Newtown or Yardley? Other Lower Bucks options with real downtowns? (Levittown: townhouse, neighborhood)

[Kimba235]

I just stumbled upon this website and forum...what a wonderful resource! I've looked around a bit and found some great information from all of you. Now I'm wondering if you might be able to help me.

We plan to relocate from NJ to southeastern PA...my husband's job has relocated to Ewing, NJ, so we are concentrating on towns that are within a half-hour commute for him. We love the town we are presently in (Highland Park, in Middlesex County), but we live in a starter home and are being priced out of larger homes. Also, our taxes for a 3 bed/1 bath home are $8,000!

So, we are concentrating on Lower Bucks County...the commute would be great, and it's a beautiful area with good schools. Taxes, while perhaps high for PA overall, would be about half for us.

We have 3 young children (4-year-old twins and an 8-month-old baby), so schools and a safe, family-friendly atmosphere are paramount. But my husband and I are also looking for a town that has a real downtown--if possible, within walking distance. We're looking for a 4-bedroom house, somewhere in the $300k-$400k range.

We've visited mainly Newtown and Yardley. I haven't really seen Yardley's flooding issue addressed here too much, but that seems very problematic. We were originally advised by friends to look for houses well west of Main Street to avoid flooding, but now I understand that the entire town faces major water sewer repairs and a rate hike, so we're thinking we should probably avoid Yardley altogether?

Here's what we're looking at so far:

Doylestown - I know, it's not Lower Bucks! But if I had my way, I would move here in a heartbeat, since we love the large downtown area. But overall, it's more expensive. Also, the commute would be farther to Ewing--and it seems like lots of back roads. Am I right about the commute?

Newtown - Council Rock schools are supposed to be great. We love the idea of the downtown, but my guess is we would probably end up being in the surrounding area anyway (because of the size and price of house we're looking for). And that area seems very spread out, so we would likely be driving everywhere anyway. Also, it seems like most houses on the outskirts belong to some sort of neighborhood association? Is it possible to find a nice house that doesn't come complete with an association, neighborhood pool, etc?

Yardley - Good Pennsbury schools, and a very cute downtown, although not too much there...very charming houses...have heard that the library/community pool complex is great for kids and families. But the flooding issue, and particularly the water sewer rate hike, is very worrisome.

I'm wondering what your thoughts are? Also, are there any other towns with real downtowns in that general area that we have overlooked and should check out?

I really want this move to be the right one...Many thanks for your help!

[L.K.]

great questions I would be interested in as well!

[Phish Head]

Yardley was hit HARD by two seperate floods. I was living right on the Delaware River when it flooded. We moved one car inland and kept my large truck with us, which has about 13" of ground clearance in case we had to get out. Nobody knew how bad it was going to be. We watched the river rise, and went to bed, hoping for the best. At 3:00 am, National Guard, cops, and firefighters went door to door banging on the doors to get people out. We went outside and cars were already underwater. We lived in between the canal and the river, both walls of water rushed into our development. My truck just made it out unflooded, we gave a local couple a ride to safety- their truck was destroyed by water. Other people rode out by hanging onto the firetruck.

Our townhouse was okay, as it was built in the late 70's, and they prepared for floods by then. The older historic areas were mostly destroyed. That being said, keep in mind that Yardley is just a little borough on the river, but all of the large township of Lower Makefield use Yardley as the town name. So as long as you are not situated on the canal or river, flooding really isn't an issue in Yardley. I would buy a home in Yardley no problem, just not right on the river. That area is a floodplain and should not have been built in to begin with.

[Kimba235]

Wow, Phish Head, that is some story! Thanks for sharing your experience with us...glad to hear you made it out ok and that your townhouse survived.

Yes, I understand that there are other parts of Lower Makefield where flooding is not an issue, but what about the impending water sewer repairs and rate hike issue? I'm under the impression that taxes are about to rise significantly in Yardley--am I right?

Also, just wondering if there are any other towns in Lower Bucks with a real downtown?

Thanks!

[Phish Head]

I'm not sure about these issues, as I moved out of Yardley about 6 months ago. There is no wage tax in Lower Makefield, so perhaps they need to make this money back? I'm not sure. The areas with "real" downtowns in Lower Bucks (in order of nice to not as nice, in my opinion):

1. Newtown
2. Yardley (my personal pick)
3. Langhorne
4. Morrisville
5. Bristol

Plus some smaller areas such as Tullytown, Hulmeville, Penndel, and a very small historic section of Fairless Hills. Home prices will reflect the nicer areas.

[Kimba235]

I have driven through Langhorne once...saw a very nice section with beautiful older homes. But is there a real downtown there? All I can recall is a block that had a small strip mall. Was that it, or did I miss something?

[Phish Head]

The area in Langhorne on Route 213 or West Maple Avenue, is considered the downtown. Not many stores, but there are many beautiful, turn of the century homes, a few small cafes, resturants, sub shop, pizza place, etc. There really aren't any strip malls that I know of in this section.

Langhorne encompasses a large area however- Oxford Valley Mall and Sesame Place are considered Langhorne, but they are actually in Middletown Township. Also, sections of Levittown (which is a planned community built in 1955 with some desirable sections and many undesirable sections) also use the Langhorne zip code. All the strip malls, car dealerships, and big box stores along the Lincoln Highway (Route 1 Business) use the Langhorne zip.

[Jaw1110]

Newtown can be a good pick for you. Great town to raise a family. The rpice range can be tough but you can find a townhouse to meet your needs...you may want to look in Newtown Grant.

[thinktank]

My family is looking to relocate to the yardley newtown area also since my husband got a job in titusville, nj. we live in allentown now and love it but the commute is too far.

I am so CONFUSED. Don't know where to go. I hear central bucks school district is better than COuncil Rock and pennsbury, is this true. We're also looking for the town with the "downtown" feel of doylestown. Is there a town like that? And are there any areas in newtown that we should be careful of. What is newtown grant??

COuld someone please help???

[rdbdirect]

Originally Posted by thinktank

My family is looking to relocate to the yardley newtown area also since my husband got a job in titusville, nj. we live in allentown now and love it but the commute is too far.

I am so CONFUSED. Don't know where to go. I hear central bucks school district is better than COuncil Rock and pennsbury, is this true. We're also looking for the town with the "downtown" feel of doylestown. Is there a town like that? And are there any areas in newtown that we should be careful of. What is newtown grant??

COuld someone please help???

I live in Doylestown and the schools are great but Council Rock is at least as good as the CB School district. Haven't heard many good things about Pennsbury but you get out what you put in...right? Had an office in Newtown which is a very nice area but smaller than Doylestown which is the Bucks County county seat. There are no "bad" areas in Newtown. My daughter goes to school in Newtown at George School.