Planning to move to area btwn Fogelsville-Macungie (Philadelphia, Allentown: condos, high crime)

[BobbyFisher]

Hello all
Im from NYC and my wife and I are planning to move to PA and the towns west of Allentown are some places we want to look at. Were looking for a slower pace, nicer people and pretty much everything opposite of New York City.

I would like to know how these towns differ from one another, Macungie to Trexlertown to Brenigsville to Fogelsville.

What do the residents here usually do on weekends and on their time off?

My wife ask me to look for condos with swimming pools and such but there arent many. Are houses and HOAs the common living situation here?

What buses can she take to go into NYC?



Thanks a bunch!

[ringler24]

I hope you aren't planning to commute into NYC from those locations. You will hate your life. We just left the LV. We lived in Easton and my husband's commute into the city was literally miserable and he only had to do it 2-3 weekdays. Regularly 2.5 hours each way. Living in Macungie/Foglesville will add an extra 30-40 min in the morning so 3 hours into NYC. If no need to commute then, disregard everything I just said.

[Patmcpsu]

I lived 6 years in Ancient Oaks (a glorified housing development), which might as well be a part of Trexlertown. I'm originally from the Philadelphia area and wouldn't recommend the "area west of Allentown" to anyone who has any cosmopolitan/sophisticated taste; it's mostly country bumpkins and chain restaurants, with no country-charm to speak of.

But since you asked, here's how I feel about each downtown area:
Fogelsville - It feels more like a turnpike rest-stop than a town.
Trexlertown - A really depressing intersection with buildings in various states of disrepair.
Macungie - It actually has some aspects of a town you want to be in (i.e a good bar and pizza place), but not exactly charming.
Emmaus - By far, the most impressive downtown in the area. I would actually call a few blocks of it charming.

Chances are, you're probably looking for a housing development that's away from the downtown areas. As far as I can tell, they'll all have the same generic suburbia-vibe regardless of what town is closest. If this is true, you'll want to base your decision on the nearest town/supermarket/etc.

This is going to sound weird, but do visit the supermarkets as part of your research. The Giant by me was relatively modern, but full of idiotic customers. If you can find a supermarket that doesn't enrage you, set up camp close to that.

[toobusytoday]

You might want to fill this out for the most helpful replies: //www.city-data.com/forum/lehig...residents.html

Do you want a town experience or are you just looking for lower cost housing? We moved to the Coopersburg area because we wanted to be near a small town where people were friendly. If you are simply looking for a nice area with lots of houses and good schools choose Fogelsville or Brenigsville. I personally think Trexlertown area is beautiful. And yes, if you are planning to commute to NYC, scratch all the west of Allentown places off your list.

[Patmcpsu]

I forgot one other town in the area: Alburtis (it may be because lots of people overlook it). It's tucked away on the "other" side of Route 100, end everything on that side is spread-out and less developed. There are places surrounding Alburtis that actually have natural beauty remaining. The drawback is that you're that-much-more isolated. The town itself is like a slightly-better looking version of Macungie, but train tracks run right through town and every train that goes by (multiple trains per day) has to blast its horn.

For a similar vibe, also consider going a bit (~5 miles) north of Fogelsville. There are parts that are breathtaking, but it's all open farmland which could turn into housing developments eventually.

[Mr.Retired]

Hi Patmcpsu

I am responding to your post. I enjoyed your observation and common sense approach to answering the previous post.
I am retired and in search of that PA location within 2-3 hours from N.Y.C.
I have done extensive research and aware of said locations, but stats are just that stats.
One must visit a location in making that final commitment of home purchase.

Can you suggest locations within a half hour of downtown that TOTAL annual taxes would run a ratio of about $1,000 for a $100,000 home.
I have seen homes asking $100,000 only to be deterred by the $4,000 annual taxes.

I could only find such places located within high crime districts or way out in the sticks. Any help appreciated.

[Patmcpsu]

Originally Posted by Mr.Retired

Hi Patmcpsu

I am responding to your post. I enjoyed your observation and common sense approach to answering the previous post.
I am retired and in search of that PA location within 2-3 hours from N.Y.C.
I have done extensive research and aware of said locations, but stats are just that stats.
One must visit a location in making that final commitment of home purchase.

Can you suggest locations within a half hour of downtown that TOTAL annual taxes would run a ratio of about $1,000 for a $100,000 home.
I have seen homes asking $100,000 only to be deterred by the $4,000 annual taxes.

I could only find such places located within high crime districts or way out in the sticks. Any help appreciated.

Sorry, I actually replied to your request in the wrong thread. My response is here:
Does this PA location exist ?

In short, the school district you're in dominates how much your property taxes are. If taxes are a priority, you should think of it in terms of school districts first, and then the towns within them.

Here are the school districts with the lower tax-rates in Berks, Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties (all numbers are per $100,000 of house):
New Hope - Solebury: $1130 (super expensive area)
Palisades: $1250 (super expensive area)
Centennial: $1500
Council Rock: $1510
Central Bucks: $1570
Parkland: $1590
Penn Ridge: $1720
Pennsbury: $1720
Southern Lehigh: $1750
Boyertown: $1760
Bensalem: $1,770
Nazareth: $1770
Twin City: $1800
Bethlehem: $1830
Neshaminy: $1830

Here's a map of where they all are: PA School District Map

You'll notice lots of Bucks County districts in the above list. Even though they're low-tax per $100,000 of house, Bucks Country has more-expensive property values, so it cancels out somewhat.

If Chester County isn't too far away for you, I would recommend there. I'm born-and-raised Chester County, so I'm biased, but the numbers speak for themself. Again though, it has the same problem as Bucks County where the houses are more expensive:
Tredyffrin-Easttown: $1170
Great Valley: $1280
West Chester: $1360

A few other places further away from NYC:

Montgomery County:
Colonial: $1250 (super expensive area)
Wissahickon: $1280
Upper Merion: $1340 (super expensive area)
Lower Merion: $1480 (super expensive area)

Delaware County:
Marple Newtown: $1280
Radnor: $1380
Rose Tree Media: $1630

[loose cannon]

Overall it is a cookie cutter blade area with many boring people. Some lehizzle natives alongside with blandized north jersey or New Yorkers from Rockland county. You just deal with it. Go to west Allentiwn and hang out at have javad. Even go to downtown Allentown when there's an event at symphony hall or ppl cry.otherwise go to Bethlehem. The area is not bad. The same type of jabronies are in West Phoenix or Charlotte.

[loose cannon]

Go onto work western lehigh valley bars in fogelsville and play iffy pop on the jukebox. The states of confusion are entertaining. Then some big hat plays nickel back. Sit and sneer in defiance!