Moving from NY to PA or FL, opinions/ thought...

[josh6135]

I need to move out my current apartment soon my lease has ended and wanted to move anyway. I was interested in moving to Pennsylvania for various reasons and I wanted to mention the benefits and the negative things about my move and see what people think. Main reasons to move to PA from NY would be to to save money on rent and eventually buying a place, my 2nd amendment rights are respected in PA, and I do have a job in Brooklyn NY which I want to keep and I have asked my boss if I can go to work one day week if I move to PA because of the far commute and I am awaiting an answer from him. I already work from home twice a week and would only want to go in once a week if I moved far. I only need a phone, high speed internet connection, a computer for my job. I was thinking of moving to Bushkill PA, someone I know through my job (our It guy) has a weekend house there and says he loves it and goes every weekend. I am a single 31 year old male, if that makes a difference as to where I move or not. My comm

Any other good areas in PA for recommendations? I want to start off renting, and then maybe eventually buy something. I know in Poconos area you can rent a house for around $1000 little more or less and I believe in the more populated areas of PA that $1000 little more or less will get you a condo/ decent apartment. For this reason I would prefer to be in country setting or I would consider a suburb. I would consider southern suburbs of Philadelphia as I have been told there are nice areas there, I would probably have to rent a condo or apartment in those areas.

I get some positive support from friends and family however most of it is a lot of negative feedback about wanting to move to PA. Here are some examples of the feedback "It is stupid, it is retarded, there is nothing to do there, there is no one there, you will never meet a girl there, who would want to commute 2 hours to work?, it is in the middle of no where, the winters suck in the Poconos, stores are far away, you will be far form your family, isn't everyone you know in NY, blah, blah, blah,

I was thinking about a further move and possibly moving to Lake Worth, Florida and asking my boss if I can work from home completely. I do have one friend down there which is why I would consider it and you can buy a nice condo for about $65,000 which in NY is about $225,000 or more. You can also rent rather cheap down there and the winters would not suck as much. Asking to work from home full time is not out of line as there are many people closely associated with my company that work from home full time all over the country. I doubt I will be allowed to move that far so I am leaning towards PA, however I will still ask my boss.

Below I will point out the factors of staying in NY versus moving to PA.


NY positive and negative factors-

-Hurricane Sandy it has caused a huge increase in price for rentals and real estate and small selection of rentals in the NYC area and other nearby location like Long Island.
-There was also a major gun ban and 7 round maximum law passed in NY called NY Safe ACT. I don't even own a gun yet and had interest in getting one to learn how to use, safety involved, maintenance etc.... and overnight everything I was interested in is now illegal.
- I believe (need to check) that taxes and gas is more expensive in NY
-Be closer to work however if I stay in NYC area I would have to go to work 3 days a week and would have to search for parking as the next place I move to will probably not have parking available I would have to wait on a list. If I move to Long Island I would have to go on twice a week, which would equal about 4.5 hours simialr or a little more than a commute from PA once a week
 -Most of my friends and family are in NY and NJ so I would be closer to them. Closer to supermarkets and big stores, bigger variety compared to Bushkill PA. Slightly warmer winters.

Moving to Bushkill PA - and maybe other location in PA if any could recommend anything-

-A house that typically costs $350,000 in NY would cost about $100,000 in Poconos/ Bushkill PA.
-I would want to rent at first and then look for house and rental of a good/ big/ nice/ house, townhouse, condo, aparment with your own parking spot/ driveway is about $700 cheaper per month compared to NY (where you only get small 1 bedroom apartments). Comes out to about $1000 per month which basically does not exist in NY maybe you would get small studio (or closet) for that price.
-In PA can own almost any gun I want and get a carry permit if I want (they actually support the Constitution there) unlike New York.
-You can own and carry a variety of knives. I enjoy collecting and using a variety of knives so this means a lot to me.
-After seeing what happened with Hurricane Sandy I have a mindset to keep various things as preparations like extra water, extra food, for any type of crap hit the fan situation - think something like another hurricane, I would need extra space to do this
-Many of the areas in Bushkill PA or Poconos have streams and lakes which allow you to have some kind of water source in a crap hit the fan situation,
-I would probably buy a house at some point that had some kind of stream, lake, etc... the backyard or very close.
-Winters may be worse in Poconos area compared to NYC area however I would only have to go to work once a week so I could probably go to work on days to avoid the snow.
- Also more snow means more back up water. With Hurricane Sandy hitting NY it seems like NY is more susceptible to terrible/ devastating weather. I believe Hurricane Sandy did not hit PA (correct me if I am wrong)
-Supermarkets and other big stores may not be close buy however the one day a week I go to work in NY I could go food shopping on the way home, keep a cooler in my car to keep things fresh for the drive.
-I can buy everything else online which I already do.
-would be far from friends and family however I only see them every few weeks currently which I could still do by staying at mom's house or dad's house in NY/ NJ for a night or two on occasion when I want to.
-I work Monday through Friday 10AM top 6PM to get there in time and avoid traffic I would have to leave at 5 AM to get to work on time the one day I go in. (would take 1.5 to 2 hours and I would have a few hours free time before work of free time because I have to start at 5AM - this was confirmed by someone I know through work) That is basically the biggest negative aspect of being in PA.

My extent of going out in NY may be during the summer I can go to the Hamptons NY, stay at a friends Uncles house for a night, go out for the night which generally leads to people talking with each other about other bars/ clubs while they are in a bar/ club. Very strange. I am not a big drinker in general, just don't like alcohol too much. Sometimes I will go out to eat with friends or family and NY has some great places to eat, maybe in PA I will go out to eat much less, but I think it is a good thing as I can learn how to cook more (will actually have a kitchen bigger than a few feet by a few feet with no counter space which what I have now and is common around here). Probably will save money not relying on local takeout, fast food, and delivery as much. Rarely I go to the movies however I am sure PA has movie theaters Most of my friends that I hang out with like to sit around, maybe watch a movie, play some video games (which I enjoy) and smoke weed and cigarettes, which I used to enjoy but not anymore. My lung collapsed a few years ago so I quit smoking everything and am now sensitive to being around smoke. So I guess moving to PA would certainly limit that. In regards to video games, movies, tv shows, music etc... In my own house I would be able to play things at high volume not worrying about disturbing people and constantly lowering the sound when something like a gun shot occurs in a video game.

The guy I know from work says he enjoys golf in / or near Bushkill PA, most people say they love golf I would like to try it and he said he would show me how, I am also somewhat friends with the him, more than just an acquaintance. Many people tell me they love golf and I would like to try it. Living there would also give me more opportunities to go hiking something I do not have a lot of access to living in Queens NY and I used to enjoy it when I was younger. I could enjoy nicer fresh air and the outdoors a little more their. When I walk around where live everyone just tries to walk right through you as if they don't need to move a little bit out of the way, are constantly staring into there phones, and overall seem on edge all the time. Also the traffic sucks **** most times of the day. Yep, that is the city for you. Even though in a country environment you may have to drive half an hour or so to go food shopping or somewhere out to eat. Unlike the city you in a country area you will most likely not be constantly stopping at traffic lights, stuck in traffic lights, avoiding running over people that just walk into the street without looking, searching endlessly for a parking spot, and destroying car on potholes and consequently bumpy/ damaged roads.

Other than the one guy I know who is married and goes there on the weekends I do not know anyone else in that area of PA. I think I will meet some people as I am generally a friendly person. I will certainly buy at least a few guns and learn how to use them I will be going to gun ranges and I will probably meet someone there with similar interests and I am guessing you are allowed to say "Hey what kind of gun is that can I try it?" Swap guns/ do that sort of thing. I don't even own a gun yet and have never used one, however for some reason I am passionate about the second amendment , it hit me not too long ago, and I would like to meet other people who have similar views. Where I live in NY that barely exists and only a pathetic selection of guns are now legal in NY. You are also allowed to carry almost any kind of knife in PA, which is very restrictive in NY.

Overall the only benefit I see to living in Queens NY is it is near my job. Other than that there is not much else holding me back. If I did move to PA maybe I will get lucky enough to find a good paying job out there some day. Any thought would be appreciated thank you for spending the time to read this.

[longweight]

It sounds like you are basing the move on a quite a few "it would be nice" things. Have you spent anytime there? Have you tried the commute at rush hour? You say that you don't have any guns and yet you want to live somewhere that your 2nd Amendment rights are respected, is that really a strong enough reason to want to move?


Also the rent may sound cheaper but what are local wages like? If you did lose your job or found that the commute was too long would the local wages still make the rent look cheap?

[keyboardlover]

Come to PA! Much more moderate weather than FL and your 2A rights are pretty much kept in check by the vast and beautiful PA heartland. I live near Philly - PM me if you need any help or advice.

[josh6135]

It sounds like you are basing the move on a quite a few "it would be nice" things. Have you spent anytime there? No I will probably be going next week. Have you tried the commute at rush hour? No however I have been told by someone who does the commute often that if I leave at 5 AM I will get there in 1.5 to 2 hours. You say that you don't have any guns and yet you want to live somewhere that your 2nd Amendment rights are respected, is that really a strong enough reason to want to move? Yes it is a strong enough reason, however I mentioned many other benefits to moving there besides the 2nd Amendment being respected.


Also the rent may sound cheaper but what are local wages like? I don't know the local wages. If you did lose your job or found that the commute was too long would the local wages still make the rent look cheap? While I would prefer not to do this I do have the option of living with my father if I fall into hard times. I think I have good job security in my company. I will not let the local wages affect my moving decision. If I do that then I will just be thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking about all the what ifs and I won't get anywhere. I have already done that and need to cut back on being so paranoid or I will never do anything.

[longweight]

That was the hardest to read post ever!

[Lanx]

i was born in bklyn ny, i move with my gf to virginia for job opportunities in 2001, by then i was 21, first time moving out, when moved to lancaster pa, not for job opportunities but for an easier communte back to ny, the holiday trips from va to ny, were killing us. by now i'm 33 married.

you know what the worst part of the commute back to ny is?
the damn nj turnpike, i hate 95

you know what i hate most, exit 13, goethals. now mind you i'm a direction idiot, i can't navigate w/o tomtom but i know this exit number and name, because if you catch it at the wrong time, you're stuck on here for hours, getting on the on ramp.
then! for some reason ppl are dumb and don't have easy pass! so half the lines are ppl shifting out of lanes. THEN the merge after you pay, it's the biggest clusterfck every to go either east or west!

Don't even THINK about taking exit 14, which is to the midtown tunnel, no matter the time of day there is ALWAYS traffic there, i've tried to sneak in at 4am... traffic.

so for me, it's about going home, for years it's that goddamn exit 13!

you will be displaced!

places around me close at 9pm, these are businesses that serve ppl!, bars close at 1(what friends tell me, i don't drink) in pa you have
weiss
giant
superwalmart

as your supermarkets, yes you are from bklyn, it's no joke a walmart(it has to be a SUPERwalmart) has groceries, and it's pretty good! this is what you'll get in terms of perceived quality for food
giant->weiss>walmart

this is what you'll get in terms of savings
walmart/walmart/walmart->weiss->giant

you drive right? cuz there is no way you're getting around anywhere w/o a car

buses depending on your area are operated privately, oh it's still reasonable 1.50 or 2.00 or something, i haven't taken the bus in years. One thing a bus will ALWAYS stop at the walmart, it will detour out of it's straight line path into the walmart shopping center, i'm not joking, it's a high traffic area.

guns.

they are plentiful!, my former neighbor asked if he could send ammo to my house and i just receive if he was out of town, i said sure. dear lord it must have been 60lbs of ammo! he has a conceled carry, and always wears a shirt over his tshirt (to hide it) but he's fat, and i can see every time, lol. from what he tells me(he moved a year ago) guns and gun ranges(i don't know cuz i don't do gun stuff) is great in pa, he said he could go with me and i could buy a gun the next day, just file with the sheriff, in 24hours, then visit his gun guy the day after and i'd have my own gun a month if i wanted, or he could just take me to the range and i could shoot right away. (i've never been arrested or have any record, so he based it on my squeaky cleaness) i have no idea on gun laws or anything outside what he told me when we hung out.

you're 31 single? your gonna want a dog, it might get lonely, dogs are awesome, i just lost my best friend of 10years last year to cancer, it's hard to even think about getting another one, but you should think about it, serious, if i didn't have my wife, i'd probably go nuts out here.

hit me up with questions, sounds like i'm already living where you want to be.

oh i hate it out here, we've wanted to move back to ny since 2002 lol (we can't cuz of job restrictions)

[sicyo]

Take a 2-4 day vacation first.

Personally I've been looking at moving to Oregon, North CA, Colorado, or perhaps Flagstaff. But I've got slightly different priorities. Not single, don't care about guns, want good road trips, great microbrew, and good scenery. I also don't want to deal with any of that hurricane, 90+ degrees, or anti-intellectualism bs.

One site I've found that is good at cross comparing places to live is http://best-cities.findthebest.com/