Huge change over the last 10 years
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1/23/2008
I am a transplant from San Diego, CA. I first moved here in 1997 and left to go back to San Diego in 2003. I have since moved back here to Bethlehem (as of August 2007). The first time I lived here, I loved it! A slower pace of life, cheaper cost of living and 4 seasons. Our quality of life was far superior to what we could get in Southern California. Since moving away in '03 to the present, Bethlehem has seen many changes. The growth is phenomenal! And the traffic rivals that of many major cities. What I have seen here is lots of residential growth with some new business growth, as well. The thing that makes this bad is there aren't roads to support this growth making traffic horrible. Nothing is cheap here anymore, either. Gas prices are as bad as in Southern California; whereas before when I lived here, they were consistently about $1 cheaper/gallon. Housing is expensive now too. And if you love snow, don't move here...with global warming, it rarely snows here anymore. It still is a beautiful place to live and the quality of life is still better than in Southern California...but people here are different in their thinking...so if you're of the more liberal mindset, beware!
Lynn | Bethlehem, PA