Moving, Need Area Advice

Updated on January 04, 2008
L.B. asks from Allentown, PA
5 answers

We are moving to the area and we don't know anyone yet. We are moving from Indiana and we are looking for advice on where to move in the area. We will have a kid starting in kindergarten in the fall, so we are deciding between different area schools and private schools. In our area now, the private schools seem to be better than the public schools, but we don't know about the Allentown area.

Thanks!

LoriB

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T.

answers from Allentown on

Hi L.,
When looking for a house, buying or building, stay away from anything built by Howard Homes. Many people in my development (Timberidge, Whitehall) including myself have issues with water and cold air leaking in thought windows, to hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, low grade flooring, steps make more noise when walked on than a 100 year old home, issues with jetted tubs, toilets that are very hard to flush, the water heater that comes standard is too small and does not give enough hot water for 2 adults, one small child in a 2000 sf home, door knobs that come apart, very low grade appliances (that is with an up grade), very low grade lighting, bad drywall, people falling down steps because they are too small and many other issues to many to list. The yards are very small and the usable space is even smaller because of the poor lot planning. Many of the driveways have greenery growing up thought the thin spots in the driveway. We had 2 paving companies come and give us estimates to repair our driveway and it would cost $2,000. That was done only 6 months after we moved in. Now we know this is correct est. since we owned a home in the past with an asphalt driveway. The driveway that Howard Homes put in was just the first 2 steps (base and sub layer) they never completed the finish coat and the over all driveway is too thin. The one year warranty is a joke. Anything they had the service person "fix" we had to redo because the work was so poorly completed. That was because of the quality of supplies the service person was given to use to make the repairs. One sign we missed was when our builder would not meet with us. If a builder will not meet with you and you are told that is their policy not to meet with the buyers...RUN don't walk away from that deal. Long story short, talk to other home owners in the development you are looking to buy or build in and find out how they feel about the builder. If I were you I would look into renting or getting something temporary. Get to know the area then buy or build something. If we had to do it again that is what we would have done.
Also another good school district is Whitehall/Coplay. They are just completing a major renovation on their schools. The schools are all located in one area too. The other ladies are right on the schools they told you about too. I plan to send my child to a privet school. St Stephen’s is a great school for ages 3 to Kindergarten. The Swain school is another great school for K to 8th grade.
Good luck and if you would like to talk more drop me an email any time.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving
T.

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J.M.

answers from Allentown on

There are some great public schools in the
lehigh Valley- Parkland, Southern Lehigh, East Penn to name a few. It all depends where you go.
I live in Upper Saucon Township & love it!! I am part of a moms group through meetup.com- Lehigh valley moms. It's a great group of moms, it would be great for you!

Good luck with your move & welcome!

Jessica

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M.A.

answers from Allentown on

I agree with Jessica M - those school districts are very good & have a WIDE variety of housing options. They are all fairly large districts (without being too large) & you are bound to be able to find a house that you like in the right style &/or price range. You can most likely find neighborhoods with a more "suburban" feel to houses with lots of land and more of a "rural" feel within each of those districts. I live in one of the neighboring smaller districts & - while I've been happy with the schools - the housing options are more limited.

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B.H.

answers from Allentown on

We live in the Parkland School District and love it!
Parkway Manor, Elem - Springhouse, Middle - Parkland, HS
parklandsd.org is the website for more information,
B. H.
Mom of 4

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R.H.

answers from Allentown on

There have been a ton of new homes just built within the past 2 or 3 years in Macungie. The East Penn school district gets rave reviews. I live in Emmaus and LOVE my little town. Whitehall area is busy in my opinion, that's where the main mall is. I would stay out of the Allentown schools. Just my opinion...
Best of luck with the move. When you get here, be sure to check out the MOMs clubs in the area. There should be one for where you live (Macungie, Emmaus... all have their own)

Happy moving,
R.
(SAHM of 1 and 1 on the way)

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