House of the week: A four-bedroom mountaintop home in the Poconos for $635,000

His arms filled with grocery bags, Michael Penn trudged along a Manhattan street, struggling against the windblown sleet when he thought: “What am I doing here?”

There had to be a better way to live.

He and his husband, Julio Alegria, had lived in the city for 20 years, but the appeal of a rural lifestyle was still there, dating from his childhood in South Central Pennsylvania, 30 miles northwest of Harrisburg.

And his work as an acquisitions editor for several publishing houses could be done from anywhere.

“Anywhere” turned out to be a four-bedroom, four-bath house high in the Poconos where he could work, garden, and drive to the grocery store.

“Taking care of land is something I love,” he said.

Penn attended several Mount Pocono Borough municipal meetings as a way of meeting new people, which turned out to be an understatement. At one point he served as mayor.

Now, Alegria, a ballet dancer, has a new job in Connecticut and the couple is headed there.

The Poconos house was built in 1920 as Horne’s Inn, but was converted to a residence in the 1940s.

An adjacent Cape Cod house previously owned by Penn’s late brother is also for sale, and Penn said that either house could be converted to a bed-and-breakfast.

Penn’s house, which he described as “farmhouse inn” style, has a modern, upgraded kitchen with granite countertops, a new dishwasher, a cooktop hood and range, and stainless steel appliances.

The third-floor primary bedroom suite overlooks the Delaware Water Gap and Camelback Mountain, and there is a solar-heated, in-ground pool with a new liner, filter, and pump.

The living room features the original stone fireplace.

There is also a large, detached two-car garage with storage space and a utility shed.

The house is on a 1.41-acre plot and has a total square footage of 2,880.

It is listed by Alexis Carmen Cruel of BHHS Fox & Roach Center Valley for $635,000.