Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-05-2007, 10:08 AM
 
4 posts, read 30,312 times
Reputation: 11

Advertisements

I’ve recently been relocated by my company to the suburban Philadelphia area, and I’m looking at homes in the Douglassville (amity township), Pottstown (pottsgrove area) and Boyertown areas. Right now I’m leaning towards Douglassville, because it seems to be the best value, but I don’t know a lot about the area, schools, etc… Can anyone give me some thoughts about this area vs. the others?

Thanks
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-05-2007, 10:16 AM
 
788 posts, read 2,105,819 times
Reputation: 598
Daniel Boone School district has very high taxes - but Berks county is the cheapest as far as insurance and utilities - if you are coming from Philly - you'll be shocked at how much cheaper it all is. My step son lives with his mother in Dan Boone district and needs special education and I HATE Dan Boone school district. Not really partial there - but our experience has been terrible. We have to fight them on everything. They are/have been building a ton of new schools in Dan Boone - but the taxes keep going up every year.
We live in Boyertown SD with our 4 children - 16 down to 5 and LOVE it. The school is the best - their sports and music programs are outstanding and the community is really behind their schools. Pottstown is going through A LOT of changes and problems with their schools. There are soo many houses for sale in Pottstown because people are running from the schools.
Boyertown homes hold their values very well.
I feel like an ad for the town - NO I'm not the mayor. Just very happy to raise my family there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-05-2007, 04:28 PM
 
4 posts, read 30,312 times
Reputation: 11
Thanks Bears, i will take a harder look at Boyertown. The cost of housing in this area seams significantly higher, but that makes sense if the schools are that much better. You mention pottstown going through a lot of changes, i was looking at homes that are in Pottsgrove School District, is this different from pottstown? Better or Worse than Dan Boone?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-05-2007, 04:51 PM
 
788 posts, read 2,105,819 times
Reputation: 598
Pottsgrove is a mini pottstown - I actually went to school at pottsgrove - it's changed a lot. dan boone is probably a better school district. plus it's montgomery county and the taxes and utilities are a lot higher - car insurance is about 15% cheaper in berks county vs. montgomery county....
Boyertown housing is higher - but definately worth it. taxes are going up in pottsgrove too.....
all of this is my opinion - but boyertown's state report card is better than the others.......
Boyertown is huge - 2 jr high's - 7 elem - pottsgrove is much smaller......
check out the Boyertown bears website - Bear Fever - the community has over 40 bears all over town - this is just one of the neat things the community does.....
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-06-2007, 06:10 AM
 
24,334 posts, read 22,881,617 times
Reputation: 14912
The more houses you build, the higher your taxes. Check into Exeter and Oley townships, both have very good schools. Oley is very rural( development has been kept in check), Exeter has become mostly suburbs but still has areas left that are open space and has alot of shopping and restaurants, maybe more than it needs with more being planned.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-09-2007, 03:37 PM
 
3 posts, read 19,452 times
Reputation: 10
I live in Douglassville and I'm content. I've lived here for 3 1/2 years (but have lived in PA my whole life) and the area is nice but not much to do at all. My daughter is only 3 so I don't know much about the school district. My husband went to Boyertown school district and speaks highly of it. My in-laws speak very highly of the school district. They put 3 kids through that school. There are many nice developments in Douglassville with nice homes and the prices are definitely less expensive compared to Montgomery and Chester Counties. Pottstown is awful. I really don't even like shopping at the Walmart there and stay away from the school district. I've heard bad things about it. Although, I've also heard that they're trying to revamp Pottstown area, but that will take a long time and a lot of work. Overall, Douglassville is clean and feels safe, and is slowly growing. Good Luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-09-2007, 08:16 PM
 
Location: Boston Metrowest (via the Philly area)
7,245 posts, read 10,480,726 times
Reputation: 8758
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgallo28 View Post
Thanks Bears, i will take a harder look at Boyertown. The cost of housing in this area seams significantly higher, but that makes sense if the schools are that much better. You mention pottstown going through a lot of changes, i was looking at homes that are in Pottsgrove School District, is this different from pottstown? Better or Worse than Dan Boone?
Yes, Pottsgrove is considered a community separate from Pottstown, although they are right next to one another. Pottsgrove has seen a considerable amount of development lately, and I'm sure their property taxes have gone up as a result. The school district certainly has a better record than Pottstown, however. If you're mostly concerned with property taxes, I'd advise you to consolidate your home search to Berks County. Montgomery and Chester counties are becoming increasingly expensive. Although many communities around here continue to experience sprawl -- particularly near commuter corridors -- at least consider the ease of commute if you pick a home with close proximity to Route 422, as it will surely suit your commute much better, wherever your job is in the Philadelphia area.

Also, for the record, I attended and graduated from Boyertown SD, and while I was never particularly fond of the inner-Boyertown itself for reasons of social exclusivity and an overabundance of elderly, I'd definitely recommend it as far as an above-par public school system, which educates children from a variety of nearby communites (i.e., Gilbertsville, New Hanover, Earl, Bally) in which you may reside. Good luck in whatever you choose!

Last edited by Duderino; 09-09-2007 at 08:30 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-24-2007, 11:34 PM
 
4 posts, read 30,017 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgallo28 View Post
I’ve recently been relocated by my company to the suburban Philadelphia area, and I’m looking at homes in the Douglassville (amity township), Pottstown (pottsgrove area) and Boyertown areas. Right now I’m leaning towards Douglassville, because it seems to be the best value, but I don’t know a lot about the area, schools, etc… Can anyone give me some thoughts about this area vs. the others?

Thanks
Douglassville is starting to build up, but I also am curious, why no one is rapidly moving there. It is not as BAD as Boyertown, with the KKK and clan gatherings in public. I don't want to be area with any hate groups, but I have been trying to research Douglassville too...As far as school rankings on the PSSA out of 500 schools Douglassville area schools rank 209, SF is 85 and Own J is 67. Douglassville area schools are almost average. Also when I called the school, they sounded like almost idiots anwered the phone, and they just did not come off as professional or even assertive...good luck!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-24-2007, 11:35 PM
 
4 posts, read 30,017 times
Reputation: 10
ok, PS the taxes are crazy hight at 70% of your house purchase price...so about $11,000 is average tax amount due annually for a new home...damn imagine saving just $1000 per month just to pay for taxes...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-24-2007, 11:40 PM
 
4 posts, read 30,017 times
Reputation: 10
Default Is Douglassville Racial? Should I move there?

I can't tell if it is as bad as Boyertown, because I don't know anyone up there in Douglassville. It seems like it is trying to come up as a city, but I wanted anyones input. I don't want any trouble, but it seems like maybe all the whots are moving out because the blacks are moving in. I can be wrong, but I am wondering...I am considering moving there from Collegeville. Why, I know, we have low taxes, excellent schools (ranked 87% out of 500 schools - top third), and booming college town where everyone is nice! I see that in Douglassville taxes are crazy high and the school district is average at 209 out of 500 schools ranged on the Penna PSSA tests scores. Let me know!! Thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top