Hellertown vs Coopersburg (Philadelphia, Allentown, Bethlehem: section 8, 2014, apartments)

[Nittanytiger]

I am looking to buy a home in either Coopersburg or Hellertown (and possibly Nazareth). My primary concerns are low crime, quality school districts, air quality, walkability, quiet, and maintenance of property value. I do not see a problem with any of my important areas in either town - do any residents see any early warning signs that I should be concerned with? Also, would a similar home likely be priced higher in Coopersburg or Hellertown?

[toobusytoday]

Let me preface my post by saying that I live near Coopersburg and am prejudiced towards it.

I agree that all of those things exist in all three towns. There are problems in Hellertown right now, but they should be resolved in a year or so. Those problems are the schools and the high probability of teacher strikes - Saucon Valley teachers contract: Students prep for school while dispute talks continue today | lehighvalleylive.com and big traffic problems - Route 412 expansion timeline improved some in Bethlehem-Hellertown area, state says | lehighvalleylive.com

I think Hellertown has a livelier downtown area with actual restaurants and stores. Their Sunday farmers market is great! Coopersburg is much more laid back, but people are always seen walking around and the businesses that are there are well frequented. I like the vibe of our Community and how there are several events and places that bring everyone together. Coopersburg is a part of Southern Lehigh School District, which also includes Center Valley (Upper Saucon) and Lower Milford Townships. The newish library in the Upper Saucon Park is heavily used by everyone. The Saucon Rail trail connects the Upper Saucon Park to the Living Memorial Park in Coopersburg. The Rail trail, also continues on to Hellertown and ends near it's park. In two weeks, Community Day will be held in Living Memorial Park.

I don't know much about Nazareth and have only been to it a couple of times. It's a nice town with good schools.

No idea about how the housing prices compare. Both towns are so small that the limited housing available might be hard to compare since I would guess the houses themselves would be very different to each other.

[Nittanytiger]

Thanks for all the information. Is there Section 8 housing in either town?

[toobusytoday]

I have no idea.

[JohnZ963]

Property taxes in Hellertown are ridiculous due to both the Saucon Valley School District (highest tax rate in the county, even though it hasn't gone up in like 5 years or so) plus the borough of Hellertown itself (one of, if not the highest municipal tax rates in the county). Coopersburg is more favorable.

Section 8 housing, if any, would be limited to a few random apartments where the landlord is participating in the program. There are no "projects" in either Coopersburg or Hellertown.

[Nittanytiger]

Thank you. I did notice the difference in property taxes and that does concern me.

My question about Section 8 was due to my belief that it can destroy neighborhoods, as can a large number of foreclosures. What I am seeing is that this is not an issue in the towns I am looking at - I was just hoping some residents who know more than I could provide added insight which you have done! Thanks.

[JohnZ963]

If you are looking at a home on a certain street, you can check the county assessment records and see how many of the homes have a mailing address for the tax bills that is different from the street address of the property. Usually a good indicator of how many renters there are, though says nothing about section 8.

[PacoMartin]

They are similar in that they are in good school districts, but the housing is more affordable than nearby townships. Hellertown housing is often older so on average it is less expensive than Coopersburg. Vacant housing is about 10% in Hellertown and 5% in Coopersburg.

2010 Housing Units
owner-renter-vacant
Coopersburg 637-317-31
Hellertown 1778-826-170

In general the big difference is that in Hellertown there are 20 buses per day that go to NYC port Authority, while Coopersburg is a fairly long drive to almost anywhere.

Municipal Profiles

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by PacoMartin

They are similar in that they are in good school districts, but the housing is more affordable than nearby townships. Hellertown housing is often older so on average it is less expensive than Coopersburg. Vacant housing is about 10% in Hellertown and 5% in Coopersburg.

2010 Housing Units
owner-renter-vacant
Coopersburg 637-317-31
Hellertown 1778-826-170

In general the big difference is that in Hellertown there are 20 buses per day that go to NYC port Authority, while Coopersburg is a fairly long drive to almost anywhere.

Municipal Profiles

Paco, I get that you put a huge emphasis on public transportation, but location of the nearest bus to NYC really not a priority for everyone. If needed, I can get to the bus in 15 minutes in either Allentown or Hellertown. I can get to the Bieber bus that goes to Philadelphia in about the same time, or less from Quakertown. I can also get to a regional train station in about 30 minutes. That takes a bit longer from Philadelphia.

Coopersburg is very close to Allentown and Bethlehem, it has a large upscale shopping center and a multi-plex theater right in Center Valley. Shopping in Quakertown for BJ's, Best Buy, Target or Kohls is ten minutes away. I can get to Newark Airport in less that 1 1/2 hours and to Philadelphia airport in one hour. I can also get to a pick-your-own vegetable farm in 15 minutes, or the grocery store and restaurants in less than 10 minutes.

I don't think Coopersburg qualifies as, "a fairly long drive to anywhere". Besides, with the traffic and construction going on in Hellertown, I think it might be faster to travel from Center Valley to get to the bus stop than it is for someone that lives on the wrong end of Hellertown!

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

Paco, I get that you put a huge emphasis on public transportation, but location of the nearest bus to NYC really not a priority for everyone.

The OP simply asked to differentiate the towns giving no indication of what factors he thought were important other than "low crime, quality school districts, air quality, walkability, quiet, and maintenance of property value". Basically there is no substantial difference in these areas.

The promenade shops and cinema are about equal distance from either Coopersburg or Hellertown so they do not differentiate the towns.

I didn't quantify Hellertown as better than Coopersburg. As a matter of fact I said the housing was older and cheaper. But in trying to quantify the difference, one major factor is you can easily ride a bicycle to the park and ride (about 1-2 miles) vs 7 or 8 miles. People who commute every day vs people who take an occasional trip don't like to tie up cars if unnecessary.

Perhaps it may have been a little bit of an overstatement to say Coopersburg is, "a fairly long drive to anywhere". I think of it as the extreme edge of urban Lehigh Valley,