Why aren't the Poconos as pricey as other outer-orbits of NYC? (Mountain Top: sale, rentals)

[PNW to NEPA]

My husband and I are thinking about retiring to the Poconos area. We currently live in Oregon and are interested in relocating to be closer to our children who live and work in the Northeast. I am a little concerned when I see what looks like a large number of homes sitting on the market in the Poconos for a long time. It does create a situation where the home prices are quite affordable but also makes me wonder if there's something I don't understand, where areas similarly accessible to NYC are FAR more expensive. We'll have a modest retirement income, probably around 65K gross, but should be able to buy a modest home outright with the proceeds from our current home. I would prefer to live in a town proper, even a quite small one (we live in a small town in OR now, so I'm accustomed to it) rather than somewhere that requires driving for every single small errand.

Like others, I'm drawn to PA for its non-taxing of retirement benefits and its lower-then-NY property taxes -- although even the PA prop taxes are considerably higher than we're used to here in Oregon. (The west coast in general seems to have lower prop taxes than the east.)

So --> affordable homes in a small to mid-size town (bonus points for pretty, charming, historic, cultural, or something along those lines), some reasonably accessible public transit options to NYC (just for occasional visits, not a regular commute), and would love to have some natural recreation opportunities (hiking, biking, rafting, etc) close enough for regular day-hikes. Where would that be? The Poconos seems to fit the bill, but where in particular? Is this area economically depressed, are there attendant problems if so? Lack of employment would not be an issue for us, so more a matter of quality of life overall.

I'll be out there in the spring to drive around, look at different areas, and would love some suggestions.

[mathjak107]

We sold in 2012 for what we paid in 2007. The people we sold to sold two years later for 60k less . There is just lack of demand anymore , at least in the lake wallenwaupack area

[fisheye]

Check out this link first: //www.city-data.com/forum/north...ents-nepa.html. Answer some of the questions on that link. It gives lots of informative information and those links are great links for anyplace you want to move.

You mention driving or using public transportation to NYC. We do have busses that run to NYC (https://locations.greyhound.com/bus-...pa#fare-search). Maybe some other posters can tell you more about the busses?

I do not live in a development or do I have any personal knowledge about these two developments not too far from my house: Lake Naomi; here is a link I just checked to see if they had anything under $200K: https://locations.greyhound.com/bus-...pa#fare-search. And here s one other development that has been recommended over the years (Cobble Creek Estates). The Lake Naomi property also mentions vacation rentals.

I like to see people visit, vacation or rent first before they buy. I hate to recommend anything because what I feel is great; might not be great for prospective buyers.

We are getting a lot of road congestion in our area and there are major highway projects in the works. What I like about may Swiftwater area is that I can take backroads to Mt. Pocono for shopping and the traffic is not that bad so far - it could get worse with more development planned. Cobble Creek is not too far from my house. Lake Naomi is about eight miles from me. Both are easy drives to the Mt. Pocono bus station.

Use Google 'Earth' to check out potential properties. I would supply a link but they changed it from what I was used to. What I love about the program is that you can zoom in on a perspective neighborhood. You can look for a scrap yard on your neighbor's property. It tells you elevations and you can possibly see if there are nearby streams that might flood. Of course nothing beats on the ground observations. Stop at the township office and talk to the secretary and see what they have to say about the development - many times they hear the complaints.

Good luck and if you move hear feel free to hang around on our CD forum for more advice! Welcome to our forum!

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

We sold in 2012 for what we paid in 2007. The people we sold to sold two years later for 60k less . There is just lack of demand anymore , at least in the lake wallenwaupack area

And Zillow has our property listed for three times what we paid for it - but it was 40 years ago. Location and timing are every thing. Of course how you maintain your property also counts. When people have to sell they settle for less.

[mathjak107]

The area got killed when the tanglwood ski area closed . It no longer attracted business all winter . The ski area was in the center of our development . We were in tanglwood north

[Wells5]

Suggest you look into Milford, Hawley, Honesdale, Jim Thorpe and Stroudsburg if you want to be in an urban area in the Poconos with bus service into NYC. Many retirees live in rural private developments with a lot of amenities. One such place that I recommend is Hemlock Farms.

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by fisheye

And Zillow has our property listed for three times what we paid for it - but it was 40 years ago. Location and timing are every thing. Of course how you maintain your property also counts. When people have to sell they settle for less.

If you took a mortgage it cost you 2 to 3x the price of the home.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

If you took a mortgage it cost you 2 to 3x the price of the home.

We made double payments and sometimes extra on top of that. We also had a small mortgage because of the sale of my commercial property. We never liked giving money to the banks. I bought our last new car for cash - I hate payments!

[Chefkey]

Tunkhannock, Clarks Summit, Honesdale, Moscow and Greentown are some cute towns you could check out for starters. Then you've got areas in the backmountain, Dallas, Shavertown, Sweet Valley, Hunlock Creek. These are all outside the valley but you could also explore closer and in the valley like areas on Suscon Rd near Pittston or Bear Creek or Laurel Run. Then you also have Mountain Top and Drums.

[theatergypsy]

Kingston, Forty Fort, Exeter, Exeter Twp., Wyoming, West Wyoming, West Pittston.

Small towns all within minutes (driving) of shopping, state parks, cultural activities. All low-crime areas.

Lots of history. Yankees AAA team. Penguins farm team. Mohegan Sun casino.

Hop on the Martz bus to "The City" if that's important.

Some here would disagree but I'm satisfied with the medical care. I've had a couple of pretty serious issues and had them resolved right here without traveling.