moving from austin tx to easton.....maybe (Philadelphia, Allentown: for sale, apartment)

[AtxZombie]

lookin for any decent advice on the area. we are splitting out of texas to closer to family. im orig fron new york and my wife is from chicago. all my family is up and down the east coast including pa. im a mechanic by trade so i never really have trouble finding work and my wife is a stay at home mommy. we are both in our late 30s. just curious to know what to avoid as far as ghettos go.
thanks
david

[toobusytoday]

I'm guessing you mean NYC when you say NY.

I don't think there are "ghetto" areas in any of the three city's that are in the Lehigh Valley really if you mean streets of boarded up houses. I don't mind driving through any of the city's at any time day or night, but there are places that I wouldn't feel comfortable walking through after dark.

I'd suggest that you fill out the sticky at the top of this forum for better help.

[PacoMartin]

An exhaustive answer to that question would take a long time. These statistics should help

Vacant Housing Units
Easton 10.1%
Allentown 8.8%
Bethlehem 5.9%

All three cities have 43%-47% of houses occupied by renters

Easton City
Occupied housing units 9,307
Owner occupied 4,325
Renter occupied 4,982
Vacant housing units 1,049

Allentown City
Occupied housing units 42,804
Owner occupied 20,730
Renter occupied 22,074
Vacant housing units 4,117

Bethlehem City
Occupied housing units 29,365
Owner occupied 15,727
Renter occupied 13,638
Vacant housing units 1,856

The numbers are skewed because Allentown is four times the size of Easton. But Center City, and East Allentown (tough areas) are still twice the size of Easton.
I would live in center city Easton before I would live in center city Allentown.

But in general the crime rate is lower in the boroughs and the townships.

Northampton County Population
55,639 City of Bethlehem
26,800 City of Easton
63,305 Boroughs (small towns)
151,991 Townships (rural and suburban)

[AtxZombie]

When are you moving? SUMMER 14
Where are you coming from? AUSTIN
Why are you moving? TO DAMN HOT HERE AND BE CLOSER TO FAMILY..... TOO MANY HIPSTERS IN AUSTIN
Where will you be working? CHEVY DEALER
Have you been here yet? YES YRS AGO BUT PLANNING A TRIP IN MARCH-APRIL

Will you buy or rent? RENT FOR A YR THAN LOOK FOR LAND, WE LIKE TO GROW OUR FOOD
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend?HOUSE 1200 MONTH
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend?
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up?

Are you married or single? Do you have children? MARRIED 2 BOYS 4-11
Do you prefer public or private schools? PUBLIC IM A REALISTIC PARENT MY KIDS ARE NOT
Do you have pets? 1 DOG
Do you want or need a yard? IT WOULD BE NICE SINCE WE HAVE A BACKYARD FARM HERE
Are you keeping a car? 1 CAR 1 TRUCK
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? DOES NOT MATTER

What do you want to be closest to?
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Near Bus stop? Please note that there is NO rail service in the Lehigh Valley.

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? DIVERSE

Phillies or Mets? WHAT IS A PHILLIE? METS SUCKERS!

[PacoMartin]

Brown Daub Chevrolet in Nazareth has service, parts, and a body shop

Foreclosure about a 1400 yard commute away (you could ride a bicycle)
3 beds:1 bath:1,878 sq ft| Lot:6,000 sqft Year Built:1996

Has the advantage of an excellent school district for your kids, and a short commute if you wanted to be a one car family. The house may go for $160K. Excellent range of shopping within 2 miles.

There are opportunities around here for good schools without paying much money.

[loose cannon]

I will hang out with an austin hipster before any of these Lehizzle Valley hipsters. I sat in the corner of my bar seething at the hipsters around me as I swigged my PBR in disgust. Austin is the greatest city in the world. If I had 10,000 dollars I would be there in a minute. But I wallow in Lehizzle. I have never met anyone moving from Austin to the Lehizzle for Shizzle. Unbelievable! Most people dream of escaping Lehizzle for Shizzle to go to Austin. Yes well. I'll probably still be here. The bar stool is saved for you.

[loose cannon]

There are plenty of ghettos. Listen to me., from 16th st in Allentown East is a ghetto! I walk through it often with clenched fist and a baseball bat under my jacket. Bethlehem has the Southeast side by the casino, 5 points, and Pembroke., Easton from 12th st to WIlson is pretty rough.

[AtxZombie]

lol austin isnt what its cracked up to be trust me. as far as the bar stool im drug free and proud of it. like in my title i said maybe but we are going to pa but want to be out of philly. we want to eventually do a urban type homestead, we would like an acre or a little more when time and money permits.
thanks for the input yall

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by loose cannon

There are plenty of ghettos. Listen to me., from 16th st in Allentown East is a ghetto! I walk through it often with clenched fist and a baseball bat under my jacket. Bethlehem has the Southeast side by the casino, 5 points, and Pembroke., Easton from 12th st to WIlson is pretty rough.

You may be right loose cannon as I don't do a lot of walking in those areas but I've never gotten the creeped out scared feeling in any city in the Lehigh Valley as I do when driving through some areas of Philadelphia, like near Temple, where there are blocks where houses are boarded up and branded with graffiti.

Atxzombie, To get an acre in an urban area would cost an arm and a leg and farming in an urban area, unless you are just talking about an oversize garden, would be a big challenge.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by AtxZombie

we would like an acre or a little more when time and money permits.

There seems to be a mistaken impression that because this is a smaller urban area that 1 acre lots are affordable and plentiful. My brother's 1930 home has a 1/16 acre lot. Old homes were built without big lots because people relied on public transportation. Farm houses are either intact and you must buy a huge tract of land, or they were subdivided so that there is no longer much land. Very expensive houses are usually part of a nice subdivision where the developer could not afford to build sewers for one acre lots.

Just go to Zillow, and put in a minimum of 1 acre lot and the maximum price value that you want to spend. Look at sold houses as well as For Sale. You will be surprised how limited your selection will be under these conditions.