Moving from NYC to Milford, PA

[poconogirl]

Originally Posted by amstel78

Thanks Poconogirl. Strange thing right - to buy a house to get out of debt?

I am sure you have already crank out all of the numbers about travel cost/time on the road, and misc cost. I just made another post for a lady RE: travel cost. One thing I want to point out, the heating cost is quite high in the pocono due to the cold winter. you may also want to consider an AWD for the snow days. keep in touch.

[ff18wife]

Originally Posted by amstel78

It's been a while since I posted in this thread, but I just wanted to update it in case anyone was actually interested.

We bought the house on Twin Lakes and are closing in a few days. I've already started packing. We can't wait to move out there and begin enjoying the quieter side of life. I believe our choice in Shohola was a good one.

I only have a few small concerns - my 15 month old has severe food allergies and as such, she sees a specialist at Mt. Sinai in the city. We have Epipen's and are usually very proactive in ensuring she doesn't ingest or come into contact with anything she's allergic to. I was thinking however of perhaps introducing ourselves to the boys down at the fire station and letting them know of our situation. My mother-in-law who lives with us and watches our kids while we're at work is Russian and doesn't speak English which is a problem. Would it be a good idea to go to the fire house and police station to let them know about my kid's medical condition?

That wouldn't be a bad idea to stop in to the fire dept. and introduce yourself or you could write a letter to both the fire dept and police dept. advising them of the situation. I would also have written instructions in English for your MIL to give JUST IN CASE anything happens. I would state that she DOES NOT speak English and then explain your child's allergies, drs, etc. Unfortunately, our Fire Dept does not have EMS anymore due to lack of manpower. We have Lackawaxen EMS from the West and either Milford EMS or Pike County ALS from the southeast to cover us for medical emergencies. We do have members of the fire department who are first responders as well. Out here, the police dept is pretty much part time. We have a Police Chief who is full time and his Assistant who, I believe, is part time. When either of them is not on duty, we get the state police out of Blooming Grove.
I know this might sound a little discouraging as far as emergency services go but I guess when you choose the quite life like you and I did, we have to deal with what we have. The guys on the FD are a great bunch of guys though. Both of our Police Officers are personal friends of ours and are as well.

If you want to stop by the fire house, the monthly membership meeting is the first Monday of the month @ 8 pm which is when pretty much most of the members are there. I'm not totally sure about the police department. I would call them if you want to stop in there, they are actually located in the township bldg on twin lakes road but way up the other end from where you are.

If you need any more information, feel free to let me know. I'd be more than happy to help if I can.

Denise

[amstel78]

Thank you for the reply Denise, the information you've provided is very helpful.

Yes, it's quite a change from living in the city and I hope we can make things work. We're pretty well stocked when it comes to medication and are well practiced in preventing an emergency but things do happen that our sometimes outside of one's control.

When we do get settled in, I'll stop by the firehouse just to introduce ourselves. I always feel its good to know who our first responders are.

[amstel78]

Originally Posted by poconogirl

I am sure you have already crank out all of the numbers about travel cost/time on the road, and misc cost. I just made another post for a lady RE: travel cost. One thing I want to point out, the heating cost is quite high in the pocono due to the cold winter. you may also want to consider an AWD for the snow days. keep in touch.

Yes I saw your post. I did run the numbers several times and it won't be too easy. Truthfully I wasn't anticipating the sudden increase in fuel costs that's being blared on the news now. Our dependence on foreign oil really stinks.

We have a 4WD Expedition which is great in snow, but absolutely lousy in terms of fuel efficiency.

In a few months, we might have to get something smaller with better economy that we can drive in the summer months and only using the Expedition during the winter.

[poconogirl]

How is day 2 in the Pocono?

We are here as well for the weekend.... boy our house is freezing cold, we had to turn all heat on plus 2 free standing heaters...

[ofhs93]

I would recomend a VW TDI or one of the newer Ford Focus/Hundia Elantra ect...as a commuting option if your not going to consider using the bus or train. I live in Scranton and drive to Matamoras every day for work. I have owned VW TDIs since taking this job and have been happy with the decision. Maybe it would be worth looking at taking the bus in the winter time and use a car in the summer? Save the wear and tear on the Expedition...it might not cost any more to take the bus than driving that beast all those miles

On a different note...I will say that you could not have choosen a better public school district for your children to attend. Delaware Valley has been showered with awards that last few years. Most recently they have been named the #1 most productive public district in PA. The study weighed total cost per pupil vs. state testing data and district poverty level. I believe DV had the 4th lowest cost per pupil and they were somewhere in the low 20's for test scores along with having a relativley high poverty level in comparison to other high test scoring districts. This was based on all 501 school districts in the state.

[amstel78]

Thanks for the reply ofhs93 - great info about the school district.

I've been contemplating purchasing a small diesel. It's too bad we don't have more options when it comes to small diesel vehicles unlike our European cousins. Something with AWD would have been nice as well.

[ofhs93]

Originally Posted by amstel78

Thanks for the reply ofhs93 - great info about the school district.

I've been contemplating purchasing a small diesel. It's too bad we don't have more options when it comes to small diesel vehicles unlike our European cousins. Something with AWD would have been nice as well.

Your preaching to the choir sir haha...they get all of the good stuff in Europe. There has been talk of a diesel 4cyl boxer style motor to go into Subaru's for 5 or 6 years now....but nothing here. All of the American Big 3 small cars in Europe with diesel options....nothing here...I would jump at the option to buy a diesel Focus...and more so a diesel powered Mazda5...which Europe DOES have.