What are the downsides of living in Lehigh Valley? (Allentown: apartments, rentals)

[novavax]

I'd like to hear from long-time residents of Lehigh Valley regarding the downsides of living there.

I am mainly interested in climate, crime, traffic, cultural vibrancy, redneck vs the urbane, education level, people's manner and access to nature.

Regarding the climate, since it's a valley, is the summer really humid and stuffy? Winter? Air quality?

I am a rational conservative -- not a GOP'er -- according to Jonathan Haidt (The Righteous Mind), the only group that Haidt; a staunch liberal; acknowledges to be superior! I don't like the extreme groups of either side. (But I did vote for DJT, twice. No regrets there.) I would very much prefer the "live and let live" mentality.

Are there horsey areas in Lehigh Valley?

[loose cannon]

climate could be a big issue. In terms of cultural vibrancy it is improving in Allentown amidst a sea of lunkheads. Bethlehem is more culturally vibrant and will continue in that direction. Easton is actually not bad, but the restless natives have no clue or appreciation. Areas like Nazareth and Bath may have been more redneck years ago, but new residents have made it much more sophisticated. Education level is improving. There are many like me while not being as educated as we should be, have seen the light and are capable of engaging in sophisticated conversations at a coffee shop, bar, diner, or library. Many are set in their ways and are not friendly. Just ignore them.

While i'm not in the LV at the moment as I'm doing a resort traveling stint, I was born and raised and know what i'm talking about. I am a voice of reason. I'll be back for a little while in March.

[novavax]

Loose Canon, Many thanks!

[blazerj]

The climate is pretty much Northern (same as NY, NJ, MI, MD…). Some people love it, while others don’t. The LV doesn’t usually get a ton of snow, but it rains a lot (we didn’t have a sprinkler system and only once in a while would need it).

The traffic is usually only bad during rush hour (it can talk 45 min to an hour to get from Easton to Allentown during rush hour) otherwise it’s minimal.

The food/ restaurants/ groceries are average (eg no TJ’s, one Whole Foods, a few Wegmans, small # of ethnic cuisines/ grocery stores), but they exist and you can always drive to Bridgewater or a Philly burb if you really want something different.

The healthcare is excellent for being in a smaller city/ rural-ish area. IMO, the major downside is that there isn’t a ton of stuff to do, without driving to NYC or Philly and the airport is limited/ expensive, there is no train service and the bus was (not sure if it’s even operating anymore) expensive. I also think that the people are friendly, but don’t want to be friends, but maybe your conservatism means you’ll do fine (the area in general voted for Obama 2x, Trump, then Biden, but it’s close to a 50-50 mix).

[toobusytoday]

I think that's mostly true. If you are a baseball or hockey fan, you'd probably be happy. We have the home team for both the Phillies https://www.milb.com/lehigh-valley and the Flyers Home - Lehigh Valley Phantoms There's a great farmers market in Allentown and really nice smaller ones in several towns. There are big events held in South Bethlehem like Musikfest, Celticfest and Christkindlemart. There's a casino. Six four year colleges. https://lvaic.org/about/ plus a branch of PSU and two community colleges.

[innirski]

Originally Posted by novavax

I'd like to hear from long-time residents of Lehigh Valley regarding the downsides of living there.

I am mainly interested in climate, crime, traffic, cultural vibrancy, redneck vs the urbane, education level, people's manner and access to nature.

Regarding the climate, since it's a valley, is the summer really humid and stuffy? Winter? Air quality?

I am a rational conservative -- not a GOP'er -- according to Jonathan Haidt (The Righteous Mind), the only group that Haidt; a staunch liberal; acknowledges to be superior! I don't like the extreme groups of either side. (But I did vote for DJT, twice. No regrets there.) I would very much prefer the "live and let live" mentality.

Are there horsey areas in Lehigh Valley?

I can tell you that as a 30-something trying to start over in the area near family, the Lehigh Valley is very expensive right now in terms of rentals. In Houston, similar or better/newer/nicer apartments are $400-$500 cheaper. It's quite depressing trying to move to the LV right now, in the position that I'm in.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by innirski

I can tell you that as a 30-something trying to start over in the area near family, the Lehigh Valley is very expensive right now in terms of rentals. In Houston, similar or better/newer/nicer apartments are $400-$500 cheaper. It's quite depressing trying to move to the LV right now, in the position that I'm in.

And one's perspective on the cost of housing is subjective. I know people who live here and work out of NYC. One of my kids lives in Manhattan and pays more in rent for her two bedroom apartment than we ever have for a mortgage payment on a four bedroom house, same with my son on the west coast. There is a housing shortage for moderate and lower priced homes and apartments. In my area in the southern part of the county, the only new homes being built seem to start at $400,000 with the exception of one new neighborhood of townhomes.

[33cents]

The biggest threat to the LV is the massive explosion of warehouses. This is brings along with it traffic issues and infrastructure problems because the roads were not designed for this kind of use.