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Old 07-08-2018, 03:31 PM
 
20 posts, read 27,877 times
Reputation: 12

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I am looking to relocate from Long Island...

My Gripes
1. Traffic is horrible
2. Taxes are high
3. houses are too close
4. can always hear road noise and/or the hum of lawn equipment
5. Everyone is stressed, overbooked, and running around like chickens without heads
6. They keep developing and it is turning into the city

I am looking for a consistent neighborhood (not one street is good and a street over is bad). I want at least half an acre so I have a buffer between my neighbors and myself. I don't want to be looking into each other's windows. That being said, I want some sort of neighborhood and community so my kids can have neighbors to play with. A safe community with sidewalks would be good. Looking for good schools (currently have), a main street we could walk around and grab a bite to eat or go to a parade, community events like movies in the park etc. I would prefer mountains or rolling hills to flat. Near a body of water would also be nice. Politically moderate to conservative would also be nice.

I grew up and live on the north shore of Long Island... something like LI 30 years ago would be nice. LOL

Would want about a 2,000 - 2,600 sq ft house with a basement, 4+ beds and 2+ baths. Budget would be up to 425k

Am I dreaming or is there somewhere I could look to get this?

Last edited by MountainsAreCalling16; 07-08-2018 at 03:45 PM..
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Old 07-08-2018, 06:03 PM
 
5,285 posts, read 6,083,303 times
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Do you intend to commute to NYC or vicinity for work? Check the following link if you do.


//www.city-data.com/forum/north...ng-island.html
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Old 07-08-2018, 09:35 PM
 
20 posts, read 27,877 times
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No, I don't need nor want to commute back and forth. I will still have family on LI though.

My husband does IT work and just needs a good internet connection. I am a certified Biology teacher but the market is saturated here and I have only been able to get leave replacements. At this point I think I will just find something part time to do.
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Old 07-09-2018, 02:40 AM
 
Location: Pennsylvania
30,214 posts, read 15,980,059 times
Reputation: 43892
you might start with this:


//www.city-data.com/forum/penns...residents.html
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Old 07-09-2018, 05:31 PM
 
5,285 posts, read 6,083,303 times
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Most urban areas in PA were established at least 150 years ago and the houses are set on narrow lots. If you don't want close neighbors, you'll have to look at upscale subdivisions or live in the country. Toll Brothers has several new home developments in the Philly and Lehigh Valley suburbs and within your price range.


https://www.tollbrothers.com/luxury-homes/Pennsylvania


Towns that I recommend are State College, Wellsboro, Lewisburg, Clarks Summit area, Manheim Township (near Lancaster), Carlisle, Chambersburg, Loyalsock Township (near Williamsport), Warren, Cranberry Township (near Pittsburgh), Grove City, Edinboro and Harborcreek Township (near Erie).
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Old 07-09-2018, 06:28 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia
2,539 posts, read 2,264,794 times
Reputation: 2695
Check out

Lancaster - Up and coming. Super historic. And SUPER quaint. 425k in Lancaster will buy you a nice new construction with your specs.
Lancaster has Whole Foods and an Apple Store - to give you a sense of its place type.


Philadelphia suburbs - Housing stock for your budget will be older. But the Philadelphia suburbs are very quaint. If you want to explore more of the philly burbs post in the Philadelphia thread. You wont get ANYTHING new. Or LARGE. But you can find a really quaint town. - Media, PA comes to mind first! - although 500k in Media is becoming the new base price.
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Old 07-25-2018, 02:25 PM
 
Location: Florida
274 posts, read 322,617 times
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Doylestown area is friendly, not that far from NY up 202, there are great schools, bigger lots. You could find a house like that in the vicinity for $425 but it might be listed higher. They have been going up lately. In my neighborhood from $440-500, but the key would be to put in lower offers and give it a try. Might be one that needs some reno. New Britain (same school district) is sometimes lower in parts. You have to look harder but it's possible. Look for one longer on the market.



However we are only slightly rolling hills. The real foothills start a little further north above Quakertown. There are however some good parks in the area, and they have movie night, etc. Doylestown has lots of parades and events. Plus a train into Philly. Taxes here are, and all over eastern PA, rather high. But they may seem low to you? We are certainly lower than NJ. In a similar house you would pay about about $6600 for school and property.
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Old 07-30-2018, 12:50 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,477 times
Reputation: 10
Default Elizabethtown, PA

I live in Elizabethtown, PA and that is TOTALLY doable here in my area.

The only specification you mentioned that you would not have would be the body of water.
I am a real estate professional and my husband is in law enforcement. We love the area. Centrally located between Harrisburg and Lancaster, people are super friendly (in comparison to north east pa where I moved here from). Elizabethtown is often referred to as "E-town". We have an Amtrak station, local breweries, an awesome coffee shop at the square, Ritas, a great meat market, 3 grocery stores, a college (Elizabethtown College) and lots of other smaller retailers.

We own a 2600+ above grade sq ft home on 1/2 acres with finished basement in a nice subdivision with sidewalks, street lights, and a pond. We paid just under 300k under 6 months ago and our taxes are just below $6k annually. The home needed a little TLC, but all cosmetic and nothing that scared me at all.

Best of luck!

Last edited by toobusytoday; 07-30-2018 at 01:38 PM.. Reason: removed the offer for help. Realtor solicitation is strictly prohibited
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Old 07-31-2018, 06:08 PM
 
4,277 posts, read 11,711,042 times
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The mile wide Susquehanna River is not far from Elizabethtown. You might need a different kind of boat than you might have in LI though. Strangely E-town is shopping deficient for its size, you might find yourself running to Lancaster quite a bit. Also 1/2 acre is a fairly big lot size for south-central PA.

If you are really looking to change out of a metro area to what LI might have been like 100 years ago, try Wellsboro. It's very community-ish with higher hills around. There are 3 flood-control lakes in the county for boating, again not quite LI but you might not need to change boats (no hp limit on Corps lakes, fewer rocks to hit as in the lower Susquehanna). Definitely politically conservative but not the hard alt-rightish type. Be aware if you move out there you're far from shopping you might be used to - the nearest Apple store could be in Rochester NY, or actually in Lancaster.

Maybe Huntingdon, with its large Raystown Lake, and one daily Amtrak train back to Penn Station NYC. That gets pretty crowded on weekends though, many folks come up from northern VA to spin their powerboats around the drowned meanders.
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