Any good towns in Berks County? (Reading, Minersville: place to live, prices, train)

[I love the Bears]

We live in the Boyertown area and love it! The area is very nice and the schools (you may eventually care!) are great. It's not a far drive to Temple - straight down route 73.

[tapestry]

Originally Posted by jeny305

I know there are some bad places in Berks county. My husband and I are moving to PA soon due to job relocation. His boss is moving to Temple. It is too close to Reading for me so I am looking for a small town in Berks County that is livable. We may move to Fredericksburg but if we find something better in Berks county that would be great. I have never even been to PA so I have no idea where to look. We are a couple in our mid thirties with no children. Please help! Thank you!

I live in Exeter and would recommend that as another person on here did....Wyomissing is nice as well.....

*Definitely* wouldn't recommend Temple....it's got the bad mushroom smells many times and is just kinda run down looking to me.....and, from what I've heard, has a high crime rate....

Hope this helps,

...Sue

[siana]

Hi, I just got done reading some of the comments especially with Jeni who is looking for a place to live in the Berks area. Just wanted to let anyone know that I have a beautiful .28 acre that over looks a preserved farm in the outskirts of the Fleetwood Borough. The lot is a mature lot with public water, sewer, has a alley access with no deed restriction. If interested, I would love to hear from you.

[Darlene Weist]

Originally Posted by jeny305

I know there are some bad places in Berks county. My husband and I are moving to PA soon due to job relocation. His boss is moving to Temple. It is too close to Reading for me so I am looking for a small town in Berks County that is livable. We may move to Fredericksburg but if we find something better in Berks county that would be great. I have never even been to PA so I have no idea where to look. We are a couple in our mid thirties with no children. Please help! Thank you!

Hello my name is Darlene Weist and I have lived in Berks County all my life. I lived in the Leesport area for 19 years. It is close to reading, but still rural enough. I live minutes from Reading along a creek in a secluded setting. If you work in Reading you should be able to find something closer then Fredericksburg. I am selling my house and their is a virtual tour on line. From the virtual tour you can see what the area I live in looks like. It is under Coldwell Bank, 26 Pillar Dr. Reading. Welcome to PA

[TristansMommy]

Originally Posted by kf70

I've been wanting to add my thoughts for at least a day, but didn't know what to say to where to start. Icy Tea's post is thorough and pretty much covered much of what I wanted to write.

Here are some of my thoughts on the areas surrounding Reading ... These areas really are an extension of the city and many times it is referred to Greater Berks, because these boroughs and townships really are branches of the downtown.

Fleetwood/Blandon/Temple - lots of newer development, used to be rural farm area. Convenient to Allentown, route 222 - busy, busy intersection of 222/73 nearby could be a morning and afternoon headache. New highway construction completed just north of here in Trexlertown just south of Allentown if you need to access route 78
Oley - some development, mostly rural and farm area north and east of Reading, convenient to Allentown, Reading, Philadelphia, route 73, but near 222 for easy commutes.
Exeter Township - suburban area east of Reading, lots of development, convenient for commuters to/from Philadelphia, situated along 422 - busy corridor. Some shopping but mostly housing and some farmland
Wyomissing - upscale suburbs, but some older housing as well. Shopping and restaurants abound on this side (west) of Reading. Easy access to 422 and 222. Routes 183 (& Reading airport), route 61 are just a few minutes away. Turnpike exit (Reading) about 15 minutes south on 222.
Sinking Spring - mostly older neighborhoods, but some newer development has replaced farmland. Easy access to 422, 222 and 724. Mix of housing, shopping and services. Somewhat near Lancaster County.
Grill/Kenhorst - mostly older suburban neighborhoods just outside Reading city limits, near routes 222, 724 and 10. About 15-20 minutes to the Turnpike, either Morgantown or Reading interchanges. A mix of shopping and residential areas
Cumru/Brecknock Townships - rural and farmland, but growing with new residential development, south of the suburbs - closing in on Lancaster County. Access to all major routes within 15 minutes. The completed 222 southern section is finally completed and I expect more development along this corridor between Reading and Lancaster County.

Shillington, Mount Penn, West Reading and Laureldale are the suburbs immediately surrounding downtown Reading. Lots of row homes, but also some nice older singles as you continue away from the city limits.

thakn you.. I had just posted looking for info on Berks county and then scrolled through the pages to find this post.. guess I should have done this first.. this is VERY helpful

[jasonsadrummer]

Originally Posted by I love the Bears

We live in the Boyertown area and love it! The area is very nice and the schools (you may eventually care!) are great. It's not a far drive to Temple - straight down route 73.

Please do yourself and your family a bit of justice and land anywhere in the area BUT Boyertown...I grew up there. Well I was there physicly while going through school. There wasn't much growing to be done. Boyertown has a fine distiction of being very selfish. The people don't have or want any culture. There mean to outsiders. If you didn't grow up there they don't want anything to do with you. I grew up in fear of the big bad city and how I was so special because I didn't grow up there. I now live in a million dollar condo on the waterfront in Philly. trust me it has nothing to do with where I grew up.

[CosmicWizard]

I graduated from Boyertown HS in 1967 and I left the area 2 weeks later. I've been back several times since then. My longest return lasted 3 years, from 1987 to 1990. I was chomping at the bit to get out of there after 3 years. Nothing seems to change, except for more traffic and more houses in the orchards and fields. Attitudes don't seem to change at all. I visited the area most recently in 2006 and the local attitude was the same as it was 1967. The people who live there seem to love it however. Very few natives ever leave the area. Most people born in the area seem to live most of their lives within a 50 mile radius of Boyertown. That kind of claustrophobic lifestyle just ain't my cup of tea.

blessings...Franco

[mrh5103]

Go for Wyomissing, West Lawn, or Sinking Spring. These are great places to live and especially raise children. There is a lot of activity and shopping.

[pacino]

Plus Boyertown has a ton of racism.

[Phillydude]

Agree with Pacino, pure young, middle age and old hipocrites...Read the posts in the Boyertown Pros & Cons section here!

Dont bother. I left after having to be raised in that dump.

Seriously, read the section "Boyertown Pros & Cons" !