Hi, All! New to city-data.com! Hoping for some "retire in PA" options/advice! (Philadelphia: transplants, real estate)

[were-to-retire-wolf]

Hi, All! I just joined city-data.com and this is my first post! [What a great resource this is, BTW!] Although my wife and I still have about 12-15 years before we plan to retire, we don't want to wait too long to start our "where should we retire" project. So ... here we are ... hoping for some "retire in PA" options/advice!

Below are the answers to the questionnaire I found at the top of this forum. Any and all replies/suggestions will be most welcome!

Please let me know if I should have posted this in the retirement forums. [I'm a newbie and not sure if posting the same item in more than one forum is frowned upon.]

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When are you moving? Upon retirement (about 12-15 years from now). (I hope we will have decided on a destination by then! )

Where are you coming from? Northeast part of NYC's Queens county

Why are you moving? Looking for lower cost of living/taxes without straying too far from the NYC area.

Where will you be working? Not applicable.

Have you been here yet? Have some family in West Chester, PA. Nice area but not sure if we could afford it.

Will you buy or rent? Buy.

If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? Either. Wife would like something of a yard to do a bit of light gardening, though. We'd like to put some money in the bank after selling our house so we would like to keep the cost of the new place under 350-400K. (As far under as possible!)

If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? NA
How much can you spend? NA
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? NA

Are you married or single? Married.

Do you have children? Two; but our home will most likely be an empty nest by the time we retire.

Do you prefer public or private schools? NA

Do you have pets? No.

Do you want or need a yard? Wife:Yes. Me:Meh; nice to have but could live without it.

Are you keeping a car? Yes.

Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Calm/quiet but not too far (< 30 min.) from entertainment/restaurants/etc.

What do you want to be closest to? Shopping / Basic services
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? More similar than dissimilar.

Phillies, Pirates or Mets? Born in Fushing so I'd have to say Mets.

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[Wells5]

Even though you are a long way from retirement, you may want to consider buying a house in the Poconos now. There are many foreclosures in private lake communities and mortgage rates are low. You can use it now as a summer or weekend getaway. Just stay away from a house in the East Stroudsburg or Delaware Valley school districts where real estate taxes are high and getting higher.

If you can tear yourself away from the immediate NYC metro area, there are many pleasant towns within a 4 to 6 hour drive to the city.

[ki0eh]

The first thing I'm wondering is how you define "too far from the NYC area."

Bloomsburg and Danville have basic (Walmart-level, not IKEA or Nordstrom) shopping, the Geisinger medical complex, a bit more cultural ferment than typical for rural PA, but not many more jobs to push prices up to Chester County levels. It's about 100 miles west of the Delaware on I-80, so you're probably not popping over in the evening for a Broadway show and returning same night.

Middletown, PA has homes with yards well within your budget. There is a bit more racial diversity than typical for Harrisburg suburbs but it's a far cry from Queens. Close to the Penn State Hershey medical complex but without the Hershey schools premium. The frequent Amtrak service could make taking in the Broadway matinee same day more feasible than usual for that far out in PA. If you are driving Baltimore is actually as close as Philadelphia, and DC as close as NYC.

Nearby Elizabethtown and Mount Joy are slightly pricier but within the stated budget, some homes have yards, not all townhomes and row homes. Not all the trains stop at Mount Joy.

[were-to-retire-wolf]

Originally Posted by Wells5

Even though you are a long way from retirement, you may want to consider buying a house in the Poconos now. There are many foreclosures in private lake communities and mortgage rates are low. You can use it now as a summer or weekend getaway. Just stay away from a house in the East Stroudsburg or Delaware Valley school districts where real estate taxes are high and getting higher.

If you can tear yourself away from the immediate NYC metro area, there are many pleasant towns within a 4 to 6 hour drive to the city.

Thank you for your response. Ideally, we'd like to be no more than a 3- to 4-hour drive from NYC area. Still, I'd like to hear your suggestions. Perhaps, we'll re-consider.

[were-to-retire-wolf]

Originally Posted by ki0eh

The first thing I'm wondering is how you define "too far from the NYC area."

Bloomsburg and Danville have basic (Walmart-level, not IKEA or Nordstrom) shopping, the Geisinger medical complex, a bit more cultural ferment than typical for rural PA, but not many more jobs to push prices up to Chester County levels. It's about 100 miles west of the Delaware on I-80, so you're probably not popping over in the evening for a Broadway show and returning same night.

Middletown, PA has homes with yards well within your budget. There is a bit more racial diversity than typical for Harrisburg suburbs but it's a far cry from Queens. Close to the Penn State Hershey medical complex but without the Hershey schools premium. The frequent Amtrak service could make taking in the Broadway matinee same day more feasible than usual for that far out in PA. If you are driving Baltimore is actually as close as Philadelphia, and DC as close as NYC.

Nearby Elizabethtown and Mount Joy are slightly pricier but within the stated budget, some homes have yards, not all townhomes and row homes. Not all the trains stop at Mount Joy.

Thank you for your response. Ideally, we'd like to be no more than a 3- to 4-hour drive from NYC area. I guess that would be somewhere around the Harrisburg area. I will definitely look into the areas you mentioned.

[SteelCityRising]

I'd consider Kutztown. It's located not far west of Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton and is about two hours, give or take, to NYC. The more immediate Lehigh Valley area is becoming more congested and more expensive with NJ/NYC transplants; however, Kutztown sits just far enough to the west that it's not desirable for daily commuters to NJ/NYC, so it is still slower-paced. You're also not far from Philadelphia via I-476. Your budget is definitely doable in Kutztown.

I'd love to live in a house like this one if I was in your situation:

Mod cut - please don't post single listings of real estate. Removed link

You could probably get it for around $170,000, invest $50,000 into updating appliances and some cosmetics, and then have a great cozy home with a small yard within walking distance of parks and the charming main drag. You'd have a few hundred thousand left over from selling the house in Queens, too!

[were-to-retire-wolf]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I'd consider Kutztown. It's located not far west of Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton and is about two hours, give or take, to NYC. The more immediate Lehigh Valley area is becoming more congested and more expensive with NJ/NYC transplants; however, Kutztown sits just far enough to the west that it's not desirable for daily commuters to NJ/NYC, so it is still slower-paced. You're also not far from Philadelphia via I-476. Your budget is definitely doable in Kutztown.

...

You could probably get it for around $170,000, invest $50,000 into updating appliances and some cosmetics, and then have a great cozy home with a small yard within walking distance of parks and the charming main drag. You'd have a few hundred thousand left over from selling the house in Queens, too!

Thank you for your response. I see that Kutztown is not far from another town -- Emmaus -- that I had read about in another thread. Amongst other things, that thread said that, [paraphrasing] while Emmaus is nice, the train whistle noise is frequent and LOUD. It appears that a train line runs through Kutztown as well. Does Kutztown suffer from loud train noise as well? Thanks!

[John123_456_789]

Country living very inexpensively and only 4 hours to NYC and 90 min to DC & BALT. The name of the town is Chambersburg, PA. (It would be worth your studying the area...such as real estate costs, small cultural scene, farmer's markets, amish foods and furniture, and while only 90 mins. from DC where there is a wonderful world of culture. Chambersburg proper has approx 20k people with the surrounding areas it's about 150k. It's beautiful here, very very quiet yet close to happenings.

[teachbeach]

With your budget you might want to consider the area around Lancaster as well; Lititz, Lebanon, Ephrata, Millersville. Mt. Joy, etc. Still within an hour of West Chester family and w/in 4 hours of NYC. The train from Lancaster runs to Philly and Penn Station a couple of times daily. Good medical facilities, within an hour of Hershey, Baltimore or Philadelphia if super specialists are needed. Stay off of Route 30 during tourist season though...

Another area you might want to look at is Doylestown. Great downtown, vibrant community and houses have held their price point through all of the recessions and ups/downs of the economy.

Pennsylvania is a BIG state, so if you draw a line about 200 miles from where you want to be, you'll see many metro areas within your radius.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by teachbeach

With your budget you might want to consider the area around Lancaster as well; Lititz, Lebanon, Ephrata, Millersville. Mt. Joy, etc. Still within an hour of West Chester family and w/in 4 hours of NYC. The train from Lancaster runs to Philly and Penn Station a couple of times daily. Good medical facilities, within an hour of Hershey, Baltimore or Philadelphia if super specialists are needed. Stay off of Route 30 during tourist season though...

Another area you might want to look at is Doylestown. Great downtown, vibrant community and houses have held their price point through all of the recessions and ups/downs of the economy.

Pennsylvania is a BIG state, so if you draw a line about 200 miles from where you want to be, you'll see many metro areas within your radius.

Doylestown is an excellent choice, but much higher COL - houses and taxes in Bucks county- than most places further in-state.