good small town/rural areas? (Philadelphia, Scranton: home, high schools, income)

[Te amo no puedo pararme]

any good small town/rural areas close to Philidelphia with good safe high schools and reasonable cost of living?

[Syrinx2112]

Originally Posted by Te amo no puedo pararme

any good small town/rural areas close to Philidelphia with good safe high schools and reasonable cost of living?

A ton.

Suburban Philadelphia has done a nice job of not overdeveloping.Alot of the area is still rural except for the city itself and the inner ring suburbs. 5 miles outside the city limits is still mostly forest.

My favorite towns:

West Chester
Exton
Valley Forge/King of Prussia/Phoenixville/Skippack
Media
Doylestown
New Hope

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by Syrinx2112

A ton.

Suburban Philadelphia has done a nice job of not overdeveloping.Alot of the area is still rural except for the city itself and the inner ring suburbs. 5 miles outside the city limits is still mostly forest.

My favorite towns:

West Chester
Exton
Valley Forge/King of Prussia/Phoenixville/Skippack
Media
Doylestown
New Hope

I second that. The only downside would be the "reasonable" cost-of-living side of the coin, as I don't consider places such as New Hope, Doylestown, Malvern, Swarthmore, etc. to be "affordable." Then again, sometimes you need to be willing to pay the price for top-notch services and security.

[Te amo no puedo pararme]

my biggest concern is finding a good high school to teach in, a safe one where the kids are tolerable. i absolutely refuse to teach in the inner city of Philedelphia

[Syrinx2112]

I can't say I blame you.

The suburbs and inner city Philadelphia are polar opposites in regards to the quality of the student.

A-B students out in the suburbs. C-D-Truants-dropouts in the inner city.

[Phish Head]

Hands down, Bucks County is *the* premier place to live in Eastern Pennsylvania. I lived for years in Yardley, which I think is one of the nicest places to live anywhere. Although you can't go wrong almost anywhere in Bucks County. I would avoid Levittown, Bristol, and Bensalem, but even these towns are pretty decent. You WILL pay to live almost anywhere in Bucks county, particularly in Doylestown, Yardley, Newtown or New Hope. But you get what you pay for- an educated population, people accepting of all walks of life (as long as they are solid citizens), great schools, a nice landscape which still has many protected areas and open space. Drive up Route 32 around the area of Carversville, Lumberville, and Point Pleasant, and you will not believe you are in PA.

I may move back to this area, but my job has unfortunately relocated me against my will to this festering pit called NJ.....and since I have been back in NJ, I've basically been priced out of the Bucks County area. Make sure you have the bucks before coming to Bucks....

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by Phish Head

Hands down, Bucks County is *the* premier place to live in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Not to burst your bubble but lets not get carried away here. Bucks County is not even the best county in metro Philly. In fact its #4 in terms of wealth of the 4 suburban counties behind Chester,Montgomery and Delaware counties.

Dont get me wrong its a great place to live but you have to know your place.

[Phish Head]

I'm absolutely not getting carried away. Bucks County is poorer than Delaware County? Check your facts on that. Delaware County median household income is $49k, Bucks County is $62k.

Quality of life is about much more than income. Bucks has the easiest access to NYC and easy access to the shore. Bucks has great schools and open space. Bucks is definitely the best Philly metro county, with Chester as a close second. Montgomery and Delaware don't even compare.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by Phish Head

I'm absolutely not getting carried away. Bucks County is poorer than Delaware County? Check your facts on that. Delaware County median household income is $49k, Bucks County is $62k.

Quality of life is about much more than income. Bucks has the easiest access to NYC and easy access to the shore. Bucks has great schools and open space. Bucks is definitely the best Philly metro county, with Chester as a close second. Montgomery and Delaware don't even compare.

Admit it, you just don't have a firm grasp on the region do you?

Montgomery County is hands down the best county in the region, followed by Chester, Delaware(which would be #1 if not for the dense urban towns bordering west Philly) and then Bucks.

Without the commerce of Montgomery,Chester, and Delaware Counties this region isn't even on the map.

Open land policy(Bucks County) doesn't make a region great, Bucks County to me could be considered part of the Lehigh Valley as it takes on that type of characteristic. Easiest access to NYC doesn't add to the the quality of life, and I can get to the Beach an hour quicker from Media than you can from Doylestown

I suggest you pay a visit to Delaware County and tell me how poor it is. Take a visit through Villanova,Haverford,Radnor,Chadds Ford,Thornbury,Glen Mills,Newtown Square,Media,Springfield,Ridley park,Rose Valley,Havertown,Upper Providence,Swarthmore,Garnet Valley,Concord,Middletown,Nether Providence. These towns are what Bucks County will strive to become 100 years from now.

There is a reason that Delaware County is maxed out and Bucks County is 80% undeveloped.

Bucks is a nice place but its pulling up the rear of the 4 Philadelphia suburban counties.

[ScranBarre]

Why don't you two start touting yourselves as "The Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area" instead of competing with each other for prospective new residents, employers, etc.? Instead of trying to prove that Bucks County is "better" than Montgomery County or that Swarthmore is "better" than New Hope, why not look at the five-county metro area COLLECTIVELY and assemble a COLLECTIVE "pro vs. con" checklist for City-Data members? For example, by simply looking at the region as being "Delaware County" or "Chester County", you don't get to add in the cultural benefits that Philadelphia County has to offer to the region (Franklin Institute, pro-sports teams, cheesesteaks, performing arts centers, etc.) By excluding Philadelphia County from your analysis, you're giving new residents the unfair perspective that the region is "crime-free" when Philadelphia proper is among the most dangerous cities in the nation behind St. Louis, Detriot, Camden, and Newark. When I, as an outsider, think of "Philadelphia", all five counties come to mind, as the four suburban counties would cease to be the beacons of civic pride that they are today if the "City of Brotherly Love" didn't exist.

I'm preaching the same "regionalization" philosophy to my own area. For far too long, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre have been competing AGAINST each other for economic growth and new residents. For example, people in Wilkes-Barre feel "burned" that Scranton was chosen as the location for a new medical school, and people in Scranton feel "burned" that Wilkes-Barre is home to the metro's minor-league hockey and football teams. I-81 will have residents of either city in its sister city in about 20-25 minutes; when you have two cities this close, then why treat each other like detriments instead of complements? I say the same for you all down in Southeastern PA; I view the Philadelphia REGION in a positive light---The city is crime-ridden, but the suburbs are safe and serene. On the flip side, the suburbs are DULL and repetitive in character while the city has plenty of culture, nightlife, diversity, etc. Both complement each other nicely, and neither the city nor suburbs would be where they are today without each other.

I'm not trying to offend either of you, but you just look foolish arguing over which suburban county is "better" than the other in terms of Census statistics when, in reality, you should be "borrowing" positive attributes from each other in a quest to attract new residents. What's to stop a new resident in Media, Delaware County from enjoying Longwood Gardens, just over the border in Chester County? Nothing. What's to stop a new resident in the Central Bucks area from enjoying a trip with the family to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia County? Nothing. Folks, regionalization is the key to the future, as cities that were once not easily-linked can now be accessed via an automobile or mass transit in mere minutes. Back in my neck of the woods, the "Scranton VS. Wilkes-Barre" debate is amusing, at best, especially considering how many folks commute from Wilkes-Barre to Scranton for work and vice-versa without any complaints.