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Hi Everyone, My husband just had a job interview. His office would be in Wilkes-Barre, but his territory would be the whole northern part of PA from NJ to Ohio, north of rt 80.
If he were to take the job we would be looking into moving from central NJ. We have 3 children..but 1 is in college, one is a Jr. in HS and the youngest is 7th grade right now...so she is the one I am most concerned with..We would need a place with either a good HS or an area with good private schools (we are catholic, so that is an option).
She plays travel softball. I am not looking into a neighborhood with a HOA. I want at least an acre of property. I don't mind neighbors...but I don't need the developement...the kids are all older, so I am not looking for the neighborly feel. We are gone on the weekends either softball, or we also show dogs so we are used to running around and driving places.
When he was at the interview, the people there talked about the towns of Dallas and Mountain Top.
I found some not good stuff on Mountain Top here. I could not find anything on Dallas PA.
I don't mind driving, although having a large shopping center within 40 minutes would be great..I don't want to travel over an hour to get milk.
I will say, I was starting to get excited about moving...we live in a great town, and while it has been great for the kids...If we had to move i would not be upset at this time in my life. I worry about the youngest since she still has to get through HS.
After reading this forum..I am not that excited anymore....You all are making it sound like moving to PA would be a horrible thing...I already tried (when DH first mentioned this job) to talk him into commuting for the next 5 years to let her finish HS here...but seriously that would not be an option.
Granted, this will only happen if we cannot pass on the money..if they offer him what we would want...which would be a increase in salary enough to make us up root and move..we will do it...so inthe mean time I am starting to research just in case.
So to the age old question...what towns would be a good place to go with a Freshman in HS? She is a bright, good student, so this is the upmost importance...along with being within an hour say of his office.
Thanks
Welcome in advance to the Keystone State! Does your husband know yet how frequently he will have to travel into Northwestern Pennsylvania (say North of I-80 and West of I-180/Williamsport?). The bulk of the population north of I-80 in PA is indeed here in Eastern PA, where you're looking, but if he'll need to travel to Erie, for example, frequently, then he'll be miserable living in Northeastern PA and having such a long drive all the way out there. If he'll be in places like Hazleton, Stroudsburg, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Bloomsburg, Williamsport, etc. more frequently, then I'd say go for Dallas (the surrounding area is known as the "Back Mountain"). He can take Route 118 West for a leisurely drive out to North Central PA, he can take Route 29 North up into the Northern Tier of PA, and you'll be only fifteen minutes from all of the big-box shopping/chain restaurant dining you could want near Wilkes-Barre.
There are a LOT of "doom and gloom" naysayers on this sub-forum. Bear in mind these are people who don't want to live here but simultaneously can't move because they are tied down here due to family obligations. I grew up in Luzerne County, and aside from the political scandals (Google "Kids for Cash" as just one prime exmaple of the corruption there) it was overall a nice place to live. It wasn't as liberal or "progressive", so to speak, for my tastes, but the people there are the types who'd open their homes and hearts to you and give you the shirt off their backs in your time of need. It remains mostly a blue-collar area overall, although the Back Mountain is a dense white-collar pocket (sort of like a lower-class Alpine, NJ). The Back Mountain is home to two school districts---Dallas Area and Lake-Lehman. Dallas Area has the better reputation of the two, although it is generally a bit more developed and suburban in nature whereas in Lake-Lehman your housing dollars will go a bit further overall to get you more land. As a disclaimer I'm NOT a fan of the suburbs after having grown up in one in NEPA and then lived/worked in one after college for a couple of years, but the Back Mountain still retains some of its more rural and pastoral luster.
I recommend coming up here next weekend if you can just for a day-trip and drive around a bit. Explore Harvey's Lake, and eat at Grotto Pizza overlooking the lake. Grab some fresh ice cream for the kids at Hillside Farms Dairy, which is tied with Manning's Dairy in the Scranton area for being my favorite ice cream in NEPA. Explore some of the gorgeous country backroads near Penn State University's Wilkes-Barre Campus in Lehman Township. Enjoy the one-block-long stretch that is "Downtown Dallas". Maybe go for a hike in either Frances Slocum State Park or Ricketts Glen State Park. The latter has a breathtaking waterfall-side trail, but it's hazardous when it's icy, so be careful!
If you believe your husband will have to make frequent trips out to places like Erie, Bradford, DuBois, etc., then you may want to consider looking somewhere nearer to the center of the state. Bellefonte, just north of State College (home of Penn State's main campus) is a gorgeous small town right along I-80 near the midpoint of the state, and the public schools there are pretty good from what I've heard. I would ask you to see if your husband could give you a list of all of the towns/sites he may have to travel to, and if the bulk of them ARE in Eastern PA, then the Back Mountain would be my first suggestion. If they're evenly-dispersed throughout the Northern half of the state I'd recommend Bellefonte.
Oh, and while I think Mountain Top is "okay" I still prefer the Back Mountain/Dallas area. There seems to be much more in terms of day-to-day conveniences in the Back Mountain vs. Mountain Top, and the Dallas School District usually edges out Crestwood School District (Mountain Top). I also find commuting in and out of the Back Mountain to be easier during wintry weather than in and out of Mountain Top. I actually think Bear Creek/Bear Creek Township would also be a great suggestion for you; however, that area is within the Wilkes-Barre Area School District, which doesn't have the best reputation (although I believe it feeds into Coughlin High School, which is supposedly the best of the three high schools in the district).
Finally, one more suggestion. You said you have a son who is midway through his Junior year of high school. Speaking from personal experience as someone who graduated high school not that long ago I'd HIGHLY recommend you find a way for him to be able to spend the extra year in NJ to graduate with the same friends he's probably had most of his life. I know I'd be very unhappy personally if my parents uprooted me right before my last year of high school. With that being said I'd also recommend you establish residency in PA as soon as possible. I'm not going to force you to send your son to a state university here, but after paying dearly for education from a private four-year university I really prefer I had taken the lead of others who took the cheaper route and have similar-paying jobs to me now with LESS student loan debt to worry about by using in-state tuition at a state university.
There isn't exactly a plethora of listings available in the Back Mountain right now for homes with over an acre of land, but here are some I found on Trulia that may fit your specifications:
This home is listed for $107,900. It is currently set up as a duplex but can be reconfigured to be a single-family home. It is on the edge of Dallas Township where it meets Harveys Lake and is on 1.25 acres. It may not be as large as you are accustomed to in NJ, but I'd imagine if you sell your home in NJ and bought a home here for around $100,000 you'd have a lot of "excess" that you could use to renovate/expand a smaller home like this. With that being said if you already have one chick out of your nest with another vacating it in about 1.5 years, you may want to just consider downsizing NOW instead of buying large and then regretting it in a few years when it's just you and your husband maintaining/cleaning a ton of square footage.
I absolutely LOVE this home! It is priced at $229,900, but it has been on the market for a long time, so you may be able to get it for less. It's a HISTORIC home built in the early-1800s! It sits on about 1.75 acres, which should be more than enough, and it's in a very quiet part of Dallas Township, also near Harveys Lake. If I had to buy a property in a semi-rural area this is personally the one I'd buy!
This is another older home with character that sits on about 1.25 acres right in the heart of "Downtown Dallas". It's priced right at $148,900, too. Yes, you'd have neighbors here, but they'd be spread apart pretty far, and you're by no means in a "community" or an "HOA".
Oh my THANK YOU!! I don't have time to read all of that right now...getting ready to do fun family stuff...but again..THANKS you made me feel better!!
FYI...at this time hubby doesnt know the exact locations...how often he would be traveling...that would come if he get called back..I will be sure he asks. We just know for sure he would be in an office in Wilkes Barre.
My daughter who is the Junior actually said she would not mind moving...we (hubby and I ) did agree to let her finish her senior year here..she really surprised us with she didn't care and she won't mind moving sooner.. Still on the fence about that...I think she should stay...but not going to worry about that until we find out more about the job..I just need to start researching *just in case*
THANKS AGAIN..I can't tell you how happy I feel now....!!
kacaju, Several things. First and most important you will regret the move. NEPA is a depressing crap hole and coming from an area of considerable sophistication this will soon become apparent. Second, and no disrespect to your husband, companies are going out of area to recruit talent because the people with a shred of common sense in this area are leaving as soon as they can. Google "The great white ghetto" and take it from there. I lived there for 12 years due to a family illness and in that time I never met a single person from the NJ/NY metro area that was happy they made the move. If by some insane stretch you think you will the exception, good luck.
Here is a link to a sticky thread that our moderator made two years ago: Help for new and potential residents Our moderators' second post, on that thread, gives some really helpful websites.
I don't live where you want to move; I live down in Monroe County.
I think the problem a lot of people not from this area have is the tendency to compare where they were to where they are. PA is different from NJ. If you really can't accept that, no, you won't be happy here. There's a thin wall between sophistication and snobbery.
That said, this area has a lot going for it. You can get all gussied up and head to town for a play, musical event, whatever, or put on your mudstompers and head for the hills.
People are people. Some will welcome you; some will take a while to warm up to you; some never will.
There isn't exactly a plethora of listings available in the Back Mountain right now for homes with over an acre of land, but here are some I found on Trulia that may fit your specifications:
This home is listed for $107,900. It is currently set up as a duplex but can be reconfigured to be a single-family home. It is on the edge of Dallas Township where it meets Harveys Lake and is on 1.25 acres. It may not be as large as you are accustomed to in NJ, but I'd imagine if you sell your home in NJ and bought a home here for around $100,000 you'd have a lot of "excess" that you could use to renovate/expand a smaller home like this. With that being said if you already have one chick out of your nest with another vacating it in about 1.5 years, you may want to just consider downsizing NOW instead of buying large and then regretting it in a few years when it's just you and your husband maintaining/cleaning a ton of square footage.
I absolutely LOVE this home! It is priced at $229,900, but it has been on the market for a long time, so you may be able to get it for less. It's a HISTORIC home built in the early-1800s! It sits on about 1.75 acres, which should be more than enough, and it's in a very quiet part of Dallas Township, also near Harveys Lake. If I had to buy a property in a semi-rural area this is personally the one I'd buy!
This is another older home with character that sits on about 1.25 acres right in the heart of "Downtown Dallas". It's priced right at $148,900, too. Yes, you'd have neighbors here, but they'd be spread apart pretty far, and you're by no means in a "community" or an "HOA".
Hahaha...you got me on that last one..I wasn't paying attention to your comment!! Those are all great houses and exactly what I would be looking for. You are right, I don't want anything too big with my kids being older. Question about Harveys Lake...is it hard to find a lake front home (one of my dreams) is there issues with flooding with the lakeside homes??
I understand that the sates are different and seriously..right now I am ready to leave our town...nice town, but I am tired of them squeezing every inch of property and building 10 houses where one old house once stood. I grew up in a much more rural area and would welcome the chance to sit on my porch and be able to watch the sunsets/sunrises, right now our property is small and all I see is house tops. If this job does not happen, once our youngest graduates HS, I already plan on leaving..so moving now while was not in my plan...I am not against it if it works out.
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