Looking advise on nice town in PA near PA/NJ border (Allentown: sale, apartment)

[sumitsoni04]

Hello,
I recently joined a full time position in Whippany, North NJ. I currently live near Dalaware.
I dont want to relocate to NJ since that area is very expensive (avg. 2 bedroom apartment rent is $2200 and a townhouse cost $550k+).

I am inclining towards moving near PA near PA/NJ border. I did some research and found few ares in PA:
Buck county
Bethlehem
Allentown

Please advise what area I should look based on following requirements:

- New townhouse/single family house under $350k.
- Good school district. I have 2 kids, one is in middle and other is in elementary.
- Some Indian (Asian) population.
- 60-90 minutes drive to from North NJ.

Thanks in advance

[blazerj]

Check out Palmer Township in PA or anything in the Nazareth Area School District. Going to Whippany, Nazareth offers you the choice of 78 or 80, depending on traffic.

In Jersey, check out Washington Township, Hackettstown or anything in Hunterdon County (near 78).

[sumitsoni04]

Thank you so much for your reply. It is very helpful.
Nazareth is my first choice too but I read few reviews that non-white people may face some issues, specially kids in school. I wish i am wrong.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by sumitsoni04

Thank you so much for your reply. It is very helpful.
Nazareth is my first choice too but I read few reviews that non-w/hite people may face some issues, specially kids in school. I wish i am wrong.

I hope you are wrong. The dilemma is that the schools with more races are not well rated nor well funded. It's a huge problem in Pennsylvania. Our city schools, in general, are not as good as the ones in the adjacent towns/suburbs. The other downside to looking at the places you mentioned in your OP is the distance to where you will be commuting. One hour is the minimum time from the closest place you asked about - Bethlehem, but Route 78 is heavily used, always crowded and prone to delays due to weather, accidents, construction and plain volume. Nazareth is closer.

[sumitsoni04]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

I hope you are wrong. The dilemma is that the schools with more races are not well rated nor well funded. It's a huge problem in Pennsylvania. Our city schools, in general, are not as good as the ones in the adjacent towns/suburbs. The other downside to looking at the places you mentioned in your OP is the distance to where you will be commuting. One hour is the minimum time from the closest place you asked about - Bethlehem, but Route 78 is heavily used, always crowded and prone to delays due to weather, accidents, construction and plain volume. Nazareth is closer.

Thank you for your response.

I found a good single family house community
Northwood farms Easton pa

Do you have any opinion about it?

[blazerj]

Originally Posted by sumitsoni04

Thank you so much for your reply. It is very helpful.
Nazareth is my first choice too but I read few reviews that non-white people may face some issues, specially kids in school. I wish i am wrong.

Nazareth should be by and large fine. There is a Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Lehigh Valley in Nazareth and a fair amount of Asian medical people live in the area as well.

The house you posted in Easton is in Palmer, which is a nice town. The High School is Easton, which is very diverse and gets mixed reviews (search for it), but the elementary and middle schools are highly regarded.

I think you should check out Trio Fields in Nazareth, but driving to Whippany every day from even the PA border can be brutal.

[sumitsoni04]

Originally Posted by blazerj

Nazareth should be by and large fine. There is a Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Lehigh Valley in Nazareth and a fair amount of Asian medical people live in the area as well.

The house you posted in Easton is in Palmer, which is a nice town. The High School is Easton, which is very diverse and gets mixed reviews (search for it), but the elementary and middle schools are highly regarded.

I think you should check out Trio Fields in Nazareth, but driving to Whippany every day from even the PA border can be brutal.

Thank you so much for your response. It is very helpful.

I narrowed down my search between Nazareth and Easton. Housing is more reasonable in Nazareth though schools seems better, do you know why?

How tough will be to sale the town-home in future? I am on H1 visa so this is an important aspect for me.

I will be going to office 3 times in week so the commute seems to be reasonable

[medievalbooks]

Gentle suggestion....rent first. To make sure you and your family can deal with that much of a commute.

Factor in gas costs, wear and tear on the vehicle or costs incurred if you will be taking the bus or a train in to work and back again.

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by medievalbooks

Gentle suggestion....rent first. To make sure you and your family can deal with that much of a commute.

Factor in gas costs, wear and tear on the vehicle or costs incurred if you will be taking the bus or a train in to work and back again.

That's an excellent suggestion. That's what my husband and I did when we moved to an area that was new to us.

[sumitsoni04]

Originally Posted by medievalbooks

Gentle suggestion....rent first. To make sure you and your family can deal with that much of a commute.

Factor in gas costs, wear and tear on the vehicle or costs incurred if you will be taking the bus or a train in to work and back again.

This is good idea. Thank you.