Owners Who live in A POCONO COUNTRY PLACE (Riverside, Penn: 2013, mortgage)

[J5K5LY]

Hi Sarge.
I will PM you my email. Thanks for the wildlife offer. I have many, many beautiul pics too. The deer ate out of my hand and I have a pic of a huge bear with my birdfeeder between his legs like Pooh and his pot of honey.
I was thinking when you wrote the above post. Perhaps you are right- that it is all relative to where you are from and what line of work you have been in. I grew up in NH, small town, moved to LI when I was 18, got married, lived again in a small east end town, was at at-home Mom for almost 20 years, then moved to Pa. It was quite the shock. Not country wise but the area. I never dealt with crime or thugs or even much diversity. Now, where you live and with your line of work, I can see where PCP would be heavenly to you. I'm back on LI, east end again, small town and the life I am accustomed to. Nice, well built house, not some piece of garbage with cheap windows and siding and mauve carpet (seemed to be the cheap carpet of choice there). I am on 3/4 of an acre- not a postage stamp and have a few hundred acres of woods across the street, then the LI Sound. Here I am on LI and it is 100 times more country than PCP could ever hope to be.
Can you understand the small town people and the locals being disturbed by the changes to where they live? It has to be horrible to see your once pristine area filled with ghetto trash and deal with the crime. When that has not been the way of life and people come in and change the way of life in a negative way, it is understandable to me.
Honestly, I never met so many mentally challenged and strange people in my entire life as I did in PCP. Thankfully, I was able to move.
Good luck to you and happy retirement!

[DavidWebb]

Originally Posted by Sarge621

Growing up, living and surviving where I have the past 46 years PCP is like a piece of heaven on earth. I guess it depends where you came from, the people you have dealt with and how you deal with people of other races n backgrounds. I am a very diversified individual accepted by everyone because of who I am. Maybe PCP is the country full of big city residents, inner city and NY and NJ semi suburbanites. I can accept it, be a part of it and be happy with.

As you said, if you grow up in that type of environment then APCP seems like heaven albeit a GHETTO heaven...and it'll never change...I grew up in Bklyn and lived there till '73...left the US...joined the Navy...traveled the Orient...came back to Bklyn...so I know what a difference between NY and PA is like...and trust me the way NEPA has gone especially Tobyhanna, Mt. Pocono, Tannersville, Bartonsville, E. Stroudsburg, and areas it hasn't been for the better...

[Sarge621]

Hi everyone it's been awhile. Too much stuff going on with the family. Mom is sick she is 75 now and it is the first time ever I have been seeing her as a frail old woman. Her motor skills are slowly deteriorating, memory fading I'm heartbroken by it. Simple things she loved to do she just can't anymore. She can't be alone for even 5 minutes anymore so we are all taking turns keeping her busy n giving my dad well deserved breaks. Just Wednesday my dad and I drove up to PCP and met with a realtor and looked at 7 homes. Cheapest being $34,900 and the most expensive $59,900. Leaning towards Penn Terrace J section listed for $47,500 almost an acre of land and woods beyond your yard. Garage had a ramp to get into the house. Lots of closets but small bedrooms. I still may wait it out awhile I still have time to retire. Hope all is well I will try and check in soon.

[LI2PA]

I was thinking of a weekend/vacation home in PCP but after reading this forum, I will be looking around in other places with either a smaller or no HOA fee.


J5K5LY...I am still on Long Island but when I retire, I gotta move. My brother lives in Centereach but even his taxes are about $10,000. As much as I like living here, I can't take the taxes....my question to you is don't you miss the lower taxes in Pa? And as far as trashy neighborhoods, Long Island is not free of them. I remember a time when we could sleep with the windows open and our doors unlocked but that too has changed here. I live in Massapequa Park which is a 'good' neighborhood but my house was broken into too. Unfortunately, crime and crap is all over.

[Sarge621]

$500,000 home in Long Island $15,000 a year taxes or $40,000 home in PCP n $3200 taxes n trust me if u get it reassessed it will go down I know some people now that pay as little as $1500 a year taxes now so anyway see the numbers and bad things can happen to you in either place. Big difference if ur house in PCP gets robbed since your monthly bills are so low you can replace the stolen merchandise faster lol. Honestly I got a boat at my cousins n I leave a real nice patio set outside n no one has messed with it yet n it's been there for over 2 years n no one is watching it. I don't know but everyone I spoke to told me that area has got ton much better since 10 years ago n I know why I just can't post it you gotta call me for that one...

[LI2PA]

Interesting...why can't you post it, would it cause uproar on the boards?

[J5K5LY]

Originally Posted by LI2PA

I was thinking of a weekend/vacation home in PCP but after reading this forum, I will be looking around in other places with either a smaller or no HOA fee.


J5K5LY...I am still on Long Island but when I retire, I gotta move. My brother lives in Centereach but even his taxes are about $10,000. As much as I like living here, I can't take the taxes....my question to you is don't you miss the lower taxes in Pa? And as far as trashy neighborhoods, Long Island is not free of them. I remember a time when we could sleep with the windows open and our doors unlocked but that too has changed here. I live in Massapequa Park which is a 'good' neighborhood but my house was broken into too. Unfortunately, crime and crap is all over.

I understand not being able to afford the taxes on LI. I am not saying it is easy here but the quality of life I have out east far surpasses the nicest house with the lowest taxes in PCP. My area is very safe and quiet. No problems with break-ins or crime. I don't lock the doors when I am home but do when I am out. I always forget to lock my vehicle in the driveway. So far, all is good and this is a beautiful area.
Good idea to stay out of communities. They are ridiculous!

[LI2PA]

Originally Posted by J5K5LY

I understand not being able to afford the taxes on LI. I am not saying it is easy here but the quality of life I have out east far surpasses the nicest house with the lowest taxes in PCP. My area is very safe and quiet. No problems with break-ins or crime. I don't lock the doors when I am home but do when I am out. I always forget to lock my vehicle in the driveway. So far, all is good and this is a beautiful area.
Good idea to stay out of communities. They are ridiculous!

I can understand your opposition to PCP, but Pa is a huge state and there are many beautiful places. You must have other connections to LI such as family and friends for it to be worth the high price to live here. When my wife and I married 33 years ago, we struggled to afford our house only because our parents lived in the same town. Now they are gone so I just hope I can talk my wife into moving from here, why should I spend so much on outrageous taxes, for what? My kids are grown and I am grateful they got a good education here. Another concern is future storms, I have a feeling Hurricane Sandy will not be the last. Flooding seems to be the norm now.
All I know is when I do decide to move off the Island, there will be no turning back. But for now, we will settle for a weekend get-away in the Poconos to escape the over crowded highways such as Sunrise Hwy and Montauk Hwy, just to mention a few....there's just too many people here now. I know I would not want to live full time in Pa, especially in the winter. My dream is to have a place down south and keep the place in the Poconos for the summer....I just hope we chose wisely.

[J5K5LY]

Originally Posted by LI2PA

I can understand your opposition to PCP, but Pa is a huge state and there are many beautiful places. You must have other connections to LI such as family and friends for it to be worth the high price to live here. When my wife and I married 33 years ago, we struggled to afford our house only because our parents lived in the same town. Now they are gone so I just hope I can talk my wife into moving from here, why should I spend so much on outrageous taxes, for what? My kids are grown and I am grateful they got a good education here. Another concern is future storms, I have a feeling Hurricane Sandy will not be the last. Flooding seems to be the norm now.
All I know is when I do decide to move off the Island, there will be no turning back. But for now, we will settle for a weekend get-away in the Poconos to escape the over crowded highways such as Sunrise Hwy and Montauk Hwy, just to mention a few....there's just too many people here now. I know I would not want to live full time in Pa, especially in the winter. My dream is to have a place down south and keep the place in the Poconos for the summer....I just hope we chose wisely.

There are gorgeous areas in Pa! I loved that and I miss that! Spending days off exploring waterfalls and parks and all. I loved being more self sufficient with a wood stove. I loved the winters and the snow. I loved the wildlife. I loved the uncrowded roads and stores. I loved the way of life. My gripe with Pa is not the state in general but PCP and the surrounding areas.
Yes, I do have family here and that is the reason I moved back. I was not thrilled with the idea at first. But I was so lucky to find a beautiful area and still have woods and wildlife and can travel east for everything I need. I do go west 10 miles to work and the ride is horrible but that is a small price to pay to come home to my deer and turkeys.

The only thing I find so different in Pa is that most people are content with making so little money and living almost in poverty. LI has many opportunities to work and make money. I am still always looking to make money and I can do that here. Pa was a dead end in that area.

My sister and brother-in-law retired to Catawissa, west of the Poconos. If I was to move back to Pa, that is an area I would love to live in. It is breathtaking there and Knoebels is just minutes away, providing some excitement and variety of people to meet.

If I lived in west here, I would be miserable. I can't handle close neighbors and a small lot. I need woods and space and am thankful I found that.

Good luck with it all!

[J5K5LY]

Originally Posted by Sarge621

$500,000 home in Long Island $15,000 a year taxes or $40,000 home in PCP n $3200 taxes n trust me if u get it reassessed it will go down I know some people now that pay as little as $1500 a year taxes now so anyway see the numbers and bad things can happen to you in either place. Big difference if ur house in PCP gets robbed since your monthly bills are so low you can replace the stolen merchandise faster lol. Honestly I got a boat at my cousins n I leave a real nice patio set outside n no one has messed with it yet n it's been there for over 2 years n no one is watching it. I don't know but everyone I spoke to told me that area has got ton much better since 10 years ago n I know why I just can't post it you gotta call me for that one...

LOL!! Did you forget to mention the quality of the homes for sale in PCP? Many were built without any building codes! Did you forget to mention the community dues? That's a nice chunk of change! I would rather have a well built house in a safe area and not worry about replacing my possessions! Taxes keep going up in that area and the dues keep increasing. The board has always been corrupt. You live on a postage stamp and have neighbors that are dealing drugs and do drive by shootings. They drive new SUV's and collect welfare. No thanks, Sarge. Where I am is worth the money.