Sensitive Question on Where to Buy (Jersey Shore, Hawley: mortgage, motel, buying a home)

[mmzkt]

We are interested in buying a home in the Poconos for weekend use and possible retirement. We want to be a in community where there is a community association with resources such as indoor pool, fitness center, lake, possibly close to skiing. We're thinking Pike or Wayne counties. What about Hawley, Masthope, Hemlock Farms, Lake Naomi or Winola?

Here's the sensitive part. We'd like to find a community where the majority of the population is not Jewish. I have many Jewish friends and went to a university where most of the students were Jewish. Thus, I often felt like an outsider.

We'd just like a community that is a mixed bag of nice people. Any and all insight and information welcome.

I apologize if I've offended anyone. That is not the intention.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by mmzkt

We are interested in buying a home in the Poconos for weekend use and possible retirement. We want to be a in community where there is a community association with resources such as indoor pool, fitness center, lake, possibly close to skiing. We're thinking Pike or Wayne counties. What about Hawley, Masthope, Hemlock Farms, Lake Naomi or Winola?

Here's the sensitive part. We'd like to find a community where the majority of the population is not Jewish. I have many Jewish friends and went to a university where most of the students were Jewish. Thus, I often felt like an outside.

We'd just like a community that is a mixed bag of nice people. Any and all insight and information welcome.

I apologize if I've offended anyone. That is not the intention.

Luckily for you, that won't be a problem.

Maybe if you'd gotten to know your Jewish "friends" better, you would've learned that we don't summer in the Poconos in droves. The seasonal population is fairly small and very scattered, so you can rest easy.

[okaydorothy]

Try WLE in Lake Wallenpaupak.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by okaydorothy

Try WLE in Lake Wallenpaupak.

I was actually there for Memorial Day Weekend--very pleasant and very Gentile, though I saw a couple Jewish names on the sides of mailboxes.

[mathjak107]

i agree WLE is nice , just don't make the mistake we did and buy and then realize the area is really not what we actually wanted to retire in to .

what you want pre retirement can be very different post retirement.

issues like no public transportation if we couldn't drive , few choices in medical facility's or specialists , only minimum wage work if i wanted to work , rough cold boring winters , even limited amounts to do when it isn't winter.

by the third year that walk around the lake or walk in the woods grew stale with us.

just put your retirement hat on and really think this through.

we found for as much use as we got out of it because of the wicked winters we could have stayed in a local motel and been way ahead.

not only did the house cost us about 10k a year with no mortgage but we gave up about 10k a year in income on the money tied up in the house .

we needed a gardner , a snow plow guy , a maintaince guy . being their part time has you paying for quite a bit of stuff.

[okaydorothy]

Also there are a lot of Irish Americans in WLE. And Italians.And Russians.

Really, we like it there, our kids have great memories. We are trying to sell as we moved too far away to use it as much as we did when living in NY. However, it is very hard to sell as our neighbor keeps his property very untidy so it is a put off for any potential buyer. I agree with Mathjak, it is difficult to get good medical care etc.

We may end up moving there in a few years once we are done with schools here. However, the company that my husband works for has a depot in Wilkes Barre, so a transfer is a possibility. I would not move there without jobs like we did when we moved here.

[Chefkey]

Towamensing Trails Albrightsville, PA but bring your big wallet

[Chefkey]

OK the first suggestion while nice was tongue in cheek because I know the priced there are through the roof but on a serious note you might really like Camelback area and it has the amenities you seek and right off Route 80 for easy access for long distance friends to visit

The Village At Camelback P.O.A. - Home Page

[mmzkt]

Elijah, my best friend is Jewish and was my maid of honor and is my son's godmother. I asked in response to something I was told and wanted to check out. Most of my Jewish friends are in New England, so I'm pretty sure they're on the Cape or on Lakes in NH or Maine. As I said, no offense intended, but perhaps you didn't read that far.

Everyone else, those are great things to consider re: environment. We just want to be within a 5-hour drive of our kids in Maryland, have low humidity, like in Maryland, and have lower taxes like in Maryland. Montana was our number one choice, but that's a day's travel by plane. Just a little too far.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by mmzkt

Elijah, my best friend is Jewish and was my maid of honor and is my son's godmother. I asked in response to something I was told and wanted to check out. Most of my Jewish friends are in New England, so I'm pretty sure they're on the Cape or on Lakes in NH or Maine. As I said, no offense intended, but perhaps you didn't read that far.

I read all the way through. "No offense intended" is simply a meaningless throwaway phrase.

FYI, I was more amused than offended, given that unlike Long Island, South Florida, the Jersey Shore, or any other number of places, the Poconos are distinctly non-Jewish (something of which a Northeasterner familiar with Jewish culture should be aware). Your request is tantamount to seeking resort areas in Maine that are less than 50% black, and therefore came across as weirdly paranoid.

I believe that wasn't your intention, but I hope you can see why it came across that way?