Relocation to a small town in Lehigh Valley (Pittsburgh, Allentown: renting, crime)

[diane413]

My husband and I currently live just outside of Pittsburgh. We are both retired although I make jewelry that I sell at arts fairs. My son has recently moved to Brooklyn, NY and I am considering moving to be closer to him. The Lehigh Valley seems to be about the right distance. We don't want to live in a big city but rather a small town. We would be renting and would like a 3+ bedroom townhouse. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am just beginning my search.

[toobusytoday]

My daughter just moved to Brooklyn! Emmaus is a great small town with many housing choices in the town and just outside of it. Other towns that people often consider are Coopersburg (my town), Hellertown, Nazareth and Macungie. Macungie probably comes in second after Emmaus for quantity and price of houses.

[Love2Golf09]

Originally Posted by diane413

My husband and I currently live just outside of Pittsburgh. We are both retired although I make jewelry that I sell at arts fairs. My son has recently moved to Brooklyn, NY and I am considering moving to be closer to him. The Lehigh Valley seems to be about the right distance. We don't want to live in a big city but rather a small town. We would be renting and would like a 3+ bedroom townhouse. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am just beginning my search.

What do you consider a small town? Would Allentown be too big? There are a lot of nice townhouses in South Whitehall Twp, not far from MacArthur Rd. I'm not sure of the name of the community, but I got lost there once and it seems like thousands of them there and they are nice looking. I think I took a wrong turn off of Mickley Run and ended up on Presidential Drive. There are a lot of townhouses back there and it's like a maze driving through there. There are also a lot around Lower Macugnie Twp. Check out East Texas and some developments around Jordan Creek. I'm sure if you check out the newspaper and craigslist you will find some people renting their own there.

[toobusytoday]

If you move to the Lehigh Valley, you could perhaps sell your things here - Out Of Our Hands - Fine Handcrafted Creations

When you say you want to live in a small town, do you mean that because you want to be able to walk to stores, library, parks or do you just plain want to not live in the city? There are mostly twins in the towns and cities around here as well as older homes, but you would have to live outside of the towns if you want new housing.

[diane413]

Most of my life I have lived in cities - New York, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh or suburbs of those cities. In my semi-retirement, I thought it would be nice to live in a small town where you could walk to shops and restaurants. A place that is safe and pretty. I also really would like to get away from the crime and other unpleasant aspects of the city. The hustle and bustle of the city that I loved as a young person is not appealing now. After saying all of that I can also say that renting in a newer complex also has its attraction (fireplace, garage, etc) - but not in the city. By twins, do you mean duplexes? And the store you mentioned sounds great. I know there are lots of artfairs out your way.

[toobusytoday]

Yes, I mean duplex's. Sounds like the solution to the dilemma of living in either new housing outside of town or older housing within walking distance of everything is to buy something that's been renovated in town. Once you figure out an area, I would suggest contacting a Realtor and have them look for you. If you've always lived in large cities, you may consider our towns too small. Bethlehem may seem like a town to you, even though it's classified as a city.

Emmaus - Best Places to Live: Top 100 - Emmaus, Pa. (87) - Money Magazine Emmaus Main Street Program Shops of Emmaus - Home

Bethlehem - City of Bethlehem Homepage ChristmasCity.org - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania - Homepage The Banana Factory - Bethlehem's Cultural Arts & Education Center - Homepage

The distance between Emmaus and Bethlehem is about 15 - 20 minutes so you can easily live in one and get to the other. Two great choices IMHO.

[diane413]

Thank you so much for the help. Now I have a direction for my search.

[Summering]

I'm thinking the poster my like Hellertown too. It is a walking town.......and has a wonderfull pool area. Everything close by including a fantastic Mall with outdoor walking there also.

[Eliishi]

Macungie was a nice small town, but we found it too far away from NJ, where most of our relatives live. We live in Bethlehem Township now, but, if we're to pick a small town, we'd choose Nazareth for its nice hometown feel.