Places to live btw Reading and Allentown (Philadelphia, Bethlehem: apartment, rental)

[Nsb221]

- my husband and I are moving back to the philly regions. We Both are working in two different areas- reading and Allentown. We both have lived in philly for years, but are hoping to find a place to rent for 1-2 years until our jobs are finalized. We hope to be in a multicultural area with professionals. By maps, the two locations are 40-50 minutes apart. We were hoping to live closer to philly like in collegeville or Phoenixville- but are hesitant given how long both of our commutes would be.
Any suggestions of places to be? Any help would be much appreciated!!!

When are you moving? July 2016
Where are you coming from? Cleveland, but have lived in Philadelphia for years
Why are you moving? Work
Where will you be working? Reading and Allentown, husband and I are working in these two areas
Have you been here yet? Yes

Will you buy or rent? Rent
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? Townhouse or loft
How much can you spend? 1500-2000
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? Walk up

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married, no kids
Do you have pets? May have a dog by the time of moving
Do you want or need a yard? Would be nice
Are you keeping a car? 2 cars
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Mix of both

What do you want to be closest to? Basic services, some night life and restaurants

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? People in their 30s, young professionals, multicultural community

Phillies, Pirates or Mets? phillies ovbi

[toobusytoday]

This is going to be pretty tough, " We hope to be in a multicultural area with professionals.". You may achieve that in the city of Reading, and somewhat in Allentown/Bethlehem, but in between those areas are dozens or small towns and rural areas. I would suggest looking in Kutztown, where there's a college, reasonable commute, probably lots of rental places too and save your wish for a multicultural area with professionals for when you are ready for your next move.

[teachbeach]

I concur with looking in Kutztown. At least with the college town there will be some diversity within the student and professor population. There should also be some cultural activities on campus; lectures, plays, concerts etc. Traffic on 422 is awful, so I would avoid having to count on that for your work commute.

[Flyers Girl]

Kutztown, to be sure.

[KevinE]

Kutztown??!!. Kutztown is awful, and the 222 commute to Reading is a bottleneck because 222 was never designed for any kind of traffic volume.

I would go with the Boyertown/Gilbertsville area since that gets you closer to civilization. You can get to Reading in 30 min, Allentown in 40 min, Providence Town Center in 30 minutes and KOP in 40 minutes.

[MissClutterbuck]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

This is going to be pretty tough, " We hope to be in a multicultural area with professionals.". You may achieve that in the city of Reading, and somewhat in Allentown/Bethlehem, but in between those areas are dozens or small towns and rural areas. I would suggest looking in Kutztown, where there's a college, reasonable commute, probably lots of rental places too and save your wish for a multicultural area with professionals for when you are ready for your next move.

There are no multicultural professionals in Kutztown? I bet to differ. I know plenty of them.

I also know several in the Macungie and Topton areas. It's not a tall order. The people living in those "rural areas" are mostly professionals. Eastern Berks/Western Lehigh counties aren't Pennsyltucky the way that Northern NEPA or Central Pa is.

222 gets jammed, to be sure, but it's not bad during non-peak hours. Once you live there a little bit, you'll learn the back roads and the easier times to travel/ways to get around it.

[toobusytoday]

I didn't mean that there weren't ANY multicultural professionals in Kutztown. I meant that you wouldn't find as many as you would in a larger city. For instance, in the Lehigh Valley we have six four year colleges not counting the PSU branch, plus several international companies. I know people that live in the areas that you've mentioned but I thought the OP was asking for a midpoint between Reading and Allentown. Macungie is ten minutes from Allentown.

I LIKE Kutztown and think that the OP and her spouse would like living there, but I don't think even the people that live in Kutztown would consider it multicultural with a 94.3% white population http://www.city-data.com/city/Kutzto...nsylvania.html

[MissClutterbuck]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

I didn't mean that there weren't ANY multicultural professionals in Kutztown. I meant that you wouldn't find as many as you would in a larger city. For instance, in the Lehigh Valley we have six four year colleges not counting the PSU branch, plus several international companies. I know people that live in the areas that you've mentioned but I thought the OP was asking for a midpoint between Reading and Allentown. Macungie is ten minutes from Allentown.

I LIKE Kutztown and think that the OP and her spouse would like living there, but I don't think even the people that live in Kutztown would consider it multicultural with a 94.3% white population http://www.city-data.com/city/Kutzto...nsylvania.html

I understand what you mean. I'm not sure why the poster is searching for a multi-cultural area, but if he/she is from a non-white background, she/he won't find the type of racism or xenophobia that tends to occur in NEPA's smaller towns or in Central PA.