Q. What towns are in the vicinity of Mt. Bethel?
A. Mt. Bethel is the postal address for the village of Mt. Bethel, which is part of Upper Mt. Bethel Township. Other townships are Lower Mt. Bethel and Washington Township. Boroughs include Portland, E. Bangor, Bangor and Roseto. Youngsters in these towns attend the Bangor Area School District.
Q. What is the Slate Belt?
A. The towns listed previously make up the region known as the Slate Belt. The name is comes from the extensive slate quarrying that was the basis of the local economy.
Q. Where are the nearest grocery stores?
A. Pyshers Market, Rt. 611 in the center of Mt. Bethel, is a good general-purpose mid-sized grocery with butcher shop. A new branch of Main Street Market has opened recently in downtown Portland (Rt. 611). Full-sized grocery stores include the IGA on Rt. 512, Bangor, A&P stores across the bridge on Rt. 46 in Belvidere (Buttzville) and Rt. 94 in Blairstown, N.J. Stroudsburg, Pa., is 15 minutes to the north and has several major grocery stores. Several local gas stations include convenience markets.
Q. What about other shopping?
A. A CVS pharmacy is located on Rt. 512 between E. Bangor and the center of Bangor. Rite Aid opened recently on Rt. 46 in Belvidere. Portland is developing a reputation as a center for antiques, and is home to Duckloe Bros. furniture. Bangor and E. Bangor have shopping in the town centers. There are a host of local pizzas and restaurants. Cramers, Portland, is a full-service lumber yard and hardware center. Home Depot and Wal-Mart centers have opened in Stroudsburg and E. Stroudsburg, 15 minutes to the north. Beer and nonalcoholic beverages are available at Mt .Bethel Beverage at the Rt. 512 Plaza, Upper Mt. Bethel and at local taverns. Hard liquor is available at Smitty's on Rt. 46 in N.J.
Q. Where are the medical centers?
A. The nearest hospitals are in E. Stroudsburg (Pocono Medical Center) and Easton (Easton Hospital), both 15-25 minute rides. St. Luke's in Bethlehem is 35 minutes to the southeast. There are a number of family practice centers in Mt. Bethel, Bangor, Portland and the Wind Gap region.
Q. How is the commute?
A. Somerset County, N.J. and Morris County, N.J. are within a one-hour ride. Easton is 15-25 minutes to the south, and Allentown is within a 40 minute ride. In the rush hours, I-80 generally becomes quite crowded between Netcong and Morris counties. I-78 in N.J. is becoming more crowded but is not as difficult as I-80. The nearest bus station to New York City is the Martz Trailways stop in Stroudsburg, Pa. (a park and ride is located near the Delaware Water Gap bridge) or Hackettstown, N.J. (a park and ride is located at the Panther Valley shopping center). A commuter train is slated to stop in Blairstown (10 minutes to the northwest on Rt. 94 in N.J.) but is not expected to open until at least 2003. That line will end in Hoboken.
Q. Is bridge traffic a problem?
A. Not if you cross at the Portland, Pa.-Columbia, N.J. bridge or the Belvidere, N.J.-Riverton (at the border of Upper and Lower Mt. Bethel) bridges. However, the bridge at I-80 crossing Delaware Water Gap10 miles to the north frequently backs up several miles into N.J.
Q. What taxes do Pennsylvania residents pay?
A. Homeowners pay township, county and school district property taxes. There is also a Pennsylvania state income tax and a local occupational tax (known locally as "Berkheimer" tax for the service that collects the tax) that runs 1% of income. Real estate transactions are subject to a 2% transfer tax, which is typically split evenly among buyer and seller.