Need advice!! Relocation from NJ to the Lehigh Valley with 3 Kids in Elementary (Allentown: house)

[DannyMac323]

My wife and I will be relocating to the Lehigh Valley from Southern NJ. I just accepted a position where I'll be working in Allentown. We took a drive up and checked out the Macungie, Emmaus, Bethlehem area and we really liked Macungie. Our biggest concerns is moving to an area that is best for our kids. We would prefer a smaller school district but still be within 30 minutes of Allentown. Sports are also important as my boys are very involved in soccer. From what I've been told, the school districts we should focus on are East Penn, Parkland & Southern Lehigh. To be honest, I'm open to all feedback. Were also looking at Coopersburg, Quakertown & South Whitehall. We would love to have some land if possible. We are coming from a neighborhood where our neighbors have become family. Hoping we can find an area that has the same. HELP!! LOL

[toobusytoday]

We moved to Southern Lehigh Scool district years ago looking for a small very good school district and chose a house in Upper Saucon township, outside of Coopersburg. Now, every neighborhood is going to be different, but ours welcomed us with open arms - literally. People came to our door with food in hand and introduced us to their kids. Our neighbors have become our closest friends. Allentown is an extremely easy commute. Land is going to come at a cost anywhere in the LV. Our sports teams are very good here but so are our arts programs. Last year our football team went to the State championship. They didn't win, but just getting to the semi-finals was a big deal. Our soccer teams normally do very well too. Because our HS is small, it's not unusual to find fall sports kids playing in the Spring musical just to do something different. I would avoid South Whitehall. Definitely not Quakertown. That commute would get old and frustrating very fast, housing is more expensive and the schools are no better than ones closer to Allentown.

[tomomatic]

IMO.....Any of the three you picked are excellent schools, excellent sports feeder and HS programs, and excellent arts programs.

Southern Lehigh is an outlier when it comes to sports teams because they don't really play the bigger school districts you mentioned (East Penn, Parkland...which for larger school districts. They play in something called the Colonial League, which is a smaller school league (and they happen to be one of the biggest ones in it). They win A LOT...I don't know that the competition they face is very difficult. That's sports. As pointed out, the school district used to be MUCH smaller, and has sprouted over the last 20 years. There arts programs are very good. They're school scores for academics are excellent. There is a solid argument for moving into the Southern Lehigh area.

The Macungie area is another excellent choice if I were raising a family. Again....across the board solid in academics, arts, and athletics.

South Whitehall is absolutely fine. That's the Parkland School District, which might be the strongest across the board in all areas (and competitive).

[toobusytoday]

Actually, the school population has not changed much in 20 years. It is expected to within the next decade but there have been between 1,000 and 1,100 students in the HS every year since we moved here in 1997.