Bethlehem vs Doylestown (Philadelphia, Easton, Pottstown: apartments, lease, buying)

[dakotajak]

Hello everyone.

38 year old banker relocating to PA. Will be renting at first and then hopefully buying something within a couple of years. i've narrowed it down to either Bethlehem or Doylestown. I'm just looking for some of the pros and cons of living in each. What are the people like? drawbacks? areas to avoid? Are the areas more conservative or liberal areas?

I've visited both before and i like both areas. I like Bethlehem because it's a bit closer to the rural areas that i enjoy being around and rents are cheaper. However i'm not crazy about living in a place that has a prominent college atmosphere. Doylestown has more job opportunity for me, since it is much closer to Philly, and seemed like a very nice place to live.

I'll be in Doylestown this weekend checking out some apartments. What are your personal opinions on both areas? And, are there any major differences between North Bethlehem vs South?

[Tweb66]

I like Doylestown but it is an utterly pain in the butt to drive anywhere. Where is your job? Everything looks close to Doylestown but still takes forever to get anywhere.



As for Bethlehem, Lehigh had an atrocious reputation as a party school (atrocious for the neighbors but the students liked it I guess) but I thought that was tamed a bit? I am not sure, I grew up in the area but haven't lived there since. Have you checked out Easton? That was rough town but has had a complete renaissance of late. While it has a college too (Lafayette) doesn't have the same college vibe as the southside of Bethlehem.

[toobusytoday]

Good point about Doylestown being a little awkward to get to, at least by car. I do like it's rail availability to Philly though. There is no rail service here in the Lehigh Valley. Bethlehem really is not thought of as a college town by anyone I know even though it does have both Lehigh and Moravian colleges. I've gone to programs on both campuses but they aren't a dominant feature. It has a nice art scene with Steel Stacks and year round festivals and a beautiful historic section. I like the vibrancy of Bethlehem too. It's still evolving, which is cool and it's small enough that anyone could be part of it. It's within an hour of Manhattan and a little more affordable than Bucks county.

[46H]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

Good point about Doylestown being a little awkward to get to, at least by car. I do like it's rail availability to Philly though. There is no rail service here in the Lehigh Valley. Bethlehem really is not thought of as a college town by anyone I know even though it does have both Lehigh and Moravian colleges. I've gone to programs on both campuses but they aren't a dominant feature. It has a nice art scene with Steel Stacks and year round festivals and a beautiful historic section. I like the vibrancy of Bethlehem too. It's still evolving, which is cool and it's small enough that anyone could be part of it. It's within an hour of Manhattan and a little more affordable than Bucks county.

Bethlehem is 2+ hours to Manhattan by car and more with issues - weather, accidents, construction, day of the week, etc.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by 46H

Bethlehem is 2+ hours to Manhattan by car and more with issues - weather, accidents, construction, day of the week, etc.

Oops, you are right, Manhattan is more like 2 hours. I was thinking of Newark airport, which is quite a bit west of the city. My daughter lives in Manhattan so I should know better!

[dakotajak]

I signed a lease in Doylestown today! I'm very excited!

Thank you for your input!

[Tweb66]

Congrats, Doylestown is super nice, despite its relative isolation (IMO anyway). I don't frequent them but I look at used record stores as proof that a place is "hip" and they have plenty.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by dakotajak

I signed a lease in Doylestown today! I'm very excited!

Thank you for your input!

That's great! Now you can post in the Philly forum for info about your new area. Bucks county is in the Philadelphia metro area for the purpose of city-data forum's.

[Rootdkj]

Congrats OP. I live in Doylestown and I don’t find getting to or from places any more awkward than living in NJ. Between the county roads, 202 and 611 it’s pretty easy to get around. There’s no good way to Pottstown perhaps but local driving for errands is simple.