Any good towns in Berks County? (Chester, Downingtown: to buy, living, cost of living)

[PA-native71]

Reading is not the best place to live but if you head up North on 61 there is some nice towns and areas to live there from Hamburg to Orwigsburg and Pottsvile is trying to arrange to get a train to come from Reading to there and back so that will help alleviate the traffic on 61 or you can carpool which alot of people do since the gas prices are outrageous.
Hope you find a nice place you can be happy with.
Myself I have lived in Reading now live in Minersville,and would never live in or around Reading if I have a choice.

[cerequas]

I am reading this thread with interest because we are looking to move my 80 year old father.
He and my mom had been living in a town 5 hours away from us, but my mom died suddenly last year. And my dad has no other family or friends out there.

We don't think he would be happy living right near us (we live in Montgomery county PA), since it would be too expensive or congested for him. But an hour or so away from us is fine.
So we were thinking Berks county. My dad can be kind of prickly and needs someplace more quiet without lots of people around.

Also, he can physically take care of himself, but he really can't drive much anymore. I noticed Reading has a bus system, but wondering if that would be good for him given our other criteria as above. As far as what he would want to live in, he's thinking condo or small house. Basically, we are looking to help him be as independent as possible, as we will all be happier thhat way.

Any advice is appreciated!

[cerequas]

I forget to say in my previous post that it would also be nice to have my dad live near a downtown area or main st, so he can walk to the basic stuff like bank, post office, convenience store, etc.
This is something he has had in his current location

[Icy Tea]

Don't even consider moving him to Reading. He could move fairly close to it and be fine but Reading is a very poor choice. Reading doesn't have much to offer in the city itself anyway, for things like groceries. You drive to the suburbs for that.
There are some very good senior living communities in Berks, ones in Amity/ Douglassville right on 422, anothers in Wernersville also on 422. My uncle lived there and when he passed his private home unit sold immediately. Theres also another one in Cumru south of the city. There are apartments around places so try the suburbs.

[tights24]

How independent is your dad and how good of shape is he in? Are you looking for a retirement type senior living center or just a condo/apartment for him to rent?

Ok, enough of the questions. This is a bit tricky because it's hard to be able to walk to places easily and yet not be around people. Most of the small towns that have main streets and easy banking/grocery shopping etc will be louder than rural living of course.

Honestly, I would look into Fleetwood or Kutztown. Both places have a main street. Kutztown may be a bit louder since it's a small college town(if he lives directly on main street), but both are nice pennsylvania dutch areas with things to do. Good luck.

[BTA88]

New Holland in Lancaster County is a small town of about 5000 people, has a nice, walkable downtown and not a lot of people immediately surrounding him. There are large grocery stores on each end of town (about 3 miles across) sidewalks pretty much the whole way through town. Banks on both ends, and in the center of town, 3 gas stations, a small elderly oriented restaurant that's only open for early evening dinners and a nice diner, and an assisted living community for the elderly.

I currently live in Cumru, which is a large, semi-rural township that is just south of Reading. I can get to anything within minutes of driving, but nothing is closer than 1 miles to me. It's very quiet, very peaceful, and I'm close to everything. I can get anywhere within MontCo within an hour to an hour and a half. Mohnton might be a better choice, as it's a semi-walkable town with low population and sidewalks, however it's VERY hilly, and might be difficult for him to walk.

[SPSGuy]

I personally think Berks Co. is a nice county outside of Reading. Even Reading is a beautiful city architecturally and historically, but it is just so poor. Reading has some nice suburban areas though. But Oley, Kutztown, Fleetwood, Bernville, etc are all nice small towns if you can handle small towns. The country side is very beautiful. Blandon smells like poop though.

[toobusytoday]

Originally Posted by cerequas

I am reading this thread with interest because we are looking to move my 80 year old father.
He and my mom had been living in a town 5 hours away from us, but my mom died suddenly last year. And my dad has no other family or friends out there.

We don't think he would be happy living right near us (we live in Montgomery county PA), since it would be too expensive or congested for him. But an hour or so away from us is fine.
So we were thinking Berks county. My dad can be kind of prickly and needs someplace more quiet without lots of people around.

Also, he can physically take care of himself, but he really can't drive much anymore. I noticed Reading has a bus system, but wondering if that would be good for him given our other criteria as above. As far as what he would want to live in, he's thinking condo or small house. Basically, we are looking to help him be as independent as possible, as we will all be happier thhat way.

Any advice is appreciated!

Are you set on Berks county? I would suggest looking into a small town and not a city that is now known locally for a high crime rate. Frankly, if he's going to move at this point in his life, I would suggest a 55+ community like Hershey's Mill in Chester County. Even a private person is going to want people once in awhile. Or maybe a small town a bit closer, like Collegeville or Phoenixville.

My parents are also in their 80's and live about 2 hours away and I've found recently that 30 minutes would have been so much better.

[tights24]

Blandon smells like poop though.

that's not poop, that's the mushroom houses.... Well, it's poop in a way since it's manure covering up the mushrooms, but the mushrooms are the reason the manure is there....

Regardless, toobusy brought up some other good areas. The difference probably being the price. My guess is that Chester county would certainly be more expensive than Berks since it's much closer to Philly and the turnpike for access to things.

[SPSGuy]

Originally Posted by tights24

that's not poop, that's the mushroom houses.... Well, it's poop in a way since it's manure covering up the mushrooms, but the mushrooms are the reason the manure is there....

Regardless, toobusy brought up some other good areas. The difference probably being the price. My guess is that Chester county would certainly be more expensive than Berks since it's much closer to Philly and the turnpike for access to things.

I know. I work right near the Mushroom houses. It gets downright awful some days. It still smells like poop from a very vile being after a night of taco bell and whiskey.