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Old 10-03-2015, 10:43 PM
 
175 posts, read 220,119 times
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Hi folks,

This is more of a "feeler" for areas to consider when buying a house down the line, so please bear with me

I currently live in Mercer County, NJ and enjoy going to Philly quite often on weekends. I'm not originally from the area, but there's something about the city that really appeals to me. I'm usually not even much of a city person (I avoid NYC at all costs....), but I've never had anything short of a great time there. I've had a lot of fun seeing Phillies games, visiting museums, and even just walking around aimlessly taking in all the history that abounds in the city! Additionally, I have consistently found the food in Philly to be superb and there are so many great bars and local breweries around, as well.

Anyways, as I considering buying a house withing the next few years, I am currently in the process of researching areas where I would be interested in living. One of my favorite activities outside of work is hiking. Since moving to the area, I have made many day trips to hikes in Northern NJ, the Poconos, and Lehigh Valley and have really enjoyed the scenery there. I also really enjoy trail maintenance and kayaking on lakes and rivers.

Essentially, I am trying to figure out whether an area with mountains and lakes exists within an hour (or so) drive of Philadelphia. My guess is no, but I would appreciate confirmation From looking at maps and my own experience, my initial thought would be the southern reaches of the Lehigh Valley. Are there any other areas I should be looking at? While I thoroughly enjoyed hiking there, I am not entirely sure that I would want to live there.

My guess is that the closest area to Philly with mountains and lakes is in the Poconos, but let me know if I am mistaken. I'll probably look out there as it is such a beautiful area and offers great value, but it does seem a bit far from everything. Probably over 100 miles to Philly, I would think (actually probably closer to New York, now that I think of it).

Anyways, thank you in advance for your assistance!
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Old 10-04-2015, 12:54 PM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
32,752 posts, read 35,950,249 times
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I saw your other thread. You're looking for a walkable town, too? Which takes priority?

The first thing that comes to mind is Doylestown. It's close enough to the city for a day trip, and you can be out in the woods in a reasonable amount of time.
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Old 10-04-2015, 05:04 PM
 
Location: University City, Philadelphia
22,633 posts, read 14,855,142 times
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Head north ... to the Poconos and beyond.

South of Philly is Delaware which has some gentle hills in it's "Chateau Country" north of Wilmington. No Mountains.

East of Philly is South Jersey, flat as a pancake.

West of Philly is West Chester, Reading, Lancaster County, Hershey ... lovely rolling hills and nice countryside, but no mountains.

The beginnings of anything that looks like a mountain is just south of Bethlehem (the one with the big "star of Bethlehem" on it. Once you cross the Slate Belt (Wind Gap, Pen Argyl, Palmerton, Bangor) into the Poconos you see some mountains ... although our friends in Colorado or Utah would not be impressed.
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Old 10-04-2015, 08:09 PM
 
Location: Reading PA
192 posts, read 289,888 times
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Default Water and mountains in pa

Most of SE PA consists of rolling hills referred as the piedmont region. You will find (eastern-style) mountains in the Pocono region or anyplace north of I-78. In Berks county, there a great boating, fishing and swimming areas at BLUE MARSH, which is a large lake north of Reading on rte. 183. Less than ten miles north on rte. 183 you cross I-78 into the mountain areas of Schuykill County. Also, I always liked New Hope in Bucks county on the Delaware River for walking.
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Old 10-04-2015, 09:17 PM
 
175 posts, read 220,119 times
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@Gerania:

Definitely a fair point and I figured someone would raise that since I also posted about walkable downtowns in the NJ forum.

I guess the way that I would answer is that I am possibly considering a move to northwestern NJ OR Eastern PA down the line. For northwestern NJ, I would prefer a walkable downtown, since it is further from cities. For Eastern PA, I would prefer within an hour's drive to Philly for the occasional weekend trip and walkable downtown is not as important. For both, I would like to be within close proximity to hiking and other nature activities.

I'm not looking to have all 3 requirements met, though I will definitely check out Doylestown some more! Thanks for the suggestion. I drove through once and it seemed very well-to-do, and I assume the housing prices reflect that
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Old 10-04-2015, 09:26 PM
 
175 posts, read 220,119 times
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@Clark Park / @Chocisfull

Thanks for the info. I wouldn't be looking at Delaware or any further south in NJ than I currently am, but that's a perfect description of the topography in those areas. I have yet to check out west of Philly, but might make a day trip out there some time. From your description, I would imagine it pretty similar to where I live now.

I'll have to check out the area from Bethlehem north to Poconos some more. Just from driving around the area, I've noticed that the only noticeable "mountains" start showing up north of Route 78 and then things become increasingly more mountainous north of Route 80. New Jersey's the same way - north of Route 80 is where the best hiking is.

Anyways, I very much appreciate the help. And if you have any suggestions for towns/areas to check out, please send them along!
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Old 10-04-2015, 09:41 PM
 
Location: University City, Philadelphia
22,633 posts, read 14,855,142 times
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Personally - for mountain scenery - I prefer the region in northeastern PA above the Poconos: The Endless Mountains Region. This area, just north of Scranton, is beautiful and it makes the Poconos look like hills. Some of the prettiest small towns of this region: Clark's Summit (very nice!), Wyalusing, Montrose, New Milford, Towanda, etc. are very walkable and there are zillions of lakes, streams, waterfalls, state parks in the region. Real Estate is CHEAP but I want to warn you that the local economy is very depressed and the physical beauty notwithstanding, they never succeeded in developing a good tourism industry up there. This is probably too far from Philly for you ... 2 to 3 hours drive.
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Old 10-04-2015, 10:16 PM
 
175 posts, read 220,119 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clark Park View Post
Personally - for mountain scenery - I prefer the region in northeastern PA above the Poconos: The Endless Mountains Region. This area, just north of Scranton, is beautiful and it makes the Poconos look like hills. Some of the prettiest small towns of this region: Clark's Summit (very nice!), Wyalusing, Montrose, New Milford, Towanda, etc. are very walkable and there are zillions of lakes, streams, waterfalls, state parks in the region. Real Estate is CHEAP but I want to warn you that the local economy is very depressed and the physical beauty notwithstanding, they never succeeded in developing a good tourism industry up there. This is probably too far from Philly for you ... 2 to 3 hours drive.
Very interesting - I will definitely have to plan a hiking trip up there, at least! I think I recall reading about the area a while back and it did look very beautiful. I actually know someone from around there, so have heard about the issues with the local economy, which is very unfortunate.

Just out of curiosity, are you at all familiar with New Hampshire (where I used to live)? If you are, how would the Endless Mountains Region would compare? It sounds pretty similar to northern NH which also has stunningly beautiful scenery, yet has been very economically depressed since the paper mills shut down. Probably less harsh winters though
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Old 10-05-2015, 10:52 AM
 
Location: Montgomery County, PA
16,563 posts, read 15,105,033 times
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You won’t go wrong anywhere along Rt. 6, but that is not anywhere close to the city, certainly not Philly.
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Old 10-06-2015, 10:26 PM
 
Location: Villanova Pa.
4,927 posts, read 14,153,997 times
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Pulpit Rock which is in Hamburg Pa is a nice hiking loop with great views . A little over an hour NW of Philly.
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