Moving to Lehigh Valley - Interested in New Tripoli (Allentown: townhouses, school district)

[moving2lehigh]

Hello! We're moving from France to Lehigh Valley in August and are very interested in the Lynn Township/New Tripoli area. We would love opinions and advice for anyone who knows anything about these areas! We've looked at the school ratings for the Northwestern Lehigh District and they are average ratings, way above Allentown, but less than Parkland and East Penn. Is there anyone who can tell me about the school system? We want to live in a more rural area, so that is why we are attracted to New Tripoli.

Thanks in advance!

[Rtom45]

Sorry, I can't help you with the schools. We built a home in Lynn Valley Farms back in the mid 70's and our kids were too young for school at the time. Our home was halfway between Lynnville and New Tripoli. At that time, it was still pretty much farmland. We absolutely loved it. We both traveled to the west side of Allentown for work. Our neighbors were particularly friendly, more so than any other place we have lived (and we have lived a lot of places). The downside was an occasional bad snow storm, with drifting, during the winter. My job required that I be out in the bad weather and for me a full size 4WD was essential. I haven't been back for many years, but I believe I could move back in a heartbeat.

[Soccer25]

As someone who currently lives in the New Tripoli area, and someone who graduated from Northwestern Lehigh a few years ago, I will tell you my thoughts about my alma mater and the area in general. Overall I think that the Northwestern Lehigh School District is pretty good. The high school runs on a block schedule, so there are four classes per day, and then you get four new classes half way through the year. As far as class selection goes, I would say it is average. In places like Parkland and East Penn, you could find classes for just about everything, along with more AP classes. What Northwestern has to try and make up for this is distance learning classes; where you sit in a classroom and communicate to your teacher in another location through monitors and speakers. You can also "create your own class" through an independent study with one of the teachers. As far as AP classes, off the top of my head I know they have English AP, Spanish/French/German AP (Level 4), Psych AP, and Econ AP. Class sizes are relatively small except for the popular classes. As far as teachers go, most of them are very good at what they teach and are very personable. In fact I have a close bond with many of them even though I graduated a few years ago. There are no truly "bad" teachers. As far as ratings go, I think what you found is pretty accurate. Northwestern is not top-of-the-line, but for being a smaller school, it does the best it can, which is still better than most in the Lehigh Valley I personally think.

Well that was long, as far as the area I will try to be short and to the point. The New Tripoli area is still a rural area, but it is increasingly getting built up. More town houses seem to be built every year. However, go off the main roads and you will find that there are still plenty of rural areas and many farms. As far as the people, they are extremely nice. Most of them are either older PA Dutch people or younger families that have recently moved into the area. Also more people from New Jersey and New York have started moving to the area. The weather is very nice, but it is true that we get some very big snow storms in the winter. Black ice on the roads is another big concern in the wintertime.

One last thing...the whole area comes to life at two times during the year; Football games and "A Night In The Country". We take our High school football very seriously, and the stadium is always packed. It is a great way to spend a Friday night with the family. A Night in the Country is a festival held every year at the end of August. It takes up the entire Rec fields across from the High school and there is live music, many different stands, a car show, and other festival things.

Wow that was much longer than I expected, but I wanted to give you as much information as possible. If there is anything else you had questions about please feel free to ask.

[toobusytoday]

That was a great post Soccer25! We really needed someone from your area for input. All I know about New Tripoli is driving through. Very pretty area.

[loose cannon]

New-trip-oh-lee is a very quiet area and close to shopping centers in Slatington-Walnutport as well as the LV Mall. There are no undesirable riff raffs of any race in New-trip-oh-lee.

[Rtom45]

loose canon:
It's pronounced newt ripoli.

[Rtom45]

Actually this may be a little closer:
nu tri Pol i

[moving2lehigh]

Thanks Soccer25! You gave me so much helpful information. Also thanks to Rtom 45. We're still looking for homes, and my Realtor said his opinion is that New Tripoli is off the beaten path and there is a good chance of getting stuck in rush-hour traffic on Rte. 100 or 309. I'm from Atlanta where the traffic is second only to Los Angeles, so a little traffic, as long as it's not like Atlanta's, won't bother me. Anyone know about the traffic?

We've found so many beautiful, old homes for very good prices in New Tripoli, but I haven't visited the area myself to see if I like it. I hope I will as my husband really wants to live in the country, but not too far from work in Foglesville. One thing I'm worried about living in New Tripoli/Lynn Township is how far I'll have to drive to a grocery store. I've found a few that are about 20 minutes away, going towards Whitehall. Driving too far to a grocery store is a problem - anyone know about this?

I'm getting a more clear picture of New Tripoli and so far, I still like what I'm learning about it. Thanks for the information! Anything else you can add is welcome, even if it's long. I want to know as much from locals as I can!

[cp123]

I grew up in New Tripoli - not 'downtown' New Tripoli but within 5 minutes of what would be considered downtown and I live very close to there now. It's a great place to raise kids or if you have no kids it's a nice place to live in the country. There aren't too many cookie-cutter communities yet in the area. One downside to New Tripoli are all the townhouses that have been build in downtown New Tripoli. My opinion is that they detract from the overall area. But there aren't many of the these townhouses yet and it doesn't look like many more would be built. Not sure if you are planning to move to the downtown area or surrounding area but I would suggest the surrounding area.

In terms of traffic, Rt100 or Rt309 are nothing compared to living in a big city. I would have never considered Rt100 or Rt309 to be 'trafficky'. Even our traffic on Rt22 isn't comparable, but having traveled all these roads for many years, I would say you don't need to worry about much traffic unless you are on Rt22 around the MacArthur Road area.

I went to Northwestern before the middle school was built, so I'm sure a lot has changed since then, but overall it was a good school. As with any school there are pros/cons but given what I know about the 'richer' schools I'm glad I went to Northwestern. If you enjoy rural areas I can't imagine any reason you wouldn't want to move to New Tripoli.

[cp123]

I re-read your post and saw you asked about grocery stores in the local area. I thought I'd add to my reply. In terms of groceries - based on where I lived growing up (5 min from downtown New Tripoli), Kings in Schnecksville was about a 15 minute drive. Wegmans/Giants towards the Allentown area are good options and they are about a 20 min drive. There's always been talk of building a grocery store in Fogelsville which would be very convenient. Trexlertown (off of Rt100 past Fogelsville) has plent of shopping - Giants, Kohls, Bon-Ton, WalMart. That's about 20 min as well, depending on where you end up. There are plenty of convenience stores in New Tripoli - about 3 that I can think of in the general area. In addition, there are some food options - 2 pizza joints, subway, Northwestern Grill (great for ice cream!). I know there are others I'm not thinking of.

Becasue I have lived in New Tripoli since I was 7, and in my adult life I live about 15 min from New Tripoli, driving 15 or 20 min for groceries is common-place for me. I don't think about it anymore, although for some people are used to conveniences being 5 min away it could be hard to get used to.

My opinion is you weigh the good with the bad - driving 15 or 20 min for shopping is worth the beauty and peacefulness of the country.

Hope this helps - feel free to ask any other questions!