South Side Easton (Philadelphia, Allentown, York: apartments, rent, violent crime)

[Flatulence]

I've lived here in Southside Easton for several years. I love it here. Quiet, tree lined street. Lovely older houses. I see many interesting older buildings, some commercial and industrial. I dont know much of what it was like here in the past. I would love to see some old photos of my area and hear some stories of what it was like from some past and present residents.

[kettlepot]

I know this only from hearsay, but aren't there some public housing projects on the south side of Easton that make the area somewhat sketchy? If this isn't true, please correct me.

Now regarding the housing stock, looking on the web, the prices are remarkably affordable, and like you I appreciate the older housing, preferably, brick. In particular, Easton has a lot of brick row houses, second story bay windows, front porches, two or three stories. If the area is clean and safe, it seems like it would be a great place for dense urban living.

[househuntinginPA]

The big housing project is being razed as we speak! In its place will be "multi use" housing: apartments, townhouses ( rent ot purchase) and senior housing.

[DaveyW]

When you say southside Easton, do you mean like south of the river and north of 78, what the map calls College Hill, or someplace else? There also seems to be something called Old Orchard. Is that considered southside?

[pennsynative]

No, Old Orchard is not near South Side. South Side is south of the Lehigh River and west of the Delaware. East of the Delaware is Phillipsburg, NJ. The Old Orchard is in Palmer Township which is north and west of the Lehigh. College Hill is north of the downtown area and South Side is south of downtown.

[Awaiting2012]

Good things about the South Side:


-A lot of the homes over there are older, huge homes with original everything. Back when the railroad was running through that was the place to live up on the hills. Every house in that area has older charm and tons of square footage.


-It's extremely close to I-78. You are 5 minutes from downtown Easton and 3 minutes from the interstate to go to New York or west towards Allentown/Bethelem.


- A lot of trees and grassy areas keeping it very rural.


-No heavy industrial areas. You won't see a lot of traffic going through there even though it leads to I-78. Most people just go through downtown Easton, hit Route 22 which connects to I-78 in a few minutes anyways. Most locals take the I-78 route and avoid Pburg.



Bad things:


The area had deteriorated into lower income families and a lot of those nice Victorian homes are not in extremely good shape. Since the surrounding homes bordering it are rows, you get a lot of petty crimes; Car break ins, a few home invasions but that's about it. You won't see a lot of murder, rape or violent crime on the South Side. For people coming from NY or Philadelphia and looking to build, that area could have a lot of potential.

[DaveyW]

I was looking at the area on Google maps. The satellite pictures show these huge patches of raw ground that look like open-pit mines or quarries or something. Or I guess they could be construction sites. What are they, and what's it like to live close to them?

[ichiroll]

Originally Posted by DaveyW

I was looking at the area on Google maps. The satellite pictures show these huge patches of raw ground that look like open-pit mines or quarries or something. Or I guess they could be construction sites. What are they, and what's it like to live close to them?

not real sure what you are referring to but, I don't know how accurate Google maps is as far as the most up to date info.

I would say the maps of the south side areas are dated by at least 3 to 5 years.

[DaveyW]

Hmm... I don't know how to describe them any more clearly. If you look at the Goggle map satellite view around Easton or the rest of the valley you'll see these big tan areas. If you zoom in to the max they look like quarries or mines or something. I suppose they could be something that's gone since the pictures were taken. On the map part, they're just big blank areas without labels.

[ichiroll]

Originally Posted by DaveyW

Hmm... I don't know how to describe them any more clearly. If you look at the Goggle map satellite view around Easton or the rest of the valley you'll see these big tan areas. If you zoom in to the max they look like quarries or mines or something. I suppose they could be something that's gone since the pictures were taken. On the map part, they're just big blank areas without labels.

You could be looking at either the Chrin Landfill just south of I-78 in Easton or the Concrete Plant in Nazareth. These things aren't really all over the valley or anything though.