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Old 05-15-2007, 07:13 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
23 posts, read 94,772 times
Reputation: 16

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A little back story. I am originally from NYC and moved to Pittsburgh for graduate school and met my now husband who is from the Pittsburgh area. Husband is now in graduate school for IT and will graduate in December 2007 from a Pittsburgh area University. We have been talking about it and since I want to be closer to my family, we are looking into relocating to Eastern PA in summer 2008. Husband doesnt really like the city and would prefer a suburban area for both housing and employment. I would like to be 2-3hrs from NYC so weekend trips to see my family wouldnt be an issue. Any suggestions on where to look?
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Old 05-15-2007, 08:09 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,616 posts, read 77,579,178 times
Reputation: 19101
Your three primary options would be:

-Bucks County
-Lehigh Valley
-Monroe County

Bucks County is an affluent suburban area to the north of Philly that is still within two hours of NYC. There are a lot of quaint small towns and rural equestrian areas here, but urban sprawl is beginning to crop up via new housing developments, which you'll find to be attractive. I'm pretty sure there is train service linking Bucks County to NYC, as there seems to be a growing number of NYC commuters moving to this county. Best of all is that Philly is also only 40 or so minutes away from most points in the county.

The Lehigh Valley may soon become the "Silicon Valley of PA" as Wall Street West continues to push its way into the PA frontier. Consisting of Lehigh County (Allentown) and Northampton County (Bethlehem/Easton), both counties offer a blend of suburban and urban living options. A popular community replete with newer housing developments is Palmer Township, as well as the townships that comprise the Saucon Valley School District. A number of people now commute to either Philly or NYC from the Lehigh Valley, so traffic congestion on Route 22 and I-78 can be heinous, especially at rush-hour. All three core cities have been in decline for decades and are in various stages of renewal. Bethlehem is getting back onto its feet much more quickly than its other two neighbors and is the most charming of the three cities, in my opinion. Easton is the next one in line to experience renewal, as it borders NJ, and Allentown, the third-largest city in PA, still has a ways to go.

Monroe County is what most people think about when they hear the word "Pocono." The county added 27,000 new residents in the past several years, and that growth is expected to continue to pick up steam as more and more NYC/NJ ex-patriates move here in search of a lower cost-of-living and more elbow room. The county used to be rural, but it is now transitioning to becoming a bedroom community to NJ/NYC, especially the areas closest to Stroudsburg, where new "big box" stores are being added to accomodate the growth.

A fourth option would be the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, which I think offers better suburban living options for you and your husband, but IT-related employment options around here are scarce, as the economy has been lagging behind the rest of Eastern PA for decades.

Best of luck!
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Old 05-15-2007, 08:28 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
23 posts, read 94,772 times
Reputation: 16
Hahahah maybe I should say that he doesnt like big cities i.e. NYC and Boston so maybe a smaller city would be fine for us. We do like older homes as we find them to be more charming and cozy-we try to stay away from cookie cutter homes which seem to dominate the northern Pittsburgh burbs where we currently live.

Thanks for the information. We have over a year so we want to do as much research as possible.
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Old 05-15-2007, 08:43 AM
 
Location: Villanova Pa.
4,927 posts, read 14,208,904 times
Reputation: 2715
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoJoPGH View Post
A little back story. I am originally from NYC and moved to Pittsburgh for graduate school and met my now husband who is from the Pittsburgh area. Husband is now in graduate school for IT and will graduate in December 2007 from a Pittsburgh area University. We have been talking about it and since I want to be closer to my family, we are looking into relocating to Eastern PA in summer 2008. Husband doesnt really like the city and would prefer a suburban area for both housing and employment. I would like to be 2-3hrs from NYC so weekend trips to see my family wouldnt be an issue. Any suggestions on where to look?
Chester County

West Chester
Chester Springs
Exton
Malvern

Montgomery County

King of Prussia
Main Line Towns-Narberth-Ardmore-Bryn Mawr-Rosemont-Haverford-Villanova-Radnor-Paoli-Devon-Berwyn

If you had to zero in on one town. West Chester
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Old 03-05-2009, 05:36 AM
 
3 posts, read 15,858 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoJoPGH View Post
A little back story. I am originally from NYC and moved to Pittsburgh for graduate school and met my now husband who is from the Pittsburgh area. Husband is now in graduate school for IT and will graduate in December 2007 from a Pittsburgh area University. We have been talking about it and since I want to be closer to my family, we are looking into relocating to Eastern PA in summer 2008. Husband doesnt really like the city and would prefer a suburban area for both housing and employment. I would like to be 2-3hrs from NYC so weekend trips to see my family wouldnt be an issue. Any suggestions on where to look?
I am also looking for some small towns with charm and syle. I recently ran across Yardley PA. Taxes are not great though. If you find something...let me know.
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Old 03-05-2009, 06:22 AM
 
4,277 posts, read 11,780,009 times
Reputation: 3933
I'm surprised the southcentral PA area hasn't come up yet. Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Carlisle, Hershey. I just met a young guy who graduated from trade school and got a good job with a state IT contractor end of last year so things can't be too bad yet. Many folks (including my wife) grew up in western PA and now work at her Fortune 500 company. Plenty of talk on here about good and bad areas to live in. Choice of ways to go to NYC area - I-78, PA/NJ Turnpikes, Amtrak. We've got box stores or can day trip to either Baltimore or Philly area for more. Local newspapers did a poll this winter and found Steelers fans outnumber Eagles and Ravens. Cheaper housing than Philly area, roughly comparable to the Pittsburgh suburbs.
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Old 03-05-2009, 06:37 AM
 
297 posts, read 505,153 times
Reputation: 111
The Lehigh Valley would be the best option for you. I frequently travel from the Allentown area to Secaucus, NJ in under 2 hrs when there is little traffic. If you want an older, more historic neighborhood, check out some parts of historic Bethlehem. Try and get close to RT 22 or RT 78. Areas mentioned before, like Harrisburg, Carlisle, Hershey, etc. I think are way too far away from nyc.
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