Posted on 10/14/2005 8:26:50 PM PDT by dpa5923
I am looking at a possible job in the Allentown area of PA. I need so info on schools, community, crime, cost of living, etc., etc.
Forgive the vanity, but this is only my 3rd vanity in over 4 years and I know my fellow freepers are a source of knowledge. If you have any input, please provide.
Thanks!
Try:
http://allentown.citysearch.com/
Or
http://www.citysearch.com/
and put in whatever city you are interested in.
They also seem to have a webpage, but it's slow to load:
http://www.allentownpennsylvania.com/
Can anybody help this fellow?
Allentown by Billy Joel pretty much sums it up...
Well we're living here in Allentown
And they're closing all the factories down
Out in Bethlehem they're killing time
Filling out forms
Standing in line
Well our fathers fought the Second World War
Spent their weekends on the Jersey Shore
Met our mothers in the USO
Asked them to dance
Danced with them slow
And we're living here in Allentown
But the restlessness was handed down
And it's getting very hard to stay
Well we're waiting here in Allentown
For the Pennsylvania we never found
For the promises our teachers gave
If we worked hard
If we behaved
So the graduations hang on the wall
But they never really helped us at all
No they never taught us what was real
Iron and coke
And chromium steel
And we're waiting here in Allentown
But they've taken all the coal from the ground
And the union people THROW IT away
Every child had a pretty good shot
To get at least as far as their old man got
But something happened on the way to that place
They threw an American flag in our face
Well I'm living here in Allentown
And it's hard to keep a good man down
But I won't be getting up today
And it's getting very hard to stay
And we're living here in Allentown
I moved from Long Island to the Allentown area last year. Don't move to Allentown, the High School is dangerous from what I've been told.
We live just 10 miles south of Allentown. East Penn school district is supposed to be one of the best in the state and so far my son is very happy there. Or you can look a little further south to Bucks County too.
There's plenty of nice areas here. I know a great Real Estate agent who'll steer you in the right direction if you need one. Good Luck!
Dude, have you ever heard of Google? Yahoo City Search?
This website is for conservative discussion - it's not for posting vanities and asking strangers to hold your hand looking for info.
Who died and made you boss?
The downtown is a shell of its former self. Some of the outskirts are really, really nice, though. Some good schools (St. Thomas More for elementary, Becahi or Notre Dame for high schools). Lehigh Valley has one of the biggest growth rates for real estate (again, in the outskirts). If you travel, there's a decent airport nearby (although for many flights they bus you to Newark Int'l in Jersey). As far as colleges go, Lehigh in Bethlehem and Lafayette in Easton are up there on the list. (The county college has a good culinary wing). Downtown aside, there are plenty of business opportunities. Theres a lot of culture, you're not far from NYC, skiing in the Poconos, some great hiking, rafting, golf etc. In other words, it's worth looking into.
Stay away from the City. Property taxes are awful. There are some OK public schools: Emmaus, Parkland and maybe Whitehall. If you live in Whitehall Township, the mall traffic will drive you nuts around Christmas time. I would pick a nice small town on the outskirts with a good school district that has relatively low taxes if possible. Check out the Northwestern Lehigh School District and see how they stack up. It is still mostly farmland and small towns there and is a short commute to Allentown. Parkland Schools have a lot of upper income families and all that goes with that (both good and bad). My two cents.
My impression of it (lived there a few months) was that it was better than Easton and Bethlehem, which isn't saying much. And it's a college town, at least where I stayed. College towns aren't what they used to be, or I'm too old to appreciate them. Too much noise and too many apartments (costing too much by the way). If you are buying a home, you can probably get a good deal.
In those areas where you're close to everything, you're close to the unpleasantness, and when you're in a nicer area you have a lot of driving to do. The roads are good, and being close to the airport is a plus. Library is great. Those things that a city is good for---stores, professionals, hospital, restaurants, entertainment, etc.---they're all there, and yet it doesn't have the city atmosphere of, say, Philadelphia or NY. (I'm from NY metro area, and find places like Allentown very spread out and still small-townish.) Great place to learn new languages, lots of ethnic diversity there.
Bethlehem's more attractive. Easton's cheaper.
Definitely Bucks Cty is better. Almost heaven. You need one heck of a job to live there though! And there are too many bears and deer IMO. Too much laurel also.
You want to live so cheaply you almost don't need a job, head for Central PA. Taxes and crime VERY low, homes reasonably priced.
For someone who's been around since '99, you don't seem to know much about the site. You probably hit the abuse button on the prayer threads, too. (Be careful about doing that; I've seen the site owner posting to prayer threads.)
Freepers turn to other freepers for help on issues like this so that they can get honest answers unfiltered by the media.
Google? What the hell is that? Some new fangled rock and roll band I've been hearing about?
Yeah, I've heard of Google, I was hoping to get some help from people who have actually been there and I kind of trust. But I'll look at Google, once I can figure out this internet thing.
Well, from now on I'll just post vanities and seek FReepers' advice on everything from cooking to better sexual techniques.
I wish I could, but Allentown is on the "wrong" side of the state.
Then again, winter should be a little milder than the parts of Pa. that I'm accustomed to, so it shouldn't be too bad.
Don't let the naysayers discourage you.
Pennsylvania is a nice place to live!
I'm sure your spouse will appreciate the help........
You thought wrong, OK?
Freepers turn to other freepers for help on issues like this so that they can get honest answers unfiltered by the media.
Yeah, on issues such as what's the best gun for self-defense. Things like finding decent schools and info on crime statistics is readily available by doing an Internet search on your own.
You do know how to use the Internet, right? ROFL
Too late! We're here in lower Lehigh County and so far we're happy. The cost of living is dramatically cheaper than L.I. and there is no way on earth I'm willingly moving again.
I need all the help I can get. The couch is a mofo, let me tell you....
LOL. Those that complain the loudest are usually the greatest offenders. Thanks for the link and for yours and everyone's help.
No problem - I'd move back up there in a flash if given the opportunity......loved the area
>>Stay away from the city.
>>Some of the outskirts are really, really nice, though.
Good advice. Problem is, the gasoline you'll burn up getting to work and all.
Don't even think about taking the bus to Newark Airport, you'll go mad. ABE has airport, there is even a little airport just north of Easton in an area called Forks. Land around there is an excellent investment.
Lafayette is a nice college if you don't mind living on the edge of a cliff. :) And you can't live in Easton without sooner or later driving on 611 and it's a scary stretch of highway.
ROTFL!
Got him good.
We used the ABE airport all the time - loved it - east access compared to Philadelphia. Also took a bus into New York - cheap and no parking problems
LOL, I know what you mean. After Long Island, you're almost taxfree in PA! I was paying $20k in property taxes in NJ, here I pay $400. Laughing all the way to the bank, and I leave my door unlocked when I go, too.
I miss Manhattan and the Jersey shore, but hey.
Wow! Only $400.oo per year for property taxes?! I'm happy as all get out paying $2200.
I know what you mean about the shore. I miss the ocean and bays but heck, mountains are good too :)
The wine in a box is an actual news article. That wasn't a Vanity post.
Yeah, I'm really licking my wounds here. Can you pass the rubbing alcohol and Neosporin?
"This website is for conservative discussion "
Someone posted a non-political thread here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1502848/posts
You might want to hop over there and hit the abuse button on the poster.
Just kidding, nothing personal. The discussion over non serious items sometimes is the funniest (and most tellling) of all.
The greater Allentown area in the Lehigh Valley is a lovely place to live. I live in Moore Twp, which is 20 min. outside of the city of Allentown and in the Northampton School District. I have neighbors that work in Allentown.
My husband works outside of Bethlehem in a very attractive area near Wegmans, and it's a Bethlehem mailing address. Historic Bethlehem is very popular to tourists for shopping and Music Fest, and most of do some of our shopping at the Lehigh Valley Mall, which is 2 min. outside of Allentown.
Most businesses and banks, etc. are not in the downtown area, but they do have an Allentown address. The airport, which is very nice, has an Allentown address.
The surrounding school districts, such as Parkland, Northampton, and Lehigh, etc. are safe. I would stay away from the Easton, Allentown, and Bethlehem school districts. Right now commuters from New Jersey are moving in droves to the Easton and Bethlehem suburbs, driving up taxes.
Actually it is a gathering of friends with conservative views and an interest in their fellows.
You're mean :-)
I was only trying to be helpful.......;^)
:-)
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