Family moving to Lehigh Valley Area (or other areas) (Philadelphia: apartment, renting)

[Seeker72]

When are you moving? Next summer
Where are you coming from?Florida
Why are you moving?Work related
Where will you be working?We will be based out of PA but traveling throughout the Northeast
Have you been here yet?Husband will be soon

Will you buy or rent?Buying
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend?A house Max 240K
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? Single family home

Are you married or single? Do you have children?Married and 2 kids (10 & 13)
Do you prefer public or private schools? Public but will most likely homeschool
Do you have pets?Cat and Dog
Do you want or need a yard?Yes, looking at 1acre+
Are you keeping a car?2 cars
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet?Calm and quiet. Not interested in suburbs.

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? Either


I've read through several post's regarding the Lehigh Valley area and surrounding areas. We are kind of focused on Jim Thorpe at the moment but that could change. A lot of posts about that Town are older and I was hoping to get some updated info on it. The small town feel appeals to us but I was wondering about the tourist part. How crazy does it get and is it all the time or just around holiday seasons?
When it comes to schools: My kids might or might not go to public. One is currently being homeschooled and the other is in public.
We are looking to buy outside of Jim Thorpe (or other smaller town) and are looking for a place that has acreage. The highest we would go is around 240K. Not looking for anything fancy. My husband travels a lot and just wants to come home and get away from all the hustle.
That brings me to my next point in our search. Due to his frequent travel we need to be within a 45 min drive to an airport. Allentown seems to be a great place to fly out of.
So, besides Jim Thorpe, are they any other towns that we should further look at? We like the mountains, rivers, hiking, fishing aka everything outdoors is perfect.
If you could choose anywhere in Pa with the above listed interest's, where would you go???

FYI, we used to live in MN for 7 years so we know about winters. We are looking forward to all four seasons again )

[boney89]

Originally Posted by Seeker72

When are you moving? Next summer
Where are you coming from?Florida
Why are you moving?Work related
Where will you be working?We will be based out of PA but traveling throughout the Northeast
Have you been here yet?Husband will be soon

Will you buy or rent?Buying
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend?A house Max 240K
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? Single family home

Are you married or single? Do you have children?Married and 2 kids (10 & 13)
Do you prefer public or private schools? Public but will most likely homeschool
Do you have pets?Cat and Dog
Do you want or need a yard?Yes, looking at 1acre+
Are you keeping a car?2 cars
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet?Calm and quiet. Not interested in suburbs.

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? Either


I've read through several post's regarding the Lehigh Valley area and surrounding areas. We are kind of focused on Jim Thorpe at the moment but that could change. A lot of posts about that Town are older and I was hoping to get some updated info on it. The small town feel appeals to us but I was wondering about the tourist part. How crazy does it get and is it all the time or just around holiday seasons?
When it comes to schools: My kids might or might not go to public. One is currently being homeschooled and the other is in public.
We are looking to buy outside of Jim Thorpe (or other smaller town) and are looking for a place that has acreage. The highest we would go is around 240K. Not looking for anything fancy. My husband travels a lot and just wants to come home and get away from all the hustle.
That brings me to my next point in our search. Due to his frequent travel we need to be within a 45 min drive to an airport. Allentown seems to be a great place to fly out of.
So, besides Jim Thorpe, are they any other towns that we should further look at? We like the mountains, rivers, hiking, fishing aka everything outdoors is perfect.
If you could choose anywhere in Pa with the above listed interest's, where would you go???

FYI, we used to live in MN for 7 years so we know about winters. We are looking forward to all four seasons again )

What about poconos along 33 saylorsburg up to stroudsburg

[Seeker72]

That's only 30-40 min from the airport. I will check that out. Thank you.

[flyonpa]

Just a Note, If he is "Traveling" around the NorthEast,

ABE Lehigh Valley International will not be flying him there. By in large, there are flight to the "Hubs" Chicago, Philly, Atlanta, Charlotte, Detroit with bus service to Newark.

AVP Wilkes Barre Scranton International Airport is more or less the same, with less flights,

[Seeker72]

Flyonpa, I checked with AA flying out of Allentown to the Cities/States my husband flies frequently to and all of them are working out great. That's one of the things we were glad about when we started looking into that area. Thank you though

[toobusytoday]

At your price point, you are going to want to look North or West of Allentown. You won't be able to find a house that's in good condition with the land you are talking about within 30 minutes of Allentown. I love Jim Thorpe and just went up there for the first time this summer, but there really is a traffic problem. Small town, meant for horse and buggies, not cars! My impression is that weekends, year round are busy, but I could be wrong. If you'd be willing to look at a house with less land and up your price a bit, you could find everything you want at any of the small towns surrounding Allentown or Bethlehem. I love my area - Southern Lehigh school district (Center Valley and Coopersburg) where we can easily do everything you've mentioned, but with the added benefit of being closer to the highways leading to Philadelphia, great schools and just a plain nice area.

[PBToast]

Yes, weekends year round are pretty busy now. And I'm one of those tourists! We drive up there frequently on the weekends from central bucks county. We have to get there pretty early to get parking. The parking lot for Glen Onoko/Lehigh River nearby also fills up with hikers and kayakers.

Have you looked around Nazareth? Remember to search for houses priced up to $270 at least and make a lower offer. Many will come down and you don't want to put in $240 as your top price in a search. Good luck!