Moving to Macungie, PA (area) (Allentown, Ancient Oaks: for sale, condo, how much)

[yofossa]

As the title indicates, we're looking for some help as we prepare to move. Here are the moderator's suggested questions (with answers). Your input on where would be a good place to look is appreciated.


When are you moving?
September of this year; we will be looking for houses in late July.

Where are you coming from?
Wisconsin
Why are you moving?
Got a job (was a student)
Where will you be working?
East side of Allentown
Have you been here yet?
Just to visit--and only for a little while.

Will you buy or rent?
Buying
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend?
Looking for a house--250-300K

Are you married or single? Do you have children?
Married, three small children
Do you prefer public or private schools?
No real preference, but probably public schools (we've heard that East Penn and Parkland are nice districts)
Do you have pets?
Nope
Do you want or need a yard?
We don't want anything too huge with three small kids, as it would get away from us for a while.
Are you keeping a car?
We've got two.
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet?
Having neighbors is nice, especially ones that have small kids for playdates.
What do you want to be closest to?
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

Probably the first three; the last two aren't as important.

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood?
We'd like a family neighborhood, preferably with young children.

We've been looking at several neighborhoods. We've liked what we've 'seen' online about The Hills at Lock Ridge, (in terms of house for the money) but it seems like there are a LOT of houses for sale there. Is there something going on there that we don't know about? Can anyone recommend other possible developments in the area that would be nice?

Thanks!

[2kidsimdone]

We have been looking in the same area as well. The homes at Lock Ridge are really close together in most parts. Also, there is a train track that is about a mile away, that runs at least twice an hour. We heard the train running and it is quite loud. I am sure inside your home (depending on where in the development it is) you might not be able to hear it. We decided to pass on that neighborhood for those reasons.

I am not sure of other developments in your price range, since it wasn't the same as ours. I would recommend calling a realtor and they can help you more.

[yofossa]

We have a realtor with the company we are with; they've sent us some listings, but we'd like to know as much as possible before we actually see the houses. Thanks for the information about the railroad track, though. We'd seen it on the map and weren't sure the frequency with which trains passed the development.

[Qyou]

"...it seems like there are a LOT of houses for sale there. Is there something going on there that we don't know about? Can anyone recommend other possible developments in the area that would be nice?"

There was a big housing boom in the area over the last few years and it seemed like every young family in the valley flocked to the new houses so my guess is with the economy and job market being the way it's been they most likely had a hard time keeping up with costs thus leading to the abundance of houses for sale.

I may be biased but I'd suggest Ancient Oaks West (technically lower Macungie about 5 miles outside the main town). It has just about every size house and a variety of prices because of this.
There is very minimal trough traffic so kids can ride bikes, play in streets, and walk to the school bus stops no problem. Also concerning the wee ones, the majority of people are either elderly or young families so there are plenty of kids/grand kids around. A new elementary school is actually being built less than a mile away that is supposed to be completed in the next 2 years or so and there are also 7 other schools within 15 minutes driving time (not counting private). Within the neighborhood there are 2 play grounds with basketball, baseball, and soccer fields and the newer half has sidewalks. Great for kids, not bad for adults either though seeing as we're within a half hour's drive of just about anything you can think of...nightclubs, concert venues, movie theaters, restaurants, churches, velodrome, etc.

Overall, the area is a nice place to live and there are few places I can think of to avoid but still aren't entirely bad.

1. Parts of Ancient Oaks (ancient oaks west's sister neighborhood roughly 2 miles away):
--Spring Creek (road), the main road to that side of the neighborhood, has a massive flooding problem because of Spring Creek (river) being too close to it, this causes parts of the road to be closed off several times a year and houses closer to the flood zones often have problems with water finding it's way into their basements.
--It does have it's perks though. It's a mile or less from a Walmart and about the same distance from Trexlertown (basically all businesses) which has 2 grocery stores, a gym, a bank, several food places, clothes stores, drugstore, vet, video rental, ice cream shop, and doctor's office. Plus, it's again about the same distance from both Lower Macungie Middle School and Macungie Elementry.

2. Anything near Shepherd Hills Golf Club:
--I believe it's considered Westcosville sorry I don't know the name of the neighborhood. The golf course actually goes through parts of the neighborhood. They do not take kindly to children playing on their green (often butted right against your backyard) and have been know to call the police on people found on their property. Also rouge golf balls dent houses and cars and break windshields and windows.
--Perks are it's close to Walmart, drugstore, bank, ice cream shop, gas station, Lower Macungie Elementary, and Lower Macungie Middle School.

3. Alburtis:
--It's a nice place to visit but unless the place you're moving from is the quintessential small town I'd stay away. Also, the aforesaid busy train tracks cross it's Main St. which incidentally is the far end of Spring Creek (road), though that end has no flooding as the creek veers away from the road long before.
--Its perks are, it's home to Lockridge Park which is beautiful and fun for the family (has a walking/bike path) and Alburtis Elementary School.

4. Main Street in Macungie:
--Several times a year there is horrible traffic on Main Street.
--It's Perks, said traffic is caused by, arguably the best thing about Macungie, the several antique car shows at Macungie Memorial Park (which, my favorite thing, you can practically see for free on Rt. 100/Main st. in the surrounding days). There are sidewalks so you could walk to the several food places, pub, coffee shop, bank, 2 parks, ice cream shop, beer distributor, and bus stop.

Now, speaking of the bus stop, I see you mentioned "nightlife" and "train/subway"...there is none. The place pretty much shuts down around 10 and aside from the bus there are no train stops or subways but we're very close to Allentown (as you know) which has a bustling nightlife with it's bars, clubs, theater (plays/musicals), and concert venues.

Like I said Macungie and the surrounding area is really nice and I can go on and on about it. So if you have any questions about Macungie and neighboring towns feel free to email me at Dfuzz419@yahoo.com.

[toobusytoday]

Great post Qyou! Another suggestion is to look for posts from KristyLiz who did a very similar Macungie area search and also has two or three young children. This thread may also be helpful: http://www.city-data.com/forum/lehig...ml#post8979455