Potential Transplant to Poconos Area

[rovert97]

Adding on to what Tootie said, depending on where you move, parts of Monroe, most of Pike and all of Wayne, don't be surprised if you see people riding a horse down the street, carrying a handgun, or rifle in the fall, and burning in things you may know as bum barrels. Oh and the commute sucks. Good luck with that

[Qtrborecrazy]

JeannieBmine I feel for you if your up in Yonkers. If you are on a steady night shift in NYC it won`t be bad but if your doing the 9 to 5 your up a creek without a paddle. I-80 is a nightmare heading east in the morning with the sun in your eye. As they said snow, accidents and construction will kill you. I can only say RETIRE first then move.

[intelfeeds]

Those are all the reasons I'm considering the move!

I'm only mow seriously looking imto a potential move. I have an hour and a half commute to my job in NYC, and didn't tuink an extra half hour or hour would be.mich of a stretch.

If I do make the move, the hardest thing for me to give up will be the auxiliary pd. I. This position now, i only help out during parades, 4th of July celebrations, county and local fair's and other celebrations like that. But, I do enjoy it and would miss it if I had to give it, unfortunetly the requirement is to live or work in the county.

I appreciate all the comments and it's definitely a big decision for my wife and I, so any other info or considerations anyone can offer is great!

Thanks! - Joe

[Exbiker]

I appreciate all the comments and it's definitely a big decision for my wife and I, so any other info or considerations anyone can offer is great!

Thanks! - Joe

Rent first for at least 4 seasons. Have residual plans in case of job loss cut in pay and rising commuting costs. They all can and do happen.
If you've never owned a house consider ALL the costs and taxes. Don't buy your dream home buy what you need.

That being said I just saw a 4450 square foot LTS home for 214K on a nice lot in Whispering Woods. Not that I would ever want more then 1500 sq-ft.
Taxes almost 10K plus you gotta heat that monster.
http://www.flexmls.com/cgi-bin/mainm...=m3lmdh97snz,5

[dc dalton]

I'm only mow seriously looking imto a potential move. I have an hour and a half commute to my job in NYC, and didn't tuink an extra half hour or hour would be.mich of a stretch.

Hour and a half commute my ass!

Here's how that commute goes (morning):

Fine out of Pa and across the bridge.

Fine through NJ until you hit the Rockaway / Dover exit, traffic stops dead and stays that was until the next exit.

Sort of clears up until you hit the exits for 287 and Parsipanny, then stops dead again.

Clears up until you get to the Totowa exit (rt. 46) ... stopped dead again and bumper to bumper until after you get past Paterson.

Then of course it is bumper to bumper when you hit either the GW bridge or the Lincoln tunnel.

Coming home? Man I don't even want to think about it .... done it one too many times and I will never do it again.

Figure 2 - 2.5 hours in and probably the same coming home depending on where in the 'big shitty' you work.


oh and yes I know, I'm a huge ray of sunshine

Oh yeah BTW ... holiday Fridays you had better either leave work at noon or plan on a 3-4 hour drive home, just getting over the Water Gap bridge will take you several hours

[ReconLdr]

Hour and a half commute my ass!

Here's how that commute goes (morning):

Fine out of Pa and across the bridge.

Fine through NJ until you hit the Rockaway / Dover exit, traffic stops dead and stays that was until the next exit.

Sort of clears up until you hit the exits for 287 and Parsipanny, then stops dead again.

Clears up until you get to the Totowa exit (rt. 46) ... stopped dead again and bumper to bumper until after you get past Paterson.

Then of course it is bumper to bumper when you hit either the GW bridge or the Lincoln tunnel.

Coming home? Man I don't even want to think about it .... done it one too many times and I will never do it again.

Figure 2 - 2.5 hours in and probably the same coming home depending on where in the 'big shitty' you work.


oh and yes I know, I'm a huge ray of sunshine

Oh yeah BTW ... holiday Fridays you had better either leave work at noon or plan on a 3-4 hour drive home, just getting over the Water Gap bridge will take you several hours

Quoted for truth^^^^^.

I commute from Allentown Pa to Picatinny Arsenal every day and can attest to the accuracy of most of DC's post. I don't usually go past Exit 34 (Dover) but I can only imagine.

The important thing is your start time at your job in NYC. At Picatinny I can start working anytime between 6 and 9am. This allows me to commute earlier before traffic get too crazy. I have seen bumper to bumper traffic start at Exit 19 at 630 in the morning. I have had it take 2 hours to go 15 miles in light snow...

I have been making this commute for the better part of 7 years (I did have an 18 month deployment in there to take the edge off) and it sucks....

[dc dalton]

That being said I just saw a 4450 square foot LTS home for 214K on a nice lot in Whispering Woods. Not that I would ever want more then 1500 sq-ft.
Taxes almost 10K plus you gotta heat that monster.
http://www.flexmls.com/cgi-bin/mainm...=m3lmdh97snz,5

You couldn't GIVE me an LTS built home!

[ByAnyMeans]

If you understand the difference in living and it is what you want then that is good.

The commute depends on time of day. I work in an emergency room in NYC so I go in three days a week and leave early and come home late. It takes me 80 minutes from the DWG Martz bus depot to Port Authority. When you add on the drive to the bus and subway to work it's about two hours. I use to drive from an apartment in Queens to a Brooklyn Hospital. Although it was only 15 miles or so it took over an hour. Well worth the extra time for the PA life.

Take any comments regarding NY/NJ trash or "transplants" with a grain of salt. The area has had alot of problems by people moving here from there with the idea of changing it.

It has had quite a bad effect and this area is certainly not how it was when my family use to come for vacations as a kid. Still love it though. If you want to come and assimilate you will be welcome with open arms. If you want to be a New Yorker living in PA you may have some issues. Good luck with your move.

[Tootie]

If you want to be a New Yorker living in PA you may have some issues.

yeaahhhhh, not a good idea to be one of those. Even us long time ago transplants don't look kindly on that and would prefer you stay where you are.

Embrace the area and the culture, it will do you good. Oh and it will de-stress you from the rush rush rush of NJ and NY.

[LifeInPa]

yeaahhhhh, not a good idea to be one of those. Even us long time ago transplants don't look kindly on that and would prefer you stay where you are.

Embrace the area and the culture, it will do you good. Oh and it will de-stress you from the rush rush rush of NJ and NY.

Tell me about it, I moved here from Brooklyn when I was 20 and it seems like once the locals find out you're from the city they don't want to be bothered with you. I got to go back to the city to hang out with friends since no one seems really interested in bothering with me, not that the people here are bad it's just that a lot of people up here are kind of "clique'ish" (I know, not a word. ) and that can be tough dealing with. Funny thing I have more roots in Pennsylvania than many people up here, my ancestors settled in Western Pa in the 1870's and my grandparents were born and raised in Western Pa in the 20's-40's before moving to the city. They now live out there again along with some more distant family. As far as the OP is concerned you're married so that's not such a big issue for you.

As for the move it's a hell of a change, after nearly 5 years of living here I cannot stand going back to the city anymore. I get a heart attack just driving in that traffic anymore, so it will change you. It's a lot more peaceful plus it's nice actually have a piece of land and being able to park where your home is. As for the job that's a tricky issue. I went to college and got an Associates Degree in my field but the only places that I could find work is in minimum wage jobs, the job I do is well below my skill set/capabilities. Getting back to what I said earlier it comes down to knowing people here and if you don't it's tougher. My parents held off moving to this region until they retired for these work/income issue.

In the coming years what I am probably going to do is get a job in New Jersey, I am only a few miles from the border and the commute isn't as bad as going to New York. I know a few people in my general area do this and it's something you might consider, good luck to you and your family.

Edit: Another important thing I should let the OP know about is the property taxes, unlike New York they tax you differently so these taxes can be very steep. It's not uncommon to be paying $4k+ for your property per year. No one told us about this so when you go shopping for land here make sure you move to a county with lower property taxes, it pisses me off to no end that they force such ridiculous taxes on even retired folks. The upswing though are utilities are a lot cheaper out here than the city and so are homes.