Moving to PA/NJ...Help please! (Philadelphia, East Stroudsburg: car insurance, crime, houses)

[Clevelanders]

My husband and I, and our children (Ages 4,8,12, & 15), are going to be relocating with his company within the next 2 years, from Cleveland. His company will be in the Mount Bethel area. I have been looking into affordable housing online, and was impressed with how reasonable houses were in East Stroudsburg. But.....I have been reading about alot of crime in that area. We are willing to move to the New Jersey area, too. We just have no idea where to go, that is safe to raise our children. Any help would be appreciated.....

[MJCM]

Originally Posted by Clevelanders

My husband and I, and our children (Ages 4,8,12, & 15), are going to be relocating with his company within the next 2 years, from Cleveland. His company will be in the Mount Bethel area. I have been looking into affordable housing online, and was impressed with how reasonable houses were in East Stroudsburg. But.....I have been reading about alot of crime in that area. We are willing to move to the New Jersey area, too. We just have no idea where to go, that is safe to raise our children. Any help would be appreciated.....

Whatever its worth, I have family in the East Stroudsburg area and they are very unhappy with the level of crime. They purchased a home in a new Toll Brothers gated community but they are still affected by the crime. While I certainly do not wish to offend anyone, I understand that the schools are problematic, from the weak PSSA scores to the gang problems in the high school. Seeing how at least one of your kids will be in high school, you should balance this issue with the affordable homes in the area. As a current NJ resident who has been researching the eastern PA school districts, I would not choose to relocate to East Stroudsburg.

Good luck with your move.

[Clevelanders]

Thank you for your input MJCM. I will definitely look elsewhere. How is the New Jersey area?

[MJCM]

Housing is definitely more affordable in PA. Plus, you can find some good school districts while maintaining relatively low property taxes. NJ is fine to live in, but it is certainly more expensive in terms of property taxes, auto insurance, etc. If you work in PA I can't think of any reason to live in NJ and reverse commute.

[hhresident]

I read your post and couldn't help but laugh - not that moving to PA is funny, relocation is tough! But my husband is a huge Cleveland Browns, Indians, and Cavaliers fan. He makes several trips each summer to Cleveland to see sporting events,as well as traveling to Philadelphia when his teams come to town! North Pocono School District is a highly respected/rated school district. Our area is extremely low in crime and there is a strong sense of community. I think we are about 40 miles from where your husband would be working and that may be too far, depending on how he feels about commuting. Best of luck to you in your search!

[izzymare]

Upper Mt. Bethel is a beautiful area. Many homes there have a view of the Delaware. Also worth considering, the Bangor area which isn't too far from there. You really need to know what part of East Stroudsburg you are talking about.

[karen_s]

Originally Posted by izzymare

Upper Mt. Bethel is a beautiful area. Many homes there have a view of the Delaware. Also worth considering, the Bangor area which isn't too far from there. You really need to know what part of East Stroudsburg you are talking about.

I agree with izzy, but if you want to live by the river, don't forget your flood insurance. Also, Upper Mt. Bethel will soon be sprawl-land if the developers have anything to do with it, the proposed Marshfield development is the latest controversy right now - there are protest signs all over the Bangor area against this. As far as Bangor proper, you'd have to research the area very carefully. Much of Bangor borough is not very nice.

[Summering]

I think you might possiably like the Wind Gap area. There are back ways from there to the Mt. Bethel area. Wind Gap has decent schools and hasn't the crime issues. There will be a less cost in your housing purchase, less for car insurance, and less taxes then NJ.
You might also like the area of Brodheadsville, Saylorsburg, and Sciota.
The better schools would be in that area.
I wonder why sometimes people promote the Mt Pocono Schools, when I see that the statistics don't show good test results, plus the crime issue.
Are there two schools up that way, or is this the same school the PCP children attend? What exactly am I missing, I wonder?
I do know that the Pleasant Valley Schools get good ratings and they are
one of the best in this area.
I wouldn't advise you to move into East Stroudsburg. I have lived there and
the cost of homes is low. But, it isn't the grand place it once was........
Gated communities are really not good in that area. Some further West are ok, but not the ones on the borders of NJ.

[izzymare]

Summer, there are two schools in Pocono Mt. School District...East and West. West is the school where the kids from PCP go. West has had so much more trouble than East including their test scores. I am always hearing about PV being a much better school than Pocono, but honestly I'm not sure if that's the case at all. I would put PM East in the same category as PV.

Also, how far are you willing to commute?

[Clevelanders]

Thank you all for your information....I am making my little notes here and there. We still have alot of time before the move, I just want to feel secure with our decision.
I think more than a 45 minute commute is too much. Even that may be pushing it. My husband will most likely be working 12+ hours every day, and I wouldn't want him to drive too far.
I also have an interest in Tobyhanna. Any feedback on that? And is that part of the East Pocono school district?
Thanks again everyone!