Two seniors thinking of moving to Emmaus

[Tweb66]

Cargo


Unfortunately no passenger rail service for the Lehigh Valley.

[WiseWords]

Originally Posted by Tweb66

Cargo


Unfortunately no passenger rail service for the Lehigh Valley.

Do you know what cargo it carries?

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by WiseWords

Do you know what cargo it carries?

I'm up near Jim Thorpe, which is part of the Lehigh Line- owned by Northern Suffolk. The trains look like any other cargo carrying freight trains, for the most part, sometimes I'll see fuel come through.

[JakeinChina]

Originally Posted by urbanlemur

My wife and currently live in the Bronx, NY and as we know, it is becoming a more difficult place to live. We are considering Emmaus since we both visited the area 8 years ago. I know things have changed but we have some questions. What is the median price of homes? Are they mostly HOA's or are there older homes available? We both drive but we don't like to go too far, so are amenities fairly close in the area such as stores, hospitals, restaurants, etc? We would appreciate any help or advice you can give us to assist us in making a decision. Thanks to all of you in advance!

Most of my family now lives in PA, but we are originally from the NYC area in Northern New Jersey and more specifically Jersey City. I have an aunt and uncle who use to live in Emmaus area (Albertis I think is near there as well) but about 3 years ago they moved out of that area because it was getting too expensive ironically because so many New Yorkers were moving into the area. It's gotten rather trendy with many retail stores and other things like more restaurants and such.

My aunt moved near my mother in Wernersville PA, which is near Reading and Wyomissing (where my brother now lives). If I were you, since you're seniors, I would look a little further into central PA. It's cheaper, still lots of out of state and NY/NJ people.

[marineguy]

I grew up in the Lehigh Valley, but moved away after college, and currently live in Northern Virginia. If I were to move back to the LV (which my wife really wants, but I don't), I'd probably choose Emmaus. It's a really nice town, with great schools, and far enough away from the trash humans in Allentown. It's clean, traffic isn't bad, there are lots of nice restaurants, and Lehigh Valley Hospital is right there. The downtown is walkable from many nice neighborhoods, but as another mentioned, the freight trains speeding through town is a concern. My wife had a classmate get run over by one not long after graduation.
As far as retiree concerns go, the property taxes are kind of high, so definitely check out properties on the Lehigh County site to see what the taxes are like before making a purchase. Just keep in mind if the home hasn't sold in a long time, it will be reassessed, and is probably covered under the Homestead Act, so maybe check the recent sales nearby. Gas is expensive, at least 10% more than I pay in Virginia. Pennsylvania does not tax retirement income, so if you have a pension or large 401k, that's a plus. It's been said that PA is a great state to retire in, but a lousy state to die in. That's due to the 4.5-15% death tax. Honestly, I'd say PA is in the top 3 most tax-efficient eastern states in which to retire, along with FL and TN.