My family is moving towards an area near Lehigh University (Pittsburgh: low crime, houses)

[thebluecat]

Hey guys,

My family is moving towards Lehigh University because of my brother who is going to be a freshmen there this fall. We are looking for a township or county that is similar to Peters Township, Upper St. Clair, and Mt. Lebanon (All in western PA). All these townships are safe and in a well off community. Also, low crime rates are a must, although the public school does not have to be good.

Thank you to anyone who posts!

[pman]

Originally Posted by thebluecat

Hey guys,

My family is moving towards Lehigh University because of my brother who is going to be a freshmen there this fall. We are looking for a township or county that is similar to Peters Township, Upper St. Clair, and Mt. Lebanon (All in western PA). All these townships are safe and in a well off community. Also, low crime rates are a must, although the public school does not have to be good.

Thank you to anyone who posts!

why not bethlehem?

[thebluecat]

I don't think my family wants to be that close to my brother. I think they want to be around 30 minutes away. Are there any other areas that are would be similar to Upper St. Clair and Peters?

[flyonpa]

I guess my question is why is the family moving to where he's going to college? He's 18/19? A little independence would be good.

As for where to live, What other thing are you looking for? Since most of us don't know what Peters Township, Upper St. Clair, and Mt. Lebanon are like it would be hard to say X is like them.

[thebluecat]

The townships are mainly middle to upper class. Peters is pretty rural, Upper St. Clair is also kind of similar. However, they are developed well enough to lots of small businesses and some chain stores. Upper St. Clair has a large mall. Mt. Lebanon is close to Pittsburgh. My main point about these townships would be that you could leave your door unlocked at night or anytime for that matter and nothing would happen. People there are usually friendly. Sorry about not posting any info about these townships.

[slope95]

Originally Posted by flyonpa

I guess my question is why is the family moving to where he's going to college? He's 18/19? A little independence would be good.

this is true. though i've never been to west pa, i think i understand the kind of community you want. it appears you want more development houses. so, in the lehigh valley area, you can look around nazareth, where there is much shopping, walmart, target, wegmans, staples and more, and much development especilly in forks township, palmer and lower nazareth. if you wanted to be further away, you also can look around clinton, nj, a very nice town with a lot of developments. it is around 35 min away, and is only 1 hour from nyc. or you can look around quakertown, bucks county, which is under 30 min from bucks county, has a lot of shopping, many developments, and is just 50 minutes from philly. or look at doylestown, 30 miles (45 min) from lehigh, which has a great downtown and is 35 min from philly and 1.5 hours from nyc. give more detail about what/why you want so we can give more.

[slope95]

Originally Posted by thebluecat

The townships are mainly middle to upper class. Peters is pretty rural, Upper St. Clair is also kind of similar. However, they are developed well enough to lots of small businesses and some chain stores. Upper St. Clair has a large mall. Mt. Lebanon is close to Pittsburgh. My main point about these townships would be that you could leave your door unlocked at night or anytime for that matter and nothing would happen. People there are usually friendly. Sorry about not posting any info about these townships.

sorry about my previous comment, i posted it before i saw this. frankly, you should lock your door wherever you go, it is always the safest thing. i think the nazareth area, the doylestown area and the clinton, nj area would be good for you.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by thebluecat

We are looking for a township or county that is similar to Peters Township, Upper St. Clair, and Mt. Lebanon (All in western PA).

The median income for a household in the
Upper St. Clair was $212,104
Mt. Lebanon $60,783,

I would suggest the area near DeSales University. There are many homes in the area for a 1/2 million dollars or more (and some for less). Good access to country clubs, theater, hiking trails, and only 15 minutes from Lehigh University. The Upper Saucon Township is one of the most prestigious places to live in the valley.

High end shopping and movies are available at Promenade shops, and there is more affordable shopping nearby as well. It is a 7 mile drive to a park and ride where you can catch the 2 hour bus into Manhattan. I think your parents will like it there very much, and they will be close to your brother while not on top of him.

Generally start in the 18034 zip code.

[thebluecat]

To answer your questions about my family moving to a place near the university is because we were planning to move there because of other family a couple years ago anyway, so they just found an excuse to move there finally haha.

I just looked at Forks Township, and it looks good! Clinton, NJ and looks good, too. We would like to find a safe suburban township, where we don't have to drive for more than hour to go to say Costco. And you nailed it when you brought up the time to go to New York City and Philly cause that is also important to us. That's basically it, I guess.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by thebluecat

To answer your questions about my family moving to a place near the university is because we were planning to move there because of other family a couple years ago anyway, so they just found an excuse to move there finally haha.

I just looked at Forks Township, and it looks good! Clinton, NJ and looks good, too. We would like to find a safe suburban township, where we don't have to drive for more than hour to go to say Costco. And you nailed it when you brought up the time to go to New York City and Philly cause that is also important to us. That's basically it, I guess.

There is no Costco in the Lehigh Valley. There is a BJ's

Clinton NJ is much more expensive than Fork's Township. Clinton Township is an affluent distant commute to New York City, while Fork's Township is where you go if you can't afford Clinton.

From the description of St Clair Township (which is much more expensive than the Lehigh Valley), I thought you wanted a more expensive suburb. Fork's Township is more or less average, while Upper Saucon is considerably more expensive.

It helps if you have some idea what your parents will sell there house for. A $300K house is very different than a $800K house.

Housing Characteristics 2010
Forks Township
Owner occupied 4,325
Renter occupied 4,982
Vacant housing units 1,049
Median value-owner occupied (2006-2010) $139,200
2006-2010 Median household income $38,613

Upper Saucon Township
Owner occupied 4,509
Renter occupied 530
Vacant housing units 223
Median value-owner occupied (2006-2010) $299,800
2006-2010 Median household income $95,107

There is a train from Clinton NJ to New York city, the stations are called High Bridge and Annandale but there are not that many places with a train. Because Clinton is the end of the line there are only seven trains per day.