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Old 08-10-2006, 03:04 PM
 
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Just some more general questions on the two. How is the quality of life in both counties....what are some positives and negatives about living there.

The job possibility will be in bethlehem...and I hear great things about PA. Plus its also nice to be somewhat close to the big city feel of philli and not be completely out of the loop from NYC for a day trip.

I am leaning towards bucks, but I am also reading GREAT things on parkland schools, east penn schools and saucon(SP?) schools.

I like to be close to everything...from major shopping to the drugstores..and we prefer newer constructions with a nice community feel.

The two counties appear to be similar, although I am concerned about reading the amount of gangs? in allentown and bethlehem....definately and not interested in those influences and dont want to be near them.

Is saftey a huge issue in these two counties....we dont want to go more than 600k for a home and would prefer much less if possible..and it appears that this price range is doable.

Any thoughts on what life is like in bucks or lehigh....is there one that is preferred over the other....what are the inside roads like.....is traffic a nightmare getting to bethlehem?
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Old 08-10-2006, 09:21 PM
 
Location: At the local Wawa
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Lehigh Valley, which is Northampton County and Lehigh County, are VERY different from Bucks County. They say "Those that don't have the BUCKS to live in Bucks County settle on the Lehigh Valley or Poconos". Thats not to say that Lehigh Valley is a bad place to live, quite the contrary. But Bucks County is far more affluent, more rural in most parts, cleaner, less industry, and basically more quaint. Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton are the anchor cities in Lehigh Valley, and while they have nice parts, they are still coming out of a depression from when Bethlehem Steel went out-of-business. There are more immigrants, both legal and illegal in the Lehigh Valley. The anchor cities of Bucks- Doylestown, Newtown, Quakertown are generally affluent, with great schools, expensive homes, open space, and perhaps an air of snobbiness. It all depends on what you want, both areas have their positives and negatives, but they definitely are very different in landscape and overall feel.
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Old 08-11-2006, 06:26 AM
 
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WOW....thanks fishhead..okay that makes MUCH more sense...I.E. "Those that cannot afford westchester...go to putnam,dutchess or rockland"....which is funny because even the latter counties are NOT that affordable.

Whats your opinion on traffic....Quakertown, Newtown and Doyletown are what we were considering..NOT because of snobiness..but it just puts us a little closer to philli for some daytrips and such.

I think dh would take route 611 up from bucks to bethlehem.....any clues as to what the commute time would be from any of the cities that you mentioned.....assume leaving at the standard 7 in the morning time frame....

Any other cities that you would reccomend in bucks then...perhaps closer to the interstate?
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Old 08-13-2006, 03:54 PM
 
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we too are looking at moving towards bethlehem for dhs job. this was a pretty helpful post! we were looking at quakertown or souderton..but i think we will stay away from quakertown now. we would love a small town but close to the big city (we live in a small town of 1500 right now and love it). any ideas where we can find real estate ina small town that has a good school? south of bethlehem...but north of philly
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Old 08-13-2006, 05:44 PM
 
Location: Wilkes-Barre
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mom2gurls
Whats your opinion on traffic....Quakertown, Newtown and Doyletown are what we were considering..NOT because of snobiness..but it just puts us a little closer to philli for some daytrips and such.
I think dh would take route 611 up from bucks to bethlehem.....any clues as to what the commute time would be from any of the cities that you mentioned.....assume leaving at the standard 7 in the morning time frame....
Any other cities that you would reccomend in bucks then...perhaps closer to the interstate?
Hi - My sister lives in Newtown, and I was born in Doylestown. In a nutshell, my opinion is:
Newtown = large houses, most expensive RE, and snobbiest
Doylestown = historic, quaint, artsy, still fairly expensive, becoming more congested.
Quakertown = older town, least expensive, most rural, quickest commute to Bethlehem.
There are lovely wooded areas with homes around all of these towns, and really no "bad" areas that I can think of in any of them.
Good Luck in your move
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Old 08-13-2006, 08:45 PM
 
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The one post is correct...very different areas...Lehigh valley vs Bucks Cty...Saucon Valley is beautiful...gangs are rampant in the LV cities(alot of NYC influence)(Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton) but probably not much worse than the Philly area!!!
You can get a beautiful house(many newly constructed communities in the Saucon valley community for your price range (500K).
Bucks Cty is a more "preppy" region than LV and expensive...biggest employer in LV area is Lehigh Valley Hospital so lots of doctors in the suburbs of LV.
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Old 08-13-2006, 10:17 PM
 
Location: At the local Wawa
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there are many backroads in Bucks County that are not too crowded, even during rush hour. Doylestown to Bethlehem is do-able, Newtown to Bethlehem is a bit of a stretch. Besides, you can find nice places to live near Bethlehem in Upper Bucks. No place in Bucks is bad to live, even Quakertown is decent.

The Saucon Valley (Lower Saucon Township) is really nice and you can get a real nice house for $500k. This area is in Northapmton County, not Bucks, but it looks and feels like Bucks. I recommend it for you, as you said you want to be close to shopping areas.
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Old 08-14-2006, 05:49 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phish Head
there are many backroads in Bucks County that are not too crowded, even during rush hour. Doylestown to Bethlehem is do-able, Newtown to Bethlehem is a bit of a stretch. Besides, you can find nice places to live near Bethlehem in Upper Bucks. No place in Bucks is bad to live, even Quakertown is decent.

The Saucon Valley (Lower Saucon Township) is really nice and you can get a real nice house for $500k. This area is in Northapmton County, not Bucks, but it looks and feels like Bucks. I recommend it for you, as you said you want to be close to shopping areas.
LOL..I will keep it in mind...Any idea on commute time from the doylestown area to bethlehem.....see its not the town itself that I care too much about..its the school district..thats all. I just am researching and I have read positive things of the central bucks schools....

I will also keep the saucon valley in mind.....are there gangs there too....?
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Old 08-14-2006, 09:56 PM
 
Location: At the local Wawa
538 posts, read 2,457,341 times
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The commute from Doylestown to Bethlehem is about 1 hour, maybe 45 minutes on a really good day. In heavy rain, snow, or with an accident, expect 1.5 hours. Central Bucks is one of the best school districts in Bucks County, and also the largest, population wise. Council Rock and Penn Ridge are also excellent schools. Again, you really can't go wrong almost anywhere in Bucks County.

You will likely not see any gangs in Lower Saucon Township- it is not an urban area.
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Old 08-19-2006, 03:50 PM
 
Location: Upper Bucks County, PA
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Default small towns in Upper Bucks

I live in Springtown,Upper Bucks County, just South of Bethlehem. The HS in the area is Palisades. Hellertown (Northampton County) separates us from Bethlehem. Hellertown is becoming very desirable to commuters, due to it's proximity to I-78. I work in Allentown, and it's 14+ miles - 25 mins to get there. Hellertown has a Park & Ride where the bus to NYC picks up commuters. The ride to Port Authority is 1 hr & 40 mins. The drive to Philly Airport via the PA Turnpike is an hour & a half. Lehigh Valley Int'l Airport is conveniently located between Bethlehem & Allentown. The area I live in is very rural, but not far from Philly, NYC, Bethlehem, Easton & Allentown!


Quote:
Originally Posted by chatrbug View Post
we too are looking at moving towards bethlehem for dhs job. this was a pretty helpful post! we were looking at quakertown or souderton..but i think we will stay away from quakertown now. we would love a small town but close to the big city (we live in a small town of 1500 right now and love it). any ideas where we can find real estate ina small town that has a good school? south of bethlehem...but north of philly
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