Relocation questions on various areas in Lehigh Valley

[toobusytoday]

I agree about the gated communities. I've never seen one around here. Comparing the area's you've mentioned, I'll say the one thing they all have in common is that they're all mostly housing places with no town center but all in very good school districts.

What I found helpful was to pick a school district first and then go from there. When we were looking for this house, we wanted a small school district that was small but with very good academics. From the three school districts you've picked (Parkland, East Penn and Southern Lehigh) the first two are quite a bit larger. Neither is bad, just a matter of preference.

[caltopa]

Thanks for all the feedback. Any recs. on the various high schools in Lehigh Valley?

Thank you

[toobusytoday]

School districts in PA, outside of the cities, are small. One school district, one High School. East Penn School District - Emmaus HS, Parkland School District- Parkland High School. Southern Lehigh School district - Southern Lehigh High School., etc. Funding for schools is also mostly locally funded, almost 80%. So, pay attention to the school taxes - that's going to be your biggest tax. Teachers are well paid in the districts that you've been looking at, which is also why they are well thought of. There are also some public charter schools but the district that the schools are located in will only have a limited number of openings and those spots will go to the students who live in that district. I think all of the charters have lotteries or applications for admission. Make sure you check them out thoroughly though because they are not all created equal.

[caltopa]

Sorry for the odd question. In CA gated communities are common place, so I was not sure.
Any thoughts about the various high schools? My children do sports and dance, and are great students, so those are important factors as well.

Thank you

[toobusytoday]

I can't really help you with that. In my area the kids that dance go to a couple of private dance studio's and then participate in the HS musicals. I understand that there is much more competition at the larger HS for spots in performances since there really are a limited number of actors. I love how at Southern Lehigh you'll see the kids that are on the fall sports teams in the Spring musical. The choreographer at the school also does the choreography at the local college and the performances are really, really good and often sold out. A few of our kids have made it to Broadway, including one right now that is performing in Fiddler on the Roof.

Sports wise, I think it depends on the sport. SL does very well (especially in lacrosse) but while we may win our league, don't usually get to far up the ladder as far as state championships. There is not a dominant sport culture at our schools.

[ResearcherMom]

Hello- we are relocating to PA for a job in the Lehigh Valley with our family of five. It's a beautiful area, but I'm not finding anything that has the features you listed- good schools, cute downtown, etc. The only thing I'm seeing that fits the bill is Doylestown, but we are not sure about the commute. Did you settle on an area? Would love to hear your thoughts!!!

[rowhomecity]

Originally Posted by ResearcherMom

Hello- we are relocating to PA for a job in the Lehigh Valley with our family of five. It's a beautiful area, but I'm not finding anything that has the features you listed- good schools, cute downtown, etc. The only thing I'm seeing that fits the bill is Doylestown, but we are not sure about the commute. Did you settle on an area? Would love to hear your thoughts!!!

I would start a new thread in the LV forum and fill out the sticky!!

//www.city-data.com/forum/phila...formation.html