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
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