Considering relocating to Eastern PA From the Deeeeeeep South. Crazy?

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by milliehubbard

Thank you Pullenaway. Being from the NE (western NY specifically), I am sure I'll adjust to the locale fairly quickly. We are doing lots of research, property tax mill rates, real estate prices and availability - hopefully in three years or so the market will settle down a bit - maybe??!! The market here in the Raleigh/Cary area of NC is HOT. Houses are gone before they even really hit the market and that is in the $500K-$750K range...crazy.

The LV will probably be the best locale for us given the desire to be closer to family. I do want to do some research on what there is to do in the area aside from visit farm markets and antique stores. With it being a touristy area I'm concerned about what the residents actually do for entertainment/enrichment. Philly is a little far for a "quick" trip out to a museum or ballgame. But then if we're retired, we'll have all the time in the world hehehe.

I appreciate your response and offers of help. I'm guessing numbers will change fairly dramatically three years from now so I won't ask you to trouble yourself now...maybe in three years if you're still on the board!! I'll continue the research...everyday gets us a little close to blessed retirement!

Oh BTW, Wegmans is a "thing" for a lot of people. Personally, I worked for them for 15 years and I'm a Rochester native, so they are in my blood! I was one of the crazy people in line at 5:30 am for the opening of the Raleigh store. For me it was WORTH it. Felt like a little of my hometown had arrived in Raleigh :-) The West Cary store is about 15 minutes from my house and while its not my regular shopping store, I do get over there about every 2-3 weeks to pick up items I can only get there...and I do have to say, I find their meats to be superior to those found in any of the other grocery stores in the area.

Thanks again, I appreciate your kind offer of help and I will continue to follow this thread and others on PA in general. It feels like we are narrowing our search just a little bit, which is reassuring. So much to consider.

There are entertainment, performing-arts and culture options in the Lehigh Valley, which isn't really the touristy area yet — the Poconos begin on the other side of the ridge to the north of the LV. (Though there is Jim Thorpe, for which you take the same Turnpike Northeast Extension exit you would to reach Allentown, but head west instead of east. You make a right turn off (I think) US 219 at Lehighton, climb a short hill (on this side) and then descend several hundred feet into the 19th century.)

The former blast furnaces at the Bethlehem Steel plant in that city have been turned into an arts-and-culture center called Steelstacks that has all sorts of things going on. The transformation won a slew of architectural and design awards.

Allentown is larger than Bethlehem, so I'd be surprised if there wasn't an arts-and-entertainment scene there too.

[JulieThruTheGlass]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

There are entertainment, performing-arts and culture options in the Lehigh Valley, which isn't really the touristy area yet — the Poconos begin on the other side of the ridge to the north of the LV. (Though there is Jim Thorpe, for which you take the same Turnpike Northeast Extension exit you would to reach Allentown, but head west instead of east. You make a right turn off (I think) US 219 at Lehighton, climb a short hill (on this side) and then descend several hundred feet into the 19th century.)

The former blast furnaces at the Bethlehem Steel plant in that city have been turned into an arts-and-culture center called Steelstacks that has all sorts of things going on. The transformation won a slew of architectural and design awards.

Allentown is larger than Bethlehem, so I'd be surprised if there wasn't an arts-and-entertainment scene there too.

What a lively, informative thread about PA.

I bolded the last sentence of your directions to Jim Thorpe because the way you worded it was so clever; it helped me make up my mind where to go for a little overnight trip with my daughter. My father's side of the family lived in Jim Thorpe (then known as "Mauch Chunk"), however, that was a century or more ago. After reading your little observation about the town, I'm looking forward to maybe experiencing a sense of time travel while we're there. It's exactly the type of thing that appeals to me right now.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

There are entertainment, performing-arts and culture options in the Lehigh Valley, which isn't really the touristy area yet — the Poconos begin on the other side of the ridge to the north of the LV. (Though there is Jim Thorpe, for which you take the same Turnpike Northeast Extension exit you would to reach Allentown, but head west instead of east. You make a right turn off (I think) US 219 at Lehighton, climb a short hill (on this side) and then descend several hundred feet into the 19th century.)

The former blast furnaces at the Bethlehem Steel plant in that city have been turned into an arts-and-culture center called Steelstacks that has all sorts of things going on. The transformation won a slew of architectural and design awards.

Allentown is larger than Bethlehem, so I'd be surprised if there wasn't an arts-and-entertainment scene there too.

Allentown is larger than Bethlehem, but the entertainment and fun is higher in Bethlehem. It really doesn't matter, because most people don't know where one cities border ends and the other begins. Bethlehem is known for it's festivals, Musikfest being the largest. This year, it will be smaller than usual due to post-COVID downsizing. https://www.musikfest.org/ Allentown has the PPL center, a huge downtown arena, and the home base for the Phantoms, the Flyers farm team. PPL Center They also have the Phillies farm team, The Iron Pigs with it's own stadium, which really straddles the two cities. https://www.milb.com/lehigh-valley Both places were built within the last 15 years and provide a space for concerts and different events. Due to COVID, our HS used the Iron Pigs stadium for their HS graduation.

I'd also like to second the recommendation a visit to Jim Thorpe.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by milliehubbard

This has been a great thread to read. Hubby and I are looking at retiring FROM North Carolina TO the northeast. We are both native NYers - he from Long Island and myself from Rochester. We have been in the south, for our careers, for the last 15 years but have never really felt at home here. We have made very good friends here and generally find it livable, but it is just not "home".

We are about 3.5 years from actually retiring so we are starting to research where we might want to move to enjoy our retirement years. We were initially looking at the New England area for proximity to family but the tax/COL situation is not very favorable. It appears that PA might be a good location given the COL (outside of the Philly catchment area) and retiree income tax situation. We have not settled on any particular area of PA as of yet, but for me, being from western NY, the Pittsburg are appeals to me. However for proximity to family the Lehigh Valley or Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area would be better - that and having Wegmans stores nearby - waited 10+ years for them to come to NC only to be moving away from them again! Haha!!

I have read this entire thread and found the insight from the lifelong residents very helpful. I'd be interested in updated community information/discussions since much of the info previously provided is going on 4 years old at this point. Especially info on the cities, how are they fairing in the current economic situation - COVID and all, and what are the general thoughts on the economic situations of these communities. COL, Taxes, housing availability, infrastructure, population growth/decline etc. We would be purchasing a home, looking at around $300K in today's dollars. More or less.

I'm pulling this post out just so everyone realizes that the original post is from 2017 and the poster ended up moving to Dauphin County. Milliehubbard, you should probably consider starting a new post as many people will just read the first post and reply to that. If you are thinking of a specific area, NEPA or Lehigh Valley, please post there.