Looking at places to move in PA - from NYC (Philadelphia: condo, crime)

[Joelyso]

Hello all!

My wife and kids have been thinking about moving away from the New York City to Pensylvania, but since it was so difficult trying to find the right location, we put it off a year ago and are again seriously searching. The 2 only requirements are to be able to find work and schools within a 30-minute drive, and 3- 10 acres of land (would like to have 2 horses eventually).

We looked at a few places around Allentown and there is always a huge tradeoff between a decent house or a good amount of land. When we did see a livable home with a good amount of land, it was located in Kutztown, which we think may be too far from Allentown if that is where work will be. Are we wrong to assume most jobs will be in either Philadelphia or Allentown? Anyway, we haven't looked anywhere to the west of PA, should we be? Are there other counties to look into? or just keep looking in same area?

Thanks!!

Answer the recommended questions below to provide more details:

When are you moving? 1- 12 months (As soon as we find something)
Where are you coming from? New York City
Why are you moving? Less noise/crowding and more peace and nature
Where will you be working? I will be working from home (IT) and will need to find Accounting related work within 30 minutes.
Have you been here yet? Yes, all around Allentown.

Will you buy or rent? Buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? A house around $500

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married and two children
Do you prefer public or private schools? Public
Do you have pets? Hoping to get a dog and even two horses.
Do you want or need a yard? Yes, 3 - 10 acres.
Are you keeping a car? Yes
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Calm and quiet

What do you want to be closest to? - Work and School

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? No preference

[Wells5]

If you like the Allentown area, I suggest looking into the Emmaus, Macungie, Coopersburg area and the adjacent townships especially Lower Macungie, which is part of the highly rated East Penn School District. You can find a nice house on acreage well within your price range (I assume that you meant $500,000 not $500).


Where in New York State do you call home?

[Joelyso]

Thanks, Wells5. I'll expand our search to those areas as well (and yes, looking around 500k).

Right now I live in Brooklyn where everything we ever need is within a 5-minute walking distance, so I know we'll need to adjust

[toobusytoday]

Three to ten acres within 30 minutes of Allentown is doable if you want an older home or a fixer upper. I would make sure of a good internet connection too, as that is not a given. Lower Milford, in Southern Lehigh School district, is a more rural area but cell service/wifi is spotty and roads are very iffy in bad weather.

If you've really narrowed your search to the Lehigh Valley, I will move this thread to the Lehigh Valley forum. You will not be able to get a house with that price point and that acreage within a 30 minute radius of Philadelphia.

[Wells5]

Do you want to be close to NYC? If not, then I would suggest looking into Cumberland, Franklin, Adams, Centre and York Counties in south central, PA. This is where you can find charming little farmettes where you can have horses. The largest cities in the area are Harrisburg, York, State College and Lancaster. These cities and their surroundings are prosperous, not economically depressed. Depending on your line of work, jobs are plentiful.

[Joelyso]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

Three to ten acres within 30 minutes of Allentown is doable if you want an older home or a fixer upper. I would make sure of a good internet connection too, as that is not a given. Lower Milford, in Southern Lehigh School district, is a more rural area but cell service/wifi is spotty and roads are very iffy in bad weather.

If you've really narrowed your search to the Lehigh Valley, I will move this thread to the Lehigh Valley forum. You will not be able to get a house with that price point and that acreage within a 30 minute radius of Philadelphia.

It's pretty funny, but that's the first thing I usually ask about the home and people think I'm crazy Before completely abandoning Philadelphia, I did find some interesting homes in Bensalem. How is that Area?

Originally Posted by Wells5

Do you want to be close to NYC? If not, then I would suggest looking into Cumberland, Franklin, Adams, Centre and York Counties in south central, PA. This is where you can find charming little farmettes where you can have horses. The largest cities in the area are Harrisburg, York, State College and Lancaster. These cities and their surroundings are prosperous, not economically depressed. Depending on your line of work, jobs are plentiful.

The distance from NYC is not important at all (I even considered Colorado at one point), just work, schools, and horses. I actually saw some nice homes very close to York and Dover. But for some reason, I dismissed York because of threads about crime there. Although now that I think about it, it's probably no different than Brooklyn or Philadelphia.

[Patmcpsu]

I just bought a 3.3 acre house in Pocopson (Chester County) for $485k, about 15 minutes away from downtown West Chester.

Lehigh Valley has a lot of cheaper entry level homes, but once you look for higher-end properties, the “low cost of living” magically disappears. For a supposedly rural area, they build like space is at a premium.

Northern Montgomery county could also get you a lot of land for your money, but there isn’t much going on around there.

Amd obviously, if you look *deep* into the sticks, you can live like a king.

[ChrisConley]

Originally Posted by Joelyso

Hello all!

My wife and kids have been thinking about moving away from the New York City to Pensylvania, but since it was so difficult trying to find the right location, we put it off a year ago and are again seriously searching. The 2 only requirements are to be able to find work and schools within a 30-minute drive, and 3- 10 acres of land (would like to have 2 horses eventually).

We looked at a few places around Allentown and there is always a huge tradeoff between a decent house or a good amount of land. When we did see a livable home with a good amount of land, it was located in Kutztown, which we think may be too far from Allentown if that is where work will be. Are we wrong to assume most jobs will be in either Philadelphia or Allentown? Anyway, we haven't looked anywhere to the west of PA, should we be? Are there other counties to look into? or just keep looking in same area?

Thanks!!

Answer the recommended questions below to provide more details:

When are you moving? 1- 12 months (As soon as we find something)
Where are you coming from? New York City
Why are you moving? Less noise/crowding and more peace and nature
Where will you be working? I will be working from home (IT) and will need to find Accounting related work within 30 minutes.
Have you been here yet? Yes, all around Allentown.

Will you buy or rent? Buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? A house around $500

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married and two children
Do you prefer public or private schools? Public
Do you have pets? Hoping to get a dog and even two horses.
Do you want or need a yard? Yes, 3 - 10 acres.
Are you keeping a car? Yes
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Calm and quiet

What do you want to be closest to? - Work and School

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? No preference

I moved from Maspeth (Queens) to Montgomery County back in 2000. It takes some getting used to, but I'm still here and would never go back. Yes, I miss the pizza. Yes, I miss the bagels. Yes, I miss the Italian food. The drivers? Ehh, lol.

But, I've found some decent pizza in the area after nearly trying them all, Redner's Warehouse Markets sells bagels that are REAL CLOSE to NY, and I've watched a lot of Lydia to learn how to cook better Italian at home. The drivers? Well, I make a mean meat sauce now, lol.

But it's one of the most beautiful states in the union. I also love the fact that I get to walk the same dirt that George Washington did, and often drive the path that the liberty bell traveled on as it made its way to the once capital of the United States, Philadelphia. Lots of history here.

The only thing is a home around $500k with that much land won't be easy to find unless you move into a more rural area. So the 30 minute commute might need to get longer, or the lot a little smaller.

When I moved here we lived in a motel for a month. That helped us get a better feel for the area, and figure out where we wanted to live.

[Marv95]

Northwest Montgomery County as you'll be about a 30-45 min. drive from Allentown and the county's employment centers like King of Prussia, Plymouth Meeting & Conshohoken.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by Joelyso

It's pretty funny, but that's the first thing I usually ask about the home and people think I'm crazy Before completely abandoning Philadelphia, I did find some interesting homes in Bensalem. How is that Area?

Lots of geeks in my family and all three of my kids can work from home if they have a fast enough connection so I understand that importance. No idea about Bensalem, but you could ask about it on the Philly forum. General rule of thumb for land around cities is that anything within 30 minutes is going to be a premium price or there's a good reason for a low one.

The distance from NYC is not important at all (I even considered Colorado at one point), just work, schools, and horses. I actually saw some nice homes very close to York and Dover. But for some reason, I dismissed York because of threads about crime there. Although now that I think about it, it's probably no different than Brooklyn or Philadelphia.

My answer in Blue