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Northeastern Pennsylvania Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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Old 10-11-2006, 03:59 PM
 
50 posts, read 209,423 times
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Hi all-
You gave me some great feedback on Milford. Im leaving 10/19 to buy a house in PA and am so confused! I see great affordable homes in Bushkill. School system is E Strausberg. Its closer to Rt. 80 which I remember being a nightmare. My husband will be commuting to Bergen Cty, NJ. Which is closer, Milford which is 84 into NJ or Bushkill which is 80 into NJ? Is the extra time worth a nicer area? I remember Bushkill Falls as a kid but thats it. What other area is close to NJ (under 70 miles) and nice? All I have now is Milford, Bushkill. I didnt hear good things about Matamoras or Port Jervis. No offense to anyone who lives there, I heard it floods. Please recommed a place! We are looking in Consaugh which someone recommended..
Thanks.
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Old 10-11-2006, 11:06 PM
 
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Milford is the best.

Bushkill has some cheap homes, but you will find cheap homes up in Milford too. Be weary of the build quality. There is a builder up here with a terrible rep. A lot of those wicked cheap homes you see are being slapped together by this guy.

NO PORT JERVIS!!! Please no.. Bad schools, dirty town with flooding issues and "undesireables". Higher taxes too. Possibly Greenville NY though...it is cheaper and less flooding issues.

Matamoras floods, housing is more expensive. Not all of it floods, but I would be leery after the summer we had, and the fact that you will be looking in the wintertime when it is drier here. A lot of older housing too.

Bushkill has E Stroudsberg schools they have been know to be going through some issues lately.

Check out Conasaugh Lakes in Milford, easy hop to 84. Or the Pocono woodlands or one of their sister communities.

If you get the chance, check out Minisink Valley school area, which is west of Middletown NY. Cheaper homes, easier access to NJ. Otherwise, stick to Milford. Especially if you have kids or are planning to. Dingman's Ferry is nice as well.

Also, Warwick NY is nice, tho a little more expensive it would bring commuting within a very reasonable distance to Bergen. Probably a half hour.

Good luck! (Who are you using for a realtor?? I have a good recommendation if you are not getting good vibes, and for a good builder too)
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Old 10-12-2006, 05:08 PM
 
Location: Missouri
6,044 posts, read 24,087,707 times
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I personally prefer Milford, because it's cuter, but Bushkill might be better if you plan on commuting to NJ. Rt. 80 is a nightmare, but there are more job opportunities off of the Rt. 80 corridor than Rt. 84, which goes into NY, not NJ (it does touch on Montague, NJ, but that's it, and it is still rather rural up there, not as many jobs). Although if your goal is Bergen County, I am not sure how much time difference there would be. I mapquested Milford to Paterson and it was 60 miles; I mapquested Bushkill to Paterson and it was 74 miles.
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Old 10-12-2006, 06:49 PM
 
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There is a renassaince of some sort in Middletown. While the town used to be jobless and no growth they have seen several new major store chains come in, now there are constantly NJ plates around there and I have met people who come up from NJ to work there too. When I left this area 10 years ago the orange plaza was dead. Now there are probably 30+ stores back there and resturants, home depot and walmart, furniture stores and the whole 9 yards.

The next place over on 84 to find work would me Newburgh, which is also facing an upswing as far as quality of life and jobs are concerned. There are also trucking/shipping jobs and military jobs around here.

Also want to mention that the property taxes are a little more bearable in Middletown than the rest of the surrounding area, though I do not really like the town or the district there are cheap places in the Minisink Valley school district and the Metro North train runs right into Hoboken NJ, or you can hop a bus down at the park and ride in Monroe, 15 miles east on ret 17. Gets you to Jersey lickety split!
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Old 10-14-2006, 08:37 AM
 
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Thanks all. We are leaving 10/19 to look at houses. We are using Remax in Milford. They were a referral from our agent in Fl. I think we are going to stick with Milford. My hubby will commute to Bergen cty but not every day. He will work from home or be on the road. My sister lives in Wild Acres and hates it! She said to look in Sunrise Lakes, Conasaugh. She said Wild Acres and Birchwood have terrible flooding issues. I love rural, Im looking forward to that. I lived in Montague, NJ so Im familar with PA and the bridges....Does anyone have any personal recommendations as far as Sunrise Lakes vrs COnasaugh? Conasaugh has higher dues, 900 per yr vrs 500 per year. I do love Warwick, NY, I also lived in Greenwood Lake, NY but Warwick has become so over priced. Milford is it. Oh....WHY DO MOST OF THE HOMES NOT HAVE CENTRAL AIR! Its sooo weird. Coming from Fl I cant imagine not having it. Its got to get hot some days in the summer! All I want is a garage and central air and my realtor said finding both would be challenging. I want a bi level vrs a Chalet. Whats with Birchwood, any comments?
Thanks so much.
Mom2KK
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Old 10-15-2006, 09:10 AM
 
1,330 posts, read 5,093,467 times
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What price range are you looking at?? Most newer homes out here have central air when I looked last year most all of them did.

There are a few nice developments up here. Out of the two you mentioned I only looked in Conasaugh Lakes when I was out househunting. Conasaugh Lakes is one of the most desireable communities up here, but it is also one of the more expensive ones too.

Wild Acres is getting old. There are some newer houses but it was one of the older communities up there. I have been told to stay away from Marcel Lakes because of the sewer issue. There are nice homes up here towards the Shohola line off rte 6 as well. My husband takes 15 minutes to get on 84 from up here in Walker Lake.

When I get back home to my computer I will PM you a website with info about specific communities.
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Old 10-16-2006, 09:20 AM
 
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We are looking about 250K. My realtor is showing us mainly in Conasaugh and Sunrise Lakes. Shohola looks nice but it seems the furthest from the NJ line. Interesting about Marcel Lakes. Im curious about hearing about that. Oh...realtor is also recommending Pocono Woodlands. If you can let me know about that. New construction isnt out of the question but they all seem so " box like" and I like the Salt box look if that makes sense. I look forward to hearing from you, thanks! Leaving Thuirsday....
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Old 10-17-2006, 03:19 PM
 
1,330 posts, read 5,093,467 times
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250K should get you a nice home up here. Ours was 240K brand spankin new - with the REAL wood floors and a nice lot LOL!

I can't find the link about the different communities it seems to have disappeared from my computer.. The issue with Marcel Lakes is that the sewer system only has so much capacity and with the new homes being added they are going to come to a point where they have to upgrade. Then there comes the question of how much they are going to have to raise dues to do this..It was not a gamble we were willing to take, and IMO the dues were already high enough. Our dues are something like 250/year. And we have a HUGE lake here.

The communities your realtor is recommending are the common commuting areas and all should be nice. Ask about dues for the communities before you sign anything, some can be a couple thousand a year.

As far as the box type new homes, yes a lot seem to be clones but if you get a good builder most will try to make your home with a little character. Ours looks like a 1920's home with a nice farmer's porch and it actually has some detail to it which is nice. And you can always add on later, a porch or an addition to break up some of the straight lines.

I pulled up a few houses online to get a look and I think you will be happy with what you can get in your price range.
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Old 10-17-2006, 07:31 PM
 
50 posts, read 209,423 times
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Hi Winnie-Wow-your annual dues are low. They seem to run 500 up to $888 and if you have a double lot, you pay more! What subdivision do you live if you dont mind me asking? Im also looking FSBO. Do you know what the local paper is there? We are looking in Conasaugh and Sunrise on Fri. Id LOVE to have a home built. Did the $240 include the lot? In your opinion, is it a buyers market there? Here in Fl houses are on the market forever and prices are dropping to all time lows. Im excited to house hunt Fri, I am so tired of moving and I want this to be it. We moved from Bergen cty, NJ to Greenwood Lake, Ny to Monroe, NY to Montague, Nj to Orlando, Fl now Im in Daytona Beach with a baby and we miss our family and are moving back to PA to stay. I really want what I want so I hope I dont drive my realtor crazy. We have a place to stay in NJ while we look so theres no real rush....If you know of a nice house FSBO, please let me know...
Donna
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Old 02-08-2008, 08:40 AM
 
10 posts, read 39,430 times
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Question Trying to find a place to live in PA.

I work in New York and am trying to find a commute that I can live with door to door (hopefully under 2 hours). What are the closest and safer places to live in PA? I need something affordable. Schools are not important - no younger children in the household. Commuting is important and I don't want to be so secluded in the woods where I can't see a neighbor. I was told Milford is nice, but about 2 1/2 hours away. My concern about Milford is: 1. Flooding, and 2. I notice many houses look like unattractive salt boxes that are not very well constructed (my apologies, and no offense to anyone's home). I assumed they have been built by the same contractor (and I would like to avoid that). Aren't houses supposed to be built to a certain code? Can anyone suggest some nice towns with homes that don't look like they are going to fall apart after a few years - no flood zones, and a decent commute to the NYC? I checked Upstate New York and was surprised how high property taxes are in many counties! Thank you!!!

Marilyn
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