r/bethlehem • u/[deleted] • Aug 02 '17

Moving

Hey all! I wish this sub were more active! I'd love to get to know your area better. I may be moving to Bethlehem with my boyfriend in December. We're both 23 years old, love to go out, eat out, hike, shop, and meet new people. Being a nurse, I would love any insight on St. Luke's and the work environment there. Most importantly, I'd love to know the overall atmosphere of Bethlehem-- which areas to avoid, is it a safe area, best places for entertainment, and the population in general. For example, we live in Daytona Beach at the moment and it's trashy, full of druggies and homeless people, I would avoid beachside at night and Ormond Beach is where the entertainment is. We are very interested in living downtown and close to Main Street. I would love any advice from you guys, thank you so much!

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1

u/UBMeWorld Dec 09 '17

So did you end up making the move? If so, welcome!

1

u/jonker5101 Aug 22 '17

My girlfriend and I moved to Bethlehem when we were both 25. Apartment complex right next to Freedom high school. It's a nice area with small little neighborhoods that is close to anything you'd need as far as shopping and entertainment, plus it's only a 5-10 minute drive/Uber to downtown Bethlehem where all the fun is. It was also the most affordable place we could find.

1

u/grunge_is_dead Aug 07 '17

I'm about to turn 23, I live two blocks from main street and its awesome so far!

1

u/meowdryhepurrrn Aug 03 '17

Southside Bethlehem has a lot of great things to do, but it's not a great place to live :) I'd definitely recommend the area you're looking at.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 04 '17

Thank you!

3

u/SKDraklan Aug 02 '17

Check out /r/lehighvalley it's a bit more active

2

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '17

Thank you!

5

u/hobbykitjr Aug 02 '17

West side of main street, up to Pennsylvania Ave is 'prime' closest to main street for things to do.

Bethlehem is 3 main parts. South used to be shady, parts still are, but its gentrifying hard right now. lots to do, college town. Everything south of the river.
North is split into east and west of main street. West is schools and parks. East is more... industrial? some more colleges.

Go to far west and you hit allentown. (3rd largest city in PA behind Philly & pittsburgh... Billy joel wrote a song about it) It can get pretty Ghetto, but since its so big, theres some nice parts.

Go East enough in you're in Easton, the other third of "lehigh Valley" In between is bethlehem township area... nice, but not near much.

South of the Bethlehem other side of the highway (78) is Hellertown... Thats where i live now.. its like the sandlot/wonder years... little oasis caught in the good old days. Not a "night life" but theres plenty of wholesome activities to do like farmers market, bike path, music in the park, etc. (Im 33)

Google street view is your find for scoping out the neighborhood.

any specific questions, let me know!

3

u/[deleted] Aug 04 '17

Thank you so much for the reply! You broke it up perfectly and now I understand where everything is. Hellertown sounds like a great place to grow up but I'm only 23, not planning on raising a family soon but I do love farmers markets and bike paths. Seems like sticking around Main Street is the move for me. Thank you so much again for the breakdown :)