Where to move..Pike, Monroe, Northhampton, Bucks?

[NathanB]

Del Val in Pike is a good school. There are excellent parts of Monroe and Northampton. Bucks is ok but........

I've never owned a home in Pike but have in Bucks, Nothampton and Monroe.

Pike to Jersey City IMHO would suck.

I couldn't agree more unless you take the train in. I'm almost positive it runs into jersey city

[RobW]

You can take the train from Port Jervis to Hoboken, but it takes a looooong time to get there. Figure three hours end-to-end and you won't be disappointed. You can drive to Middletown, take the train from there, and make up about 1/2 hour but the truth is that the train sucks. Take it from someone that has tried every possible means of public transportation from Pike to NYC, driving is the most efficient, followed by the bus, followed by everything else.

I couldn't agree more unless you take the train in. I'm almost positive it runs into jersey city

[NathanB]

good info my commute is hit 84 and keep going and going. til exit 15.

[Arrdy]

Best thing to do is spend some time and take a couple rides.

Personally I'd look at Northampton county. Somewhere close to route 33 and 78. Would make the commute much easier. Another plus for Northampton, auto insurance is cheaper then Monroe, plus there's more industry to spread the tax burden. The area from Wind Gap to Easton is decent and you should find something to your liking.

FWIW: My uncle retired from JCPD. Worked his way up from a beat cop to a detective.

[Exbiker]

Best thing to do is spend some time and take a couple rides.

Personally I'd look at Northampton county. Somewhere close to route 33 and 78. Would make the commute much easier. Another plus for Northampton, auto insurance is cheaper then Monroe, plus there's more industry to spread the tax burden. The area from Wind Gap to Easton is decent and you should find something to your liking.

FWIW: My uncle retired from JCPD. Worked his way up from a beat cop to a detective.

The biggest part of property taxes is the school tax. Anything in the Easton SD or the Bethlehem SD has high taxes. The difference in insurance isn't real significant any more. IMHO the 2 biggest factors here would be quality of education and access to 33/78. Even saving 2K a year but adding commuting expense and losing 3 or 4 hours a week to commuting isn't worth it.
I live in McMichaels so it's 20 minutes to 33 in Saylorsburg.Compare that extra 20 minutes to somebody in Plainfield. I'd spend 200 extra minutes in the car each week or lose 170 hours of home time a year.

Of course with his 5 kids that could be some extra quiet time.


http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbc...27/-1/LIVING03
click continue reading


http://www.state.nj.us/transportatio...e/costcal.shtm
the real cost





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[ladyalicia105]

Wow you guys are awesome with all this info! I definitely don't want monroe. I've read to much crap about it. I have mixed feelings on NH. Some say the county in general is kind of shitty with a few nice towns. A few recommend Nazareth and say that's my best bet. But is Nazareth surrounded by garbage? Matamoras and Milford is what Im leaning towards but my husband has to try the commute first. NH makes the most sense but Im uncertain of that county. How is Dingmans ferry? And up by Milford is shopping really far away? With all those hills and snow Im assuming we should own 4 wheel drive?

[NathanB]

Dingmans lords valley is going to add 25 minutes on to a commute to jersey city. That's also where you'll find the gated communities. Almost all the houses are in communities.
Shopping is not really that bad. 45 minutes to Middletown Scranton or rock away mall. Thereare grocery stores close by if you need it. I don't have a 4wd and neither does my wife. Most times the roads are kept up pretty well unless its just downright abysmal out.

[Exbiker]

Wow you guys are awesome with all this info! I definitely don't want monroe. I've read to much crap about it. I have mixed feelings on NH. Some say the county in general is kind of shitty with a few nice towns. A few recommend Nazareth and say that's my best bet. But is Nazareth surrounded by garbage? Matamoras and Milford is what Im leaning towards but my husband has to try the commute first. NH makes the most sense but Im uncertain of that county. How is Dingmans ferry? And up by Milford is shopping really far away? With all those hills and snow Im assuming we should own 4 wheel drive?

Everything is surrounded by garbage at some point. West End Monroe is still decent a rural. Plainfield is decent along with Bushkill and Moore but there is garbage inside of parts of Nazareth Boro.
Look at the garbage surrounding the shore towns and then you have all the bennies that invade the place in the summer.

Upper Bucks near Reigelsville Kintnersville would allow hubby to cross at Reigelville and come out on 78 at Bloomsbury exit 7 in NJ.
Pike is the worst for commute.
Snow and hills are less of an issue down by the Lehigh Valley.


I didn't notice the Toms River before. Compared to TR most of the areas around here (except for a few small sections of Monroe on Mt Pocono and in town Bethlehem and Easton) will seem like paradise.

[Breadman03]

Don't forget the difference in pay between areas. Cashiers in Bucks can make $11+/hr, while department managers in Luzerne make $10.

[RobW]

Plenty of shopping in the Milford/Matamoras area. No major malls (30-45 minutes of driving gets you to any store you can think of) but all the basics are covered with a couple of big-box stores (Wal-Mart, K-Mart) and lots of little shops. The snow can be annoying, yes. Four wheel drive is helpful sometimes, but all cars have four wheel stop and that is the bigger challenge ;-> The biggest issue caused by snow is your own driveway - how long is it and can you get out of it! I have almost 400' of driveway, so 4WD is mandatory unless I want to wait for my plow guy.

Wow you guys are awesome with all this info! I definitely don't want monroe. I've read to much crap about it. I have mixed feelings on NH. Some say the county in general is kind of shitty with a few nice towns. A few recommend Nazareth and say that's my best bet. But is Nazareth surrounded by garbage? Matamoras and Milford is what Im leaning towards but my husband has to try the commute first. NH makes the most sense but Im uncertain of that county. How is Dingmans ferry? And up by Milford is shopping really far away? With all those hills and snow Im assuming we should own 4 wheel drive?