Forgive me. I’m lumping one big county together here in a pretty vague post because 1) I’m not really up on the geography of Bucks County, 2) I haven’t visited in a few years and 3) Pennsylvania is doesn’t count as the tri-state area so you’re lucky you’re getting this at all.
Way back yonder when we were living in Park Slope and started looking for a country place, our first stop was Bucks County. We had a friend who moved from Hoboken to an old farmhouse on 7 acres and we loved visiting. This was pre-internet (we are so F*in old!!) and I remember driving around with a big MLS book looking at homes. There was nothing for under $300k and our range was more like $100k so we gave up the dream.
I wanted to see what’s cooking in the real estate department over there these days. Yes, I managed to pull up some pretty cool homes for under $500k. But to be honest with you, I have no idea where they are. I know that my friend is near Frenchtown, NJ (in Tinicum, PA) and chose PA over NJ because both home prices and taxes were lower just over the river.
So when I say Bucks County, I guess I mean “Upper Bucks”. Anyway, it has a different feel from Upstate, NY. The land is less rugged. Instead of mountains, the landscape provides windy tree lined roads and the Delaware River snaking through the area. To add to the charm, Bucks County is home to a ginormous amount of covered bridges. And historic homes.
It takes about 90 minutes from NYC. Trans Bridge Bus Lines was the only form of public transit I came up with in my search and I don’t know how user friendly the bus lines are once in Bucks County.
There’s no shortage of great restaurants, antiques shops, galleries and even wineries here. New Hope is a crowded tourist trap, but if you plan on going sans automobile, this might be the place to hit. Doylestown and Frenchtown, NJ also have much to offer with less of a tourist feel than New Hope.
Bucks County is definitely worth a weekend visit at the very least. Here’s a list of gay friendly B&B’s that I’m sure accepts heteros too. And if you fall in love with Bucks (which you will), see home prices in the following post.
Time Out article
Bucks County.org
Bucks Views
Doylestown Alive