Berks v. Cumberland Counties...Who Wins?? (Philadelphia, Reading: house, buy, high school)

[UCONN]

I am looking at family oriented, family recreation, good schools, shopping, maybe a house with a view? Home prices up to 450k?

thanks...

[Marodi]

Cumberland has better shopping and definately better schools. House with a view is likely in both places depending on where you buy a house.

Overall i'd say cumberland is better.

(My comparison is the harrisburg-carlisle area vs reading area)

[ChrisatDuke]

Originally Posted by Marodi

Cumberland has better shopping and definately better schools. House with a view is likely in both places depending on where you buy a house.

Overall i'd say cumberland is better.

(My comparison is the harrisburg-carlisle area vs reading area)

Not so sure about better shopping. I don't know what you're comparing here. Are you talking about shopping centers, malls?? Reading/Berks towns are very close to the new Philadelphia Premium Outlets and King of Prussia, featuring higher end stores like Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, etc. These types of stores aren't available in the Harrisburg area. Reading has its share of Targets, Wal-Marts, Applebees, Olive Garden, and all that crap. Maybe Harrisburg has more of these kinds of stores. Maybe the malls within Berks aren't as nice, but the second largest mall in the country is only a half an hour away. Plus Philly and NYC are much closer. Harrisburg is a very nice area with some great suburbs, but my vote is for the Reading area due to its proximity to major cities and more upsale shopping destinations. Harrisburg just seems too "out there" (geographically) IMO.

For 450k, you can afford a very nice house with a good amount of land in both areas. I'm not too sure about schools. I went to high school in Berks (Exeter), and I thought I received an excellent education.