If you had to pick from Carbon, Pike or Monroe County, which would you pick?

[iuoe30]

Originally Posted by charmed hour

speaking from personal experience, i live in penn forest township...

1- my particular community off of 903 has many retirees but the majority of us are younger (mid to late 30s) and still working. There's a pretty vibrant younger community during the nicer weather.

2- being in close proximity to jt is not always ideal during tourist season. It can take hours, literally, on 209 from lehighton into jt during heavy tourist weekends. Traveling maury rd is not the best route in poor weather conditions, either.

3- basic shopping in the jt area requires a bit of a hike to lehighton or the opposite direction. (forget using 115 to/from anywhere during "race weekends" at pocono raceway. Road closures and a ton of traffic.) unless, you'd like to over pay for substandard products at some of the smaller markets. I'm looking at you hazle meats. $2.79 for a box of spaghetti that's a buck up the road at dollar general!

4- quality health care requires driving into allentown/easton or back into monroe county if you have needs more than regular check ups, or small issues crop up.

I'm always surprised that there are such a large number of retirees in the area when you take into account travel for basic needs.

All in all, i have no regrets about moving to carbon. I don't particularly mind having to drive here, there and everywhere for nearly everything. That may changes in the coming years as i age or just burn out on driving nearly 30 miles round trip to food shop.

do you commute into nyc?

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by iuoe30

do you commute into nyc?

I do, into the Bronx. It's brutal coming thru Jersey in the evening rush. If you work in Manhattan using Martz Bus is a viable option, costs about the same monthly as gas and tolls for me. I don't need to travel to work every day- I can telecommute during "down times" at least 2 days a week. Martz isn't viable for me as the Blakeslee stop has limited service so I'd need to drive to another and pay to park. Once at Port Authority I have another hour by express bus or train to my job in the Bronx. If it's the express bus it's another $6.50, train would require transfer to a bus or a decent walk.

However, during "high times" I work 10-14 hour days, 5 days a week onsite. During that time I drive in on Mondays and crash at my parents thru Thursday night. It takes at least 3.5 hours for me to get home due to the GWB and 80 in Jersey, meaning I'm not home until after 9p and back up at 3:30a to get back to work the next day.

Driving 250 miles 5 days a week is soul sucking and wallet emptying. Here's an example... when I moved in March 2013 my car had 33k on it. I traded it in back in December 2014 with 110k. My new vehicle already has 16k on it. And again, that's not making the commute 5 days a week.

[Moocatcow]

Originally Posted by Summering

The reason why I love Monroe ( minus the areas of crime, and there are plenty areas without crime)
It is a great location for getting to just about anywhere in reasonable time.
This includes NYC, Philly, and the NJ and Delaware shore towns.
I love the shopping in Monroe, and its getting better all the time.
I also love that we have easy access to Easton and those Malls and stores.
The great Regal theater just off of route 22 is only 20 or less from me.
In that area also is Wegmans and Boscovs, Bon Tons......the wonderful
Palmer Mall.
I think we have good transportation here, Martz has lots of buses going in and out of our area.
The fact that we have Target, TJMax, Kohls, Lowes, Home Depot....that is good.
I love the Western End of Monroe, as there are good size pieces of land to abide on. Rather then being on a small lot crowded in.
Dogs are never an issue here, they have great properties to roam.
I dealt with route 15 while living in NJ and it was horrific 15 and 20 years ago, I can't imagine it now. It was just a slow paced tractor area, not made for all the commuters trying to get to NYC.
Another thing is that........I need Barnes and Noble by me, and Borders,
I also need the huge library by me. That is such an asset to our area.
The fact that I can go to Shop Rite or Mr Z's ...either...in 5 min. is wonderful.
I can't be so isolated from the things that are important to me.
( LOL, I didn't mean the grocery stores...were so important...)
I love that this area expands out to places like the Phillipsburg Mall, and other stores that way. It has such easy routes to get to Wilkes barre, Scranton, ......we're almost like a hub.
Carbon, I love because it also has great access to the above mentioned places. Its quiet, peaceful, with beautiful lots for homes. It is a soothing place to live. Yet.........take one back road.......and your in the Lehigh Mall area.......Just hang a left on McCarther Hwy......and your there.
The best of both Worlds........I think.

Hello, reading your post was so refreshing! I agree with you that it is a wonderful place to be. I hear a lot of negative things about Monroe but it is all about perspective. I think people tend to point out the negative things because anger promotes action and people need a place to vent.

Could you tell me more specifically where you live? I'm looking to purchase a vacation home in Bushkill, PA - Pocono Ranchlands. Do you have any info on this area? Where would you say is a good place to live where there is less crime? What I mean is which communities would you say has less crime?

[iuoe30]

Thanks for the feed back! I am also wondering where in Monroe County is "the best" or nicest to live. I also understand that taxes went through the roof....any places in Monroe that the taxes are reasonable?

[padad1]

Originally Posted by iuoe30

Thanks for the feed back! I am also wondering where in Monroe County is "the best" or nicest to live. I also understand that taxes went through the roof....any places in Monroe that the taxes are reasonable?

What do you consider reasonable? There are parts of the west end that are very rural that you will pay no more then 3K per year in combined taxes. Areas in Brodheadsville/Effort you will pay about 6K a year because you are closer to more amenities. There are places in Stroudsburg/EastBurg that will start at 6K a year and go upwards of 10K per year and more. It truly is all about what you are willing to pay and what you can truly afford. The general rule of thumb is that the closer you are to the 611/route 80/NJ state line amenities, the more taxes will be. This is of course combining both school and property taxes, as everyone knows our property tax is minimal and our school taxes are maximal

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by iuoe30

Thanks for the feed back! I am also wondering where in Monroe County is "the best" or nicest to live. I also understand that taxes went through the roof....any places in Monroe that the taxes are reasonable?

I live in Shawnee which is part of Smithfield Twp in Monroe County. Our house is on a state road (means we don't pay community dues on top of taxes) and is about 4 miles from the Delaware Water Gap bridge and our combined taxes are around $6k a year. If you went up the road from us about a mile you'd be in Middle-Smithfield Twp and taxes are a lot higher there. Not sure why.

Shawnee is pretty quiet since they put in the Route 209 Bypass but we do get some local tourist traffic especially during ski season.

P.S. Although we lived in NJ my Dad was a member of IUOE Local 15. Good luck in your search!

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

I live in Shawnee which is part of Smithfield Twp in Monroe County. Our house is on a state road (means we don't pay community dues on top of taxes) and is about 4 miles from the Delaware Water Gap bridge and our combined taxes are around $6k a year. If you went up the road from us about a mile you'd be in Middle-Smithfield Twp and taxes are a lot higher there. Not sure why.

Shawnee is pretty quiet since they put in the Route 209 Bypass but we do get some local tourist traffic especially during ski season.

P.S. Although we lived in NJ my Dad was a member of IUOE Local 15. Good luck in your search!

The one thing people don't understand, on a thread like this one, is the farther out you move (if you commute) the longer the drive to work. Shawnee is close to I-80 and the NJ State line. Carbon County is a nice County with lower taxes; but you are going to pay for those lower taxes in higher transportation bills and lost 'family' time. Even people that move to western or northwestern Monroe pay a heavy price.

Of course it is a different story if you are retired, work at home, or have no reasons to commute. Monroe built up so quick because it is close to the border and a quicker trip to the better paying jobs in the metropolitan areas of NJ and NYC.

I am just saying there is no one size fits all, when it comes to which county to chose; it all depends on your needs.

[iuoe30]

Thanks for the response guys. I will be traveling to nyc...and we are looking at carbon county...we would like to stay under 6k in combined taxes. I guess we would have to see how far the commute would be from carbon....

[iuoe30]

Thanks for the response guys! We would like to pay no more than 6k in combined taxes. Carbon county was an option. But I don't know how long the commute would be?. I would like to add that I would be taking a bus (mertz)? Into the city. I guess we will have to see

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by iuoe30

Thanks for the response guys! We would like to pay no more than 6k in combined taxes. Carbon county was an option. But I don't know how long the commute would be?. I would like to add that I would be taking a bus (mertz)? Into the city. I guess we will have to see

I live in Carbon, just outside of Jim Thorpe. My school/property taxes are a little over $6,000 which includes a small discount for paying them early and in full (no mortgage on my home so I pay the tax collector directly).

A 5 day a week driving commute is not doable imo. Traffic thru Jersey is brutal on the best of days. Martz in Carbon has limited locations and only a couple of times on the schedule. When I've used them I've gone to the Water Gap station and paid to park. A far more convenient number of buses come thru there. And unless you work in Manhattan you still have more commuting to do once you get to PA. For me, it's easily another hour or more into the Bronx. Faster and cheaper for me to drive in when I work.

If you look here in the forum I've spoken about how I live in Carbon and work in the Bronx. If I had to drive every single day I'd have driven off the GWB alreafy.