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Northeastern Pennsylvania Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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Old 12-16-2021, 04:13 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,461 times
Reputation: 10

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We are a family of 4 and looking to find a home somewhere in the mountains of PA.

My husband works from home in NJ but he needs to be able to commute to Jersey City.

I envision a place with trees on the land, a creek, privacy.

Maybe about 2+ acres.

No farming areas, no areas with known environmental problems of any sort.

Just ability to commute and have wifi, and privacy are the main.

I guess we are wannabe off gird, dont bother us types who just want to be left alone to live free.

I am also posting this in the NY forum.

Budget is not that high either, up to 300K.

As I write it our it seems like its not possible but just wanted to get some insight.
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Old 12-17-2021, 05:52 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,350,080 times
Reputation: 19077
Quote:
Originally Posted by WordDoctorPL View Post
We are a family of 4 and looking to find a home somewhere in the mountains of PA.

My husband works from home in NJ but he needs to be able to commute to Jersey City.

I envision a place with trees on the land, a creek, privacy.

Maybe about 2+ acres.

No farming areas, no areas with known environmental problems of any sort.

Just ability to commute and have wifi, and privacy are the main.

I guess we are wannabe off gird, dont bother us types who just want to be left alone to live free.

I am also posting this in the NY forum.

Budget is not that high either, up to 300K.

As I write it our it seems like its not possible but just wanted to get some insight.
A lot of people move to Pike County, PA (Milford/Matamoras) or Monroe County, PA (Stroudsburg/Mt. Pocono) and commute daily to NJ or NYC. I think those people are absolutely insane to do this. If your husband only needs to be in Jersey City perhaps once or twice per week for client meetings or whatnot then this would be perfectly acceptable, but if your family envisions him someday needing to be in Jersey City five days per week I would strongly advise against considering Pennsylvania to you. Over time having to do this commute for five days per week your husband would become increasingly stressed and irritable, and this would strain your family. Again, this would not apply if it's only a once or twice per week situation.

A lot of homes in Monroe and Pike Counties are in large master-planned wooded (and sometimes gated) communities. Those homes are NOT likely to be on multiple acre lots, and most will have numerous HOA-like covenants and restrictions that will go against your "left alone and live free" mindset. A sub-$300,000 home is doable in either Pike or Monroe Counties. You will have to adjust your expectations of conveniences. A lot of NJ/NY transplants to PA (not all) want a wooded lot and deer and peace and quiet but then complain about having to drive 20-30 minutes to get to Target or Walmart or Lowe's or ShopRite, etc. You can't have "rural" AND "convenient" in the same sentence, and I wish more transplants could accept that.

Maybe also consider Sussex County, NJ? Slightly closer to Jersey City. Plenty of rural areas. Not as expensive as the rest of NJ. Maybe try to find somewhere closer to where 206 meets 80 like Newton or Andover?
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Old 12-17-2021, 07:16 AM
 
2,449 posts, read 2,725,787 times
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You won’t find that type of property in easy commuting distance to JC at your price point.
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Old 12-18-2021, 09:46 PM
 
1,168 posts, read 578,415 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by charmed hour View Post
You won’t find that type of property in easy commuting distance to JC at your price point.
This, and even if the commute is infrequent, I-80 is a parking lot by 6 AM.


But be patient, I don' think we are away from Amtrak restoration to large parts of PA. That might solve that problem.
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Old 12-20-2021, 08:25 AM
 
Location: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
7,965 posts, read 7,316,873 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tweb66 View Post
This, and even if the commute is infrequent, I-80 is a parking lot by 6 AM.


But be patient, I don' think we are away from Amtrak restoration to large parts of PA. That might solve that problem.
Not looking for another discussion about how many more decades it will be before train service is restored to NEPA. But the part of 80 that's a parking lot at 6AM runs parallel to existing NJ Transit train (and bus) service. If "the train" was going to solve traffic issues on 80 it would already be working.

EZ on-off at Mt Arlington (exit 30) or Netcong (exit 27) gives you access to the Boonton Line or the M&E today if you want it.

Plus a mass transit commute to Jersey City from the Poconos involves switching to PATH or Hudson-Bergen LR to reach your final destination. Too many moving parts for my taste, not to mention the expense and time-suck.

I join the consensus that the OP is better off rethinking a move to the Poconos for now.
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Old 12-21-2021, 11:59 AM
 
13,250 posts, read 33,396,616 times
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I agree with above posters. Two acres and under $300K within commuting distance of North Jersey is not going to happen if you want a livable piece of property.
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Old 12-21-2021, 01:32 PM
 
186 posts, read 150,079 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WordDoctorPL View Post
I guess we are wannabe off gird, dont bother us types who just want to be left alone to live free.
But you want wifi . . .
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Old 12-21-2021, 03:06 PM
 
Location: Wilkes-Barre, PA
2,014 posts, read 3,882,502 times
Reputation: 1725
Ditto with the first responders here, that's a hellish commute on a good day. I've been up and down that corridor many times as my mother lives in the Randolph area and I've done drives to Newark Airport and JFK. The sheer volume of Automobiles and Trucks going to and from that area is just immense. It takes until about mile marker 290, West of 380 until you start to see a reduction in traffic. To find the kind of place you want you will likely have to go at least as far as Blakeslee exit 284 and then do some hard searching. You will mostly find HOA communities around there which may or may not be as private as you want. To find that single home tucked away will take some serious searching. It's possible to find something around $250,000 for what you are looking for and maybe a fixer upper going for about $150,000 but it will be a dump.

Even if you find a house you like and can afford, plan on your husband spending at least a 2 to 2 and a half hour each way drive when he has to go to Jersey City. It gets old really quick, Now if he can work mostly from home and maybe just visit the office say once per month than maybe you've got something. Otherwise, your husband will get miserable really quick.
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Old 12-23-2021, 07:54 AM
 
Location: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
7,965 posts, read 7,316,873 times
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But just for a lark I entered my sister's address in Jersey City to check out the commute time. They tell me it would be 1 hour, 44 minutes from Saylorsburg to JC. That's almost a hundred miles at an average of nearly 60 mph. I don't think that would happen very often!

Last edited by toobusytoday; 01-13-2022 at 04:18 PM..
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Old 12-23-2021, 09:07 AM
 
Location: Saylorsburg, PA
1,929 posts, read 3,121,551 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtab4994 View Post
They tell me it would be 1 hour, 44 minutes from Saylorsburg to JC. That's almost a hundred miles at an average of nearly 60 mph. I don't think that would happen very often!

I did a similar commute: 1-1/2 hours each way, 78 miles each way, 156 daily for 12 years....it sucks the life right out of you....throw in a wife that needed dialysis in the morning before heading into work and it really throws your life into a loop....did the dialysis for almost 4 of those 12 years.....
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