Kurfiss Sotheby's International Realty serves buyers and sellers in the greater Lehigh Valley, focusing on residential real estate in Saucon Valley, one of the Lehigh Valley’s finest neighborhoods with some of its most expensive homes;
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: Christmas City, U.S.A.
Founded in 1741 by Moravian settlers, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in Northampton County, once held a worldwide reputation for its steel manufacturing. Today the town is in the middle of a cultural and economic renaissance. Home to Lehigh University and Moravian College, the city also has seen a growth in fine restaurants, art galleries and shopping districts. Sands Bethlehem, a casino complex with 3,000 slot machines and electronic game tables, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs, is now up and running on the former Bethlehem Steel site. The new structures were built amid the site’s original 20-story blast furnaces. The residential neighborhoods closest to this new complex are Historic Bethlehem and Saucon Valley, as well as Fountain Hill and Hellertown.
Bethlehem is also home to Musikfest, an annual celebration of all types of music with free performances taking place throughout the historic district and at other nearby venues. Each year’s event draws, on average, a million visitors.
Adjacent to the Sands Casino complex, SteelStacks is an arts and cultural campus offering a range of performing arts venues.
Public school districts serving Bethlehem and nearby areas are Bethlehem City, Saucon Valley, Nazareth, Northampton and, as you reach southeast into Bucks County, Palisades. As for private schools, there is a parochial school system as well as Moravian Academy, a highly regarded school K-12 private school that traces its roots to the first school for girls founded in the American colonies in 1742. Moravian Academy is the ninth oldest independent school in the United States. To research public schools in the greater Bethlehem area, please visit School Matters.
Allentown, Pennsylvania: City Without Limits
Allentown, Pennsylvania, in Lehigh County, is home to an international airport, Muhlenberg and Cedar Crest Colleges, a fantastic public parks system, and a wide variety of residential neighborhoods. Some notable Allentown neighborhoods include the Parkway, an area abutting Lehigh Parkway, a wonderful park with bridle paths, fishing in the Little Lehigh and running/biking/walking paths; the Rose Garden area, overlooking Cedar Beach Park and the city's Rose Garden with close proximity to Muhlenberg College and the city’s far west end; West Park, a historic district of mostly rowhomes surrounding Center City’s West Park; the Old Fairgrounds Neighborhood, a certified historic district in Center City consisting mostly of 19th-century rowhomes; and the Old Allentown Historic District, another Center City neighborhood whose layout dates to an original city plan from 1762.
A favorite shopping spot for residents in the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers’ Market, at 17th & Chew Streets, where produce, meat, fish, poultry, candy, bakery and prepared-food vendors sell their goods Thursdays through Saturdays. Catch a foreign or independent film at the 19th Street Theatre, just a block from the market.
Relevant public schools are Allentown City, Parkland, East Penn (Emmaus), Salisbury, Whitehall, Catasauqua and Northwestern, and a parochial school system is also available. Private school options range from Swain School to Lehigh Valley Christian High School, to Montessori schools and others. To research public schools in the greater Allentown area, please visit School Matters.
Easton, Pennsylvania: History, Heritage, Home
East of Allentown and Bethlehem, in Northampton County on the border with New Jersey where the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers meet, is Easton, Pennsylvania. Home to Lafayette College as well as several museums along the Delaware River and Canal, Easton has a growing arts community spearheaded by the State Theater for Performing Arts. Many people who work in New York City and New Jersey have opted to live in the greater Easton area thanks to its proximity to Interstate 78 and its bus service to those areas.
Nearby public school systems are Easton City, Wilson, Nazareth, Bangor and Northampton, with a range of parochial schools available. To research public schools in the greater Easton area, please visit School Matters.
Together, these three cities form the third largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania and welcome new residents with a wealth of interesting community events, nationally recognized medical care, excellent public and private schools, various outdoor activities and fine dining all built on 250 years of history.
The Lehigh Valley is an extremely diverse area with a population in Lehigh and Northampton counties approaching 700,000. The area is almost equidistant from Philadelphia and New York City, though New York City is a slightly farther drive. Two bus lines, Trans-Bridge and Bieber, run buses throughout the day from various stops in the Lehigh Valley to New York City and offer some service to Philadelphia as well. Train service to these cities from the Lehigh Valley is currently unavailable.
The area is served by two major hospitals each with various campuses, Lehigh Valley Hospital and St. Luke's Hospital, plus Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown and Easton Hospital. In addition, there are several private hospitals that have recently opened.
The Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors has consolidated information area schools, hospitals, arts organizations and more here.
As a member of the Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors, we welcome you to view the many fine Lehigh Valley homes for sale, old and historic as well as new construction, available in this growing patch of economic vitality.
