Phillipsburg-Clinton NJ vs Lehigh cities (Allentown, Bethlehem: sales, sex offenders, crime)

[bluewin888]

In crime rate, economic opportunities, population diversity, school quality, tax burden, citizen politeness, How do they compare?


Why Many crimes in Allentown?


https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/all...allentown.html

[Diver4242]

You can check all that on crimereports.com and zoom in on specific counties, towns, zip codes, neighborhoods and it even lists sex offenders.

For fiscal/taxes there's no comparison. NJ is one of the worst places in the country to live in terms of cost of living, taxes (stress, average lifespan, exposure to toxins, etc). The state is in very bad shape fiscally as far as pension funds and other huge obligations, so taxes are likely to go up. They don't have that exit tax for nothing!

I'm from NJ, had lived in Hershey for 30 years and raised my kids there, had to move back to NJ a few years ago for work. Retired now and currently trying to escape to the Bethlehem area. Unfortunately, the roads in both states are horrendous.

[Patmcpsu]

New Jersey has a lot of different regions throughout it; everything from the oil refineries outside NYC to the tomato farms of South Jersey. Because of that, you can't paint it with a broad brush. I think this map gives a humorous summary of how diverse the state actually is:
6 Ways to Divide New Jersey

However, the one constant throughout the state: high taxes.

In seriousness though, I consider NJ's I-78 corridor to be more sophisticated than Lehigh Valley until you reach the greater-NYC area. And you reach the ridiculously expensive parts (i.e. Short Hills) before you reach the trashy parts (i.e. Newark). Again though, NJ is such a financial burden that the trade-off between it and Lehigh Valley can be warranted.

The nicer parts of NJ tend to have ambitious people. Lehigh Valley has a distinct culture where there aren't many people trying to make-it-big or live-big. It's mostly humble people who are penny-wise-pound-foolish with an "early to bed, early to rise" mentality. There is no "snotty" part of Lehigh Valley that rivals Clinton's sophistication. The closest competition would probably be around Zionsville, but even then it's just expensive houses without much going on. Or there's Downtown Bethlehem, which is quaint and has stuff going on, but has cheap houses because it's surrounded by poverty and subpar schools.

[Diver4242]

Ha, great post Patmcpsu, thanks for sharing that. Yes, there are some great areas of NJ as far as being rural, more open, etc. But no matter what, you're susceptible to the state-wide issues of it being in poor financial shape, no money to fix roads/bridges/tunnels, ridiculously high taxes, etc. "Nice place to visit..." (in some areas).

[loose cannon]

Great assessment of Allentown. A bunch of old school demoncat penny pinchers for sure, but they're dying off. Millenial jabronies, some of whom I scoff at are still more relevant to the future of Allentown than the boring hum drum set.

[E-Z-B]

Originally Posted by loose cannon

Great assessment of Allentown. A bunch of old school demoncat penny pinchers for sure, but they're dying off. Millenial jabronies, some of whom I scoff at are still more relevant to the future of Allentown than the boring hum drum set.

what?

[bluewin888]

so Lehigh Valley is way better than NJ towns, like Phillipsburgs, Lebanon, Clinton?



Plan to move from Bergen county, NJ.. Like to be along route 78, still 1-1.5 hrs to NYC

[Diver4242]

I lived in Lebanon, NJ and love that whole area. Clinton is such a nice town (Phillipsburg not so much). However, you're still in NJ and as someone about to retire, that's not acceptable. The state (NJ) has the highest exodus rate in the country (and the infamous exit tax) for a reason. Savvy folks are getting out of Dodge. One detriment to those areas are a lot of traffic from the folks who moved out of NJ to the bordering PA towns and still commute back and forth to work. I-78 through that area is like the Daytona 500 during the morning and evening rush hours (same with 22).

[bluewin888]

In what ways do you love Clinton area? Is it a diverse population? How much is the price and tax for a SFH 3bed 2bath?


I donot drive too much. Just convenient next 78.



I read many crime news about Lehigh area; Maybe will tour and check out.

[Diver4242]

Downtown Clinton is very quaint and old-school. It's a trip back in time, so many nice shops and restaurants to meander to on a nice day. The area is more spread out than the hectic parts of NJ, and you can do u-turns on 22 which is nice! You've still got that NJ property tax problem though, ugh.

Flemington is nearby for a lot of things, but that area is quite chaotic. Bridgewater isn't that far or hard to get to. Best bet though is to go west young man/lady and head into PA, which is quite close and the reason a lot of folks just cross the border and live there instead. Many benefits in sales taxes, property taxes, income taxes, cost of living in general.

Every area has some bad pockets and crime though, so be cautious about using too wide of a search area when checking that. Compare communities in different places for cost of living, crime, etc but the numbers they show are for the state, which can skew comparing two places in different states. You'd have to look at the national comparison to get a more accurate comparison (which Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site shows). Also Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site.