I was raised in Jim Thorpe, currently live in Tamaqua, and though neither of my kids are school age yet so I can't help you there, I can say that I'm very glad of the childhood I had. I will never be able to live in a major metropolitan area; I just love the mountains too much. Some of my best childhood memories were hiking with my friends and just being in nature.

I will say, the one major problem with rural PA (especially the coal region) is the economy. There's just nothing here. So many of the towns in Carbon/Schuylkill counties are just dead. The only real industry is Service, so good luck if you want a job that's not retail or Food Service. Because of the all around poverty, the school systems really aren't the best either. Jim Thorpe was fine, at least for me since I was a gifted kid who kept to himself and learned a lot outside of school anyway, but for the love of God do not send your kid to Panther Valley