Eastern Pennsylvania area and general moving questions

[target2019]

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Originally Posted by Third Son Thanks for the reply. I do see some properties that would fit the bill for our needs in Berks, Lancaster, and Lebanon. There are a few in the other counties you quoted but are less affordable. Our criteria includes having a good health care system and being within a couple of hours to a major airport. These are our active years so we are hoping to not be home too much. Easton would be exactly halfway between our two children but we are not necessarily held to that area. My wife and I are not from Michigan but have lived here for 30 years we are looking for a change.

The major roads in those areas include 476, 78 and 76. They can be very scenic routes. Summer traffic and commuters can be significant, though.

Still, those counties would work for youse, I'm sure.

[chassis]

Southeast PA has some nice recreational and sightseeing opportunities:

- Blue Mountain area near Hamburg
- Ricketts Glen State Park - must see
- Jersey shore
- NYC
- Washington DC
- Center City Phila
- Central/northern PA mountains
- Poconos
- Valley Forge park - very cool and beautiful
- and access to New England, coastal Carolinas, Adirondacks, etc. etc.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chassis Southeast PA has some nice recreational and sightseeing opportunities: - Blue Mountain area near Hamburg - Ricketts Glen State Park - must see - Jersey shore - NYC - Washington DC - Center City Phila - Central/northern PA mountains - Poconos - Valley Forge park - very cool and beautiful - and access to New England, coastal Carolinas, Adirondacks, etc. etc.

Blast from my youth. I hiked the Glen several times, the most memorable was mid winter. It's a little north of Southeast PA, almost up to Scranton, worth the time.

[chassis]

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Originally Posted by MRG Blast from my youth. I hiked the Glen several times, the most memorable was mid winter. It's a little north of Southeast PA, almost up to Scranton, worth the time.

Yes, winter is a great time to hike Ricketts. Light visitor traffic and the cool weather is perfect for hiking. We hiked one cold New Year Day and enjoyed it.

Hawk Mountain is what I meant when I wrote “Blue” Mountain above. Hawk Mountain is part of the larger Blue Mountain area. Hawk Mountain has a nice hike up to the Pinnacle and it lives up to its name during raptor migration season. Lots of raptors can be spotted during the right time of year.

[dirtbiker]

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Originally Posted by chassis Yes, winter is a great time to hike Ricketts. Light visitor traffic and the cool weather is perfect for hiking. We hiked one cold New Year Day and enjoyed it. Hawk Mountain is what I meant when I wrote “Blue” Mountain above. Hawk Mountain is part of the larger Blue Mountain area. Hawk Mountain has a nice hike up to the Pinnacle and it lives up to its name during raptor migration season. Lots of raptors can be spotted during the right time of year.

Though every year there is at least one major accident over the winter, and it seems like every few years, someone falls to their death. The waterfall trail is treacherous in the winter.

[GoodLife59]

The Philly suburbs have gotten very pricey in the past year. Home inventories are tight. You probably know that by now. You may want to add the Allentown area and Lancaster, Pa to your list of areas to search. My daughter lives in Stratford, CT and we live in Harrisburg, PA. Four hour drive.

[Out of Steam]

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Originally Posted by Winemaker I do have friends who live along PA's southern border, but they are defense contractors and federal employees, and although housing is high there, it's cheaper than DC area.

The strip of Pennsylvania counties along the Maryland border, specifically York, Adams, and Franklin, are very conservative, attracting retirees and people leaving the Baltimore area and Maryland suburbs of DC.

Depending on your views, this may be either an advantage or a disadvantage. I worked within commuting distance in them in Maryland for a number of years, and the local political views were a huge draw to people moving across the state line.

[FargoI]

A few random thoughts.

Wherever one plans to move to, particularly as a retiree, verify that your medical, dental and other essential insurance programs are geographically transferable ( accepted in network)...and, research, research, research the availability of world class clinicians...please do not take either of these critical factors for granted. .

Central and South Central PA have a considerable amount of consolidation underway, with many small group practices being acquired by large academic medical centers that offer varying degrees of accessibility to seasoned attending physicians. That's not to say or infer anything negative about advanced practice clinicians such as NPs and PAs ....and Medical Residents.

Additional, regardless of your current political affiliation, do not assume the area you move to will be embracing of your views.

If you are considering South Central PA, feel free to PM me for insights and experiences.

Stay safe. Stay well.
Regards
FargoI

[RetiredAt55.5]

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Originally Posted by FargoI Additional, regardless of your current political affiliation, do not assume the area you move to will be embracing of your views.

+1 PA is a tale of two cities from a political affiliation perspective. It's a very sharp divide, and equally passionate. I am generalizing of course. There's portions of PA I couldn't live in because of this.

[2tswhite]

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Originally Posted by ivinsfan First of all purge, purge, and then purge again....

Yes,yes, yes - purge,donate, give away....

[meleana]

We had a retirement cottage built in another state. We actually had to stay in our home state until hubby retired anyway. We rented a small house that had a partially finished basement and garage where we could store everything until we were ready to move. Saved us lots of money and the hassle of a storage facility.

[FargoI]

Cycling back to Healthcare, as this often becomes a critical factor with aging, when one is being treated for a horrific disease, a two+ hour commute to NYC ( each way from Lebanon, Palmyra, Hershey, Harrisburg) for recurring treatments by a TEAM of world renounded clinicians may not be trivial.


The Lehigh Valley region offers xcellent resources .

University of Pennsylvania acquiring Lancaster General, Geisinger Health System affiliating in some fashion with either St Luke's or Lehigh Valley, UPMC acquiring Pinnacle Health System are examples of world class organizations merging/aligning within PA.

Some of the mergers and acquisitions of primary care practices have profoundly improved timely access to quality care and some have exacerbated existing access problems effectively
Creating denials of service upon specialty providers.

I have observed and experienced the outcomes of
large Health Systems throughout the region. Likely similar to many suburban areas, its often difficult to be seen or treated by " the" highly regarded expert that's advertised in public media.

[PointBreeze]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetiredAt55.5 +1 PA is a tale of two cities from a political affiliation perspective. It's a very sharp divide, and equally passionate. I am generalizing of course. There's portions of PA I couldn't live in because of this.

+1

I live in Pittsburgh and couldn’t agree more with these statements.

[RetiredAt55.5]

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Originally Posted by PointBreeze +1 I live in Pittsburgh and couldn’t agree more with these statements.

PA is also a tale of 2 cities (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia), and flyover country.



Just kidding of course.

[Winemaker]

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Originally Posted by RetiredAt55.5 PA is also a tale of 2 cities (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia), and flyover country. Just kidding of course.

You're exactly right. No kidding.

[EastWest Gal]

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Originally Posted by RetiredAt55.5 PA is also a tale of 2 cities (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia), and flyover country. Just kidding of course.

I live in the flyover part of PA, which was known as Pennsyltucky. Moved from SF Bay Area. Harrisburg has a very active LBTGQ community. We also have a community with Nepali refugees, many with advanced degrees in physics or mathematics. In the practice from which I retired, we had two Nigerians, an Indian, a Nepali, a Mennonite, and a smattering of others. It isn’t all one way or the other politically. I’ve discovered quite by accident that most people in our circle would fit in very well on the west coast. Others-not so much. And that’s OK.

[Winemaker]

I wasn't speaking of race, people around here don't care if you're green. Many different folks in my sportsman club,and on golf courses, but like minded on many subjects.

[Out of Steam]

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Originally Posted by EastWest Gal Harrisburg has a very active LBTGQ community. We also have a community with Nepali refugees, many with advanced degrees in physics or mathematics. In the practice from which I retired, we had two Nigerians, an Indian, a Nepali, a Mennonite, and a smattering of others. It isn’t all one way or the other politically. I’ve discovered quite by accident that most people in our circle would fit in very well on the west coast. Others-not so much. And that’s OK.

We visited Camp Hill (just across the river) during our moving search, and thought we would fit in well there.

[Out of Steam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FargoI Cycling back to Healthcare, as this often becomes a critical factor with aging, when one is being treated for a horrific disease, a two+ hour commute to NYC ( each way from Lebanon, Palmyra, Hershey, Harrisburg) for recurring treatments by a TEAM of world renounded clinicians may not be trivial.

This was a major factor in our search for a retirement area, and concern over being 1 1/2 - 2 hours from an academic medical center got our second choice location dropped.

[Out of Steam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FargoI Wherever one plans to move to, particularly as a retiree, verify that your medical, dental and other essential insurance programs are geographically transferable ( accepted in network).

We had to change a health insurance plan we had had for 15 years before moving because it wasn't geographically transferable.