HELP!!!!Nazareth/Bethlehem PA question

[noodle7729]

Hi everyone,

My husband was just offered a job in Nazareth, PA and we are considering taking it. The problem is that we have no info about the area and no chance to go out to explore the area before we have to accept/decline the offer. We are looking to live within a 20 mile radius. Does anyone live/previously lived in this area and is willing to offer any insight? Thank you so much.

Jamie

 

[Pooh67_68]

Not sure if these will help.

www.city-data.com/city/Nazareth-Pennsylvania.html

www.nazarethpennsylvania.com

 

[noodle7729]

Thanks for the suggestion. Any other help out there?

 

[hentob]

The cost of living is still cheaper than Jersey (which you will be able to practically walk to). You have Allentown close by, with small malls like the Lehigh Valley Mall and the Whitehall Mall. For a better mall, you will be a 40 minute drive to King of Prussia (biggest on East Coast). More importantly, you have a small airport in your back yard (ABE) that has direct flights to Sanford--Hello WDW!

But seriously, you will be close to the Pocono Resorts (new Great Wolf Lodge just went up and a beautiful new resort will be put up soon). Umm, what else, oh, there is a Wegman's (an upscale grocery market) in Nazareth, I believe. A stone's throw to Philly. Close enough to NYC that you can go in for the day or even dinner (busses run back and forth all day long). Not a long drive to the beach. Dorney park will be a 10 minute drive. Hershey, Knobel's, Sesame Place, Peddler's Village, etc. are all close by.

The area itself is just starting to recover and rise up after Bethlehem Steel's shut down a few years back. But it IS recovering. Yahoo!

I happen to love the area. Very close to many interesting and fun things to do. Good luck with your decision!

 

[SillyMe]

I sent you a PM.

 

[Potus]

Added sites: You'll be about an hour and a half from Lancaster (we REALLY enjoy going there), a little over two hours from Gettysburg (great history but also so much more) and about three to three and a half hours from a good Washington D.C. Metro stop if that's of intrest.

Just some thoughts.

Oh, also, Knoebel's is great (we live about 45 minutes away from it) but it's not large. If you're used to WDW or Busch Gardens, Cedar Point, etc. You'll walk across this park in minutes and think, "Where's the rest of it?" But seriously, it's a great little park.

 

[Jennifer S]

I live about 45 min. from Bethlehem and my roomate from college has lived there all her life. I just love Pennsylvania. It's a big state with a lot to do. There are four seasons to enjoy. You got Philly, Lancaster and Hershey not far away.

Sorry I don't know more about the town but it seems comparable to my town which is a great size. Not too big or too small.

Good luck!

 

[hentob]

**Bumping for you**

 

[Towncrier]

You might try PMing Jdubbs (by clicking on the link I provided) as his signature indicates that he is currently living in Nazareth.

 

[Lizzydoll73]

Hi noodle

I live about 10 minutes from the areas you are looking at but in Jersey. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. DH and I were looking at Bethlehem and Nazareth in the summer but decided to stay in Jersey, DH works in Jersey. We did like Bethlehem more than Nazareth because it is "sandwiched" between two major roads, rt78 and rt22. Nazareth seemed a little more secluded to us. Both areas are becoming very crowded though from NJ people moving to where it is cheaper. However, because so many people are moving out there, housing prices are starting to catch up to NJ. And let me just say the roads are not designed for the amount of traffic that travel on them. We just went to the Lehigh Valley Mall today and YIKES we could have got out of the car and walked faster.

 

[luv2nascar]

I have lived in the lehigh valley for the last 25+ years and boy is it growing. The recent influx of what we call city people (NJ & NY folks) have driven the cost of housing up way ahead of normal housing market. The average cost of house in Lehigh Valley is over $400,000 according to local paper. Nazareth is small. I work in Bethlehem and find it pleasant enough. I am not sure about the area you are coming from but cost of living is getting crazy here.
We bought a high end townhome 3 yrs ago for $160,000. Today we could sell for $250,000 at least. Our taxes are almost $3,000 for hardly any land.

One word of caution on Nazareth it is a small closed community. Another words if you weren't born there... some people won't bother with you.

 

[noodle7729]

Thank you so much for all of the replies. They have been so helpful. We are going to be going out in early Feb for a house hunting trip. We have decided that Allentown may be a little more of what we are looking for with the housing market. It's amazing how much more expensive everything is than where we currently live (Columbus, OH).

Jamie