Rockgurl

I need a fairly quick answer here. I've been offered an interview for a job in Eastern PA on Monday morning, and I've never been to PA in my whole life. I need to know a little bit about it before I decide to inteview or accept a job there. What kind of environment is it...is it city, suburbia, rural? I'm sorry I can't be more specific as to a name of a town as I don't know it yet...I was just told it was Eastern PA. I don't think it's Philly. Is it easy to get around? What's the cost of living like? What kind of people?

I was offered a job south of Boston but it wasn't an ICU position so I turned it down. Now they've put me forward for this job and it's all a bit sudden. Just thought it would be nice to get some of your perspectives on it.

geordiegirl2

Hi Rockgurl, is this our agency suddenly trying to relocate you to try and stop you coming out of the contract?

Ben

Pennsylvania is nice. The eastern side is industrial, depending on where you are I would describe is to be similar to Sheffield with coal mining and steel industry. But it is more rural than Sheffield in appearance. It is basically a huge forest with mountains for skiing in the winter, with pockets where towns and cities are built. Bethlehem is mining and really did remind me of the small mining towns in Yorkshire but not as dirty. Similar built homes in the centre but very different once you are away from the centre. It gets hot in the summer. There is a huge Amish community in South Penn. There is one of the best state universities in West Penn. You are right on the border with NJ and New York state and if you are close to the NJ border you will only be an hour from New York City.

It is Cheaper than New York or New Jersey, and I would guess it would be cheaper than Boston to live too. There is a lot of building going on near the interstates close to the border for commuters to NYC. Houses can come with acres of land for a very reasonable price.

If we were offered a job there we would have taken it

The only downside I have heard about some areas, like Bethlehem, is the unemployment rate is high due to the type of industry that is there, but I heard that a long time ago and I know it isn't the case all down the eastern side.

effi

We lived in Philly for 10 years and loved every minute. Would go back tomorrow. Have been in AZ for 6 years and still miss Philly. Fortunately my son lives there so we visit often.

There is lots to do up there, plenty of places to visit and the scenery outside the city is fantastic, unlike AZ. Most of the towns in the suburbs are nice. We lived in Springfield, about 20 mins outside the city. House prices are pretty reasonable. Gas at the moment is pretty cheap compared to here. Most places are the types of places where you don't need your car to do stuff, unless you take off to the countryside.

The weather can be a bit shitty in summer, usually 90 temp with 90 humidity, lots of mossies. Wintertime is very cold, but it does not snow every year. We had a couple of years up there with no snow, but then one year we had 3ft over the weekend, you cannot predict what the winters will be like. The road crews get out pretty quickly though and sort things out. Plenty of skiing nearby, we used to go to the Poconos most weekends in winter to ski. The ocean is quite close by. Atlantic city, Jersey shore (Margate is a cool beach). NY not far away and easy to get in and out of. Then if you head south to Delaware, Chesapeake bay area, nice drive and beautiful scenery. DC not too far away, couple of hours drive, lots to do there. Baltimore is also nice and not far away.

I always found the people to be very friendly, helpful and with a definite sense of humour all their own. It is not too industrialised up there. Further north is Amish country and is like heaven on earth, lots to do, antique shopping or just plain browsing and looking at the scenery. Fall and Spring up there are the best times. In the Fall people travel from all over US to see the leaves turning. In the Spring the place is just alive with flowers. Then you have Philly itself. Absolutely loads to do. You could spend a month there and not see everything. Fabulous restaurants and shopping and easy to get around.

I think you will enjoy it. I would snap the job up if I were you, depends what you are looking for though and what you enjoy doing in your spare time. Whatever, you should be able to find it there.

I think you will enjoy it

edwords

My in-laws live in Reading, Pa. My brother-in-law is a cop in Allentown, Pa. Eastern Pennsylvania, outside of the Philly Main Line, is where hope goes to die.
BTW, my brother-in-law very much wants to move to Phoenix, but can't afford the salary reduction the move wound entail.

Rockgurl

Yes it is! LOL. I think they've figured out that trying to appease the work force is a good idea when it costs in excess of $20,000 to prepare us for the USA.

Thank you so much everyone for your input. It sounds very interesting indeed. I just found out that it is Easton not Eastern LOL...although that is still east. It's near Northampton and right on the border with NJ. It looks very close to New York City and also to Sayreville NJ (thats Bon Jovi-ville for the uninitiated!) I think being near NYC really swings it for me, as I would adore to be close enough to be able to ride my Harley into NYC on a Saturday night.

Effi, I went to an Amish exhibition in London once and it really was very interesting. They really had a huge cottage industry going there with all the furniture and crafts they made. It was beautiful.

I've not heard one bad word about PA yet, and most people have been raving about it so it looks like it may be worth a try. I have to have something swing it for me, and the close proxomity to NYC would be the main thing, and the fact that I will only be a 4 hour drive from CT. I loved Phoenix because it's so close to California and Nevada and there's so much to do. I shall miss this weather though...103 degrees today! Let's see if it actually happens before I start making plans.

effi

Ah yes, but have you ever lived there?

effi

When I first moved here to AZ 6 years ago, I had to take a pay cut of over $6000 per year. It took me 5 years to get back to where I was in Philly. The general standard of living here was a lot lower than PA. Now though, AZ has overtaken Philly, although the wages up there are still quite high.

The Main Line is nice, of course it is. Who the hell can afford to live there though, makes Scottsdale look like a slum. There is no culture here. The main pastime seems to be shopping. We moved here because of my husband's work, big promotion and lots more money, but I would have given anything to stay, especially now that I have my only grandchild up there. Having said that though, we are both avid golfers and it is nice to be able to play every day if we wish. Although I have played in PA in my ski gear!!!!!

I guess until you have lived somewhere like PA, then you cannot make a reasonable comment about it. Rockgurl, I think you will love it.

edwords

I lived in South Jersey for over a decade (Mount Laurel and Hainesport). Those are nice communities, but getting overbuilt. The Main Line outside of Philly is also very nice. But you couldn't get me to live in Reading or Allentown, Pennsylvania for anything. And Easton is even worse--downright scary.
These are all old, burnt-out industrial towns that have seen their core businesses move to other places. The only advantage that I see is the cheap housing prices.
While I've never lived in Reading, I go there at least once or twice a year for stays of about a week each to visit my wife's family.

Wee Besom

When I arrived over here in October 2002,we stayed in Catasaqua,outside of Allentown.I lived there for about 9 months and could not wait to get out of there ,it was one of the most grim,depressing soul destrying places I have ever been.
I ended up moving to Florida with no job prospects,knowing no-one,renting a place to stay over the internet and doing without any furniture for 6 weeks, living on the last of the few savings I had and couldn't have been happier to have escaped Catasaqua!!

Rockgurl

Thanks for your input but does this really help me? What are you trying to tell me here? That I shouldn't move to PA? What has this town got to do with Easton? I acknowledge that you have an opinion due to a past experience but I need to make a life-changing decision by Monday morning and if you are trying to tell me not to move there then please say so. However, if Easton is actually quite nice and feasible to live in, then a post like this could possibly be quite detrimental to my future. I don't think anyone has any idea quite what it's like to base your whole year on a snap decision made over a few days. This is what my company do to me...it's such short notice I don't have time to sift through the misinformation. I moved to Phoenix never having ever seen the place and arrived on my own with 2 suitcases. I'm lucky it was a gamble that paid off, but I don't think I have the strength to go through that again without knowing what I am getting myself into.

Wee Besom

My comments were more to agree with the previous posting about the Allentown area,looking back I now see that you mentioned that Easton is in fact where you corrected that you were asking about not just Eastern Pennsylvania.I am afraid that I cannot advise you about Easton as I have never been there,looking at the map I see that it is further north and west of Allentown so I am sure it is not as grim.I apologise if this gave you a fright,it was not my intention,I was merely joining in the conversation.I also took a risk on a quick decision that my husband made when we moved to Allentown which was as an unsuccessful one.When we told people we were going to up sticks and move to Florida we were strongly warned against the high tax and insurance and the low wages and a number of other horror stories but on the other side a lot of people strongly advised us to do it and we did.You could have had 100 people tell you it was a great place and still not liked it or vice versa,it's a risk that I am sure everyone on this website has taken.I have asked my husband about Easton for you(he's originally from Philadelphia) and he says that he knows a couple of people who live there who seem to really enjoy it and that it is not so bogged down by the unemployment that the post-industrial allentown area suffers from,you are also in between excellent New York and the beautiful Poconos which are great in the summer but if you like ski-ing they are a great place for that too.I hope this helps you,my apologies again for stressing you and best of luck withg whatever decision you make

Rockgurl

Thanks so much for clarifying. While I don't tend to base important decisions on what people say on a message board, in this case it's all I have seeing as I have never been there and need to decide in such short notice. I appreciate you asking your husband about Easton and am relieved to find that he has heard good things about it. It's my worst nightmare moving from gorgeous AZ to some concrete jungle with bad weather! It's funny that you mentioned Allentown because I was talking with my partner earlier and was saying that I don't have to live in Easton, but could maybe live in Allentown. I definitely won't consider that now!

I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Wee Besom

No Problem!! Just watch you don't spend all your money on shopping trips to NY! Best of luck

Ben

One thing to remember is that in Winter, this area of the country is pretty bleak looking. We moved to northwest NJ in December and it was depressing. Everyone hybernates like the animals and don't come out until spring when the flowers start to bloom. You get used to the bleakness because the spring, summer and autumn make up for it, but if you haven't seen this type of thing before it can be a bit of a shock for the first time.

Good luck with your decision