Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-20-2020, 09:39 PM
 
5 posts, read 4,178 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Hi, we are currently living in NY just outside of the city, we are saving to buy a house and know the only way we can afford to buy is if we leave NY. We are not sure where we want to go, but know we don’t want to be more then 9 hours from our family. We are considering OH (where I have relatives), but also would consider PA/NJ. We are looking for something rural/suburban (but more rural), with a great public school system. The ideal area would be somewhere where the houses are somewhat secluded/separated from
One another (we don’t want to be right on top of our neighbors), with decent size properties, but there is plenty to do in the town/surrounding towns (ie, shopping, movies, hiking, parks, pools, mountain biking trails, ATV/snowmobiling, museums,etc). Neither of us are married to our current jobs and if working remote once we relocate is not an option then we are open to finding new jobs. Also we are looking somewhere where we can buy nice properties/homes for under $230,000 (otherwise there is no point in leaving NY!), with low property taxes. Also should mention, I am Jewish and we are raising our kids Jewish, so it would be nice to live somewhere where there is acceptance of many types of faiths! Please if anyone can point us in the right direction so we can start doing research and get a chance to start visiting places once it is safe to do so (thanks a lot covid), I know next to nothing about PA! Thank you so much for your advice!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-21-2020, 08:24 AM
 
5,297 posts, read 6,174,862 times
Reputation: 5480
Will you work from home or will you look for local employment?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-21-2020, 08:46 AM
 
Location: Cashtown, PA
298 posts, read 481,934 times
Reputation: 339
A great school system and low taxes don't work with each other here. You pay for what you get But compared to NY state, maybe the taxes are lower. Don't know.

In the rural areas here, it is heavily practicing Christian. Perhaps in the more urban areas there are synagogues. Not Jewish so I can't really answer how accepting folks would be, but if you involve yourself in the community - particularly the volunteer Fire Departments, you probably will find yourself well loved. We are

Where we live, little towns surround bigger towns with joining roads - sortof like a spider web. Some amenities you might have to give up but then you will gain other benefits. Lots of farms nearby, very agricultural. True of alot of PA except for the cities.

The prices of houses are going up, notably because of folks from the city wanting to move to a more rural setting. Tis getting very hard to find a house unless it has real issues, or is too high prices. The town I live in, the houses sell within a week during this time of Covid.

Jobs are not easy to find here, unless you establish a home business and sell online. Make sure you find an area that has good internet.

A piece of unasked for advice. Travel around PA, get an idea of the lay of the land. Do some homework online. Travel more around PA We moved here 3 years ago but had been coming to Gettysburg for the last 20 years once or twice a year. Thought we knew this area, but still came up with surprises. We operate an online business with a brick and mortar shop.
Think about those areas you are familiar with before deciding to move to an area you are not familiar with. Next bit....it will be hard but wait a year or so til things settle down or move near to your family

Wish you good luck in whatever you decide!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-21-2020, 08:51 AM
 
Location: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
8,055 posts, read 7,425,854 times
Reputation: 16314
Check out Stroudsburg/East Stroudsburg and the surrounding area.

I am currently working from home on a high-speed VPN connection via Blue Ridge Cable at 150mpbs. I could go higher if I wanted to, but don't need it.

Temple Israel (conservative) recently marked 100 years in Stroudsburg and I believe they offer Hebrew school.

My opinion: Stay away from the East Stroudsburg "North" school district but the "South" part of that district is OK. We live in the East Stroudsburg South district, and although we sent our kids to Catholic school I believe the public schools here are just fine. You will hear good things about the Stroudsburg and Pleasant Valley districts as well.

Other things to think about: If you live in town you might not need a generator for power outages, but if you live out in the boonies, consider getting one.

Lots of former New Yorkers out here (I am a former NJer). A popular t-shirt years ago was "Pocono Mountains -- NYC's 6th borough!"
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-21-2020, 08:56 AM
 
5 posts, read 4,178 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wells5 View Post
Will you work from home or will you look for local employment?
Might start off working remote but will probably look for employment wherever we relocate!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-21-2020, 08:57 AM
 
5 posts, read 4,178 times
Reputation: 10
Thank you!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-21-2020, 11:36 AM
 
5,297 posts, read 6,174,862 times
Reputation: 5480
Look into Upper and Lower Macungie Townships in Lehigh County, PA although house prices in Upper Macungie may be a bit higher than your budget. Parkland School District is considered one of the best in PA and neighboring East Penn is also highly rated. The economy in the Lehigh Valley is very good and it's less than 2 hours from Manhattan. Largish Jewish community there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-21-2020, 05:03 PM
 
13,254 posts, read 33,513,664 times
Reputation: 8103
I agree with medievalbooks, You won't find the combo of good school district and low taxes in Pennsylvania. Property taxes are the main source of funding for schools. You will be hard pressed to find a new home from Lehigh and Northampton counties south to the Delaware border within your price range that sits on any kind of land with low taxes. But, just go North or West and you may luck out. Or look for an older home on a smaller lot. But maybe your definition of what constitutes high taxes is different. What would that number be?
__________________
Please follow THESE rules.

Any Questions on how to use this site? See this.

Realtors, See This.

Moderator - Lehigh Valley, NEPA, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Education and Colleges and Universities.

When I post in bold red, that is Moderator action and per the TOS can be discussed only via Direct Message.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-21-2020, 08:45 PM
 
5 posts, read 4,178 times
Reputation: 10
Hi, in westchester county (just north of Manhattan) my mom pays over $14,000 a year in taxes, some places are closer to $20,000.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-22-2020, 05:42 AM
 
13,254 posts, read 33,513,664 times
Reputation: 8103
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deemm11 View Post
Hi, in westchester county (just north of Manhattan) my mom pays over $14,000 a year in taxes, some places are closer to $20,000.
Yes, we all know NYC and NJ have crazy high taxes, but what would be a reasonable amount of taxes for your for the house YOU are looking for? In my area a house that is assessed at $230,000 would be around $4,500 and that would be an older home on a small lot. If that's reasonable to you than I'd suggest looking in Lehigh county.
__________________
Please follow THESE rules.

Any Questions on how to use this site? See this.

Realtors, See This.

Moderator - Lehigh Valley, NEPA, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Education and Colleges and Universities.

When I post in bold red, that is Moderator action and per the TOS can be discussed only via Direct Message.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top