Valley vs. Mountain

Since I entered the real estate business in 1997, I have been hearing from sellers, buyers, agents and the like, that the Mountain is more desirable than the Valley, but I've also heard that the Valley is more desirable than the Mountain.  Over the years I have come to realize that it really depends on where you have to commute to.  To get to Rts. 78 and 24, the Valley is obviously more desirable and to get to Rts. 46 and 80, the Mountain is more desirable. 

To shop, you go to Chester when you live in the Valley and Mansfield and Hackettstown, for the most part, when you live on the Mountain.

In terms of home values, I have never found a big discrepancy between the two.  It seems like it's more neighborhood to neighborhood, but overall, no difference.  This is the area where homeowners feel that there's the biggest difference when estimating the value of their own home.

All Long Valley schools are excellent, so I don't see a difference there either. 

The kids from all areas of Long Valley play sports on the same teams, there's no differentiation.

Is there something else I'm missing?