Coatesville, PA ?'s (Chester, West Chester, Phoenixville: cheap house, neighborhood, school district)

[mbrown29]

Hi Everyone,

I live in south Jersey and I am thinking about moving to Coatesville, PA. I was wondering if anyone have any info. on schools and housing and taxes. I found a few new home development that i am going to view, hopefully this weekend.
We have been looking here, but the homes are getting expensive and taxes are outrageous. We found a home, but taxes started at $10,000.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks-
Maria

[KristyLiz]

Two years ago we went on a house-hunting expedition that took us to Coatsville. Luckily, we got lost on our way to the new pretty development, and ended up in a pretty seedy area.

Don't waste your time is my advice.

[mbrown29]

Sorry, but you didn't answer my question about the town......

maybe I should look into myself.

Maria

[KoZmiC NinJa]

Coatesville is a huge area that encompasses all
different types of housing.
The City itself is dangerous, dump. Period.

dailylocalnews.com: The Leading News Site on the Net

[kimannbrooks]

I am a realtor that is moving to East Fallowfield from Downingtown, PA. Coatesville is improving, not only the area, but the schools as well. Many new families are moving this way due to the convenience of the location and the cheaper prices. In my opinion, this will only make this area better in time.

The City police have recently had a huge feat - and made MANY arrests and are trying to clean up the city and its image. I beleive this area is a great place to invest right now. Everyone knows that the BOOM around here is moving westward. I beleive Coatesville is the next up and coming area that will be improved. If you are willing to take the risk, I beleive it will pay off in the future.

If you ask anyone what West Chester was like 20 years ago - it did NOT have a good reputation. Or, even Downingtown 10 years ago was a completely different place! This is the next area on the map!

Taxes tend to be higher, prices lower and the exterior of the city feels like any other suburban area. If you need any additional help or advice, feel free to contact me.

[saortiz]

Keep an open mind, and possibly keep looking. We actually live in the city and can't wait to move. It's noisy, trash litters the street and sidewalks, people openly sell drugs on the street corner, and there are not many shops we patronize. The quality of schools is dependent upon where in Coatesville you are looking at moving to. Many do complain about the property taxes, too. The previous poster did mention that the police have been working hard to improve the quality of life, however they have lots of work still ahead of them. There has been much talk of revitalization, of major improvements to be made, but there is a long way to go. The outlying areas of the city of Coatesville are decent, but Chester County offers many great locations to look into.

Honestly, if you are looking to move to this part of Chester County, I'd recommend looking at Downingtown, Exton, West Chester, or the surrounding communities. The homes may be more expensive, but the schools are consistently better, property taxes generally lower, and many more neighborhood conveniences/family-friendly stores and services. Plus, why wait 10 to 20 years for Coatesville to get itself together?

Good luck!

[EternalNomad]

in 2005, my husband and i were looking to move to pa from florida.

following much research, we narrowed down our search to either Coatesville/Downingtown OR Pennsburg (south of allentown).

We ended up coming to Pennsburg, and i am VERY HAPPY we did. I have heard from a lot of people who also ended up in my current development, that they went to Coatesville and checked it out. They werent impressed, and that is why they decided on the Upper Perkiomen Valley.

[NitPicker]

Nobody in their right mind would move to the Borough of Coatesville. Look at the Chester County Daily Local newspaper for an idea of how completely screwed up the borough is. Crime, problems with the police, crazy politics. And the schools, which were nearly out of money last year, aren't particularly good. If you're interested in Chester County, anywhere in the Downingtown or West Chester Area School District will be a better bet for your kids.

We moved to Chester County from a broke, dead former steel town in Western PA, Aliquippa. When we asked our Realtor for a cheap house in a bad school district (we don't have kids) she suggested Coatesville. It looked exactly like what we had left.

Do remember that PA has townships as well as boroughs, and there may be a nearby township with reasonable housing prices that is attractive to you.

[Pilot1]

Pockets like Coatesville and Phoenixville in the very affluent Chester County are anomolies. They are former steel towns that have no steel anymore. However, they are located in a great area and the outskirts of both enclaves are very nice. Stay out of the actual towns, and you're fine.