Fountain Hill (Allentown, Reading, Bethlehem: hardwood floors, cul-de-sac, sales)

[lorib49]

I'm looking for some information on the Boro of Fountain Hill. What is it like? What are the people like? Is it safe? My husband and I are going to be moving to the Lehigh Valley in June. My husband will be a resident at either Lehigh Valley Hosptial or St. Lukes. We will find out for sure in 2 months. I will be looking for employment as a Social Studies teacher, which I hear is hard, so I will also be applying to New Jersey districts as well as PA districts and will commute if I can't find employment in PA. We are both in our late twenties and aren't planning on having children for a few more years, so school districts are not that important to us. I like older homes that have character and have seen a few in Fountain Hill that are in our price range, which would be about $200,000 to $230,000. I would appreciate any advice on Fountain Hill or any other place that anyone could reccomend.

[ScranBarre]

My uncle and his live-in girlfriend moved to Fountain Hill from an attic apartment in South Side Bethlehem several years ago (they live on Norway Place near the school), and they seem to love living there. They live in a nice older two-story home with a lot of character (hardwood floors, French doors, etc.) on a small lot. From what I've heard of the neighborhood, their neighbors are mostly elderly and very nosy---one woman they met could even quote how much they had paid for their home because she keeps track of property transfers in the town. My uncle commutes to work in Bucks County, and his girlfriend commutes to Reading. I believe they paid around $175,000 for their home several years ago, and given the rapid appreciation in housing values in the Lehigh Valley, it might go for the low-to-mid $200k range now.

They will likely be putting their home on the market in 2008 to pursue career opportunities in Washington, DC if you'd be interested. From what I've seen of the town I really like it---it sure beats those sterile cul-de-sacs out in the boonies.

[theshan]

My impression of Fountain Hill is there are lots of original Bethlehem-ers there, compared with Hanover or the nicer parts of Bethlehem. So you may have a harder time getting to know folks since they've been around each other forever. I have met a few other moms who have moved to FH from out-of-state and they have noted that the demographic is a bit less educated than where they were from. Obviously this is not about everyone in FH, so no flaming!

[karen_s]

I arrived into this world in Fountain Hill 35 yrs ago, so I'm partial to the place

Fountain Hill still seems pretty nice to me - some of my DH's coworkers live there and they have no complaints. Their neighborhood is very mixed - on the block there is a great variety of ages of residents and a mix between owner-occupied homes and rentals.

Both hospitals are great and would be really neat for residency, although depending upon his specialty one may be preferred over the other. I don't think you will have problems settling in, as a large population of the borough seems to be healthcare workers at one facility or another.

[loose cannon]

Fountain Hill is not bad. Parts of it our close to the hood of 5 points which is a rough area but otherwise you will be fine. Yes, their may be a few old timers but they are getting up in age and should die off soon or move to an old folks home. You also will be living in the home area of former San Francisoco Giants pitcher Gary Lavelle. He is retired and reportedly stops by his mother's home quite often.

[loose cannon]

There also is a former NFL player in the area. I forget his name but I've drank with him a few times at the Tally Ho in South Bethlehem. He played for the Saints when they were real bad in the 70's and 80's. He was on that 1-15 team in 1980. He's tells a lot of funny stories about those days.

[lorib49]

Thank you for your replies. My husband and I want to live in the Bethlehem area and were interested in Fountain Hill because there were affordable homes there. Are there any other areas that anyone could recommend?

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by lorib49

Thank you for your replies. My husband and I want to live in the Bethlehem area and were interested in Fountain Hill because there were affordable homes there. Are there any other areas that anyone could recommend?

I've heard nothing but great things about Emmaus, but that's closer to Allentown.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

Originally Posted by lorib49

Thank you for your replies. My husband and I want to live in the Bethlehem area and were interested in Fountain Hill because there were affordable homes there. Are there any other areas that anyone could recommend?

LVH has three hospitals, Bethlehem, Center City Allentown and Allentown/ West End area. St. Lukes has three hospitals, Bethlehem, Allentown and Quakertown. These are really big areas, spred out by many miles and lots of nice areas exist around them.
If you are at St. Lukes/LVH Bethlehem; Fountain Hill/ Downtown historic Bethlehem are you best choices.
If you are at LVH/St. Lukes Allentown; I would suggest Emmaus, West End Allentown, or South Whitehall township.

I do have a question, since he is only doing his residency, is this the area where you want to settle down? Given the housing market, it might be better to rent an apartment for a few years. The Lehigh Valley has defied the national trend of lower housing costs. The prices of real estate has even gone up a little bit. This can't last much longer and IMHO will adjust and prices will go down. If you plan on staying here for a long time, not a problem, but it could be if you decide to sell and move away in a couple years.

As far as teaching jobs, you should not have a problem finding teaching jobs in the city districts. But from what I hear, landing a teaching job in the better suburban districts, is about as easy as walking on water.

[ScranBarre]

I agree wholeheartedly with Lehigh Valley Native. Renting would most definitely be a better short-term option. I believe the median home sales price in the Lehigh Valley in 2006 was about $275,000, and that has likely risen in 2007 to around $280,000. I truly don't foresee the ABE area being able to sustain median home prices much higher than that with the relatively-low median household incomes prevalent there---I don't even think that figure will hit $300,000. Decline in the housing bubble there is inevitable in the coming years, so it would be quite imprudent to purchase a home and then potentially lose money on your investment.