Yet another person looking to relocate (Philadelphia, Allentown: transplants, 2013, apartment)

[Miss J 74]

So after 30 some odd years of growing up and living in NYC, I am done. I need a place that's less crazy and a better environment as I am at the point of thinking about kids. My boyfriend, another born & bred New Yorker is equally exhausted and wants a change.

At the poking and prodding of friends who relocated there, we are going next week to look into some potential areas. I am already making a spreadsheet with zip codes and basic area info, but nothing is better than first hand knowledge. Any help is greatly appreciated.

So here I submit our info.


When are you moving? March/April 2012
Where are you coming from? NYC, Brooklyn specifically
Why are you moving? Tired of the city, looking to settle down
Where will you be working? He works in hospitality and I work in accounting, so wherever we can find jobs and have an hour or less commute by car.
Have you been here yet? Yes, visited friends a few times.

Will you buy or rent? Rent initially
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend?
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? Open on options, looking to spend no more than $1000
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? Open to either

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Will be getting married in 2012 or 2013, no children
Do you prefer public or private schools? No preference
Do you have pets? No
Do you want or need a yard? No
Are you keeping a car? Yes
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? A balance between the both, maybe calm and quiet with access to bustling activity

What do you want to be closest to? Work and Basic Services
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Near Bus stop? Please note that there is NO rail service in the Lehigh Valley.

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? No Preference

Phillies or Mets? Neither! Yankee fans. (Yes I know, we'll be hated)


Read more: https://www.city-data.com/forum/lehig...#ixzz1hCuay9WU

[PacoMartin]

Just so you know that Brooklyn is about 55 people per acre of land, and Philadelphia is roughly 17 people per acre of land, and Philadelphia is the big city in Pennsylvania. Boroughs and cities in the Lehigh Valley are between 4 and 10 people per acre.
It is a huge culture shock to come to a place like the Lehigh Valley from Brooklyn. Little or nothing is open at night, and it is much more difficult to find ethnic food. Most people are helpless without their car.
If you are not sure about what that means, you may be better off somewhere in New Jersey, where you can catch a train to visit your former home.

I am sorry, if you want that kind of drastic change in your life. I just find that some people regret making such a drastic change.

[Miss J 74]

I understand what you're saying. However, I have lived in Suffolk County in Long Island which is similar to most smaller cities. It's the same kind of deal, less crowded, things are not open 24 hours (save for maybe a 7-11) and needing a car to get around. I was there for 4 years, and managed fine. I've also spent a lot of time staying with friends in smaller cities and towns and found I prefer it over the big cities.

My boyfriend, while never having lived outside of Brooklyn might have a harder time, he has expressed more of an interest in a really small town as opposed to a mid sized area.

So with this in mind, I think a small to mid size town would suit us both. As long as we are within an hour or 2 of a major city, we can deal with that. This way it's a happy medium of being in a calm quiet area with access to a big sprawling city if we need a fix. Plus our families are in Brooklyn, so we can always visit (even though my brother has also expressed interest in the Lehigh Valley area when he retires in 3 years).

[toobusytoday]

We'd all love to help you but a small to mid size town describes every town surrounding the city's of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton.

My suggestion would be to find jobs and then look for a place to live. If you work in Philadelphia, you won't really want to live up this way. If one of you get's a job in Easton and the other in Allentown then you'll want to look for a place somewhere in between.

[Miss J 74]

Thanks, I figure where we work might dictate where we end up, we plan on revamping our resumes over the holiday. We were thinking since there's a lot of hotels by the airport, he might check into that area first, and I was seeing higher paying jobs in the NJ border areas and some parts towards Philly. Not sure which areas would work if we landed jobs according to that.

[loose cannon]

I would move to Virginia and bypass all this megalopolis Lehizzle Valley nonsense.

[Miss J 74]

Funny you mention that, what started this whole thing was my BF's friends moved to VA and are working in DC and said they got so tired of NYC they just picked up and went, and his initial choice was for us to move to VA. (I'm hearing Richmond is now becoming "hip", geez) However I reminded him the DC metro area is also known for horrible traffic. Then my friends who have been living in Lehigh for a year now (moved from Queens & Long Island) started talking to us about moving out there, so here we are.

I think being around all of the huge influx of transplants here also has me going crazy. (Yes I know, I would be a transplant to where I move to, but I don't have the bourgeois attitude) There seems to be a sense of "I'm so much better than you" attitude that is now running rampant in Brooklyn because it became "hip" to live here. It's sucking the life out of here dry and I feel like I need to escape, I've been living here far too long. And I have no intentions of raising kids in NYC.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by missjanna74

(Yes I know, I would be a transplant to where I move to, but I don't have the bourgeois attitude)

The census bureau released there estimates for the last year, and they noted the large amount of internal migration. The states with the largest numbers of people leaving are:
.New York
.Illinois
.California
.Michigan
.New Jersey
.Ohio

Pennsylvania was neutral (about the same number of domestic immigrants as emigrants).

On the opposite side, the states where most people are going (ranked by #):
.Texas
.Florida
.North Carolina
.Washington
.Colorado
.South Carolina
.Tennessee
.Georgia
.Virginia


Texas and Florida have large international immigrants coupled with high domestic migration. While California and New York still have a lot of international migrants, domestically people are leaving.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by missjanna74

I understand what you're saying. However, I have lived in Suffolk County in Long Island which is similar to most smaller cities.

So with this in mind, I think a small to mid size town would suit us both. As long as we are within an hour or 2 of a major city, we can deal with that. This way it's a happy medium of being in a calm quiet area with access to a big sprawling city if we need a fix. Plus our families are in Brooklyn, so we can always visit (even though my brother has also expressed interest in the Lehigh Valley area when he retires in 3 years).

Well, I am not totally convinced. There is a big difference in culture, in my opinion once you cross the Delaware river, and leave NJ. Many people are looking to live on the Route 33 corridor in Northampton County, with easy access to I 78 and into New York.

There are over 50 buses per day that go into Manhattan. Driving I can be at Verrazano Narrows bridge in 90 miles.

[toobusytoday]

I'm of the opinion that people are happier if they are the ones choosing where they live, even if it's very different then what they are used to. My daughter, who was raised in small towns, has lived in a city larger then Manhattan in China, and in Brooklyn. Both places were a huge culture shock but she enjoyed the experience. When she finishes grad school next year (after having lived in Nashville TN for two years) she hopes to move to a large city on the East Coast. The point of this forum, IMHO, is to give people all the information they want so if they do choose to move, they do so with their eyes wide open. Yes, the Lehigh Valley is not Brooklyn or Manhattan, but for many of us, that's a good thing.

I know people that have moved here from New Jersey and lived here for a dozen years and then moved back. All of them moved here because they had jobs over here and the housing was less expensive. Over the years, the husbands jobs became more flexible and they missed their families, aging parents and they moved back.

I also know people that moved here from NY and NJ 30 years ago and would never consider going back. Change can be very good. We chose to move here 14 years ago (not from NY or NJ) and I feel it was one of the best decisions we ever made.

You will encounter people that will not welcome you with open arms, because many people that move here from more densely populated areas tend to complain about the lack of ethnic restaurants, public transportation, services and whatever stores and restaurants they are used to. The rising housing costs are also attributed to newcomers who sometimes commute to high paying jobs in NY. < That's part of the eyes-wide-open speech.

Back to your job search.... There's a brand new big hotel that opened up this year next to the Sands Casino in Bethlehem. Sands Casino - Resort | Bethlehem There are two other concentrations of hotels in the area - one is on the intersection of route 78 and 222 and the second is down at the Quakertown exit of the PA turnpike.