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Old 03-10-2012, 02:51 AM
 
11 posts, read 32,937 times
Reputation: 15

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Thank you so much to everyone that replied, it was very helpful.

How close to a city? Well, I'll probably have to commute to work, so I would say a place I can reach within 30 minutes or so. I don't know gas prices in PA. Honestly, even if I'm just outside a city is fine. I know I can't afford to live far from a city, but I just cannot live in one. Does that make sense? I wish I knew what a city in PA was to compare it to Tampa. I lived in Hawthorne, NJ, if that helps, and I consider Tampa more of a heavy city than that. If we could go smaller than that (someone mentioned cows and farms), I'd be happy.

Religion/kids? It doesn't really matter to me what the primary religion is or anything like that. And no, no kids. I'd be moving all on my own.

Tornadoes? I know these occur in PA, but is there any city you would recommend where they don't happen, or are of a weaker category? I was checking out a few maps and saw basically all of PA has been hit, some places less than others. Using http://www.tornadoproject.com/alltorns/patorn.htm, I was able to see some counties are hit far less than others, but it made me wonder if there are counties not listed on there because they were never hit at all. We have tornadoes here in Tampa, I've had one a few streets away--but nothing powerful enough to cause any serious damage, and nothing that disrupted the regular flow of traffic or anything.

Does anyone know of a realtor or someone I could call in PA to maybe keep an eye out or find me something? This is my first big move on my own and I don't really have any family to guide me through it, so I'm basically relying on Google and this forum.

Also, I will certainly be reviewing the numerous places mentioned in the posts, thanks again!

Would anyone recommend maybe starting off with a cheap apartment in the city ad then moving out once I can scout the area? I ask only because I saw some posts mention it gets more expensive if you stay in the city than if you live in the outskirts.
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Old 03-10-2012, 11:51 AM
 
Location: Philly
10,227 posts, read 16,817,249 times
Reputation: 2973
i wouldnt worry too much about tornadoes here. they occur but its not exactly tornado country. i think a small town near a small city might work...something like ephrata or even as small as newville.
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Old 03-10-2012, 11:57 AM
 
43,011 posts, read 108,030,943 times
Reputation: 30721
You should check out Pittsburgh. You can live close to the city and feel like you live in the middle of nowhere. The steep hilly topography allows for many houses to be hidden away in ravines. You could easily live in a house within 10 to downtown (where we a nice size banking/finance industry) and not have any visible neighbors and see steep hillsides of trees when you look out your window. The cost of living is low here. A single person could easily live on what you anticipate making.

Tornados are extremely rare in the Pittsburgh greater metro.

You have to pick your area before you can pick a realtor. No realtor handles the entire state of Pennsylvnia.
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Old 03-10-2012, 07:55 PM
 
42 posts, read 80,573 times
Reputation: 53
LadyDB,
Check your messages.
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Old 03-13-2012, 08:08 AM
 
53 posts, read 176,020 times
Reputation: 22
Default safe place close to a city

I'm looking almost for the same as LadyDB, (a safe place for a single woman) but I would prefer to have an easy access to train(ideally), or bus, to NY and Philly. I'm interested in buying a small house with a garden.
Any ideas?
Thank you.
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Old 03-17-2012, 03:39 AM
 
958 posts, read 1,197,574 times
Reputation: 228
Quote:
Originally Posted by LadyDB View Post
Thank you so much to everyone that replied, it was very helpful.

How close to a city? Well, I'll probably have to commute to work, so I would say a place I can reach within 30 minutes or so. I don't know gas prices in PA. Honestly, even if I'm just outside a city is fine. I know I can't afford to live far from a city, but I just cannot live in one. Does that make sense? I wish I knew what a city in PA was to compare it to Tampa. I lived in Hawthorne, NJ, if that helps, and I consider Tampa more of a heavy city than that. If we could go smaller than that (someone mentioned cows and farms), I'd be happy.

Religion/kids? It doesn't really matter to me what the primary religion is or anything like that. And no, no kids. I'd be moving all on my own.

Tornadoes? I know these occur in PA, but is there any city you would recommend where they don't happen, or are of a weaker category? I was checking out a few maps and saw basically all of PA has been hit, some places less than others. Using Pennsylvania Tornadoes, I was able to see some counties are hit far less than others, but it made me wonder if there are counties not listed on there because they were never hit at all. We have tornadoes here in Tampa, I've had one a few streets away--but nothing powerful enough to cause any serious damage, and nothing that disrupted the regular flow of traffic or anything.

Does anyone know of a realtor or someone I could call in PA to maybe keep an eye out or find me something? This is my first big move on my own and I don't really have any family to guide me through it, so I'm basically relying on Google and this forum.

Also, I will certainly be reviewing the numerous places mentioned in the posts, thanks again!

Would anyone recommend maybe starting off with a cheap apartment in the city ad then moving out once I can scout the area? I ask only because I saw some posts mention it gets more expensive if you stay in the city than if you live in the outskirts.
Pittsburgh would be comparable to Tampa I guess when it comes to size and importance in its state. There's also Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Erie, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading, to name just a few. There's cities of all sizes throughout the state.

Tornadoes and other freak weather events happen more often in the central, western, northwestern, northern and northeastern parts of the state than the southeastern or southwestern. They do happen in every part though, make no mistake about that, and with global warming the fact is that no non-urban area is safe from them. They're not as likely to be as strong in Southeastern PA as elsewhere but they do happen here.

The Southeastern part also deals with tropical weather and other coastal-related weather events than most of the state.
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Old 03-17-2012, 11:52 AM
 
2 posts, read 4,886 times
Reputation: 11
i rented a 2 bed-2 bath mobile home just outside of Zelienople, PA. It is in western PA. In gas area. $600 per month. Clean, quiet, close to all necessities but none of the suburban traffic or shopping plazas. Retail work in closeby Cranberry in plentiful! The biggest drawback is that homes in "country" heat with propane. And it is expensive. SO take that into consideration. DO not want be on a tight budget and have to put $600 into the tank in January. That blows! Good luck.
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Old 03-18-2012, 08:28 PM
 
6 posts, read 5,985 times
Reputation: 17
Keep in mind if you live somewhere extremely cheap, the jobs won't be paying much. If you're comfortable with lower wages (possibly lower than what you make now), look for small towns not near major cities. Research areas between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg for starters. You will find many rural and semi-rural areas that are affordable. Also, public transportation may be scarce in these types of areas. Do your homework!
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Old 03-18-2012, 08:56 PM
 
4,277 posts, read 11,784,616 times
Reputation: 3933
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackcoral View Post
I'm looking almost for the same as LadyDB, (a safe place for a single woman) but I would prefer to have an easy access to train(ideally), or bus, to NY and Philly. I'm interested in buying a small house with a garden.
Any ideas?
Thank you.
Are you actually commuting to either NY or Philly, or just going there on weekends? If not daily commuting, Mount Joy, Elizabethtown, and Middletown are small towns on the train route that are cheaper than safe areas close enough to commute. You are likely to find houses (check the site history of course) that are still on the native soil types that the Amish farm outside of these towns.
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Old 03-26-2012, 03:51 PM
 
53 posts, read 176,020 times
Reputation: 22
Not commuting, just going in weekends. Thank you.
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