has anyone had a good experience w a gated community (Carlisle: apartment, HOA fees)

[tmunch250]

we are thinking of moving to PA and commute to NY for work. We noticed the great prices for homes but most are inside gated communities. I am hearing horror stories about them and the gangs and rules. Has anyone had a good experience they can share?

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by tmunch250

we are thinking of moving to PA and commute to NY for work. We noticed the great prices for homes but most are inside gated communities. I am hearing horror stories about them and the gangs and rules. Has anyone had a good experience they can share?

I'm not in a gated community but I am in a private HOA. I have no issues with the "rules" or my neighbors.


I do, however, commute to the Bronx for work (by car). I'm out near Jim Thorpe in Carbon County. On a good day, I can make it to my desk in about 2 hours 25 minutes (125 miles door to door). Coming home on 80 during rush hour is not pleasant and it ranges between 2.75-4 hours most days.

I don't even do it every day and it really is a crappy commute. I don't have children so can't even imagine doing it with kids. My cousin commutes daily from E.Burg to Bronxville, NY and has a similarily crappy commute (his wife is a SAHM and does EVERYTHING in the home. He's exhausted on weekends.)



Weather is often a big issue with commuting in our area.



Where in NYC do you plan on commuting to? Is your plan to drive or take the Martz bus? Word of advice

[DavidWebb]

Originally Posted by tmunch250

we are thinking of moving to PA and commute to NY for work. We noticed the great prices for homes but most are inside gated communities. I am hearing horror stories about them and the gangs and rules. Has anyone had a good experience they can share?

Gated communities vary depending on location and those running the HOA boards....if you don't mind living in a place where your every move is dictated to you then a gated community is for you: what you can and can't do on your own property, what colors you can paint your house, whether you can or cannot have an RV or boat in your driveway, fines for kids leaving their bicycles in the driveway, etc., etc.,

[Kathy1966]

I purchased a home one year ago in Hemlock Farms gated community and I'm sorry I did. The HOA fees are disgusting, the water sucks and for example if your water usage is say $45.00 your bill will be $165.00 because of the fees they ********* with. I leave for work every day at 5:30 and am harrassed on an every morning basis by people that would prefer me driving 60 mph. Forget any common courtesy here as well. Also for those that dont pay the HOA fees, you get charged for it so prepare yourself. The indoor swimming pool smells like a pool of bleach its horrible. Do yourself a favor and look for a more affordable place.

[Kathy1966]

Stay away from Hemlock Farms. The HOA fees are disgusting, and if people dont pay them you get screwed with higher fees. If your water usage is at say $45.00 your bill will be close to $170.00 because of "FEES". The water sucks and smells funny therefore I have to buy bottled. The indoor swimming pool smells so badly like chlorine its nauseating. Forget any common courtesy here as well because I've yet to see any. If you have to leave for work at 5:30 in the morning, prepare yourself for the road harrassment to begin. If your not driving 60 mph that early they will proceed to tailgate you so bad they might as well be in your passenger seat. Do yourself a favor and look around because you will find better places that don't kill you with there greedy fees and HOA dues. Looking forward to selling my home here.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by charmed hour

I do, however, commute to the Bronx for work (by car). I'm out near Jim Thorpe in Carbon County. On a good day, I can make it to my desk in about 2 hours 25 minutes (125 miles door to door). Coming home on 80 during rush hour is not pleasant and it ranges between 2.75-4 hours most days.

I keep telling everybody this, like you, but if you spend six hours on the road; you will be making half the money you once made while working and living in NYC (if you lived close to work). When people figure that their 8 hour job turned into a 14 hour job and they still had the expense of quick vehicle depreciation, additional gas and tolls/parking and maintenance.

I just wished that everybody considering this move and commute tried it first - before they bought. Take a summer vacation over here and try the commute to the City and back; like you would if you owned a home over here. The commute is not for everybody. I used to drive 100,000 miles a year as a truck driver and I love my current 1.5 mile commute where I currently work. If a commuter drives 100 miles each way they would drive half the distance that I drove as a commercial truck driver and they would not get paid like I did! Instead all the expense comes out of their pocket and is that much less that one really brings home from their job.

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by fisheye

I keep telling everybody this, like you, but if you spend six hours on the road; you will be making half the money you once made while working and living in NYC (if you lived close to work). When people figure that their 8 hour job turned into a 14 hour job and they still had the expense of quick vehicle depreciation, additional gas and tolls/parking and maintenance.

I just wished that everybody considering this move and commute tried it first - before they bought. Take a summer vacation over here and try the commute to the City and back; like you would if you owned a home over here. The commute is not for everybody. I used to drive 100,000 miles a year as a truck driver and I love my current 1.5 mile commute where I currently work. If a commuter drives 100 miles each way they would drive half the distance that I drove as a commercial truck driver and they would not get paid like I did! Instead all the expense comes out of their pocket and is that much less that one really brings home from their job.

I’m grateful to not do the commute every day. If I had to, I’d have been institutionalized within a year.

I knew what I was getting g into before hand but I weighed the trade offs and made my decision. Two more years and I’ll start working closer to home. Yey, 20 year union pension!

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by charmed hour

I’m grateful to not do the commute every day. If I had to, I’d have been institutionalized within a year.

I knew what I was getting g into before hand but I weighed the trade offs and made my decision. Two more years and I’ll start working closer to home. Yey, 20 year union pension!

I have a 30 year Teamster's pension and I am glad I am no longer on the road. Heck, in deep snow or slippery ice, I hate my 1.5 mile commute (because of my steep driveway). I always have to plan ahead: When to plow and when to salt or if the salt will even work with colder temperatures. I cannot picture doing that again with a 2 or 3 hour commute! It was bad enough when my job moved to Carlisle for 5 years; but I-81 and I-80 west are cakewalks compared to going east. Besides; I had an apartment and I only came home on weekends.

I just want people to calculate the loss of free time and expense into this equation. They can make fantastic money in the city; but they will see many deductions in that paycheck before they ever get it all the way home to the Poconos. Long commutes are expensive in both money and lost time.

Good luck on your change in 2 years!

[DavidWebb]

Originally Posted by louiloui

Friends of ours live in a gated community in Carlisle PA. and they love it but, you have to be under 50 to buy there. This is a life style kind of community where they only want like minded people. You know, highly educated, green living types.

Unfortunately, that may be what they're striving to attract but if it were a 50+ not 50 under they might get that type of resident....they can't shut out anyone that doesn't meet "their idea" of an ideal resident....there are federal housing laws against that....

[okaydorothy]

We bought in a gated community 11 years ago. Never had a problem until recently. The reason ; the lot across from ours flooded badly in the fall and a lot of the water ran into our property. After three months, I called the office and initially they said it was our own problem, but they wouldn't give me the property owners name and phone number. Then the GM came over to look at it. The first thing he said was that the house should never have been built here. And then of course I didn't do my homework. Well, the house was built by a builder and we bought it new from him, he is dead now. When I asked who gave the permits, he said it was the town. You can't fart here without a permit, so they had to issue some permit. He also said that he lived here 30 years, and said the house must have been built before he arrived ; the house is 11 years old!!!
Then he said he couldn't do anything because it was price property and basically I was on my own.
Can you tell how annoyed I was. So eventually he agreed to look at the issue with a asphalt guy and see what could be done. I suggested trying to steer the water over to the neighboring campground (which is owned by the community) and he said that could not be done. Then he started saying our property was not very tidy ; I bought a new shed two weeks before and have not gotten a chance to put some outside stuff in it because I am working between 40-50 hours a week at nights.
I alerted him to the fact that our conversion van is stuck in the mud because of the water problem and he said nothing.
Well yesterday I got a summons because that van has its registration expired by 12 days. It is registered and insured but now its stuck in the ice so we cannot remove it until the damn water issue is fixed. Yes, we could get AAA to tow it I suppose.
Funny thing, my car had its inspection expired by 2 months and they never looked at that. I got it inspected last week.

I emailed the GM last week to see what the updates are on the water situation and he said that they will put a culvert across the road and steer the water towards...the campgrounds.

If I wasn't so against moving again, I would do it in a heartbeat. We moved twice in 7 years.