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Old 03-18-2008, 06:57 PM
 
14 posts, read 59,057 times
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Hi there,
We will be moving to PA from MI. We have 3 children (4,2,1). We currently live in an area that has exceptional schools, great shopping within 2 to 5 miles of the house, doctors offices, salons & spas, etc...
We were told to concentrate on the Parkland and Southern Lehigh school districts. My husband and I took a weekend trip to see the area. Center Valley is nice, but it seems like running out to grab something to eat or running to a Target is going to be somewhat of a trip. The Promenade shopping center is beautiful. Is that it though?
We were staying in a hotel in Breinigsville. We drove around some of the subs out there. They overlooked the tops of distribution centers.
Can someone please enlighten us about the area? We are working with an agent. I have to say though, I would rather hear opinions from all of you.
Thanks for your time and advice.
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Old 03-18-2008, 08:11 PM
 
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I live in Southern Lehigh School district. If you do a search with the keywords of either Cooopersburg or Southern Lehigh, you'll see some of my ramblings. We moved here 10 years ago from an area that had much closer shopping and it did take a little while to get used to, but I've found there is more to life then living 10 minutes from stores. People are real friendly here, schools are great and I really like the location.
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Old 03-18-2008, 08:16 PM
 
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I've only lived here since July. Lived in a suberb of Philadelphia for 4 years. I have 3 small children, and we live in Emmaus. I have really not enjoyed my stay here. Yes, it has a lot of beauty, but there isn't much to do around here in the winter months. If you live out in Breingsville, Emmaus, Lower Macungie, you're not going to have a lot of shopping nearby. We enjoy the Promenade, and in the summer months, they have a spitting water fountain in the middle of the plaza. The kids wear their swim suits, and have a blast playing there. It takes us at least 20 min to get to Target, and at least 25 minutes to get to Whitehall where all the shopping is. And we don't even live in the sticks. Needless to say, we don't shop a lot. There aren't any museums, the zoo isn't that great, and frankly, I 'm having a hard time entertaining my children without spending a lot of money --e.g. the Crayola Factory. My advice--move to a suberb of Philly if at all possible. There is SO much to do there, you'll never run out of things to do. If you can't , then stick with East Penn school district, and Parkland. That's what everyone told us. My child is in East Penn, and it has been a positive experience. The Lil-leigh trout nursery on fish hatchery road is a fun place to take the kids. YOu purchase little bags of food-.50-$1.00 a bag. There are a lot of fish to feed and the fish are very active, so it's fun to watch them eat. Open year round also. I'm sure there is more to do here, but we haven't heard about it, or discovered it. Best of Luck!
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Old 03-19-2008, 06:35 AM
 
13,254 posts, read 33,530,868 times
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I disagree. I was a stay at home Mom for 20 years and just started working part time three years ago. My "kids" are 23, 20 and 14 (last two will soon be 21 and 15) and when they were small, they had to make their own entertainment and did a pretty good job. Even when we lived in a Philadelphia suburb, it's not as if we did anything differently. Forts in the backyard, Fisher Price, legos, matchbox cars, trucks, gave way to books and then video games. Going to the pool, baseball, soccer and then Odyssey of the Mind, Boy and Girl Scouts. None of that stuff has to do with location. The teens around here keep busy with school activities, going to the movies, shopping, skiing, etc. Philadelphia and New York are easy to get to by bus if they have to have a Broadway show, but what teen can afford to do that more then once or twice a year?

The huge plus for me in living in a more rural area is the lack of traffic and the feeling of connectedness. I work at the local library and know a huge percentage of the people that come in. I sometimes hope not to see too many people at the grocery store because I tend to stop and talk and it takes twice as long to get through the store.

Shopping-wise, I think SL is in a bit better location. I can get to Target, Kohl's or the Promenade shops in ten minutes. The Lehigh Valley mall is about 15, maybe 20minuts away but I only go up there a few times a year anyway. The Lehigh Valley airport is about 20 minutes away and I'll tell you, it's so much nicer flying out of there then PHL or EWR. To get to NYC, my kids and I take the Bieber bus out of Hellertown and we can be in Manhatten in one hour and 45 minutes. My husband has season tickets for the Eagles and he can be at the stadium in an hour or so.

And that's my very subjective opinion of living here.
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Old 03-19-2008, 07:53 AM
 
14 posts, read 59,057 times
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Thank you for your opinions and advice. Please understand my concern. It was an "adjustment" to move from Atlanta to a suburb of Michigan. Now, I feel as though it's going to be even more of an adjustment. I am accustomed to having the pediatrician and our family practitioner 2 to 3 miles away. The 24 hour Walgreens is less than a mile (and we've certainly needed that with 3 small children) grocery stores abound. Quite a few shopping areas that are also newer than what we have seen in SL or other areas. Everything seemed far away and dare I say...dated. I saw Lehigh Valley mall on a Saturday evening - not what I had expected.
The time we were visiting, we didn't have the kids. We were free to go out and do whatever we wanted...except, there was nothing to do. Yes, the Promnade has nice shopping and 2 nice restaurants and a movie theatre. What else? I felt isolated and had not even moved yet. Everyone is different. I know where my priorities are - family. In order to keep everyone in the family happy - these are the things I need. It's no fun to run 3 small kids all over town for 2 hours. Yes, I suppose i could do these errands over the weekend, but the weekend is when we spend time together as a family. I don't know. I guess it will all work out at the end.
Thanks again for the opinions and advice. It's always appreciated.
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Old 03-19-2008, 08:47 AM
 
13,254 posts, read 33,530,868 times
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I do get your concerns. I've moved with kids 5 times in twenty years, and have never lived near family. All of the moves involved at least one child under the age of four. I really disliked shopping with my kids and even when we lived very close to shopping I did whatever I could to not take them, at least until my daughter got older. (When she's home, she's my favorite shopping buddy.) I had lots of strategies to avoid taking them, especially letting my husband get to know his kids better in the evenings.

I just realized that there IS a Walgreens less then 10 minutes away from Center Valley, and it's open 24 hours! I've never been there, but it's a straight shot over the mountain.
Store Locator | Walgreens (http://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/result.html - broken link)

But ozlem, what is it that you do when you are home? There are many, many nice restaurants in the Lehigh Valley. We tend to go out with friends every other week. I go to the DeSales productions four times a year. My neighbors and I play Bunco monthly. Bethlehem has events several times a year. We actually do a lot more here then we did when we lived in Delaware county but I think that's because our kids are older and we've really made a lot of friends.

I hate to move, it's kind of exciting to look at new homes but I personally hate leaving good friends not knowing for sure that you'll find other people to be as close to. I hated having to THINK everytime I had to go somewhere to figure out how to get there. I didn't like not being part of a friend group and trying to make new friends. I had two recurring nightmares after our last move - that I was pregnant or that we were moving again. The former is impossible and the latter is not going to happen anytime that I can see. All of you that are planning to move, and you really do have my sympathy and hope that you will find a place that makes you happy. Hugs all around.
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Old 03-19-2008, 09:49 AM
 
14 posts, read 59,057 times
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Thank you for your response. I am certain I will meet good people...eventually. I know we will adjust to our environment. I apologize for complaining. I reread my initial email and thought, "wow, I sound pathetic." I truly don't mean to complain. Just nervous I guess. I think the move will go over well once we meet good people, who will become good friends.
Thanks for the info on Walgreens...
Ozlem
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Old 03-19-2008, 10:46 AM
 
104 posts, read 435,624 times
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I know you are focusing on Parkland and Southern Lehigh but have you considered the Quakertown area? There are a lot of housing choices (older homes, new developments), and we have shopping galore on 309. There's Target, Walmart, KMart, Kohl's, several grocery stores, on and on. There are several family physicians and pediatricians in town or along 309. St Luke's hospital is right in town. Quakertown was even in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2006 for the most fast food within 1 square mile (we do also have nicer restaurants for someone like me who doesn't eat fast food). 20 minutes down the road in Montgomeryville there is a nice mall with restaurants and other shopping surrounding the mall.
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Old 03-19-2008, 05:47 PM
 
14 posts, read 59,057 times
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Quakertown was one of the areas that we drove through. You are correct in saying there is shopping and eateries galore. However, the very first agent who contacted us said, "although the Quakertown area is more active, the school district isn't great and resale will not be as quick as perhaps a Parkland or S.L school district area." We really need to take that into consideration b/c the chances of our family being transferred again is pretty high. Thank you for the information though, I appreciate it.
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Old 03-19-2008, 07:35 PM
 
13,254 posts, read 33,530,868 times
Reputation: 8103
Ozlem,
Hey, I heard the worry in your voice, that's why I offered up the hugs.
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