Thinking about moving to the A-B-E area and have some questions. (Allentown: house, safe area)

[GetMeOuttaJersey]

I am a single 29 yr. old guy who currently lives and works in NJ. As the title states I'm considering a move to PA. I have been looking at both the A-B-E and Pocono areas. I will be commuting to the Morristown area in NJ. I have couple questions

1) I will only be able to spend roughly 150K on a home. Preferably a single family house (not a double or row house). Is it possible to get a home that cheap in a nice area? I don't mind small or a moderate fixer upper... I am single and can do most easy to moderate home repair myself. (think painting, flooring and roofing... not plumbing or electrical). I just want to live in a safe neighborhood with friendly people.

2) I am single and would like to meet single women. It looks like Bethlehem would be the place to be for a single guy. How would the commute to jersey be from there. I already commute 1 to 1.5 hours a day. Would it be much longer?

3) Is the Pocono area cheaper then the Lehigh Valley area? I hear some bad things about the Poconos such as gang violence and over crowding. My parents just moved to tafton and I have not seen any of the that... but that does not mean it doesnt exist.

Please also tell me about any other areas you think would be a good fit for me. Thanks for any input.

[Matt_PSU]

Originally Posted by GetMeOuttaJersey

I am a single 29 yr. old guy who currently lives and works in NJ. As the title states I'm considering a move to PA. I have been looking at both the A-B-E and Pocono areas. I will be commuting to the Morristown area in NJ. I have couple questions

1) I will only be able to spend roughly 150K on a home. Preferably a single family house (not a double or row house). Is it possible to get a home that cheap in a nice area? I don't mind small or a moderate fixer upper... I am single and can do most easy to moderate home repair myself. (think painting, flooring and roofing... not plumbing or electrical). I just want to live in a safe neighborhood with friendly people.
>>>>> There are just not a lot of options for true detached homes in that price range. There are only a few and they always are 100yrs old or need major work. Your best bet in that price range is a nice duplex. Try Lehigh Valley Multiple Listing Service you will see what I mean.


2) I am single and would like to meet single women. It looks like Bethlehem would be the place to be for a single guy. How would the commute to jersey be from there. I already commute 1 to 1.5 hours a day. Would it be much longer?
>>>>> Out of the 3, bethlehem is the best for a single guy. (I am too). All my single work friends live here now. The singles bars are mostly in bethlehem and you can walk. I can't comment on commute times, I work here.


3) Is the Pocono area cheaper then the Lehigh Valley area? I hear some bad things about the Poconos such as gang violence and over crowding. My parents just moved to tafton and I have not seen any of the that... but that does not mean it doesnt exist.

Please also tell me about any other areas you think would be a good fit for me. Thanks for any input.

>>>>> My family owns property both here and in the poconos. The poconos have been hit really hard by NY/NJ commuters, certainly harder than here from an impact point of view. I would say steer clear unless I-80 makes more sense for you. Overcrowded- yes. Gangs- all your choices have them (a, b, e, poc).

If you are 29 and single north Bethlehem is your best bet (by far). Easton is only OK in college hill and *maybe* a few sq. blocks downtown, and those prices are too high. It is just not safe in the other easton neighborhoods. Allentown is way too far and not nearly as safe. The little burbs like catty, nazareth, northampton, emmaus will make you bored and they're more expensive too. The poconos are not good for singles.

[toobusytoday]

I would recommend that you comb the MLS listings to see what you can find but I think you will have a very difficult time finding a single, detached home anywhere near $150,000 in a safe area in Bethlehem. And I do think Bethlehem is the best choice for quality of life. According to mapquest it's 82.58 miles between Moorestown and Bethlehem and you know that's not accounting for our bad weather up here and the inevitable traffic jams closer to the city where the roads get clogged.

Why not think of a place quite a bit closer like Media (35 miles) or even Manayunk (22 miles)? Yes, they would cost more but do you really want to spend a good chunk of your life commuting?

[FLhereIcome]

1) I will only be able to spend roughly 150K on a home. Preferably a single family house (not a double or row house). Is it possible to get a home that cheap in a nice area?

It is possible if you find a realtor familiar with the area. There are single family homes in the 18017, 18018 zip code within your price range. You could consider Easton 18042 (specifically Wilson Borough, Avona, West Easton). Safe neighborhoods, quick drive to Bethlehem via Freemansburg Avenue.

2) How would the commute to jersey be from there. I already commute 1 to 1.5 hours a day. Would it be much longer?

You stated you would be commuting to Morristown (Morris or Middlesex County?). Depending on the county the mileage from the center of Bethlehem would be approx. 61-76 miles. If you move into the Easton area it would be approx. 49-63 miles.

[OneMoreinLV]

You might want to look at the area from around South Mall on Lehigh Street in Allentown into Salisbury Township, and Emmaus. The proximity to 78 will make all the difference in the commute, you might find a place in your price range in a decent neighborhood, and it's more likely to be detached than in some of the older towns or in Easton. The only problem would be getting stuck in Allentown School District if you had kids. (Emmaus SD is fine, though.) I think the other poster confused Moorestown, near Philly, with Morristown, up north. It's about an hour (plus traffic) from South Allentown to Morristown via 78->287. Easton is only 10 minutes closer. And that's assuming you don't have a local bottleneck between you and the highway - which can be a big pain around here. If possible, it's better to be near one of the 78 on-ramps than 22. You might also find cheap places in the area south of Easton. As for meeting people, Bethlehem may be the place, but anywhere in the LV is really no more than 20 minutes from anywhere else (except at rush hour, where you can spend 20 minutes to get 5 miles in certain places.)

[jeffvivian]

I just did a nice ranch in N Bethelhem for just over 150,000. I would focus there but some other areas to consider would be Hellertown, Coplay (which is north of Whitehall), and West Bethllehem. Good Luck

[PALady]

After having house shopped for almost a year, also looking in $150K range, I bought in October in Slatington. It's a remodeled 1939 cape on nice corner property, $160K. What I looked at for $150K were more than fixer uppers.