Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-08-2014, 09:28 PM
Q44
 
Location: Hudson Valley, NY
894 posts, read 1,023,814 times
Reputation: 1777

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107 View Post
we tried to move within 2 hours of nyc and we found we really did not like that life.

after buying a 2nd home in the poconos and thinking that is where we wanted to retire we realized that life wasn't for us.

everything that we could think of that we would need as we aged was lacking.

no public transportation if we couldn't drive, few specialists, medical facilities were few.

the winters icy and cold really left us with little to do. in fact after 5 years we saw and did everything in the area so now what do we do.

while life would have been cheaper than queens the quality was just lacking so we decided to sell and stay right here.

If you build it they will come . . . .

I lived in Queens for years and your area in Bay Terrace is really nice, but that whole Poconos thing ???? They threw those developments together with no thought whatsoever. Can't tell you how many people I worked with thought they could handle commuting from there every day.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-08-2014, 11:10 PM
 
89 posts, read 123,323 times
Reputation: 108
Quote:
Originally Posted by jm02 View Post
A little bit to add to previous posters:

Yes, I can confirm that income from pensions (private or public), social security and IRA distributions are not taxable in PA. Also, I would support the poster who said you will be hard pressed to find a home in Center City Philadelphia for $250K. Properites that require rahabl to the studs are going for more than that. I believe you could, however, find a nice studio or small one bedroom for 1700/month. I don't rent, but a search engine could give you a feel for what's available.

I second your consideration of Colingswood, NJ - it has a great Main Street. In the PA suburbs, you might take a look at in Media, PA. Finally, Newark, DE is a university town just off of 95 with a vibrant Main Street that exudes small town America. Delaware is known to be good for taxes, but I don't know how they treat pensions and other retirement sources of income.
Thanks for the input - yes, we are also looking at Media, and as far as Center City, we'd be very happy with a 1BR condo or townhouse if we could possibly find one within our price range (<$250,000). It's only one item on our wish list, though a favorite location.
Looking forward to more suggestions!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-09-2014, 03:40 AM
 
105,824 posts, read 107,820,907 times
Reputation: 79437
Quote:
Originally Posted by Q44 View Post
If you build it they will come . . . .

I lived in Queens for years and your area in Bay Terrace is really nice, but that whole Poconos thing ???? They threw those developments together with no thought whatsoever. Can't tell you how many people I worked with thought they could handle commuting from there every day.
the area we were in pike county was not a commutable area it was to far. . the commutable areas were south and were t those why rent when you can own ad crappy areas of monroe county.

high taxes ,shoddy developments and a commute that sucked destroyed those developments.

we were in a prime area by lake wallenpaupack, it was beautiful and a large boating mecca.

but it was not really what we wanted our retirement to be like but we had to try it to see.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-09-2014, 12:23 PM
 
12,823 posts, read 24,294,910 times
Reputation: 11039
An RI fans? How about NW DE / SE PA other than Philly and Wilmington proper (e.g. Newark, other Wilmington-Philly burbs)?

Altoona, Easton, etc?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-09-2014, 12:36 PM
 
Location: Glenbogle
730 posts, read 1,294,562 times
Reputation: 1055
Anyone who is leery of living in an environmentally "iffy" (to put it mildly) area would not want Newark, DE. In an area of only 8.9 square miles there are 34 superfund sites, 9 polluters, 2 brownfields and 453 tanks/spills.

I'm assuming that since the OP has good medical care as one of their priorities they would probably want to avoid a locale of this type.

Unfortunately much of northern DE was contaminated by the Dupont, etc, chemical plants back in the day.

A though provoking article about the aquifer (water) pollution in DE/MD/NJ.

Special Report: Delaware Drinking Water at Risk | The News Journal | delawareonline.com
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-09-2014, 03:48 PM
 
18,646 posts, read 33,208,153 times
Reputation: 36983
Yes, Collingswood (and Haddonfield) are on the Hi-speed line and are an easy quick ride to Center City (and on to Amtrak). They are fine little towns in a suburban landscape, Haddonfield being historic and gorgeous, Collingswood more … happening and cheaper. But remember to check into real estate taxes and car insurance- it's New Jersey, after all. I do think riding Amtrak to visit family would be a whole lot more reasonable than trying to figure out how to drive to LI without going mad.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-09-2014, 05:14 PM
 
Location: Center City
7,528 posts, read 10,197,672 times
Reputation: 11018
Quote:
Originally Posted by UL885 View Post
Thanks for the input - yes, we are also looking at Media, and as far as Center City, we'd be very happy with a 1BR condo or townhouse if we could possibly find one within our price range (<$250,000). It's only one item on our wish list, though a favorite location.
Looking forward to more suggestions!
Finding condos in Cenger City in this price reange will prbably be difficult. Not only that, but the adjacent ring of neighborhoods, especially to the south and west are likely out of your budget as well, with high rise condos springing up in University City and $1 million plus town homes selling in Graduate Hospital:
UCity's high-rise boom
Airy townhouses just off Center City
I'm afraid also to the north, Fairmount and Northern Liberties are also likely out of reach. All this said, don't take my word as the final say on real estate prices. I don't want to unnecessarily discourage you as there may be much more available than I know about. A good realtor or will be able to guide you. Also, the Philly CD board is quite helpful. I learned a lot about the city prior to moving here 3 years ago and as we settled in.

Further, I have two sugestions if you are truly interetsed in the city. First, Philly is much more than Center City. A neighborhood just above Northern Liberties named Fishtown seems to be the next frontier for willing folks and to the south an even more inviting location would be an area known as Passyunk Square. Also, there might be something within your budget to the west in a neighborhood called Clark Park.

The second idea I have is a co op. I'm not exactly clear how it works but the big picture is that you "buy into" a property and then pay only a monthly fee that goes toward maintenance. While ownership is not exactly clear to me, people can get into co ops at ridiculously low prices - well within your budget. I have friends in one building who love it and wouldn't live any other way. Most importantly to them, it was the only way they could afford to live in Center City and enjoy what's on offer here.

Best of luck with your search!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-09-2014, 05:49 PM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,908,951 times
Reputation: 15773
Quote:
Originally Posted by golfingduo View Post
Springfield [Mass.] area is pretty nice as long as you stay out of the bad sections. You are not far from Bradley Airport. The roads are fairly well maintained. You are close enough to get the Yankees on TV and have some company though the Red Sox bandwagon does have seats for ex-yankee fans.
Oh no no no, no....I grew up in Spfld (the "city of homes") when it was a great city. It now has one of the highest murder rates in the nation, and there are potentially more bad sections than good. The schools (for you younger retirees with kids) are generally not good at all. One of the decent areas is Longmeadow, but try getting out of your street onto the main drag at some hours, the traffic is so bad. To add to its degeneration, a casino is coming to downtown Spfld. Everyone I know living in Spfld including my sister wants out. There are much better areas around this city to be recommended.

ETA: to be fair, there are community minded folks in the city doing their best to revitalize their neighborhoods, but imo that would make it far better for younger families than for retirees.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-09-2014, 09:49 PM
 
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,764 posts, read 15,705,464 times
Reputation: 10850
Have you considered Doylestown, PA? Last stop on the train into Philly. Great downtown area, nice library. Not sure of price point.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-09-2014, 11:50 PM
 
Location: Sacramento
14,044 posts, read 27,124,753 times
Reputation: 7373
Quote:
Originally Posted by michgc View Post
Have you considered Doylestown, PA? Last stop on the train into Philly. Great downtown area, nice library. Not sure of price point.
Great recommendation, I haven't thought about Doylestown for years now. I still remember going out around their downtown area, at State and Main Streets. Very nice and funky downtown area, a lot of fun to walk around and only about 25 miles from Center City Philadelphia.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Retirement
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top