[Untamed]

Nearly two years ago my wife and I were seriously looking to buy in the East Stroudsburg area. The houses were built in planned communities, convenient to local commuting roads, and just over the border from New Jersey, so close enough to where I work (Florham Park) to make it a 1 hour commute +- depending on traffic.

Two things struck me as we looked at the houses:

1. The prices are very close to NJ prices, because the builders realize the majority of their clients come from the NY or NJ area, so therefore have those salaries and can afford more than most folks who live and work in PA.

2. The infrastructure to support the explosion of houses (and therefore families) wasn't there yet (as of 2 years ago). So things like convenience stores, grocery stores, schools, and well-maintained roads just weren't there. Two years ago the place still felt like a winter vacation spot rather than a full-time bedroom community. That all may have changed since then.

We ultimately decided to discontinue our search out there because the amount of traffic and lack of infrastructure just made the idea of living out there, and commuting to north-central NJ, impractical. If I worked in Allentown, or at the college in Stroudsburg, it might make sense - but then the salries aren't the same as what they are in NJ, even though the cost of living in these new communities in East Stroudsburg, were almost as high as living in NJ.

Good luck!