Looking to relocate family to Monroe County, Pike County PA from Long Island... (York: real estate market, houses)

[engsmom]

Hello...I am looking to relocate my familiy from Long Island, to either Monroe County or Pike County PA. Currently the real estate market on Long Island is out of control with the prices of homes - even fixer-uppers in the 400K range! Plus the takes are in the 8-10K range for certain area's. It is unreal. I do not feel my 2 children will have the best quality of life here and would like to relocate to an area where my husband can still commute to NYC. I am looking to hear from other's who have relocated or who already reside in these area's to shed some light on how things are in these locations? I don't mind a blend of rural and suburban area's but we are not looking to be out in the country either - as it would shell shock my husband. Any information you can also provide on communting to NYC would be great! Thanks so much!!!!

[griffit34]

I've just put in an offer today in smithfield, monroe county PA. (hope it gets accepted) we are relocating from NJ and commuting for work. We are impressed with the amount of house you get for the money. We don't have kids and really the only drawback is the commute, its long and there is alot of traffic, one accident and your on rt 80 for 3-4 hrs. If you can handle the commute it'll be a great desicion for you. If you have specific questions i may be able to help though we haven't moved yet.(not till the offer is accepted, hoping, hoping) but i responded cause you are from Long island, if your serious i'll give you the # of our realitor, she relocated from long island herself she's nice and experienced with 12 yrs of being there.

[Livindoll]

Hi! We too are from Long Island and we're looking to get out of here too...schools are most important for us, so we are looking in Bucks County...Doylestown to be exact.

I've read on these boards that people commute from Newtown, PA. They drive to Trenton, NJ and then take the NJ Transit Train. It's not the best commute, but it's do-able.

You should be able to get a nice house in the 400-500k range...although the taxes aren't the cheapest, they would probably run around 5k.

Good Luck!

PS- I have a really great realtor in Doylestown/Newtown if you are interested!

[engsmom]

Thanks so much...I like what I have read and seen in Monroe county so far and the only issue is the commute to NYC. I loved some of the homes - newer construction - but my husband is very concerned about his commute. Right now he has a 2 hour commute to NYC from LI..but he fears it would be so much more from Monroe County. However we are looking into Northampton County as well. The price we are looking to pay for a home varies due to the area and type of home. We are not looking to pay the same amount of money that homes cost here on LI, especially because on Long Island you get "no house" for your money and the schools are declining. I just hope our trip to PA in April to look is productive....Thanks for the insight!

- who did you use on LI as your realtor?? Pass along the name if you wouldn't mind...thanks!!!

[jenny cap]

ENGSMOM

WOW - you sound like me - we are on the North Shore of Long Island looking to sell our house and get out of here. We have friends in MONROE COUNTY - Pleasant Valley School District - no idea how far that is from NYC. Hopefully my husband would transfer with his company....

ANY idea what the taxes are? Ours here are creeping toward $8K!!! We gotta get out NOW!!!

[momix5]

good morning, my husband and I are looking to leave LI too, if the house would sell the market is bad even for the price we are selling in under 340!Anyway as far as schools and a doable commute, Lake Wallenpaupack and Delaware schools in Pike County are suppose to be wonderful. Good Luck

[CAVALLERI]

I Moved From Li 10 Years Ago To A Community Calles "penn Estates" . We Go To Li And Queens Every Weekend And Most Of My Friends Here Work In Matt. 1 Hr 10 Mins To The Gwb. Stroudsburg Schools Are The Best In This Area And The Prices On The Homes Range. This Is A Great Area In The Middle Of Everything And Not Far From The City.

[Abi]

HELLO

I have moved to monroe county last September , but I wish i have not done so.
The prices of good houses are not cheap(350K and up).
But even if you get a cheap one , here are the the extra expenses:
Martz bus tickets to New York ( port Authority--1h30 without traffic)are 124 a week the cheapest, then your husband will have to buy a metro card depending on where he works.
Taxes are almost the same as in Long Island, mine is 12K.
Heating is gas and it is maybe 200-400.00 depending on the size of the house and how confortable you like it.
Where i live , we pay for garbage removal : 35.00 a month.
Most houses are built in communities which adds community dues ranging from 700-1300.00 a year.

They have promised the train ever since i have heard of the poconos, we are still waitng as of today.

I do not wish to discoursge you from improving your life , come by and do your own investigation before you buy.



Regards.

[lady309]

I'm sure that you have already made your decision but I just read your post and thought I would put my 2 cents in. Remember PA has many very different areas. One real advantage of Pike County is that it borders Port Jervis NY on the Delaware River. There is a direct train line right into the city, there is also a direct bus line (coach shortline) or if you want to drive yourself we are on RT 84 which connects with 17 in Middletown, driving we are about 1 1/2 from NYC. I live in PA (1 mile from the NY line) and my taxes are less than $2,500 (total) and you can still buy an old charming 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath for well under 200k. This area is somewhere between suburban and rural, you are still considered in the Poconos, there is river rafting, camping, etc. but you are not "in the woods", your kids can play with neighbors and come in when the street lights come on and the supermarket is just around the corner. A lot of the advertising you may see for this area is for gated communities, which many people like - the charges do add up and you are not usually close to town, but to truly know your options you should come up and check out the "towns" - Matamoras, Milford, Westfall, Millrift, just to name a few - regular town water, sewer, police/fire depts etc. It's less of a shock. I grew up in metro NJ and I love it here.

[Summering]

Originally Posted by jenny cap

ENGSMOM

WOW - you sound like me - we are on the North Shore of Long Island looking to sell our house and get out of here. We have friends in MONROE COUNTY - Pleasant Valley School District - no idea how far that is from NYC. Hopefully my husband would transfer with his company....

ANY idea what the taxes are? Ours here are creeping toward $8K!!! We gotta get out NOW!!!

Pleasant Valley School District ........is a wonderful school system.
We are about 1 and 1/2 hours from NYC. Our taxes are less, more like 4,000 ,5,000 depends on the size of your home, land. This is for 2 acres and so it is not all that bad. Brodheadsville students go to PV.......There are nice homes that I know of personally on great pieces of land for about 260,000. One I can think of on 3 acres, has a two car garage, great views and is in perfect shape. Just gorgeous.........It takes a bit of getting use to, as far as major shoppng......but, there are short cuts here and there to find your way easily to some fantastic shopping North and South of us.