that far.We live in a small town, in the middle of a forest in MI currently.

Looking for a mountain top log home, big acreage, homestead type of place, no neighbors in view. Kids would be going to a private Catholic school so need to keep location of those in mind.

Which towns are good, which are bad? I was set on Bradford/Tioga/Susquehanna county but am a little concerned with all the frack wells everywhere. Any recent real issues? What other areas offer those nice mountain top views?

Any general comments, advice, tips are appreciated!

​

TIA

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Blu_Skies_In_My_Head t1_j8pop9s wrote

Private, Catholic education has been dying in Pennsylvania for a long time.

The Catholic Church would not subsidize their members for schooling. PA public schools let Catholic kids out for “selective education”.

The most robust Catholic schools are urban/semi-urban. The charter schools are crazy and incompetent.

If you want Catholic education, that’s mostly urban/semi-urban.

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8s066e wrote

> The most robust Catholic schools are urban/semi-urban.
 

The most robust anything, anywhere, is urban/semi-urban. Goods and services go where the customers are.
 
If you're choosing to live in a place like Bradford County, you're choosing to do without some things. It's a game of trade-offs. My grandmother owned a beautiful plot of land up there but when she died we sold it, because I'd never live there.

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ScienceWasLove t1_j8uvwaz wrote

Middle Paxton Township has what you are looking for w/ the public schools busing you to Holy Name / Bishop McDevit.

15-30 mins from every major retail store w/ Blue Mountain in between. Appalachian Trail in your backyard, surrounded my PA Gamelands.

2 hours from Philly, 3 from New York.

I can’t recommend it enough, it’s where I grew up, and where I live now after 20 years in the Philly area.

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dxploys t1_j8yf1ur wrote

if the priests weren't caught assaulting children and dioceses trying to cover it up, maybe it'd be different

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Dispatcher12 t1_j8q29yd wrote

I'm in Tioga County and anyone who wants to send their kids to Catholic school up here is hauling them to Elmira NY every day. That's the only Catholic high school in the area.

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artificialavocado t1_j8q74od wrote

What do people in Tioga do like for work? I’m guessing commuting to Williamsport is somewhat common? I used to spent a lot of time there as a kid and teenager in the 90’s a family friend had a cabin. It was maybe a mile off 414 in Morris Twp IIRC.

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Dispatcher12 t1_j8qimmc wrote

Some commute to Williamsport or New York, a lot of people I know work at the hospital and local care homes. I work for the county itself at 911 and if that is your bent we are hiring.

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Pendulum20 t1_j8rka6q wrote

I think you need to do a Tioga AMA for all of the Southern Pa people!

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GraffitiTavern t1_j8smzaa wrote

Honestly a PA AMA for each region would be kinda fun, I have no clue was Eastern PA is like

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artful_todger_502 t1_j8z4i64 wrote

I've lived in Chester County, Bucks, Pittsburgh and Lanco, but ridden motorcycles all over the state. We were in Honesdale looking to properities 2 weekends ago ... There is a place for literally anyone no matter what your living preferences are.

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Dispatcher12 t1_j8rmotj wrote

I don't know if I'm the best candidate for that... We moved up here from Chester County in 2005. I'm originally from SE PA with a long detour in South Jersey. I can tell you what I like better up here... And what I find frustrating, I guess.

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lager81 t1_j8untze wrote

I know a lot of people that work the electric companies up there. They are busy because there are a lot of trees coming down on lines all the time. Plus we just got 1 gigabit fiber on a freaking dirt road up here while I get 20mbps near allentown

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Endlesshills03 t1_j8us48b wrote

Ward manufacturing, something in wellsboro, natural gas industry or related, commute an hour, university. I would say those are the most likely job locations.

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Endlesshills03 t1_j8uryfu wrote

Are there any Catholic elementary schools in Tioga? There is a couple in Bradford (or one? not sure) but wasn't sure if there was any over there.

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GraffitiTavern t1_j8q0ekt wrote

What region are you talking about? Most of the state is mountainous, including cities like Pittsburgh. You seem to be talking about the northern part of the state, which is the most rural, but even then PA Wilds has difference with the Endless Mountains. I would say finding a place with a lot of land and not many people is easy, as is finding a catholic school, but finding an area with both will be more difficult. I'd say Centre County/Happy Valley or the Southern Alleghenies might be your best best if you want to avoid oil and gas and live in a rural mountainous area.

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Sergeant_Gunface t1_j8va2xy wrote

I’d ageee with centre county/happy valley. I’ve lived here forever and there’s plenty of mountains, as well as catholic/charter schools.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8q16n0 wrote

Thanks for the suggestion. I am talking about the north east part, found a few very nice homes in bradford county-towanda and sayre. Im not necessarily against oil and gas..i work in the powertrain industry, but always hear about contaminated wells with fracking. On the other hand, if the well didnt go bad within a few months of a drill site, it will probably be fine..? This may be one of those things like school shootings…its not a problem till it is a problem.

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artificialavocado t1_j8q6r1h wrote

Potter and Tioga are beautiful places to visit but they are really out there in the sticks. Long drives to Williamsport or Elmira for things you can find or access in the bigger towns likes Wellsboro or Mansfield.

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8rz90e wrote

> found a few very nice homes in bradford county-towanda and sayre.

 
They're cheap for a reason. You get what you pay for.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8rzddr wrote

This one was definitely not cheap..

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8rzoiw wrote

Then you're getting ripped off. There's absolutely nothing up there. The land is essentially worthless.

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OneTrueDweet t1_j8s1l0p wrote

The proximity to NYC keeps housing values elevated up there. I know a few people who live in NEPA and work in NYC. Their jobs provide them with hotels or apartments during the week.

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Endlesshills03 t1_j8ushor wrote

> The proximity to NYC keeps housing values elevated up there.

Tioga and Bradford are 4+ hours from NYC. It's 4+ hours from any major city I think.

It's rich city people moving out of the cities in their retirements that drove prices up like crazy after they had been driven up by the natural gas industry.

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OneTrueDweet t1_j8uwk77 wrote

Didn’t realize it was that far.. but retiring cityfolk definitely makes sense

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Endlesshills03 t1_j8uscpp wrote

housing is insane right now in that area. It's starting to level off some but house prices were going up to over $300k and selling instantly. Lots of city people moving into the area selling their $1m houses and having a ton of cash left over.

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[deleted] t1_j8q75p3 wrote

[deleted]

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gregv64 OP t1_j8q8k03 wrote

Care to explain further? What do you mean by not very family? What do you mean by not nice?

Indeed we will be taking our rv to potential areas for a week trip early summer to scout locations.

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[deleted] t1_j8qtzav wrote

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8rzd9c wrote

Going to second this, my dad's family relocated from New Jersey to Bradford County in the 1970s and I grew up visiting that area frequently. The people are, uh, clannish to say the least.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8s1ooh wrote

See this is the insight I am looking for. Opinions of people from these areas. This is constructive feedback in my opinion.

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Endlesshills03 t1_j8urlcf wrote

Had family move to Bradford in the 70s and the stories I hear from back then compared to today are insane. One family member had someone pull a gun on them telling them they were trespassing on their own property. 'I've never seen you before, so you either leave or get shot' kind of stuff. They didn't even get arrested when the cops showed up, it was 'oh thats <soandso> and he's a bit protective of his hunting spots. I'll tell him to cool it'. It's a lot better now, but compared to most areas still stuck in the past.

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8uwk42 wrote

My dad's family used to tell people "You best not stay here, your car battery won't last the winter" and it took me a very long time to understand that was a threat, not friendly advice.

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Endlesshills03 t1_j8uraae wrote

Bradford county is definitely not the place you want to bring a family imo.

Someone else said very clannish and that is absolutely the truth. if you aren't part of the in group, whichever ingroup you are dealing with, you aren't anyone important. People will definitely be nice to you, and people will even help you out, but if you go against anything a certain group believes it's all down hill very quickly.

And if you aren't conservatives you might as well forget it. And I mean believing in jewish space lasers kind of conservative.

You are also far away from pretty much everything.

My recommendation if you are set on north east PA is to keep close to Scranton area. You at least have things to expose your kids to that isn't 2+ hours away, and the 'you are an outsider' issue isn't as big.

Oh and the drug issue in Bradford is extremely bad. I've already had to deal with the cops 3 times this year because of drug addicts.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8q7z3r wrote

No neighbors in view?

Move to Alaska.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8q8dnv wrote

Plenty of 10-50 acre parcels where i am and the properties i saw in PA where you dont see anyone in view..

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8q8tgr wrote

I don't know what relevance parcel size in your current location has to do with your desire to find big acreage in PA. And you want a log cabin on top of a mountain with big acreage. My impression is that those properties are either state owned or already taken.

Not sure how anyone on top of a mountain can avoid seeing the landscape, including the people who live there.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8q994l wrote

20+ with mixed clear and wooded is ok for us. Enough that you dont see neighbors looking out your kitchen window. Fine seeing a property in the low lands thats 2 miles away..

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gregv64 OP t1_j8rsxf8 wrote

lol why is this getting downvoted now?? You mad i want to be away from people? unreal. Im a loud person working on cars and fabricating late into the night. I don't want to piss off Jim and Bob.|smh

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8s0c2l wrote

In my experience, people who want to "live away from other people" or "move to small town areas that share my values" are usually racists or weirdos.
&nbsp;
This is America and you have every right to be a racist or a weirdo cultist, but people will judge you accordingly.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8s0p44 wrote

guess you know some weird people then.
Kind of hard to keep and work on heavy equipment and also have a hobby farm in the suburbs..

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8s0t3r wrote

Except it ain't, you can drive twenty minutes out of Pittsburgh and find working farms. https://traxfarms.com/

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gregv64 OP t1_j8s199n wrote

ok...so why didnt you just say that in the first place instead of making some weird comments.that is what I am ooking for.20+ acres, limited restriction land, mountain views.But ill tell you...I havent seen anything like that currently for sale 20 mins outside of pittsburgh thats 1m or less.

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Barreledbruh t1_j8rc8cz wrote

Iamsaucerkraut obviously hasn’t spent time looking at land for sale or they’d know it’s very possibly to get what you’re after in PA. Not cheap but possible

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8s3xzi wrote

PA is a big state. But OP is looking in a limited area - just a few counties.

But you are correct: only you have ever spent time looking at land for sale.

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_j8pp0b4 wrote

Catholic school. Have you been following the news at all?

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[deleted] t1_j8rjjnn wrote

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8s0p0z wrote

No one owes the OP answers.

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[deleted] t1_j8s0s22 wrote

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gregv64 OP t1_j8ps2ks wrote

With regards to?

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_j8psxaa wrote

You are unaware of the pedophelia rampant in the catholic church? You aren’t concerned that your own children could become victims as well?

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8s486w wrote

>You are unaware of the pedophelia rampant in the catholic church?

Don't be an uninformed bigot. Today's Catholic Church is not the unaccountable Catholic Church of yesterday.

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Zealousideal_Low_559 t1_j8sauv9 wrote

Public school teachers are not only grooming children, they are raping them . Every day there is another story about a public school teacher molesting a student.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8sb94n wrote

Fundamentalist preachers are indoctrinating, grooming and raping parishioners and the children of parishioners.

Whatever "grooming" means, the fundies are doing it, too.

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Patiod t1_j8se095 wrote

As a former Catholic, I've got no horse in this race, but are you aware of all the sex scandals that are happening with protestant "Youth Pastors" hooking up with teenagers in their Youth Groups?

It's also rampant in a lot of the higher-control religions like JW, Mennonites, Amish, etc. It's everywhere.

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Endlesshills03 t1_j8uszcu wrote

They are looking at Bradford county, they obviously don't care about their kids getting raped.

*semi joke - they likely don't know about how the schools regularly cover up sexual abuse in the community, or in the schools themselves.

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[deleted] t1_j8qasrj wrote

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8qtebn wrote

https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/attorney-general-shapiro-details-findings-of-2-year-grand-jury-investigation-into-child-sex-abuse-by-catholic-priests-in-six-pennsylvania-dioceses/

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[deleted] t1_j8rj5lk wrote

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8rw90z wrote

Just bc you, some random person, had a great experience, does not mean that that is everyones experience, and this article shows that you got lucky. Also just bc you didnt see it occur doesnt mean it didnt. Get real

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[deleted] t1_j8rwlni wrote

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8rx437 wrote

Yes you did. “And nothing like that occured here” Direct quote from you. You dont know that. You cant guarentee that.

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[deleted] t1_j8rx9zl wrote

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8rxmae wrote

So? You obviously still stand behind it.

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[deleted] t1_j8rxxh3 wrote

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8s1x50 wrote

Nah youre the one still here insisting that you had a great experience at some nameless catholic school and then insisted no one at that school ever got molested there. If you didnt still stand behind it, youd stop commentingn promoting catholic instituions.

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[deleted] t1_j8s2hki wrote

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8s3duo wrote

Nah im having a great day. If you recongise that you wouldnt continue to promote them. Imagine you told OP to send his kid to this specific school and then while theyre at that school, they get molested. Still confident your experience, that happened however many years ago, matters?

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[deleted] t1_j8s4vxm wrote

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8s86bp wrote

Believe me no one is obssessed with you. You keep saying you had a good experience over and over again. Thats a recommendation. No one is putting words in your mouth, we are taking them directly from your previous comments.

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[deleted] t1_j8s5czy wrote

[deleted]

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8s8fiu wrote

See thats where our differences lie. I never said anything about any schools other than providing a source that says the catholic churches in PA have a proven history of molestation. Im not making recommendations or standing up for a specific school system. You are.

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Jotakave t1_j8r4a5w wrote

That you know of

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[deleted] t1_j8rj760 wrote

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Jotakave t1_j8rnuj6 wrote

It’s not tantrums. There’s staggering amount of documentation regarding abuse and yet people think it’s a tantrum. ‘not every priest is a pedophile’ is always the usual counter argument and that’s actually true. The problem is when you have an organization going above and beyond to cover all this stuff up for CENTURIES. Abuse of children, genocide of tribal peoples in America, Africa, Australia, corruption and just the cheer amount of money that has been used to pay for churches, mega cathedrals, TV ads and abuse settlements. All the money that could’ve been put towards something meaningful. But yes. It’s Reddit throwing tantrums. Open your eyes. In my personal experience I had an education through Catholic schools. I wasn’t abused but i was bombarded with some BS regarding gay people, sex before marriage and saving yourself as a woman for your husband. What a load of crap that turned out to be.

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[deleted] t1_j8roevt wrote

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Jotakave t1_j8rvgtl wrote

Just because it wasn’t your experience it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen to other people. It’s like saying that ‘hurricanes aren’t that bad, my house is still standing’ when hundreds of others suffer the aftermath of one.

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[deleted] t1_j8rworr wrote

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8rxbq1 wrote

In the parent comment to my comment you said “and nothing like that occurred here” thats when you said it didnt happen to other people. Just so u/jotkave has receipts

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[deleted] t1_j8rxeyq wrote

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8rxt5p wrote

Nah youre dirty deleting.

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[deleted] t1_j8rxws1 wrote

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Jotakave t1_j8rzhn3 wrote

As you claimed you never said that. Who’s the one lacking any kind of comprehension? Just because you deleted it now doesn’t mean that our comments right after you said it weren’t valid. So salty for a person who’s no longer Catholic. Got sip some tears of repent.

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[deleted] t1_j8rzluf wrote

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Jotakave t1_j8rzy50 wrote

Have you ever heard of auto correct? You’re right. We’re all wrong. Maybe you should go to confession this weekend. Can’t take communion with a mouth full of lies.

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[deleted] t1_j8s04rp wrote

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Jotakave t1_j8s09rd wrote

For someone who doesn’t believe you’re pretty butt hurt about people criticizing that filthy institution.

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Jotakave t1_j8rxiv5 wrote

You’re making that statement as to mean that because it wasn’t your experience it can’t that of others. Or why else would you say that? Either way I’m not going to waste my time on this anymore. Go be a Christian but at least don’t feel like you have to hide behind whatever this account of yours is.

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Zealousideal_Low_559 t1_j8saljy wrote

There are pedophiles in all groups of people. Look at all the teachers being arrested in public schools across the Country.

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8sbg87 wrote

Compare the number of pedophiles in the Catholic church to the ones in public schools and get back to me.
&nbsp;
The Catholic church deliberately and intentionally shielded pedophiles by moving them to different schools and dioceses for decades in the US.

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Zealousideal_Low_559 t1_j8si9tg wrote

I get it. YOU are anti Catholic, pro Government schools. BTW those crimes mostly happened decades ago and more of them have been defrocked. Crimes against children in our public schools are happening NOW every day.

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8sigzr wrote

> pro Government schools.
&nbsp;

Here's the keyword to let you know this guy is a nut, the right wing nutjobs call public schools "government schools."
&nbsp;
> Crimes against children in our public schools are happening NOW every day.

&nbsp;
The Catholic church systematically enabled child molestation and covered it up.

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Zealousideal_Low_559 t1_j8sjx3d wrote

Public schools ARE Government schools and anything and everything run by the government is inept .

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gregv64 OP t1_j8pvbkq wrote

Im not sending them to a seminary. Im weary of the public education system. In Canada public and catholic schools are equally funded by taxpayers. Private schools are few and far between. Only difference in catholic schools in canada is uniforms in high school, and you have a religion class once a day. This is what we are used to/expect.

We want small class sizes, and a very safe school. Don't know if that exists in america..

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_j8pvx9r wrote

Over and over again, for me, The catholics I’ve met are the meanest people I’ve met so not a good choice imho

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artificialavocado t1_j8q6gsu wrote

Dude don’t listen to these people. Nobody is saying it isn’t an issue but largely do to anti-Catholic bias in America they make it seem a lot bigger than it actually is. We’ve seen incidences and cover ups in all institutions. Police, medical services, sports, and other religious denominations.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8psl1u wrote

I should add-school safety is our top priority. The shootings in america are nuts. We have lived in america 10 years, things like this just dont happen in Canada.

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Critical_Band5649 t1_j8pxd1a wrote

My aunt's catholic high school had a shooting in Central PA in the early 2000s. They happen in catholic schools as well.

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GraffitiTavern t1_j8q0ywn wrote

Also bullying in Catholic schools, there's more ways that kids get hurt than guns

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gregv64 OP t1_j8q1k63 wrote

See, it was opposite where i grew up. The public high schools always had fights, drugs, cops..not too often at my catholic school…

Its not that we require a “catholic” private school. Small class sizes, security, good education are what we are after.

Im aware were trying to have our cake and eat it too..

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Optimal_Spend779 t1_j8qcu8j wrote

Lol please don’t come here, for several reasons

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gregv64 OP t1_j8qcwpl wrote

Constructive comment. Why?

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Optimal_Spend779 t1_j8qd1ey wrote

Because you’re chasing something that doesn’t exist. That’s the nice version of what I would like to say.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8qdbmj wrote

Do you think what i am chasing exists, somewhere? And where is “here”? Id like to hear your full take and experiences to this concluding thought.

We currently live half hour from Flint. People hear that and think we live in a wasteland, where in reality it couldnt be further from the truth.

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Optimal_Spend779 t1_j8qdzg4 wrote

No, I don’t and I think your comments make you sound pretty naive. You can be weary of the public school system here all you want but a) catholic schools aren’t somehow magically immune to these issues, in fact I would argue they have the same issues plus others, and b) such a school that is 100% safe just doesn’t exist. “Here” being the entirety of Pennsylvania.

“I’m aware we are trying to have our cake and eat it too” - so I guess you’re at least a little self-aware after all.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8qeesn wrote

If you read my opening remarks, youll see that we are from canada, and the american school system is foreign to us, being that our oldest is just going to start this september. All i have to go on is anecdotal evidence from people we know that have similar age children, which are only a handful. And what you read in the internet has to be taken with a large scoop of salt as everyone has an opinion, from all areas and walks of life..

I ask about “here” as im sure life and education/environment in philly is different than a valley in bradford.
I mentioned we are near flint. Life in flint and quality of education is a polar opposite of what its like in my little town, 30 miles away.

Yes I am naive to life in PA. I have never been, just drove through the mountain regions of southern NY, looked beautiful. And the homes, land in PA look gorgeous as well.

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Pink_Slyvie t1_j8qjx0y wrote

>youll see that we are from canada

To be frank, Many of us would are dying to have an easy path to Canada, or just out of the US. Every election cycle I need to make sure my family is prepped to flee PA to a blue state, and possibly the country if it goes really south.

My advice, go back to Canada, it's going to get worse before it gets better here.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8qkhnb wrote

If the real estate market and job prospects werent a wasteland...we would.
The average home price in toronto now is well over a million dollars and you need 200k income to qualify for a mortgage.
Sure toronto is a prosperous city...but houses are still near a million bucks 6 hours away where the major employer is tim hortons and a home hardware.
The same kind of jobs (of which there are 1/20th that are here) pay roughly 30% less while getting taxed more than 15%+ more than here., and sales and carbon tax is another 20% on much of the commodities you buy, gasoline, natural gas, oil.

Home prices and salaries were totally normal and inline 10 years ago. I don't understand how anyone survives there now as a new resident or new home buyer...

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Pink_Slyvie t1_j8qko6z wrote

No one is surviving here either. Sure, you can move out to the boonies with terrible schools like you are asking about and get property and a house for dirt cheap, but unless you work remotely, good luck affording anything.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8ql4dl wrote

This is the only way we are considering the move. I have a good remote job, can work it as long as its within US territory.
the PA geography looks much more pleasing to us than MI boonies (and MI land tax is outrageous!) We are somewhat bound by proximity to family...otherwise we'd be in some real mountains out west.
NY state is very nice too but..to hell with their taxes on taxes and front plates on cars.

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Pink_Slyvie t1_j8qlc9z wrote

If I had the means, I'd take NY over PA any day. College provided for kids? Most won't ever save that much on taxes.

If you are *really* concerned with schools, Northern Baltimore County is a superb public school area, it's an expensive, but wonderful area, and can likely fit your needs. I can't think of anywhere in rural PA that even comes close.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8qlo7p wrote

Thank you for your input.
What do you mean by "College provided for kids?"

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Pink_Slyvie t1_j8qocbz wrote

As it stands, with several limitations, kids in New York state get full tuition covered by the state, up to 125k. Hell, most adults can take advantage of it too.

That alone covers the increased taxes for most individuals.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8s6l26 wrote

If your kids are smart and they grow up in NY, they have a good chance of getting into Cornell - NY's land grant school that is also an Ivy League school. A number of SUNY schools are top notch as well.

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Optimal_Spend779 t1_j8s79d7 wrote

And what exactly do you think the job prospects and real estate market are doing pretty much everywhere in the US right now? You sound incredibly clueless.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8s89og wrote

You clearly havent spent time looking for work in my field and don't pay attention to the canadian real estate market. Thats fine, i wouldnt expect you to.Real estate all over US is coming down, sales are still happening for solid pricing. I know this due to sales in my zip code. I see this as I watch prospective properties in areas I like. When they cut the price to a level Id feel comfortable with, others agree and listing goes pending. There is also a ridiculous amount of engineering work in MI, along with now-remote. The pay is also ever increasing in my field.

Canadian real estate prices are not coming down. Will they? maybe, i dont have a crystal ball. They have continued to go up until about December 2022. Now they are stagnant. Yet, somehow..people are still buying. i don't know where they get the money from.I mentioned earlier, the job prospects in my field in Canada are 1/20th of the availability as they are here. Cross border remote work is extremely rare due to taxation and business structures so that option is out for me.

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Optimal_Spend779 t1_j8sew6b wrote

Yeah dude why would I spend time looking for work in your field when I don’t even know what field that is? Must be one that doesn’t require understanding of basic punctuation or grammar, apparently. Catholic school graduate? High quality education, clearly.

I see there are some issues in Canada I was unaware of, but you seem to be pretty uninformed about issues happening in the country where you currently live. Good luck I guess.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8sfjvi wrote

Im typing on my phone, dont care about grammar on a message board. Every single place on earth has its own issues, pick which are the least of the evils you are willing to deal with.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8s67t8 wrote

Maybe you should reconsider PA. Try northern New England.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8qehlc wrote

Lol why am i getting down voted for this and anytime i bring up catholic religion?

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Jotakave t1_j8r44ga wrote

Did you now follow the Canadian news on mass graves of native children near Catholic Churches? As a person who grew up Catholic and now abhors this institution I can’t fathom why anyone would think anything Catholic is ok.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8s5puz wrote

>Doesn't really matter what you think.

Yet, here he is, criticizing you for your thoughts.

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Pink_Slyvie t1_j8qk7a4 wrote

>lol why am i getting down voted for this and anytime i bring up catholic religion?

A few reasons. The catholic church is corrupt to its core. We know nothing from scripture is true, at best its legend is greatly exaggerated, just from archeological evidence. The abuse and issues that are rampant in the Catholic church.

That's probably not it though, this is very, very deep evangelical territory. Evangelicals don't consider Catholics Christians and often view them as poorly as other religions.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8s5s48 wrote

>The catholic church is corrupt to its core.

Bigots are bigots to the core.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8s5lzg wrote

MastriaNO fans populate reddit. They hate Catholics. But you'll find plenty of Mastro worshipers in northern PA. Just put the sign out in your yard and they'll welcome you with open arms. They'll like you even better if you talk shit on the public schools.

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artificialavocado t1_j8q5w1w wrote

Let me be clear I’m not trying to downplay it at all but incidences like that the availability heuristic makes it feel more likely than it really is. Sort of like plane crashes. The chances of any particular school having an incident is astronomically low.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8qem73 wrote

Yes, on a statistic level i agree. America also has 11x the population of canada so the chance of literally any event (robbery, murder, car accident) is 11x higher.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8s4wjg wrote

School violence does not happen in Canada? That's a lie.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/student-violence-data-reporting-1.5331967

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gregv64 OP t1_j8s5p1g wrote

School shootings i said. Everyone everywhere gets an ass whooping.We just had Oxford shooting last year, now MSU. Downvote all you want, school shootings are very, very rare in Canada.

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Optimal_Spend779 t1_j8s8o2z wrote

Then move back to Canada. You want a utopia that doesn’t exist in America. It doesn’t in Canada either but whatever you wanna tell yourself.

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Dredly t1_j8srz80 wrote

PA probably isn't for you if that is your items. Maybe check Upstate NY and up further

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nardlz t1_j8pzyda wrote

St John Neuman in Williamsport is respectable, but very small. The north part of Lycoming County may have enough "mountain" for you.

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say10_mm t1_j8q6jao wrote

The Laurel Highlands are beautiful. It's in the south western part of pa & is about an hour south of Pittsburgh. I live in the woods but if I drive out to the main road you can usually see the city. My point being we have some amazing views. People travel here for the fall foliage, as well as the ski resorts. The area I live in is rural, the towns that are near by are small with a lot of farms. There's at least a few catholic schools I can think of. This area is Westmoreland County, a little further up the mountain is Somerset County.

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69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j8rzlm2 wrote

It's very easy to get methamphetamines in the Laurel Highlands, too, and selling them is one of the few career options there.

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say10_mm t1_j9fkzlu wrote

Drugs are everywhere, especially with the opioid epidemic. I've heard of meth being around but I've never seen it in my 40-some years of living here.

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Edenza t1_j8s6wjg wrote

Yeah the Cambria / Blair / Bedford / Somerset area is what OP is describing. About 2 hrs to most of Pittsburgh, on average, with Altoona and Johnstown in there for your Walmart-level needs. I don't necessarily recommend it but it does tick all your boxes, OP.

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8qtktg wrote

This. Schools arent terrible either.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8s72sg wrote

They arent that great, either.

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8s8r25 wrote

Yeah but op isnt going to find a good school is the mountains. All of the states top schools are urban or suburban, and idk if there are any topp 100 SDs in the mountains. Philly, pitt, lancaster, a couple around harrisburg.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8sazw0 wrote

Are Southern Columbia or Lewisburg considered mountain districts? Top 50.

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8shk4x wrote

Idk if theyre considered in the mountains but only Lewisbrug is top 50 at #42. Southern columbia is ranked #209.

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8sl5yz wrote

Different surveys; different metrics.

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DeliciousBeanWater t1_j8slugq wrote

Niche.com is considered the authority. Their scores are based on Academics, Teachers, Clubs & Activities, Diversity, College Prep, and Administration. Its why theyre the go to. What list are you using?

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IamSauerKraut t1_j8st45m wrote

Sorry. Meant Central, not Southern. Rated on Niche just a few below Lewisburg.

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lager81 t1_j8un8dd wrote

I have a log cabin on top of a mountain and you will love it.

The logging and fracking kinda sucks but it does make more trails for riding and hunting and fracking has definitely slowed down. at least in terms of new wells but if you look at sattelite views in some areas its crazy how many there are. Pavement roads are normally shot from the water trucks. The hunting is good, normal winters give good snowmobiling. Lots of townships approving ATV/UTV on the roads for the summer and the fishing is great. It's a rural area and I'm glad it still is. The more far out in the sticks the better in my mind, but to each their own. The stars are beautiful & It's quiet other than the coyotes howling

I'll add our well is 800 feet deep and when they fracked nearby the water turned brown. It was just iron but we did have to get a filter and run tests on it and whatnot. But holy fuck is that water cold

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Ashamed_Literature62 t1_j8vp5kb wrote

Stay where you are we are people lovers and we love inclusiveness our people are neighborly and respectful of each other we are one PA

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Inner-Figure5047 t1_j8xx2lw wrote

<3 Born and raised. I often think about how communal PA is, and wonder if the Quaker influence has something to do with it.

If OP does end up moving here, his children would be far better off attending one of the Quaker friendship schools IMO.

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jayprov t1_j98h2lp wrote

If he locates in northern Columbia, western Luzerne, or southern Sullivan counties, his kids could go to Greenwood Friends School in Millville. In PA, you get free public busing as long as the school district you live in touched the school district where the private school is located.

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cowboyjosh2010 t1_j8xmxmh wrote

I'm afraid that if you want to be in the 'mountain region' of PA (I presume you basically just mean the north/north-central part of the state?), you're going to have to contend with fracking wells now and for a long time coming. Honestly you should either find a way to convince yourself that it's okay to live around them, or else just don't live in that type of area.

I can't speak to which towns are good or bad to live in--not really an area of the state that I know well on that level.

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MoveDifficult1073 t1_j8q7jc8 wrote

You may find what you’re looking for in the area around Jim Thorpe, which is on the edge of the Poconos. Catholic education is still pretty strong in that area with Marian Catholic High School.

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gregv64 OP t1_j8q8foq wrote

I have seen some nice homes in poconos area!

−1

Allemaengel t1_j8si2oq wrote

I'm just east of Jim Thorpe.

Some are nice, many others not so much. Some neighborhoods are nice and others are dumps.

Do your homework carefully if moving to the Poconos.

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armysupply t1_j8rxg61 wrote

6 months of cold. 6 months of heat and humidity. Damp and moldy

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NerdyRedneck45 t1_j8t4l9a wrote

If you’re okay with a 30 minute drive, State College has a catholic school and a few dozen acres a few miles outside of town.

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Head-Tangerine-9131 t1_j8psleu wrote

Not many good Catholic schools in the rural areas. Try Potter County Wellsboro or Coudersport.

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1989throwa t1_j8t4pl7 wrote

So, first off: schools. We just had a landmark legal case about how the legislature funds our school districts. We have a state constitutional right to a "thorough and efficient system of education." The judged ruled that the current system does not meet that standard.

We don't know how this will shake out, but a lot of rural and urban schools could be getting quite a bit more money.

Also, PA's School districts are NOT always county based. We can have a dozen or more districts within a single county. This means that school rivalries extend beyond athletics and go to how well a school is funding the education BECAUSE folks could, in some cases, just move a few houses down and be in a different district. Pennsylvanians also have a tendency to being fiercely defensive of our local control. We make Councils of Governments rather than consolidate Governments, so I have doubts the new school funding method will cause a tidal wave of consolidations because that's just not something we like to do.

That being said, if you still want the kids to go to a Catholic school, you are mostly looking at areas near the Anthracite coal region (Scranton to Pottsville or so) or the region that includes State College, Altoona, and Johnstown (we call ourself the Allegheny region, but that confuses people who think "Allegheny County" which is Pittsburgh).

You could also do the mountains close to the Lehigh Valley or near Harrisburg since there are Catholic schools there as well.

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Endlesshills03 t1_j8utssr wrote

wow I hadn't heard anything about that ruling. That's going to be interesting if it isn't struck down somewhere else.

Bradford counties schools in the south western area is a great example of not being county based. Some of the schools have children from 3 different counties going to the schools.

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[deleted] t1_j8tlp09 wrote

Hey OP, sorry you're getting a lot of hate here.

So it seems like you want to live in a rural mountainous area. Is there a specific reason you are interested in PA specifically? Or are you interested in other Northeastern mountainous areas as well?

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gregv64 OP t1_j8us459 wrote

We are looking at NY and VT as well. PA just seemed reasonably affordable and not so much govt oversight like NY. i do see tons of great schools according to niche, in the souther ny state line that borders PA, nice mountains still. the Adirondracs are gorgeous, i dont see quite as many home prospects for sale there. West VT is also on the menu.

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[deleted] t1_j8v2srj wrote

I would visit all of these places. They have different vibes, for sure.

I will say, PA is more affordable for a reason. Rural PA is much poorer and also has worse schools than rural Northern New England (and also Upstate NY, I think, but I'm not as familiar with NY).

Politically, rural PA is more conservative than rural New England and New York.

You only mentioned VT, but NH and ME are mountainous states as well, but they are the more conservative New England states, which I presume aligns with you more based on your comment. However, "conservative" for New England is quite different than in other regions in the country as they are generally more moderate.

Anyway, I digress. My point is that I really recommend you visit all of these Northeastern states. They each have their own flavor with their own pros and cons. Hope this helped.

Edit: I noticed you mentioned concerns about fracking. I'm not familiar enough to know the ins and outs about it in PA, but I know that it's not a concern in the other Northeastern states.

Additionally, idk how important big mountains are to you, but PA has the smallest mountains in the interior Northeast. They get much larger as you go north. If you visit, you'll see

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gregv64 OP t1_j8vh8wm wrote

Appreciate the insight. I did see NY banned all fracking over 10 years ago. How are places like elmira, ithica, binghamton? I see a bunch of A rated schools there so thats good.. ME is absolutely stunning, we honeymooned there along the entire coast. Unfortunately too far from family in Toronto. NY state may be the way to go for us. Adirondacks look very nice.

NY property taxes scared me away at first but then realized the 2 places on zillow i saw and called about did in fact have 15k/a year taxes-zillow estimated them at 12. Then 5 others i called about, zillow estimated 12+ when they were actually all under 5k and 20+ acres. Cant trust everything on the internet..

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[deleted] t1_j8wppgb wrote

Gotcha, that makes sense.

I'm not too familiar with Upstate NY. I'm more familiar with New England. I know Ithaca is home to Cornell University so it has a lot of young people and I've heard it's a nice college town.

I've heard Binghamton used to not be as nice but I think it's gotten better? Don't quote me on that.

Don't know anything about Elmira.

You could probably knock out all those places if you took a few days road trip to check them out.

Edit: Upstate NY is a large area so you could also try asking in one of the NY subreddits for some more guidance

Edit 2: the areas of NY you mentioned aren't actually near the Adirondacks. They aren't flat, but the Dacks are further Northeast and are significantly bigger

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eMPereb t1_j8u7oi1 wrote

Tune yer banjo!

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Sarahlizyb t1_j90xdp8 wrote

I live in Bradford county. You’ll have a hard time finding a catholic school that goes past the 6th grade. Unfortunately, the schools in Bradford are not great as well. I’m not saying I don’t recommend living here, but I will say, it’s not easy for outsiders here

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Iceman705 t1_j8wdf0l wrote

Fatha’s teachin me to be a better cath-a-lick….

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