Relocating from NJ to NE PA, need to locate a good area to look for a house in (Scranton: 2014, HOA)

[solandria]

Here is some info

We're moving Anywhere from June 2014 on..
We're coming from NJ, minutes from NYC
Will be Hubby, myself, our 9 year old
We are looking to buy a house

Hubby works in IT and will be keeping his job in Hoboken NJ (close to NYC) and commuting.
I own my own business, and will continue to work from home

I need to figure out what towns/counties to include in our home search, and which to avoid.
Most important would be keeping hubbies commute manageable & an area that has a good schools. He's in 4th now.. will enter 5th in Sept (not sure if you have middle schools there)

Also want to make sure that roads around there get plowed so hubby can commute to work.


Thanks in advance

[Cpt.Trips]

The simple fact your husband plans to commute means his life will basically suck. This subject has been beaten to death already here, do a little digging in prior posts and you will find all your answers. Bottom line, if you value your husbands sanity, look elsewhere.

[Chefkey]

Gotta admit, depending on how far you move that is a murderous commute. Hellacious even. It's the kind of thing that wears a man down to nothing. I did a 30 mile each way drive for one year and I was tearing my hair out by the time I took another job closer to home. Factor in $4.00 a gallon gas and it starts to tilt in the wrong direction. I wouldn't suggest much farther than Stroudsburg and that town ain't no picnic.

How far do you plan on moving inland?

[DavidWebb]

Originally Posted by solandria

Here is some info

We're moving Anywhere from June 2014 on..
We're coming from NJ, minutes from NYC
Will be Hubby, myself, our 9 year old
We are looking to buy a house

Hubby works in IT and will be keeping his job in Hoboken NJ (close to NYC) and commuting.
I own my own business, and will continue to work from home

I need to figure out what towns/counties to include in our home search, and which to avoid.
Most important would be keeping hubbies commute manageable & an area that has a good schools. He's in 4th now.. will enter 5th in Sept (not sure if you have middle schools there)

Also want to make sure that roads around there get plowed so hubby can commute to work.


Thanks in advance

Search my name and you'll find ton's of information about moving out here and what it entails...lot's of good information for just what your requesting...

[solandria]

Cpt & Chef
He doesn't have to commute, it's something he'll choose to do...
He can work with me.. or even expand on his own side business which he hasn't had much time for

Spend his days with wifey.. or commute.. I know both tough choices

It's just trading off one evil for another.. or situation here is terrible.. so suddenly a wicked commute doesn't seem so bad...


David
Just read through a lot .. thank you
Though does seem like some frequenters to this forum are trying to chase off newcomers.. won't work for me born and bred in jersey I can take the snark

[Cpt.Trips]

Hey, I don't care one way or another. It's your call. I lived in NJ and made the move for family reasons and hated every minute in NEPA. The place is far worse than it was when I made the move in 2000. But you go ahead and remember this when you realize this mistake. Good luck.

[Wells5]

Do you want a house in an urban area or in the country? What is your budget? Will you be happy in an HOA community? And yes, there are middle schools in NEPA.

My suggestion would be eastern Pike County, within 15 miles of Milford. The reason is that your hubby can commute to Hoboken by rail from Port Jervis. Driving to Hoboken and back every weekday can be a nightmare especially in the winter when there is snow, ice, cold, early darkness and inebriated drivers.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by solandria

Here is some info

We're moving Anywhere from June 2014 on..
We're coming from NJ, minutes from NYC
Will be Hubby, myself, our 9 year old
We are looking to buy a house

Hubby works in IT and will be keeping his job in Hoboken NJ (close to NYC) and commuting.
I own my own business, and will continue to work from home

I need to figure out what towns/counties to include in our home search, and which to avoid.
Most important would be keeping hubbies commute manageable & an area that has a good schools. He's in 4th now.. will enter 5th in Sept (not sure if you have middle schools there)

Also want to make sure that roads around there get plowed so hubby can commute to work.


Thanks in advance

We live in Shawnee about 4 miles from the NJ border on Route 80. We like it here. We're in the South half of the East Stroudsburg school district and while I believe our local public school is just fine, we have chosen to send our kids to Notre Dame which is a fine small Catholic school in East Stroudsburg.

My opinion is to look for houses in the East Stroudsburg South or Stroudsburg school districts, and check out Notre Dame.

Our house is on a state road and plowing is not an issue for us. If you live in a private community then the plowing within the community is handled by the HOA.

To get to Hoboken your husband can drive to Mount Arlington NJ and take the train from there. The station is right off Route 80. Other stations like Hackettstown and Netcong are farther west but Mount Arlington is right off the highway so it's easy off/on. There will never be a train all the way from PA.

Good luck!

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by Chefkey

Gotta admit, depending on how far you move that is a murderous commute. Hellacious even. It's the kind of thing that wears a man down to nothing. I did a 30 mile each way drive for one year and I was tearing my hair out by the time I took another job closer to home.

I did 25 minute "commute" from West Pittston to Plymouth for 15 years and then got in a truck for 6 to 12 hours... lol. I'd see the sun come up and set while I was in it a lot of times. I probably wouldn't want to do it now.

[SteelCityRising]

Can your husband telecommute/telework at all? I would NOT recommend your husband "power-commute" five days per week between NEPA and Hoboken, NJ; however, if he could perhaps cut his commuting down to maybe two days per week (or three at the very most), then the trade-off of him being miserable those two or three days per week in exchange for being able to afford to purchase a home in PA may be well worth it. Stroudsburg/East Stroudsburg will be the best area, in my humble opinion, for you to settle in due to its proximity to I-80 and the NJ border, along with housing the main commercial/business districts of the Poconos.

I'll echo Cpt. Tripps that you'll definitely be regretting your decision to move to NEPA if your husband will be commuting five days per week back-and-forth to Hoboken. Congestion on I-80 in NJ, as you know, can be epic, and we most likely won't see the commuter rail operational between Scranton and Hoboken via The Stroudsburgs for another 20 years due to our current national economic climate. NEPA is what it is. It's a nice place if you're looking for a slower pace of life, a lower cost-of-living, relatively low violent crime, proximity to major cities, etc. Power-commuting between the Poconos and NE NJ/NYC may have been a breeze in 1984. Now that zillions more people have moved here since then, clogging the roads even more, it's becoming a much less attractive option.

I'd recommend the East Stroudsburg South or Pleasant Valley School Districts to you. Delaware Valley (in Pike County) is also well-regarded if your husband would want to trade his car for the Port Jervis train. Your husband will DEFINITELY want to be able to telecommute in the winter months. It can often be raining in Hoboken and snowing heavily in Monroe County or Pike County.