Commuting to Philly, by train...? (Philadelphia, Bethlehem: apartments, lease, crime)

[Jojiboy]

I am in the process of moving as part of my new job, which is in downtown Philly. I am looking for a place to rent/stay, close (as close as possible) to the Lehigh Valley, that is on the rail network!
Can anyone shed some light, on places that may be a few miles drive to the railway station; that is about an hour or less ride to the 30th street station!
I don't want to drive the whole distance, to work!
Thank you
Joe

[toobusytoday]

Then you are probably not going to be living in the Lehigh Valley. We have no rail service.

The closest station is Colmar or Lansdale and either of them are 20 minutes from my house, and I live in the southern-most town in Lehigh County. From there, it's about an hour by rail to 30th street station.

Lansdale, PA to Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps

[Jojiboy]

Thank you for the input!
As far as renting, any specific areas, that may be cheaper?
Here is a better picture: I have friends that live in Bethlehem, though I am not going to be there every evening; I don't want to be too far either. I know the farther away I go from downtown, the cheaper rent/apartments, I could find. Of course workwise, I am being offered a pretty decent amount, something that I may NOT find in the Lehigh Valley area. Also, I plan to go to U Penn, downtown, for evening/night school!
Thank you...J

[toobusytoday]

If I were you, I would just live in the Philadelphia area and come up to Bethlehem for occasional weekends. If you are going to be taking classes and working, you are not going to have a lot of time for going out anyway and you are not going to be wanting to spend your precious time commuting long distance. There is nothing quick and easy about the commute from here to Philadelphia, especially West Philadelphia. The chance of there being an accident, construction or weather delays on any of the main roads that you would take to get into the city is pretty high every day.

I would ask on the Philly board about specific places to live between your work and Penn that are well priced. Think about this, where you are planning to move to now does not have to be your forever and ever place, it's just a convenient spot for this time in your life. Besides, if you live in a cool spot in Philadelphia, your friends in Bethlehem will want to come visit you!

[DarkWolf]

I think in the next 10 years , you will see a reestablishment of that Septa line to Bethlehem , the ROW is intact , but Unfortnatly they ripped out the tracks. But since the ROW is still there , it would cost much to place back in. I forget which 2025 Plan it was in to restore service on that line.

[JohnZ963]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

I think in the next 10 years , you will see a reestablishment of that Septa line to Bethlehem , the ROW is intact , but Unfortnatly they ripped out the tracks. But since the ROW is still there , it would cost much to place back in. I forget which 2025 Plan it was in to restore service on that line.

I'm willing to bet that NIMBY townships like Lower Saucon will never allow this rail corridor to be reactivated. They were a driving force in getting the track ripped out in the first place and turning it into a trail. It's a shame.

[toobusytoday]

This was in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer How to use old Bethlehem rail line? | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/29/2010 (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/83009782.html - broken link)

"What's the best use of the old rail line that once carried passengers between Lansdale and Bethlehem?
A revived SEPTA commuter line, to Quakertown in upper Bucks County, and beyond to the Lehigh Valley?"

"The latest study of restoring SEPTA service north to Quakertown and on to a park-and-ride lot at Shelly is supposed to be done by spring, said William D. Rickett, executive director of the Bucks County Transportation Management Association"

Within the last week, the article says, the old rail line was leased for $1 a year to the town of Coopersburg and the townships of Lower and Upper Saucon for use as trails. The article makes it sound like it's probable that the rail line would go up to Quakertown and then be a trail after that with the possibility of the trail itself turned back into a rail line in the future. The train would be a continuation of the R-5 commuter that now goes up to Lansdale and Colmar.

[DarkWolf]

The ROW is intact i think , so you wouldn't need to purchase , this Project would relive traffic on PA-309, 412 , 611. It could make bad cities into thriving communities and it has been proven Rail lowers the crime rate. And it would be Electric since Septa doesn't operate diesel trains and just purchased a new Fleet of Sleek faster trains. Probably over the next 10 years it will be fully restored or partially. The Raritan Valley connection i think is on hold till the Lackawanna Cut-off is restored. But in 15 years , i think Eastern PA will have very good rail and light rail.

[AlleyPHL]

You should be able to find answers on living in Philly on this site Mod cut - new posters cannot post links
My recommendation live in Philly and visit in Lehigh Valley. I live in Philly (Old City) and have family in Lehigh Valley. Getting to the Lehigh Valley is especially easy on weekends say early on a Saturday morning.

Good luck and I'll try to check back on this forum if you have any questions. Or post on the linked forum.