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Old 09-26-2009, 01:04 PM
 
Location: South Carolina
245 posts, read 956,516 times
Reputation: 257

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When are you moving? (ME & MY ELDERLY MOM)NOV OR DEC '09 (HUSBAND) FIRST WEEK OF OCT '09
Where are you coming from? CHARLOTTE/CONCORD, NC
Why are you moving? HUSBAND STARTS A JOB SHORTLY IN ALLENTOWN
Where will you be working? HUSBAND IN ALLENTOWN I WON'T START MY JOB SEARCH UNTIL I MOVE THERE
Have you been here yet? NO....I HAVE VISITED RELATIVES IN THE POCONO AREA & IN WATSONTOWN

Will you buy or rent? RENT
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? N/A
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? 3-4 BEDROOM HOME W/ YARD (DOG) MIN 2,000 SQ FT How much can you spend? $1,000 - $1,500
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? WALK UP, WILL HAVE MY ELDERLY MOTHER WITH US

Are you married or single? MARRIEDDo you have children? ADULT CHILDREN
Do you prefer public or private schools? N/A
Do you have pets? DOG
Do you want or need a yard? YES, YARD AS STATED ABOVE
Are you keeping a car? YES
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? CALM & QUIET

What do you want to be closest to?
Work FARTHEST DRIVE 20-30 MILES
Shopping 15 MILES
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.) 10-15 MILES
Nightlife NOT AN ISSUE, PERHAPS RESTAURANTS AS FAR AS NIGHTLIFE
Train or subway stations NO

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? PROBABLY PREFER THE SAME AGE GROUP BUT CURRENTLY LIVE IN A "YOUNG" NEIGHBORHOOD W/ MANY CHILDREN & MIXED RACES, ALTHOUGH THE MAJORITY IS WHITE. SO IT'S NOT AN ISSUE. WE ARE A MATURE CAUCASIAN COUPLE IN THE 40-50 YR AGE RANGE, BRINGING AN ELDER PARENT WITH US TO LIVE. BETWEEN ALL OF US WE HAVE LIVED IN NY/CT/DE/PA AREAS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. WE ARE UNFAMILIAR W/ THIS AREA BUT HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH. HAVING SOME TROUBLE FINDING PROP. MGMT CO. THAT RENT HOMES. WE DON'T HAVE GREAT CREDIT DUE TO DIVORCES BUT PAY OUR RENT ON TIME/NEVER A PROBLEM.

Phillies or Mets? HUSBAND A PHILLIES FAN, ELDERLY MOM A METS FAN. I'M NEUTRAL.
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Old 09-26-2009, 07:40 PM
 
13,254 posts, read 33,541,543 times
Reputation: 8104
Welcome to the forum and I hope we can help. The biggest problem, no question, is that the housing costs are apparently a bit higher up here. It's going to be hard to find a rental house to start with and even harder to find one in your price range within a short drive to Allentown. A couple of on-line sites that have rental listings are - Rentals.com - Homes for Rent, Apartments, Houses for Rent, Vacation Rental Homes or Emmaus Rentals Properties, Homes, Houses, Townhomes, Condos & Apartments for Rent in Emmaus PA | Rentals.com The very strange thing about this area is that people will often just put up a sign in the front yard with a "house for rent" written on it. In my area, I'll see them up for a week or so and then it's gone.

An option that I've heard of but have never tried is asking Realtors if any of their listing people would be willing to rent instead. Some properties that have been on the market for a while might go for it.

Town wise - Any of the towns around Allentown should suit, I personally prefer my own town - Coopersburg but like to visit Emmaus and Macungie is nice too. All of those three towns have nice walkable down towns and no unsafe areas.

I LOVE where you all live right now. In fact, I'm looking at colleges with my youngest son, and I've found three or four that I'm hoping we can visit.
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Old 09-27-2009, 12:09 PM
 
Location: South Carolina
245 posts, read 956,516 times
Reputation: 257
Thanks so much for your response. I've been searching for rentals on Craigslist, with a large map of PA by my side. lol We found a rental, which looks very nice in "Jim Thorpe" (I didn't realize that was actually the name of a town, lol). Also, another in North Whitehall. Are these particularly a far haul to Allentown? Are they nice, small,safe towns? I am so lost. I can certainly tell you pretty much whatever you need to know about the area I live in now. I've been here going on 20 years. Thanks again!
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Old 09-27-2009, 01:49 PM
 
13,254 posts, read 33,541,543 times
Reputation: 8104
Whitehall is adjacent to Allentown, so no commuting worries there. Jim Thorpe is another story. That's between 45 minutes and an hour and would not be very nice in the winter. I've heard it's a nice town though. Stavs, a frequent poster here, can tell you more about Whitehall. I believe he lives there.
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Any Questions on how to use this site? See this.

Realtors, See This.

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Old 09-30-2009, 11:53 AM
 
Location: South Carolina
245 posts, read 956,516 times
Reputation: 257
I'm still searching & researching areas to live outside of Allentown. Your input has helped immensely and unfortunately I've been unable to find any housing rentals in your town of Coopersburg (I'll keep checking though!).

Can you give me any insight into the following towns where I've located some nice rental houses that would suit us & the prices are affordable. Here goes:
Slatington and Cherryville and Pen Argyl?

I've read some negative reviews on Slatington here but it goes back to 2007 and 2008, wondered if things have improved or gotten worse?

Appreciate the guidance! Thanks so much!
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Old 09-30-2009, 08:38 PM
 
13,254 posts, read 33,541,543 times
Reputation: 8104
I'm afraid you are looking at coal country there, not towns that I would choose to live. Very blue collar places where the sports teams are valued more then the academics in the schools. Well, you don't have kids in school, but you get the idea. At least that's my off the cuff opinion on Slatington and Pen Argyl, I don't know anything about Cherryville.
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Realtors, See This.

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Old 10-01-2009, 07:37 AM
 
208 posts, read 651,383 times
Reputation: 147
IMO Slatington and Pen Argyl are somewhat gloomy, dead towns. There is not much going on there and shopping is a hike. If I had a choice between the three, I'd choose Cherryville. It is in the Northampton School District which is considered to be a pretty good school system. It has a country feel but it only 10-15 minutes from Route 22 and lots of shopping.
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Old 10-01-2009, 08:18 AM
 
13,254 posts, read 33,541,543 times
Reputation: 8104
If you want to look out in the country, try New Tripoli or places West and South of Allentown. With your husband working in Allentown, it doesn't make a lot of sense to travel through the worst part of the Lehigh Valley traffic for him to get to work every day.
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Any Questions on how to use this site? See this.

Realtors, See This.

Moderator - Lehigh Valley, NEPA, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Education and Colleges and Universities.

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Old 10-08-2009, 09:08 AM
 
Location: new jersey, pine barrens
19 posts, read 52,899 times
Reputation: 12
I am also looking into all these areas...
found a home in Brodheadsvile and one in Pen Argyl
but being from NJ I have no clue
My dad is in Lake Wallenpaupack and keeps telling me how good the schools are up there
but it is an extra 1-1:30 hour for my hub's commute
if anyone has some input on places to trigger
I'm from NJ so we are looking for country but not too far
from shopping/schools/colleges.....
I'm feeling so lost
hub heard about New Tripoli and we found a nice house
but it seems a bit in the boonies
but if it's not, let me know
he gets to drive all these areas while working
but I'm lost
I have teenagers...2 out of school
that would still need jobs
and/or technical/vocational schools or colleges!
thanks for your help
my youngest is a freshman in HS
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