Eastern PA guys-need some advice
 

Figured I would post this here for the most traffic. My wife and I are considering moving to Pennsylvania from the NYC area. Looking for a nice area within 2 hours driving distance of NYC as we still have friends and family in both NY and NJ. Looking for an older home with lots of charm on maybe 3-5 acres of land. Plans include building a large pole barn capable of holding at least 6 cars plus a lift, tools, parts etc. Figure around 30’x70’. Not looking for too rural as my wife needs things to do, places to shop, go out for dinner. Also an area that has plenty of car action, cruise nights, shows, cars and coffee and clubs. Near a lot of GTO club members would be great. I’m basically asking for a starting point of where to look. Which towns would allow me to put up a large pole barn without trouble and still be a great active area to live. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

I hear mcungie is pretty dang nice...good luck with the move!

Macungie is a great area for car gatherings. Hellertown, Souderton and Quakertown are decent and in the area but might be pricey. A little further west there's Hamburg and Jim Thrope area. Good luck with your search.

Buck county is wetland and expensive. Montgomery County is nicer but congested traffic.
Per above; Hamburg and all those zones north of route 22 Eastward seem a decent value.

Above area's are good,also Pocono area. I live in Montgomery county near Valley Forge. Life long 67years. Would like to move out because it's too congested. Brother moved to York county and likes it, sister in Gettysburg but that is getting south in the state. I would say anything above the E/W turnpike.
Good Luck

Upper Bucks or southern Northampton. Sounds like your wife would fit better there.

X2 on upper Bucks county

Macungie was much nicer before all the big warehouses were built. Now Rte 100 around I-78 clogged with trucks.

Saucon Valley, which is basically north of Bucks Co. Downtown Bethlehem PA is not far away and is pretty cool these days. Trust me, my mom's side of the family were Bethlehem Steel workers and if I can eventually make my way there with 3+acres & a pole barn, I will!

Thank you for all the replies guys. Now I have a starting point of what areas to focus on.. After the holidays I will contact a few real estate agents and begin the search. I’m going to start by calling the building departments of various towns this month to see what kind and sizes of buildings they allow. Also going to call several companies that build pole barns to get an idea of their time frame. It’s going to be a little tricky because after I purchase a house I need to erect a large garage as fast as possible so I can move over all my stuff. Then I can put my current house for sale. Any additional suggestions are welcome, thank you.

Pole barn, no personal dealing but I would look into a Amish contractor. Unless others know different. don't know if these guys are Amish but East Earl isn't far from the area your looking in.
https://www.fettervillesales.com/contact-us

Upper Black Eddy in North Bucks

I'd stay N of I-80 and somewhere on the far outskirts of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. You can have peaceful living, less traffic, close to shopping/dining for your wife, easiest access to NY, and less, if any, rules on what type of building you can put on your property. Just search Zillow and realestate.com, no need to get in touch with a realtor till you have a location figured out. Good luck getting anything done in a hurry.

You might learn some valuable info by talking to bigger pole barn companies and ask them what areas are easy vs. a PITA to get permits in? For example, our septic system contractor has some counties that are easy to work with and some that he hates doing work in.

FWIW,
Eric

Northern Northampton or Lehigh counties. Easy access to I78 and NY. But it ain't getting cheaper. The last influx from NY and Jersey ended that. Stay away from ABE, trucks and warehouses. GTO Association of PA small group of enthusiast's, Keystone chapter of POCI.

Just what Straycat said, I am 10 min from the Jersey border, a house that sold for $550K 2 years ago sold last week for $650K and the couple had to put a roof on it before moving in. I hear Broadheadsville area is pretty nice also. Lots of expats from NY and Jersey there.

Thank you for all the replies so far. I’ll be sure and check out these areas. I have noticed prices going up. Too bad I waited so long, if I had made the move several years ago things would have been cheaper.

I live in Macungie and been here for over 40 years. I have seen Macungie go from a nice small quiet town to all hell has broken loose. At one time there were no traffic lights, now there are 4 within a couple miles. The traffic is horrendous, the commercial and residential properties are being crammed in. Near by Alburtis and Mertztown have become home to massive warehouses and most all your semi's are running on rt 100 causing more traffic and noise all ours of the day. Never had any crime, now there is an uptick from all the outsiders moving into to our little town.

It is time to get out

Just my .02 cents

I spent a month working on a trash transfer station in Macungie. Def. a lot of traffic in that area. Go out of town a couple of miles towards Reading and it was nt too bad though. The area and topography is nice though.

Last weekend I happen to drive on Rt 6 northeast of the Scranton area / north of Lake Wallenpaupack. Just an impression driving through towns there like Honesdale & Hawley that they may still have some of the old PA small town charm. Further away of course than the Lehigh Valley but seems the migration from NJ & NY into PA for (from my view point) lower taxes & cost of living is certainly affecting the PA areas just on the other side of the Delaware. We've been looking too because of the retirement tax advantages even though I really love Hunterdon County, NJ.