Monroe/NH/Lehigh/Bucks real estate outlook 2022 (Allentown, Bethlehem: house, schools)

[coss]

Originally Posted by Rootdkj

Nearly non existent. There’s some small propeller aircraft that land at Doylestown airport but it’s nothing compared to the jets that we’d hear overhead going to Morristown, Newark or JFK. Sometimes on a very still night, I think I’m hearing some cars on the 611 expressway but over all it’s very quiet here. I used to live near NJ Route 10 near where it meets with I-287 so again, it’s a huge improvement in noise pollution. It’s uncannily dark too. There are no overhead streetlights around me. That has taken some getting used to, but it’s also nice to be able to see the stars again. Thankfully my car has automatic high beams.

Thanks

I wouldn’t mind an area similar to rt 10 where its near Randolph and more west

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by coss

New Brunswick/Middlesex County. Usually under 2 hrs on the beautiful rt 80, if not during peak times. Once a week such a drive shouldn't be too bad.

It looks like about an hour and a half from my area in Southern Lehigh County. If you only have to do the drive once a week, it would be very do-able. I like our small town which has good schools. Taxes are higher compared to more rural areas but lower than Bucks and Northern Jersey. We are not on the flight path for any planes. That's not something that is ever mentioned here. However, we do fly out of EWR, PhL or LVIA, depending on the price and convenience. We can get to Philadelphia in an hour and NYC within 2 hours.

[Rootdkj]

Originally Posted by coss

Thanks

I wouldn’t mind an area similar to rt 10 where its near Randolph and more west

There’s plenty of that in Bucks country, but the drive will be slightly longer to the most common shops.

[coss]

Thanks all!

[Tweb66]

Why do we have so many threads with baseless, fact free explanations of migration patterns? Philadelphia is growing, in fact last year it counted for literally half the housing starts in the entire state. But its like I've always to most of the rest of the state, if Philly is so awful and dangerous, what it does it say about you that people would rather risk their lives than have to be your neighbor?

[NYtoNJtoPA]

I grew up in the same area of NJ you're coming from, moved to Bucks County since it's less than an hour to at least Southern Middlesex, but thankfully have long since gotten a new job and haven't commuted there since 2017.

The Lehigh Valley area is the fastest growing region of PA and is quickly becoming "Jersey West" as lots of folks moving out of NJ for the same reason you and I did are flocking to that area. I was never particularly crazy about that area since it gets lots of traffic and I was looking to escape the element, not move with it if you get my drift. It's centered around 3 cities - Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton - and there are a lot of colleges in the area, it's close to 78 and 22 and the PA Turnpike NE Extension, 36 miles from the Mainline Turnpike. Of the three, I'd say Bethlehem is by far the nicest and it has its Christmas events going on each year though never actually visited it around that time. Allentown is the biggest - currently the third largest city in the state - but it pretty much constitutes the "ghetto" or "underbelly" of that whole region. Easton is nice by the waterfront but goes downhill fast as you get further into PA. But for location purposes if I had to live in that area I'd want to be close to Allentown just so I have easy access to 78, 22 and the NE Ext (476) of the turnpike, I'm sure there's some nice suburbs close by. I have a customer in Stockertown (outside Easton) I do 3 times a year and it pays to take backroads up from Levittown in Bucks County, but traffic builds up on them fast during the day.

Bucks County is Philadelphia suburbs through and through (except for the far northern parts where it's wine country). It's huge and kind of like Suffolk County out on Long Island (minus the water). The northern suburbs of Philadelphia I would equate to Long Island in terms of when the area was developed. As whole counties, I'd equate Montgomery more to Nassau and Bucks to Suffolk though the Levittowns are in opposite places. Levittown will either be great or terrible depending on the section, as it is not incorporated like NJ towns are. Townships in PA are mere county subdivisions and the town names you hear are mostly zip code tabulation areas. I have no idea what highway noise is like in Randolph near Rt. 10, but being close to the highway was one of the things I needed because I like to get places fast. My section of Levittown is close to 95, 295 and the Super Highway, Hwy 1 and outside noise never bothered me. But the area is pretty built out as it was all developed at once post WWII. Dollar for dollar it suited us best in terms of cost of living, schools and QOL, but you want to concentrate on the areas that feed into either Neshaminy or Pennsbury schools. Avoid Bristol, Croydon, Bensalem/Cornwells Hgts/Andalusia and Morrisville. Either they're low income areas or have schools I would never consider putting my kid in.

West of Bensalem, up Street Rd, it gets more expensive, as it does around Yardley, Newtown, Doylestown and Holland areas. It is certainly quieter and more leafy, but more difficult to get to in some aspects.

[toobusytoday]

I'm going to be a little nit-picky about the above post and descriptions of the outlying towns from the Lehigh Valley cities as, "suburbs". Most of the towns, including the one I live near, were founded two to three hundred years ago, have their own government and schools. There are certainly areas of just housing and no central town, but it's very possible to live near the highways and live in a small historical town.

[NYtoNJtoPA]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

I'm going to be a little nit-picky about the above post and descriptions of the outlying towns from the Lehigh Valley cities as, "suburbs". Most of the towns, including the one I live near, were founded two to three hundred years ago, have their own government and schools. There are certainly areas of just housing and no central town, but it's very possible to live near the highways and live in a small historical town.

Not denying that. There are lots of small towns up in that area like Stockertown, Belfast, Nazareth, Slatington, Walnutport etc. that are totally independent of Allentown or the bigger cities and have some character to them. I always thought Stockertown in particular was nice and relatively well-kept though it is quite small. Jim Thorpe also comes to mind though it is a bit away.

[toobusytoday]

And I'm thinking of Coopersburg, Hellertown, Emmaus, and Macungie. I'm not familiar with any you've mentioned except Nazareth. We've got lots of nice little towns.

[Tweb66]

I always liked the East Greenville/Pennsburg/Red Hill trio. RT 29 in those towns is about as quintessential main street America as you will find. Plus is super close to anything you'd ever need. And added bonus, there is a chocolate factory nearby so the place smells like brownies.