Emmaus, PA (Reading, Lancaster, Ephrata: house, buy, theatre)

[jeny305]

I am still looking at towns my husband I may end up in. The reason I am asking about so many towns is that my husband's boss wants to live in Temple and we don't want to live there. But we have to live no more than 30 miles away from the boss. We are both in our mid-thirties with no children. We plan to adopt in the future. Are people in PA understanding of people with no kids? I grew up in Raleigh, NC and people were very snobby about certain things. Of course L.A. is the exact opposite. We heard that Emmaus has a pretty good reputation. Anyone know about that town? Your help would be greatly appreciated!

[toobusytoday]

Emmaus is a great small town. It has a nice main street with unique shops, small restaurants, coffee shops and even an art gallery. It has an old fashioned movie theatre right off of the Main Street that plays movies just after their peak. I love to go there with my kids.

It may be a little harder to make friends without kids if you buy a house in town because the majority of the people have lived there for a long time. However, outside of town and over towards Macungie are newer homes and town homes. I think it's just harder to make friends without kids unless you get involved in something, like church or a volunteer organization. But that's jmho.

[kf70]

Emmaus recently was ranked 87 in the Top 100 Best places to live by Money Magazine. I've only been through town once, but I worked with someone who lives there. She always made it sound like a nice place to live.

Other options would be Lititz or Ephrata (about 30 minutes south of Reading on 222, convenient to Pa Turnpike) in Lancaster County. Lititz is a quaint small town with artsy vibe, closer to Lancaster city than Reading. It may be a little farther from Reading than you are looking. Ephrata is similar in size and has lots of charm, yet is becoming more modern. One slight drawback to these locations would be the Amish traffic (horse & buggies) on some of the roadways.

[graysmom8]

I love Emmaus! Our downtown has been revitalized thanks to our Main Street Program and the people are very friendly. Like a previous poster mentioned, getting involved in an activity will help you to meet other people. Once you adopt we have a Moms Club that offers playgroups, mom's night out, support, and lots of activities. I have met a lot of new friends since joining the group (most of my "old" friends don't have kids yet).

We are about 20 min from Lehigh Valley Mall (the "big" mall locally) and about 20 min from the new Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley.

I will say that my husband worked outside of Philly for 2 years and the commute became really frustrating for him. The NE Extension of the turnpike wasn't so bad, buy once he got through the Mid-county tolls and onto the Schykill Expressway, traffic jams/accidents were frequent. He changed jobs about 6 months after DS was born because he never got to see him awake. Just something to think about (note: we didn't move from Emmaus because we like living here so much).

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'd be happy to try and answer them.

[jeny305]

I am so happy to hear that Emmaus is such a great place! I will look into the other towns as well. I can't wait to get out to PA. and start looking around!
Knowing where to look is so helpful. Thanks so much!

[virangos]

I have lived in Emmaus a few times. Like everyone has said it is a great place. The "Townies" As opposed to the "Suburbs" (Downtown instaed of the outskirts) Were always very easy to make friends with, Nice give you the shirt off your back kind of people. I have no kids and found no problems.
I only make that distinction because I have friends who live away from downtown who say that most of the people around them aren't as easy going and friendly. Don't know from personel experiance.

(Get a Steak Boli from Armettas)