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

Lehighton is a world away from center valley/Coopersburg. I'm not kidding when I say that there is a nearly 15 year difference in life expectancy between residents of lehigh and carbon counties (there is significantly more poverty up north).

That being said, there are more than enough rural lots within the lehigh Valley itself. The metro area is only really allentown->Bethlehem, with suburbs for another 10 miles in each direction. A good compromise could be alburtis, New Tripoli, Nazareth, or Northampton. Plenty of good places exist in between, but these towns are IMO the best ratio you'll find between lot affordability and rural Ness.

I'm not kidding when I say that things get rural FAST when leaving the valley. The LV is really a metropolitan oasis compared to the rest of the region. Travel a mile north of blue mountain and the politics change rapidly. Travel a mile west of Alburtis, and you will see Amish riding horses on a daily basis.

Tamaqua is lovely in my opinion, but If you can afford it, I would absolutely not raise my kids there. The entire coal region is plagued by poverty. The only times I ever visit Tamaqua are to explore abandoned coal mines. There are entire city blocks that are abandoned in many of these towns. Shenandoah is another example or how bad this phenonema is.

Southern Lehigh, Parkland, and East Penn are all excellent, well funded school districts. I wish I had more to say, I wish you luck in your quest!

I grew up in Schnecksville, just north of Allentown. It was very suburban, but north of that is New Tripoli which is rural farmland. As others have said, rural PA has some OK areas, but a lot of it has problems with finding jobs, healthcare, and school districts. Rural areas in Lehigh County doesn't suffer from that much since the county is well off, but others around have it rougher.

Not sure what your budget is, but one thing about PA is there's usually developments even out in rural areas, if that's in your budget. And there's always plenty of run down shit for cheap if you're into fixing something up.

I grew up in Northwestern Lehigh and would recommend that area over anything north of the mountain including where I live now on the Carbon-Monroe line.

Tamaqua and Lehighton school districts are both characterized by very marginal quality, high taxes, and school board infighting, football hazing scandals, excessive administrator turnover, etc.

In Northwestern you could get a decent-sized lor, good school district and not be as far away from the core of the Lehigh Valley as north of the mountain. Plus not pay those Southern Lehigh-East Penn-Parkland prices.

I grew up just west of Schnecksville too but back when it was all country still.

I’ve heard panther valley SD mentioned a couple of times now! Will definitely avoid it. Thank you very much for your insight, I really appreciate all of the thoughtful responses I’ve been getting on here as well as the Lehighvalley subreddit

For school districts, look for NW Lehigh or Nazareth.

If you look NW Lehigh, shoot for the southern half...you might find some private spots in the northern, but the elem school for that half is more crowded than in the lower half.

Good luck!

Nazareth area school district, Nazareth borough, & Bushkill township would be A great place to start out with a family. It is a very good safe area great schools close enough to shopping centers and malls but still small borough and rural areas. Lived here my whole life, Live in the township and went to the same school District. You would do yourself a favor if you check out this area before you make your mind up! Good luck With whatever you decide to do