Lehigh University:

Bethlehem is a part of picturesque Lehigh Valley. It remains a small city with a real neighborhood orientation. Visitors and residents alike generally spend their time in the many sophisticated gourmet restaurants to the fun and casual eateries. If you’re hungry for retail, the Valley offers boutiques, antique shops and several malls. It is ideally situated 75 miles from New York and 50 miles from Philadelphia, as well as proximity to major East Coast cities, including Boston and Washington, D.C.

The cost of living in the Lehigh Valley is about 6% higher than the national average of 300 other cities, including places in Canada. This is approximately 14.5% below the cost of living in Philadelphia and 56% below the cost of living in Manhattan excluding taxes. However, since the ACCRA Cost of Living Index is mathematically the percentage of some base number, its final numbers are approximations. So numerical values that are close to each other do not imply any actual difference in cost of living in those places.

Lehigh Valley Resources:

• LehighValley.org (Demographic & Economic Information)
• Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (Municipal Profiles)

Other Web Resources:

• City Comparison (Yahoo)
• Best Places Net (Compare two U.S. cities)
• Cost-of-Living Calculator
• Salary Wizard