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I am a writer and I currently live in Illinois. However, I want to move to Virginia or Pennsylvania for several reasons, but I can't decide where I should move.
I don't want to live in a big city, but would like to be within 2 hours of a major airport.
My brother lives in Baltimore, MD, and it would be nice to be able to drive to see him. I may also need to go to Boston, New York, and D.C. on occasion.
I am looking for a house (not a duplex or a row house) with a fenced in yard. Location doesn't matter because I work out of my home. I don't mind having to drive 30 minutes to the store, etc.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or its network of suburbs would fit you quite nicely. We're located right along I-81 in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We're about two hours NW of NYC (LaGuardia, JFK, Newark Airports), two hours NNW of Philadelphia (Philly Int'l), and about three hours N of Baltimore, MD via I-81 to I-83. Boston is a bit of a longer haul, but Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is the closest decent-sized metro area in PA to Boston via I-84. We're also the furthest metro area in PA away from D.C., via I-81 to I-83 to the Beltway. In this sense, you're going to have to decide whether you want to be closer to Boston or D.C.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is home to an international airport, and Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, a little over an hour south, also has one. Scranton has a population of around 74,000 and Wilkes-Barre has a population of around 43,000. The metropolitan region officially encompasses roughly 550,000 people in Lackawanna (Scranton), Luzerne (Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton), and Wyoming (Tunkhannock) Counties, but I'd throw in Monroe County (Pocono Mountains) as well, as they utilize the area quite a bit for shopping, dining, employment, etc., to bring that number to around 700,000.
Out of the five-largest metropolitan areas in the state, ours is the safest by far. Lackawanna County has not had a single homicide since mid-2005. Wyoming County is mostly rural open space centered around the quaint small town of Tunkhannock, the county seat, and is around 30 minutes to shopping areas in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Luzerne County's crime rate has been edging higher recently---The county had 18 murders last year and has already had 1 this year, but all were not random. They were spread all around the county in communities ranging from inner-city Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton to normally-quiet small towns like Avoca and Larksville to upscale suburbia this year in the Back Mountain, in which a gay pornography pioneer was just murdered, his home was torched to cover-up the crime, and his Maserati was stolen. Luzerne County, by far, is the most volatile with crime, but even then I never hear of any sort of serious violent crime that was by any means "random." All were cases of domestic disputes gone too far, ex-husbands vs. ex-wives, drug deals gone South, drunks getting into fights and taking them too far, or, in this case, a possible hate crime. I've never personally felt at unease being a resident of Luzerne County because I keep myself on the proper side of the law and try to win over people left and right with my witty sense of humor. Even as an openly-gay male, the prospect of this recent hate crime doesn't even faze me, as he might have been killed by one of his former contacts with his web site (his company, Cobra Videos, was currently embroiled in a lawsuit in CA).
This area, overall, would be a nice fit for you. We have professional sports teams (AAA affiliates of the NY Yankees, Pittsburgh Penguins, and an Arena Football team called the "Pioneers"), the NEPA Philharmonic, the Scranton Cultural Center, and the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts. Wilkes University, King's College, University of Scranton, Penn State, Keystone College, College Misericordia, Marywood University, Baptist Bible College, and Lackawanna College, and the upcoming Scranton Medical School all combine to infuse a great deal of culture into the area. We have a NASCAR track nearby that hosts the annual PA 500 and Pocono 500 in Monroe County. We have ski resorts such as Sno Mountain, Elk Mountain, Big Boulder/Jack Frost, and Camelback, as well as shopping options which include the Crossings Premium Outlets, The Shoppes @ Montage, the Mall at Steamtown, Wyoming Valley Mall, Viewmont Mall, and a variety of smaller retail centers and downtown merchants. Both Scranton and Wilkes-Barre are historically-significant urban centers that had been allowed to decay from 1970-1990s, and have just recently been bouncing back very rapidly since energetic new mayors took the helm in each city.
If you'd like to know more about the area, feel free to inquire!
"Out of the five-largest metropolitan areas in the state, ours is the safest by far. Lackawanna County has not had a single homicide since mid-2005. "
Wow! That is remarkable. I lived in the Wilkes-Barre area for years and never felt unsafe, however one was aware of crime happening downtown.
Wyoming County is very nice with towns like Tunkhannock, Nicholson, and Montrose reminding me a bit of New England. There are a lot of options all over the state...the NE and SW.PA culture is probably more similar to the Virginia hills than the piedmont or coastal areas. SE.PA is more agriculturally based and I'm thinking more akin to VA's piedmont. You might look into the towns along the southern tier close to Rt. 64 in Maryland if traveling to Baltimore is important: York, Lancaster, and out towards Bedford.
My husband and I have lived in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Schuylkill, York, and Lancaster between the both of us, as well as Baltimore County, Maryland. I would agree that Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties (i.e. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area) are awesome areas to live! Lots of small interconnecting towns which are close knit, low cost of living, and a low crime rate.
However, if you like super-slow paced, quiet living, check out Schuylkill County (County seat is Pottsville; closest metro's are Allentown and Reading). I never lived anywhere where there was so little stress, and so little commercial temptation. Where I lived it was very rural (near the "Blue Mountain"), and very, very beautiful. However, most of that county has remnants of the coal era, which is not as beautiful but still vacant and peaceful. You still can get a cheap, coal-town house in great shape for 50-60K still.
The more south you go, I think the worse it gets. I live in Lancaster County now, and I think it is only "ok"...albeit over rated. York County doesn't have the touristy reputation that Lancaster has, but is becoming built up at a similarly alarming rate like Lancaster due to the Baltimore commuters running away from high living costs. This is in turn creating higher housing costs within both counties.
Now I come to Baltimore County Maryland...I would not recommend the area unless you need a good job and to make lots of money, and don't care about crime, paying too much for rent, lots of congestion, and unfriendly people. I mean there is some good about the area (great crab cakes and the best ribs ever in the Cockeysville/Timonium area), but not enough to live there!
It depends what you like...are you looking to be more rural, small town, or outer suburbs of a city?
Great advice. I was thinking Lancaster, but now I'm seriously thinking about going north or Reading or Allentown.
But when I look for houses, it seems that all of them are row houses.
Anyone live in a row house? I don't think I'd like living that close to my neighbors. I guess I'm a country girl at heart.
Darcy
Unfortunately, Lancaster does not know whether it wants to be country/rural or not, therefore brekaing down the county infastructure. It is just way too built up in my opinion, and can not handle all the people it accomidates. Even if you live 10-15 miles out in the country where it is very peaceful and rural, it will still affect you due to having to go to the city for shopping or work, tourism, and well as developments, wal-marts, and the like which are creeping up.
That being said, if you like country, and are seeking a nice place to live north of Allentown or Reading, I would check Carbon, Schuylkill, Western Berks County, Luzerne, or Lackawanna counties. I would check out properties in the following school districts:
Carbon - Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Weatherly
Schuylkill - Blue Mountain, Schuylkill Haven, Minersville, Williams Valley, Pine Grove, Tri-Valley.
Western Berks - Tulpehocken, Conrad Weiser
Luzerne County - Pittston, Wyoming, Crestwood, Hanover, Dallas, Wyoming Valley West.
Lackawanna - Riverside, Old Forge, Carbondale, Forest City, Valley View, Dunmore.
It will be tough to get through all the row-homes for sale in these areas, but there are a plethera of singles for sale off the beaten path if you look hard enough (sites like Realtor.com unfrotunately do not filter the rowhomes from the single family homes).
Also, you may want to check more west into Pennsylvania...area's such as Lewisburg, Selinsgrove, etc. I do not know much about them, but I have heard that the cost of living is lower and the pace of life is slower.
Try Oxford or London Grove or Kennet Square Pa. They are close enough to get to Baltimore easily and not so far from Philadelphia. There is plenty of land there and the housing isnt over inflated. The schools there are much better than in NE PA.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or its network of suburbs would fit you quite nicely. We're located right along I-81 in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We're about two hours NW of NYC (LaGuardia, JFK, Newark Airports), two hours NNW of Philadelphia (Philly Int'l), and about three hours N of Baltimore, MD via I-81 to I-83. Boston is a bit of a longer haul, but Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is the closest decent-sized metro area in PA to Boston via I-84. We're also the furthest metro area in PA away from D.C., via I-81 to I-83 to the Beltway. In this sense, you're going to have to decide whether you want to be closer to Boston or D.C.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is home to an international airport, and Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, a little over an hour south, also has one. Scranton has a population of around 74,000 and Wilkes-Barre has a population of around 43,000. The metropolitan region officially encompasses roughly 550,000 people in Lackawanna (Scranton), Luzerne (Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton), and Wyoming (Tunkhannock) Counties, but I'd throw in Monroe County (Pocono Mountains) as well, as they utilize the area quite a bit for shopping, dining, employment, etc., to bring that number to around 700,000.
Out of the five-largest metropolitan areas in the state, ours is the safest by far. Lackawanna County has not had a single homicide since mid-2005. Wyoming County is mostly rural open space centered around the quaint small town of Tunkhannock, the county seat, and is around 30 minutes to shopping areas in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Luzerne County's crime rate has been edging higher recently---The county had 18 murders last year and has already had 1 this year, but all were not random. They were spread all around the county in communities ranging from inner-city Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton to normally-quiet small towns like Avoca and Larksville to upscale suburbia this year in the Back Mountain, in which a gay pornography pioneer was just murdered, his home was torched to cover-up the crime, and his Maserati was stolen. Luzerne County, by far, is the most volatile with crime, but even then I never hear of any sort of serious violent crime that was by any means "random." All were cases of domestic disputes gone too far, ex-husbands vs. ex-wives, drug deals gone South, drunks getting into fights and taking them too far, or, in this case, a possible hate crime. I've never personally felt at unease being a resident of Luzerne County because I keep myself on the proper side of the law and try to win over people left and right with my witty sense of humor. Even as an openly-gay male, the prospect of this recent hate crime doesn't even faze me, as he might have been killed by one of his former contacts with his web site (his company, Cobra Videos, was currently embroiled in a lawsuit in CA).
This area, overall, would be a nice fit for you. We have professional sports teams (AAA affiliates of the NY Yankees, Pittsburgh Penguins, and an Arena Football team called the "Pioneers"), the NEPA Philharmonic, the Scranton Cultural Center, and the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts. Wilkes University, King's College, University of Scranton, Penn State, Keystone College, College Misericordia, Marywood University, Baptist Bible College, and Lackawanna College, and the upcoming Scranton Medical School all combine to infuse a great deal of culture into the area. We have a NASCAR track nearby that hosts the annual PA 500 and Pocono 500 in Monroe County. We have ski resorts such as Sno Mountain, Elk Mountain, Big Boulder/Jack Frost, and Camelback, as well as shopping options which include the Crossings Premium Outlets, The Shoppes @ Montage, the Mall at Steamtown, Wyoming Valley Mall, Viewmont Mall, and a variety of smaller retail centers and downtown merchants. Both Scranton and Wilkes-Barre are historically-significant urban centers that had been allowed to decay from 1970-1990s, and have just recently been bouncing back very rapidly since energetic new mayors took the helm in each city.
If you'd like to know more about the area, feel free to inquire!
I would definitely recommend Snyder and Union Counties in central PA. You're only about an hour from Harrisburg's airport and just over two hours to Baltimore. I'm not sure how long it takes to get to Boston, but I think NYC is about four or five hours from here.
It's a safe area and I can't think of any rowhomes in Selinsgrove or Lewisburg. You can live in town, in a new development or on your own acreage in the country. Stores are usually 15 to 20 minutes away.
Cable internet modems are available but if you go rural be sure they're in a service area if that's important to you.
You didn't mention family or kids, but if schools are a consideration both Selinsgrove and Lewisburg have excellent schools, and both towns are home to universities, Susquehanna and Bucknell, respectively.
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